Deciding Fast and Slow
Seriously...22 Jan 2016

Deciding Fast and Slow

What is it really like to make decisions affecting millions of people, knowing that a mistake might be pounced upon instantly and your career left in tatters? Government ministers face this challenge every day, and now under ever-rising pressures - not just 24 hour news, but also hugely influential social media and far stronger demand for more open and accountable decision-making. Elinor Goodman finds out from senior politicians, civil service leaders and their advisors how government ministers make decisions in the face of growing pressure from this instant all-pervasive information culture. How is the quality of decision-making affected when the demands for faster and more transparent policy-making become impossible to resist? As information circulates ever faster, can ministers actually keep up and make good decisions rather than succumb to the demands for swifter ones? Where once there was just a news cycle to manage, now there is a need for instant replies to all manner of questions and challenges about the detail and purpose of policies themselves - and sometimes this happens before the policy has actually been finalised. David Cameron leads a government that can only dream of the time and space afforded to his political hero Harold Macmillan, who was able to take weeks deliberating on subjects which today's PM must sometimes resolve in minutes. So, what are the pressures and processes that contribute to ministerial decision-making in the 21st century? Producer: Jonathan Brunert.

Episoder(484)

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Roald Dahl: In His Own Words

Roald Dahl: In His Own Words

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5 Jul 201657min

In Wales the Ball is Round

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While My Guitar Gently Bleeps

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Moss Side Gym Stories

Moss Side Gym Stories

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10 Jun 201656min

Life Under Glass

Life Under Glass

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31 Mai 201628min

The Camera Never Lies

The Camera Never Lies

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The Power of Cute

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