The UK Statistics Authority has issued its pre-election wish-list in a letter from the authority’s Chair, Sir Michael Scholar (pictured), to the leaders of the major political parties.

He’s looking for additional powers over who can see statistics before they are formally released, suggesting that the authority should be asked to review these arrangements. This, he says, would reduce what he calls “the widespread belief that official statistics are manipulated by ministers and their advisers before their publication”.
 
Both Sir Michael and the authority actually want pre-release access to be abolished, so if these powers were to be granted I assume that’s how they would be used.
 
He also wants to strengthen and entrench the independence of statisticians who work in government departments, and for the authority to be consulted about the allocation of statistical resources. Which party leader - if any - is going to be the first to sign up to this modest and reasonable agenda?