This I dont get. Why we dont just let Directgov wither and give Sam Smith and Chris Lightfoot medals and civil service pensions and let everyone use DirectionlessGov (bunging a bob or too Google's way as we go)? If nobody can tell me what's wrong with that I'll just have to look into it for myself. In an ideal world the government would engage me professionally to find out the answer to this burning question so perhaps I'll just hold my breath until that happens (or I burst).

Further thought. It's fine for us to "improve Direct Gov so much that everyone wants to use it and everything else withers away". But to make everyone use DirectGov by closing everything else makes as much sense to me as forcing everyone to the New Orleans Superdome by closing the bridges with armed guards after Katrina. To date DirectGov has been expensive and a bit annoying: is it about to become the one biggest problem in online government?