Please feel free to correct me if I am wrong, but....
I have been told that the problem was that the old "local" forecaster would quite often issue much better forecasts than his more political orientated master, the area forecaster who earned a lot more money. Under the rules of the Public Service, this was clearly an anathema and had to be expunged.
The remedy was to centralise all forecasts and dumb them down to such an extent that whatever was forecast would cover every eventuallity and at the same time could not be seen as completely "inept". To complete the illusion, no-one was allowed to issue a forecast that varied with his masters' voice.
Voila!
(PS. My most gracious thanks to the many metmen who have taught me the art and science of the subject and more importantly, have used every skill of their beings in providing me with forecasts that have enabled me to operate safely and successfully during a very long flying career!).