Governments come into office brimming with confidence. They say their election win is a mandate for change, and that work on its manifesto pledges will start immediately. Invariably, there is talk of sleeves being rolled up.

Sooner or later, there is a rude awakening. Ministers push buttons and pull levers expecting things to happen instantly, and are shocked to find that they don’t. The reason for that is simple: the British state is big – and getting bigger – but as an agent of change it is not up to the job.

This is true at both central and local levels. Over the years, the capacity of government to intervene has been pared back and professional expertise has been lost as council services have been outsourced. The main job of the state is now to alleviate the consequences of failure, which are becoming ever more pressing.

Obeisance to market forces explains part of the problem. For the past half-century, there has been a neuralgic aversion to anything that smacks of picking winners. The misguided idea that countries only really thrive when governments get out of the way of the private sector has taken root. There are, though, other factors at play. One is the dominance of the Treasury, which has tried – unsuccessfully – to be both a ministry that looks after the public finances, and a ministry of the economy. Another is the British cult of the........

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