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.

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