Most of the nation’s 790 quangos are desperate to talk to the Tories, who want to institute a big cull in quango numbers. (The current total is 8 per cent down on the figure for 1997 but that hardly counts as a bonfire of the things – more a damp squib.) The Tories have much more radical plans and the quangos are only too keen to explain why they should not be axed. (Not our quango – it is essential!)

The quangocrats are allowed to talk to opposition parties on much the same basis as civil servants in the run-up to an election – no hinting at government plans and no telling ministers anything they may learn from the opposition. David Bell, top official at the schools department, has circulated all the chief executives of his departmental quangos reminding them of the rules and insisting that his office be contacted before any meetings are agreed. He says: “It would be helpful to know from whom the approach was made, the opposition party they represent, the proposed agenda for the meeting and the timing. If such a meeting is agreed, a formal record of your discussion must be made and a copy submitted as soon as possible to my office.”