Sacking ministers a sure-fire winner

By Nick Assinder BBC News Online political correspondent

Some ministers will have to go

Charles Kennedy's job leading the Liberal Democrats must be about the most frustrating in politics.

As far as most of the nation's media is concerned, and despite his best efforts, his party may as well not exist in between general elections.

Barring the occasional by-election sensation and opinion poll success, it appears the only time he hits the headlines is when his own dissidents start spreading ugly rumours about his drinking habits.

Probably worst of all, however, is the regularity with which he has to come up with new, eye catching and populist policies.

Each time he develops a new one - most notably in the key area of financing the public services - the magpies in the government steal it.

It is almost as if the other parties use the Lib Dems as a freelance think tank whose ideas can be scavenged at will.

Drawing board

The most blatant example of this political theft was the old Lib Dem policy of slapping a penny on income tax to be channelled specifically into the public services.

After years insisting the government would not increases taxes at all, Chancellor Gordon Brown became a convert to this approach - and did precisely what Mr Kennedy had been suggesting.

So, back to the drawing board for the Lib Dems then.

Now, however, Mr Kennedy's Treasury team has come up with another new formula that may have finally solved this problem.

Whitehall will come under axe

His suggestion that he could find bucket loads of cash for schools and hospitals by taking an axe to Whitehall departments and sacking 30 ministers is an absolute sure fire winner with most voters.

And, frankly, it is hard to see the downside in this proposed political cull.

The number and complexity of Whitehall departments have grown as each successive government has surrounded itself with the security blanket of an ever-larger bureaucratic empire.

Too big

Former Tory Trade Secretary Nicholas Ridley summed it up best when given the job by Margaret Thatcher.

"Opulent new offices, a huge budget and thousands of civil servants - and absolutely nothing to do," was, more or less, his blunt verdict.

So, sacking scores of civil servants and, more deliciously, ministers is unlikely to produce squeals of protest amongst voters who probably believe the government machine is already far too big.

And neither of the other two big parties are likely to be attracted to the idea of limiting their opportunities for patronage or, despite what they pretend, devolving even more power away from the centre.

Whether or not all this would actually work is another matter.

Any party coming into government is, in the early days at least, the prisoner of its civil servants.

They know how everything works, make sure they keep a few crucial secrets to themselves, and hold the keys to the ministerial toilets.

And previous attempts to slash bureaucracy have failed.

Still, if Mr Kennedy becomes the next prime minister, Britain can look forward to the biggest Whitehall shakeout since - well, probably the last Liberal government.