Terrific piece here by my @futuregovforum.bsky.social colleague @emilyagraham.bsky.social as the Home Secretary announces a(nother) tough line on asylum. Emily points out why this is a gamble; and that there are progressive alternatives available... futuregovforum.substack.com/p/the-home-s...

Now that the revised Green Book is here, how’s it looking? Dan has written for @civilserviceworld.bsky.social and argues it is an encouraging start. But it will still be *political will* more than anything that determines whether investment materialises: www.civilserviceworld.com/news/article...

These changes are something we at FGF have argued are necessary (but not sufficient) to see investment spread right across the UK as part of the govt's growth agenda Our Chief Economist @danrcorry.bsky.social set out the arguments back in December: www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/cha...

There's been a lot going on of late, so you'd be forgiven for missing the fact that earlier this month the Treasury issued an updated version of its 'Green Book' - which could have a significant impact on how public money is invested beyond London and the South East www.gov.uk/government/n...

"Slow, secretive and sclerotic, the government machinery itself is jammed. Our good intentions, in a busted system, are not enough. You need scepticism, a plan and some history." Thoughtful piece from @benjudah.bsky.social on the problems with the British state www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

The @nytimes.com article links to a blog by our Deputy Director @adamterryfgf.bsky.social ahead of last year's Budget, arguing that the government needs to show it is serious about fixing our crumbling public realm 🔽 futuregovforum.substack.com/p/the-budget...

‘In Britain it will cost at least 300billion pounds ($410billion) to upgrade infrastructure over the next decade according to Future Governance Forum’ @nytimes.com story by @patcohen.bsky.social illustrates the scale of the infrastructure challenge facing the UK 🔽 www.nytimes.com/2026/01/27/b...

I'm fortunate to sit on the advisory board of @persuasionuk.bsky.social, the excellent public opinion outfit headed up by @steveakehurst.bsky.social. They're currently recruiting for a new communications lead - a great opportunity: careers.meliorefoundation.org/postings/a92...

See you on 24 Feb! We're determined to improve our place by taking a systematic approach to community power—organising people with energy and ideas, building their collective ability to realise change. They can’t go it alone—we must actively draw everyone into the community of place: bit.ly/3M2PM34

This by @philtinline.bsky.social for @renewaljournal.bsky.social gives the central argument of his recent report 'Power Failure': how what begin as solutions to overconcentrations of power in time become problems, disempowering and frustrating the public: renewal.org.uk/blog/disempo...

Thought-provoking piece here from Etaine Lamy, who's just finished an internship at Form Ventures and reflects on the UK's innovation ecosystem having now seen it from all sides: regulator, adviser, founder and investor... formventures.substack.com/p/why-cant-r... @leoringer.bsky.social

Latest @futuregovforum.bsky.social report out today, looking at the new 'strategic authorities' established by the English Devolution & Community Empowerment Bill. 'Stewards of the Regional System' explores how to set these bodies up for success. www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/imp...

Darren Jones wants govt to 'move fast and fix things'. For @futuregovforum.bsky.social Josie Cluer says up the ambition: move faster; fix more things. Means learning lessons of crisis response in 'peacetime' & embracing digital revolution. futuregovforum.substack.com/p/move-even-...

This report by @philtinline.bsky.social is brilliant on how power in Britain is both too centralised and too dispersed and what a progressive response looks like: reasserting the democratic state. www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/pow...

✍️ Last chance to sign up ✍️ Join FGF, Metro Dynamics and an expert panel to discuss how we set a new generation of strategic authorities up for success 🚀 📅 Tomorrow (Thurs 29) 🕧 12.30-1.30pm 💻 Stream live, via Zoom Sign up now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/stewards-o...

The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister is right to want to move fast and fix things; for the public’s sake, he should move even faster to fix even more, writes Josie Cluer, FGF Policy Advisory Group member & Partner at EY. Read Josie's article here 🔽 futuregovforum.substack.com/p/move-even-...

How do you solve a problem like Whitehall? Our tired machinery of government needs new ideas and new statesmen By @philtinline.bsky.social

Fantastic piece in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social by @philtinline.bsky.social - on rediscovering the concept of 'the statesman' (and stateswoman), a confident and effective public figure who can get things done; and end the orthodoxy of 'business-is-better'. www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

Great blog here from my @futuregovforum.bsky.social colleague (& fmr Chief of Staff to the Welsh First Minister) Alex Bevan. Looks at productivity in Wales, & why the language of 'productivity puzzle' is unhelpful: this is 'a challenge, not a mystery'. futuregovforum.substack.com/p/from-puzzl...

Fantastic new report by @philtinline.bsky.social for @futuregovforum.bsky.social out today. 'Power Failure' examines how we think about power in the British state: where it's too concentrated; where it's too dispersed; what this means for governing. www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/pow...

OUT NOW: Power Failure: A new theory of power New report by @philtinline.bsky.social argues we need a new ‘theory of power’ to understand where power lies & how it should be redistributed – so govt can get things done and restore trust. Full report ⬇️ www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/pow...

Caught up with this typically excellent @pollymackenzie.bsky.social post that came out just before Christmas On moving on from dead metaphors when it comes to making govt work, and why the PM's most powerful tool isn't a lever; it's his voice howtorunacountry.substack.com/p/there-aren...

We're hiring! Two great new roles coming up at @futuregovforum.bsky.social - Researcher and Communications Coordinator. If you'd like to join one of the UK's newest and most exciting think tanks, focused on transforming the state to renew the nation, then you've got a week left to apply...

Out today, just in time for Christmas (!): My colleague @danrcorry.bsky.social has a new report on how we to get more public investment into places beyond London and the South East - to genuinely make good on commitments to see good growth everywhere [1/2]

Big moment here as for the first time since 2020 not one of my 5 most played songs of the year came from the soundtrack to Disney's Cars

Great opening speech by @joshsimonsmp.bsky.social at the @futuregovforum.bsky.social & @uclpolicylab.bsky.social 'Britain Renewed 2025' conference today. Spoke of the need for radical disruption and to root public services in place, to put relationships at their heart and build a responsive state.

The Budget didn’t ‘go big’, but it did deliver a raft of promising reforms to the state: the return of Total Place, new PPPs to finance infrastructure, measures to support scale-ups, and much more besides. The task now is to get delivery right. Read on for my take 🧵

Read @futuregovforum.bsky.social Chief Economist @danrcorry.bsky.social on the Budget: The Chancellor opted not to go for The Big One when raising revenue. Will a combo of smaller tax rises - and, crucially, an articulation of what they are *for* - pay off? www.publicfinance.co.uk/opinion/2025...

What can No 10 learn from My Little Pony? A lot, it turns out - you need Applejacks, Raritys, Fluttershys, Rainbow Dashes & Twilight Sparkles as well as Pinkie Pies... Great blog by @pollymackenzie.bsky.social on @futuregovforum.bsky.social substack: futuregovforum.substack.com/p/friendship...

New from me for @futuregovforum.bsky.social: while much of the conversation ahead of next week's Budget has focused on tax and day-to-day spend decisions, there's also an important call for the Chancellor to make on how to fund new infrastructure futuregovforum.substack.com/p/the-budget...

This govt's £120bn boost in infrastructure spend is significant - but it won’t fill the £300bn infrastructure gap. The Budget shld launch a new public-private partnership model to fix our crumbling public realm & regenerate communities. ✍️ @adamterryfgf.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/futurego...

After the Home Secretary's statement on asylum yesterday - largely focused on addressing 'pull factors' for those making the dangerous Channel crossing by small boat - my colleague @bethgardiner-smith.bsky.social has written a piece for @labourlist.bsky.social labourlist.org/2025/11/asyl... [1/5]

Really proud of the whole team at @futuregovforum.bsky.social for being highly commended as 'One To Watch' at the inaugural @smartthinking.bsky.social awards last night. A real achievement less than two years after we launched. And congrats to @britishprogress.org who took home the award!

Plummeting levels of public trust and a government operating model that is not fit for purpose are not unique problems of a Labour government. But it is a Labour government that needs to fix them. Me in today's @labourlist.bsky.social labourlist.org/2025/11/depa...

ICYMI, this week @futuregovforum.bsky.social published our latest report, the result of an in-depth investigation into how the centre of govt operates. Today our director @yeowell.bsky.social writes for @labourlist.bsky.social on our key findings & recommendations: labourlist.org/2025/11/depa...

This is exactly the kind of sober, radical rethink we need, focused on redistributing power so the government can, y'know, Do Things. I've been involved in a small way, and am finishing a companion paper, on which more soon.

Incredibly proud of our new @futuregovforum.bsky.social report on how to reform the centre of govt. 'Transforming Downing St' is the culmination of a huge amount of team work and 100+ interviews with a range of experts throughout 2025 www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/in-...

OUT NOW – In Power 01: Transforming Downing Street New FGF report urges the Prime Minister to create a dedicated ‘Downing Street’ department equipped to drive his agenda. Full report ⬇️ www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/in-...

Ahead of Budget, where do voters stand on tax and the dilemmas facing government? Big new @persuasionuk.bsky.social report out today on this. TL;DR as risky as breaching the manifesto is for Lab - failing on public services, cost of living and child poverty is *far riskier* for Lab. 🧵

How Labour can attack deportation plans, by Phil Tinline

“We don’t regulate just for the sake of it … Effective regulation should be something to be proud of.” @futuregovforum.bsky.social Chief Economist @danrcorry.bsky.social writes for @civilserviceworld.bsky.social on how to think harder about regulation www.civilserviceworld.com/news/article...

"Let's not forget, when we remember the service and the sacrifice with this poppy, that the people who bled and died for our democracy and our freedom, weren't just my grandfather who looked like me & worshipped the same God, but people across Empire & Commonwealth, who were Muslim, Sikh & Hindu'

If you're not yet subscribed to @pollymackenzie.bsky.social's wonderful new 'How to run a country' Substack... well, then, for goodness' sake get on it. This week: what if we were honest and optimistic about the fact the UK is getting older? open.substack.com/pub/howtorun...

Great to see Ben meeting with my @futuregovforum.bsky.social colleagues @emilyagraham.bsky.social and @bethgardiner-smith.bsky.social to talk reform of the asylum system. Ben wrote a great essay for our recent collection 'A vision for renewal': www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/resource/the...

This Party Conference season, through 1️⃣1️⃣ fringes and 3️⃣ receptions, we've put practical delivery at the heart of the political debate. A huge thank you to all those who participated, attended and partnered with us. Until next year 👋

Fairness matters: in every part of our system. Good to meet Emily and Beth from the @futuregovforum.bsky.social today to talk about how we make asylum and immigration fair, transparent and humane. Read more in The Future of Asylum: www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/wp-content/u...

'The British public is far more sympathetic and generous than recent headlines might suggest' ICYMI, @alfdubs.bsky.social wrote for @labourlist.bsky.social last week on the divide between Labour and Tories/Reform on asylum & the balance the govt needs to strike: labourlist.org/2025/10/brit...

My hero is a farmer, not a duck. Which will only make sense if you read this new piece by me, the start of a new substack which I am bravely calling How To Run A Country. howtorunacountry.substack.com/p/its-the-de...

'Every government has some kind of industrial policy' @futuregovforum.bsky.social Chief Economist @danrcorry.bsky.social takes a look under the bonnet of this govt's Industrial Strategy to see what it tells us, and where there are Qs to be answered at the Budget blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...