Letwin steps out of the shadows

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By Iain Watson BBC political correspondent

Visibility and productivity in politicians should never be confused.

Mr Letwin has a behind-the-scenes role

Rarely seen in public, on Wednesday the Conservative frontbencher Oliver Letwin stepped into the half-light of a windowless central London conference room.

He told an audience of aspiring politicians, lobbyists, charities, and business people just what he has been doing while his higher-profile colleagues have been taking to the airwaves.

He has the title of chairman of the policy review, and one of his key tasks was to convince those who attended the event - organised by the influential Conservativehome website - that he had been very busy behind the scenes.

Leaks v announcements

So, first, he refuted the view of his critics that the Conservatives simply do not have detailed policies.

He joked that, in the past, the best way to keep a secret was to make a speech in the House of Commons - journalists tend to prefer exclusive leaks to major public announcements - but now it was to publish draft policy papers on the Conservative Party website.

He directed us to hours and hours of edifying and hopefully informative reading, all just a mouse click away.

He admitted that an incoming government would face 'a financial crisis of very considerable proportions'

But he was also keen to convince his audience that these policies were not simply about political positioning.

The policy supremo confided that he and his shadow cabinet colleague, the even-lesser-spotted Francis Maude, had been drawing up detailed "business plans" for each department, setting out priorities and discussing what new legislation would be necessary and how quickly.

He admitted that an incoming government would face "a financial crisis of very considerable proportions".

But he insisted that this policy feast was not only viable in times of fiscal famine but essential - many of the plans would focus on how to "get more for less".

Payment by results

Mr Letwin had also been pondering how to give the growing number of ideas an over-arching theme.

When it came to domestic policy, the uniting thread would be "decentralisation, accountability and transparency".

In practice this would mean greater individual choice in services such as education and health.

Oliver Letwin might have an uphill task convincing some fellow Conservatives that empowerment and austerity are partners rather than enemies

It would mean payment by results in areas such as prisoner rehabilitation and in getting people back into work - where he felt that any private employment agencies would have to work hard to earn their living in these difficult times.

And it would mean giving more power and control to citizens over policing, with detailed "crime maps" of their areas and a continued commitment to locally elected oversight of the police. As for local government, council tax capping would be a thing of the past.

Former head of policy at the Conservative Party, the Times commentator Daniel Finkelstein, felt that the commitment to decentralisation and localism was a good thing but conceded it was perhaps a little difficult to sell on the doorstep.

'Postcode lottery'

More important would be the consequences - if people felt that public services had improved, the concept would be popular but if it failed to deliver, any enthusiasm would soon wane.

The Conservative MP Paul Goodman highlighted some of the challenges, as well as opportunities, in loosening Whitehall's control.

For example one person's enthusiasm for a more locally accountable health service was another's denunciation of a "postcode lottery" in health care.

So even for a party that is well ahead in the polls, every silver lining apparently has a cloud.

And Oliver Letwin might have an uphill task convincing some fellow Conservatives that empowerment and austerity are partners rather than enemies.

Something no doubt he will be contemplating as he slips out of sight again to work away on what he says will be the most detailed plans for government which any opposition has drawn up.