this is bad for the post of cabinet secretary and so bad for the civil service / good government / everyone.

Context is everything. What if you are observing a protest? Or you see someone spraypainting a swastika on a shop? Or someone being creepy on the tube? I’m not saying sharing footage on social media is the best way to address any of that, but it shouldn’t be a crime.

Times (and apparently Cabinet Ministers) apparently confusing Labour Party rules with U.K. constitution Labour Party rules set out what happens if LEADER of party is ‘permanently unavailable’. But they dont match up the principles, precedents and expectations about what happens fo replace a PM. 1/

Obviously major Whitehall news if it happens Perhaps not surprising given briefing. And if the PM loses confidence in a cabinet secretary then it’s pretty inevitable they go But an impartial civil service cab sec exiting as fallout from a government scandal/attempted reset is very much not great

Keir Starmer will be looking for his third Chief of Staff since becoming PM, after the departure of Morgan McSweeney. What is the role of Chief of Staff to the PM, how did it arise and what is the difference with other key roles in No10? www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/do...

Thanks very much to the Bar Council for having me — always great to have such an engaged and informed audience!

Great post from my colleagues explaining just what counts as *criminal* ‘misconduct in public office’, and why it’s such a high bar to meet

In amongst all the drama, the day-to-day work of gov & public services can get a little lost. But yday's bleak report from the Public Accounts Committee on the dire state of probation is yet another example of just how high the stakes are. Massive work is needed to get services back on their feet.

1/3 The government’s reasons for scrapping plans for an Audit and Reporting Governance Authority (ARGA) appear specious. This is a bad example of how to achieve growth by cutting red tape, as I argue in my latest comment for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk...

Really good piece, and not (just) because it cites me! Illustrates so clearly why reliable data that *tells you something meaningful* is so critical. It lets you make informed policy choices, and it lets you explain and advocate for those choices to get people on board.

My take on the government's plan for police reform: a welcome attempt at ambitious, long-term change – but one that risks making police leadership and accountability too remote from local areas 🧵 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/poli...

Delighted to join Ken Macdonald KC and Tim Owen KC on their podcast this week to discuss the government's reforms to jury trials - and why they won't solve the case backlog in the crown court link.podtrac.com/nj1hj55g

This is a fascinating piece, and shows how something which tends to be very popular with politicians and the public — using banks to fund or enforce laws against financial crimes — has a real dark side.

Plans for major police reforms (finally!) being published tomorrow. In principle, it makes sense to bring together national responsibilities (counter-terror, fraud, organised crime) and functions (procurement, vetting etc) into a single organisation.

NEW REPORT: the gov’s proposals for judge-only trials will deliver only marginal savings and distract from the real route out of this crisis: reversing recent falls in court productivity.

I spoke at the House of Lords Justice & Home Affairs Committee yesterday, on behalf of @instituteforgovernment.org.uk, on immigration, citizenship and integration. Thanks to @jlowen.bsky.social, @cassiarowland.bsky.social and @hcdunlop.bsky.social for help on prep! Session here: tinyurl.com/372h6jdk

Adam Mastroianni has such a gift for an evocative image, you should all read his stuff open.substack.com/pub/experime...

Good time to sign up to watch Fiona Hill, @simonfraser00.bsky.social and @anandmenon.bsky.social discuss UK/EU/US relations with @drhannahwhite.bsky.social at our joint @instituteforgovernment.org.uk @ukandeu.bsky.social event on Tuesday eve www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/trump-...

Great points from Rachel here. I’d add: the state exercises force/authority over people. It can arrest you/fine you/take you children away! That makes it fundamentally different to any private company when it comes to data the state holds on you or tracking interactions

Characteristically excellent report from Sir Andy Cooke, chief inspector of police, on West Mids police evidence and advice re banning away fans from the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match last year. Short 🧵 with some thoughts:

The same policing reform act will a) give policing accountability to elected mayors b) give the key power of sacking a chief constable to someone else. This is joined up and coherent in some elusive way

Characteristically excellent report from Sir Andy Cooke, chief inspector of police, on West Mids police evidence and advice re banning away fans from the Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv match last year. Short 🧵 with some thoughts:

Oh no

A lot of words to basically say: OK, GOING TO THE PUB MIGHT NOT BE GOOD FOR YOUR WAISTLINE/SLEEP/WALLET but it might be really really good for your friendships, stress, connections and happiness. So it's actually healthy to go to the pub, you guys, and maybe we should all just do that a bit more

Soundtrack to walk to select committee session: Von dutch

Hello to all my new followers! I’m here to keep you up to date on all things crime & criminal justice. 2026 headlines so far: - record low homicides in London last year - continuing resistance to government proposals to restrict trial by jury - unusable Dartmoor prison is costing taxpayer £4m a year

New year, new comment piece, same problems. I've written for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk on what the covid inquiry is revealing about (poor) govt info sharing during the pandemic and what needs to be in place for the next crisis. HMT does not come off well... tinyurl.com/muhtm2r8

I’m really looking forward to this new BBC1 TV drama on teaching philosophy in prison, based on Andy West’s brilliant book ‘The Life Inside’. insidetime.org/comment/wait...

Amid some v good initiatives, lots of the longstanding problems with the civil service got worse again in the past year. If the government wants to 'rewire the state' it needs to set out what that means for the workforce. 👇Sneak peek at some of our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk report, out in Jan.

An extremely poor look for the government. As our devolution team argued about delays to mayoral elections, it looks like either “the government fundamentally misunderstood the scale of the task it had set itself, or that the decision may have been made for…partisan advantage”

Any thoughts or feedback on our Public Services Performance Tracker most gratefully received! Even if you’ve only skimmed the summary (or read our threads on here!) we’d love to know what you thought

In this week’s Week in Public Services, I look at resident doctor strikes, the new child poverty strategy, extra funding for domestic abuse support and what jury trial reforms would really do to court backlogs. Some key takeaways below medium.com/week-in-publ...

NEW: judge-alone trials would save just 2% of time in the Crown Court. In total, we estimate reforms to jury trials would save <10% of court time. Great write-up from @reporterrwright.ft.com here www.ft.com/content/8a9f...

Firmly agree. It applies to all sorts of services too — when I spoke to crime victims about communication from the police/CPS, they really emphasised how frustrating and distressing it was to not know where your case was in the process or who was responsible for it at any given time.

“It’s a responsibility of all Australians to wrap their arms around Australia’s Jewish community and help them get through this incredibly difficult period.” Exactly right from NSW premier Chris Minns

I’m not sure it’s entirely a good thing that I’m 12 for 12 so far… but have a go and see how you do!

For any home affairs/justice journos out there, I've done some modelling on the likely impact of the government's proposed changes to jury trials and how much time/money it will save overall. Numbers are *extremely* striking so drop me a DM if you might be interested in an exclusive!

It was great speaking to Sajid Javid as part of @instituteforgovernment.org.uk Ministers Reflect series A few quotes that stood out to me "The world of business is black and white - you need to make money" "Politics is anything but black and white. It's all grey. Even success and failure is grey"

Week in Public Services returns in style with a great first outing from @marialaura-lacorte.bsky.social - have a read!

If you’re looking for a tl;dr of how the government is doing on public services, this fab line from @amberdellar.bsky.social does the job nicely:

I know it's barely even December, but what are you doing on 13 January? That's right, joining the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk annual conference! Check out all the details here: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...

The govt appears committed to driving forward digital IDs - the responsibility for the scheme now sits in the Cabinet Office, led by Darren Jones, and was described by Liz Kendall in the science, innovation and technology committee today as one of the PM's "top priorities" (1/4)

As ever an excellent piece by @kirkkorner.bsky.social - though we now know the government isn't going to go as far as this, many of the same arguments still apply www.standard.co.uk/comment/jury...

My latest on the gov's proposal to all-but abolish jury trials: a radical move that would leave us out-of-step with most democracies and increase the risk of miscarriages of justice. 🧵 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/david-lammy-...

My latest on the gov's proposal to all-but abolish jury trials: a radical move that would leave us out-of-step with most democracies and increase the risk of miscarriages of justice. 🧵 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/david-lammy-...

New funding plans for mayors may not have made the headlines last week but they represent important steps on the government's journey to 'complete the map' of English devolution. More from me, @akashpaun.bsky.social and @matthewfright.bsky.social below.

Every year I hope someone will turn up to my Christmas party with a poinsettia and every year I’m disappointed. never knew I was so out of step with the Christmas zeitgeist

Every year I am completely baffled by panettone discourse. Panettone is *wonderful*. It’s one of the tragedies of life it’s only available/acceptable to eat in December. I buy it in the January sales whenever I can! Why are you not all treasuring this deliciousness???

Lots of good stuff in the Budget, but bad news for graduates. Luckily, it's not like Labour is relying on the votes of young university educated professionals... www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...

There's lots of reaction and analysis to the budget incoming from my expert colleagues at @instituteforgovernment.org.uk over on our live blog www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/live-blog/au...