Steve Hilton has plenty, and an incendiary personality, but Mr Cameron's closest adviser is unknown outside Westminster.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot

Steve Hilton, David Cameron's former "blue skies thinker", has reportedly told his US students that British "bureaucracy masters the politicians".

BBC: Steve Hilton 'says bureaucracy masters the politicians'

Steve Hilton, the government's in-house radical, originally wanted directly-elected mayors in every town, as is the case in France, for example.

ECONOMIST: Two years of the coalition

At the weekend the prime minister's former policy guru Steve Hilton described how Downing Street was often kept out of the loop by "paper-shuffling" civil servants.

BBC: Does Whitehall still say Yes, Prime Minister?

For some time Mr Cameron, prompted by his closest domestic adviser, Steve Hilton, has talked about creating a Big Society, with more citizen volunteers taking on the state's work.

ECONOMIST: Reforming the state

However, Mr Cameron did back some of the comments made by Steve Hilton, who left Downing Street for a sabbatical in the US after reportedly becoming frustrated at life in government.

BBC: David Cameron has 'good relations' with civil servants

Iain Martin, of the Wall Street Journal, criticised the party's manifesto, which had the words 'an invitation to join the government of Great Britain' embossed on its cover, saying it "must have sounded like a great idea when Oliver Letwin and Steve Hilton came up with it but I can not imagine it flying in marginal Conservative seats".

BBC: Why did the Tories not win the 2010 general election?

Liberal Democrat leader at the council Jeremy Hilton said there were other alternatives, while Labour's Steve Lydon said it was a "backward step" as the county tries to increase recycling rates.

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