The new chief executive of Westminster City Council comes from a career in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
Michael Burton talks to him about moving from the shires to the cauldron of city local government
Michael Burton talks to him about moving from the shires to the cauldron of city local government
Mike More had been in his new job as chief executive of Westminster City Council for precisely one day when The MJ met him last week, in his tower block office overlooking his new manor.
It was a somewhat different view from what he had been used to in his previous post as chief executive of Suffolk CC.
For a start, the panorama from the 52-year-old’s windows represents not only a sizeable part of his 8.5-square mile borough but also includes some of the most famous landmarks in the world, not least of them the Houses of Parliament, Scotland Yard and Downing Street.
As he says: ‘I can see much of the borough just from my office. I couldn’t do that in Suffolk.’
That alone makes the Westminster job unique, and why Mike – even though Suffolk has an uncertain future, being in the midst of a boundary review connected with reorganisation, and he was reluctant to be seen ‘abandoning ship’ at a crucial juncture – felt, nonetheless, he had to apply.
‘I didn’t plan to get out of Suffolk, despite the reorganisation issue, but the Westminster job was too fascinating to ignore.’
So, the first question to him is how on earth can he make a difference to a council which already has an enormously-high reputation, is ‘improving strongly’, with a four-star CPA, and has been four stars or excellent ever since the CPA was introduced?
He recognises Westminster’s reputation, but also maintains that the improvement journey is ongoing.
‘What struck me about this job was the council’s complete passion for continuing to make it better. It doesn’t rest on its laurels, and there’s a restless energy to keep improving. To make a comparison – despite my being an Arsenal fan – Alex Ferguson at Manchester United doesn’t rest on his laurels.’
He adds: ‘Westminster is highly performance-driven, and Peter’s [his predecessor Peter Rogers] great achievement has been to give Westminster a huge reputation and high performance, and that’s important.
‘If Westminster doesn’t work, then London doesn’t work.’
Therefore, he sees his job as maintaining the performance drive while also taking the council into what he calls ‘some tricky areas’.
These are mainly external, in particular, tackling social exclusion. The borough, contrary to its image, contains considerable pockets of deprivation, with 20% of children living in families below the poverty line.
Just 3% of families cost the taxpayer £65m annually, in terms of their demands on welfare, social work, probation, police and prison services, so early intervention is a big target for the council.
Mike originally planned to be a philosophy academic, and actually took a PhD in the subject. In the end, he opted for accountancy, training at the National Audit Office and, initially, was based in Westminster, working in government departments.
With the current debate over whether Whitehall is sufficiently scrutinised, does he believe the NAO is an effective watchdog? He replies: ‘I thought the NAO was too focused on finding fault. The Audit Commission approach has been more supportive of improvement and evidence-based. ‘The NAO saw its role then and since as parliamentary accountability, and not about improvement.’ So, should the Audit Commission role be extended to Whitehall, as Lord Heseltine recently advocated (The MJ, 10 April)?
He says: ‘There is nothing wrong with having a unified audit inspectorate across central and local government. And, I do believe local government has got a lot to offer on public service improvement, generally.’
After four years at the NAO Mike decided he wanted ‘to see how things were done’, and joined Cambridgeshire CC in 1986 in audit. He left there as head of finance in 1999 to become director of resources at Suffolk under Lin Homer. When she moved to Birmingham, he became chief executive.
Mike’s first day as Westminster chief executive included a visit to the West End and seeing, in action, the council’s ‘city guardians’ who monitor one of the busiest urban centres in Europe.
The council’s reputation relies on its ability to tackle the colossal challenge of keeping West End streets clean, 24 hours a day, especially with the new licensing regime which, in Westminster’s case, is literally 24 hours a day.
The council’s staff newspaper welcomed him with a headline, ‘I’ll unlock people power’, with his pledge to ‘develop a new standard of leadership’. Staff development is a priority but, in particular, he will also be dealing with a formidable range of councillors, not least of them his own leader, LGA chairman, Sir Simon Milton.
To many observers, Westminster City Council is the training ground for future Tory politicians. With a general election, at most, two years away, the spotlight will be even more on this particular city hall.
It was a somewhat different view from what he had been used to in his previous post as chief executive of Suffolk CC.
For a start, the panorama from the 52-year-old’s windows represents not only a sizeable part of his 8.5-square mile borough but also includes some of the most famous landmarks in the world, not least of them the Houses of Parliament, Scotland Yard and Downing Street.
As he says: ‘I can see much of the borough just from my office. I couldn’t do that in Suffolk.’
That alone makes the Westminster job unique, and why Mike – even though Suffolk has an uncertain future, being in the midst of a boundary review connected with reorganisation, and he was reluctant to be seen ‘abandoning ship’ at a crucial juncture – felt, nonetheless, he had to apply.
‘I didn’t plan to get out of Suffolk, despite the reorganisation issue, but the Westminster job was too fascinating to ignore.’
So, the first question to him is how on earth can he make a difference to a council which already has an enormously-high reputation, is ‘improving strongly’, with a four-star CPA, and has been four stars or excellent ever since the CPA was introduced?
He recognises Westminster’s reputation, but also maintains that the improvement journey is ongoing.
‘What struck me about this job was the council’s complete passion for continuing to make it better. It doesn’t rest on its laurels, and there’s a restless energy to keep improving. To make a comparison – despite my being an Arsenal fan – Alex Ferguson at Manchester United doesn’t rest on his laurels.’
He adds: ‘Westminster is highly performance-driven, and Peter’s [his predecessor Peter Rogers] great achievement has been to give Westminster a huge reputation and high performance, and that’s important.
‘If Westminster doesn’t work, then London doesn’t work.’
Therefore, he sees his job as maintaining the performance drive while also taking the council into what he calls ‘some tricky areas’.
These are mainly external, in particular, tackling social exclusion. The borough, contrary to its image, contains considerable pockets of deprivation, with 20% of children living in families below the poverty line.
Just 3% of families cost the taxpayer £65m annually, in terms of their demands on welfare, social work, probation, police and prison services, so early intervention is a big target for the council.
Mike originally planned to be a philosophy academic, and actually took a PhD in the subject. In the end, he opted for accountancy, training at the National Audit Office and, initially, was based in Westminster, working in government departments.
With the current debate over whether Whitehall is sufficiently scrutinised, does he believe the NAO is an effective watchdog? He replies: ‘I thought the NAO was too focused on finding fault. The Audit Commission approach has been more supportive of improvement and evidence-based. ‘The NAO saw its role then and since as parliamentary accountability, and not about improvement.’ So, should the Audit Commission role be extended to Whitehall, as Lord Heseltine recently advocated (The MJ, 10 April)?
He says: ‘There is nothing wrong with having a unified audit inspectorate across central and local government. And, I do believe local government has got a lot to offer on public service improvement, generally.’
After four years at the NAO Mike decided he wanted ‘to see how things were done’, and joined Cambridgeshire CC in 1986 in audit. He left there as head of finance in 1999 to become director of resources at Suffolk under Lin Homer. When she moved to Birmingham, he became chief executive.
Mike’s first day as Westminster chief executive included a visit to the West End and seeing, in action, the council’s ‘city guardians’ who monitor one of the busiest urban centres in Europe.
The council’s reputation relies on its ability to tackle the colossal challenge of keeping West End streets clean, 24 hours a day, especially with the new licensing regime which, in Westminster’s case, is literally 24 hours a day.
The council’s staff newspaper welcomed him with a headline, ‘I’ll unlock people power’, with his pledge to ‘develop a new standard of leadership’. Staff development is a priority but, in particular, he will also be dealing with a formidable range of councillors, not least of them his own leader, LGA chairman, Sir Simon Milton.
To many observers, Westminster City Council is the training ground for future Tory politicians. With a general election, at most, two years away, the spotlight will be even more on this particular city hall.
