Forget Wordle. Play small caged mammal on the run. www.ft.com/content/dad4...

I find the framing of Married at First Sight as an ‘accident waiting to happen’ frankly disgusting (not just coming from BBC). Rape is not an ‘accident’! Like many reality tv shows, it was a blatant safeguarding risk ignored because it was profitable. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Think there’s a lot of truth to this. Dragging out this uncertainty on the leadership for months is only going to make the lack of vision worse

10 things we learned in the King's Speech, from across the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk Lots of interesting insights and analysis from across the - really quite broad - range of plans from the government.

If you’re after a fascinating read that *isn’t* about Labour’s factional war, highly recommend this fab piece on food influencers

Absolutely excoriating letter from Jess Phillips that drives home exactly why this matters so much. It's not about Westminster psychodrama, it's about the ability of gov to make decisions that *shape people's lives*. Instability and indecisiveness at the top both have real consequences.

Renting Julius Caesar from National Theatre live and watching it at home was too on the nose I take it.

There are pros and cons for the government in having a record number of Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPSs) on the books The cons obviously include there being more people who can quit the role and cause quite the headache...

Fascinating event on a project that is a metaphor for much of what is wrong with governing in the UK. come along

This may be my favourite argument ever advanced by a politician:

That’s what it *should* be about. In practice, local gov finances are so constrained they have little ability to make meaningful choices: they’re all but ‘social care factories‘. Councillor electoral system is bizarre & opaque. So voting as opinion poll on national gov may be most rational choice!

To celebrate Sir David Attenborough's 100th birthday please do enjoy this clip of the legend himself meeting a quite incredible bird guy. Happy Birthday, Sir Dave! Here's to another 100 years!

Polls are open till 22:00 for the Senedd, Scottish Parliament and English local elections. To find out more details about the elections head over to the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk local and devolved elections hub www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/our-work/top...

"Robbins has nevertheless been made a scapegoat." With the blame-game dominating the week in Westminster, our IfG experts explored the fall-out from the Mandelson vetting row and the sacking of Olly Robbins. Watch or listen to the discussion 📺🎧 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/peter-...

Surprising to hear Emily Thornberry suggesting that Robbins saying 'there were concerns about Mandelson's vetting but we overcame them' or 'some issues came up in the vetting that are not in the public domain' wouldn't compromise the confidentiality of the process. They clearly would!

The extent to which I would much rather be writing about the IfG's new report on employment support (read it! It's really interesting) tomorrow than yet another round of 'man who refuses to do the job of PM properly continues to be bad at it' cannot be overstated.

Excellent piece from @hannahkeenan.bsky.social here on the broader fallout from the latest Mandelson row. Seen a few people asking ‘why does this matter?’ — here’s your answer.

EVENT | In conversation with Rt Hon James Murray MP, Chief Secretary to the Treasury: How will the government boost public service productivity? 📆Today, 12:30 — 13:30 Join us online or in-person today as Rt Hon James Murray MP discusses plans to improve productivity in the public sector.

Great thread here on some of the practical difficulties police face getting stolen phones back — even when they know where they are

This is an awful story It's also a case study of why services are costing more and still failing people This is the worst possible outcome for the children, for the NHS, for the councils, and for national govt It's worth looking at how they ended up there 👇 www.hsj.co.uk/emergency-ca...

NEW BLOG: a year ago, the government announced the abolition of NHS England and the reorganisation of integrated care boards (ICBs) What has happened since then? And how is that decision affecting the NHS and other services? www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/one-...

I’m joining @pippacrerar.bsky.social and @verabaird.bsky.social on the Week in Westminster at 11 today to talk jury trial reforms. What is the government doing? How much of a difference will it make? And what are the arguments for and against? Have a listen here www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

The dire situation in the criminal courts requires action. But reforms to jury trials risk tilting the system too far towards speed over fairness and could lead to further declines in performance. Read the report by @cassiarowland.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

I wrote a piece for LBC on how proposed reforms to criminal trials actually risk making things worse, rather than better www.lbc.co.uk/article/crim...

Nice reference to my new report in the Guardian liveblog! You can read the whole thing here www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

NEW REPORT: The government’s proposed reforms to criminal trials risk tilting the system too far towards speed over fairness and justice, and could lead to further declines in performance and productivity. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

NEW REPORT: The government’s proposed reforms to criminal trials risk tilting the system too far towards speed over fairness and justice, and could lead to further declines in performance and productivity. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

Reeves sits down having announced no real new policy measures at this Spring Forecast (but having made a very political speech) So she did not make this a fiscal event – which is absolutely the right thing for her to do

As the analysis starts of the Gorton and Denton result, I wanted to flag some aspects that my experience yesterday suggests are being over or under-played (Caveats - I went to Longsight, Gorton and Denton town centres and spoke to as many people as I could, but it was mostly during the working day)

We're developing recommendations for central government to support better coordination in the SEND system. Have a read of the comment if you'd like a taste of some of the issues we'll be thinking about, and if you have any thoughts please get in touch!

Totally agree with this. There's a reason we talk about the problem with one person as 'judge, jury and executioner' - having multiple people involved in these decisions makes them more robust. Striking too that cutting jury trials is proposed hand-in-hand with dramatic *restrictions* on appeals

Great comment piece from IfG colleagues on what to expect from next week's Spring Forecast, and why approaching it as a fiscal NON-event is the right call from Reeves Do follow @danhaile.bsky.social, @martha-ford.bsky.social and @jillongovt.bsky.social for more on this in the week ahead

Interested in joining our fantastic comms team? You have two weeks to get your application in for our 2026-27 comms internship. Send on to others who might be interested!

PODCAST 🎙️ All roads lead to Romeo The IfG's experts are in the studio to discuss what new cabinet secretary Antonia Romeo can do to turn the civil service, and perhaps the government, around. PLUS: Ethics in public life and local elections U-turn www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...

Our analysis of the likely impact of the gov’s jury trial reforms has got some attention! This is the courts minister's response to the justice select committee asking about my figures. Here’s why I don’t think it’s a fair assessment: (report here www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...)

Been thinking about the balance Romeo now needs to strike - which is somehow making civil servants (and politicians) really feel how bad things are in the civil service and how sorely needed reforms are, while also convincing them that she is the person that can change it. Quite the tightrope...

Really good piece by @aliceolilly.bsky.social on MPs' mounting constituency casework. A big problem that lies at the heart of so much else IMV:

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.