EVENT | In conversation with John Swinney MSP, First Minister of Scotland @johnswinney.bsky.social joins us to discuss his priorities as First Minister, and the SNP’s vision ahead of the 2026 Scottish parliament election. @akashpaun.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/john-s...

"Westminster drama costs the government real money" Great piece!

The fast stream saw record application volumes in the last recruitment cycle. But different categories of applicants had different odds of getting on the scheme - with success rates for non-Russell Group candidates several times lower than those for Oxbridge applicants (0.4% to 4.7%).

Is Coleen Rooney running Lindsay Hoyle's comms?

I think the most important words in this story are “Retaking this decision should not be taken as an indication that government will necessarily decide that it should award financial redress” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Fast streamers and those interested in the fast stream and civil service recruitment - come to @instituteforgovernment.org.uk next week!

You want me to upload the data where?

EVENT |The government's digital ID plan: why now and what for? An expert panel discusses what problems digital ID would solve and the challenges of implementing the policy. @timdurrant.bsky.social @morganwild.bsky.social @matthewfeeney.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...

WEBINAR | The Covid Inquiry: What does Module II say about government decision making and political governance? Join our IfG experts webinar to unpack the Covid Inquiry's findings and explore their implications for future governance. 🎟️ www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/covid-...

1/4 Lisa Nandy may have explained her mistake, but questions remain about the appointment process for Chair of the Independent Football Regulator, mainly for DCMS. Pages 11-12 of the Commissioner's decision notice are worth reading: publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/wp-content/u...

I wrote this last week, and then last night we find out that Lisa Nandy has been rapped over the knuckles for failing to acknowledge donations from the government's nominee to chair the new Football Regulator. Again - just check things properly people, make sure you're squeaky clean!

EVENT |The government's digital ID plan: why now and what for? @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social, @matthewfeeney.bsky.social, @timdurrant.bsky.social will discusses what problems digital ID would solve and the challenges of implementing the policy. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/govern...

NEW REPORT Labour is struggling to meet its education priorities. It has big ambitions to improve schools, but a budget that falls short of matching them. And with no clear plans to reform the SEND system or tackle workforce shortages, children are being left without the support they need.

Cross-party agreement can create political space for tax reform It is time to take the political heat out of attempts to reform the tax system, says @gemmatetlow.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/cros...

NEW: the latest in our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk Performance Tracker series is out today And ace colleague @amberdellar.bsky.social has been looking at school performance The data is.. worrying @laurahughesft.bsky.social at the @financialtimes.com has the story www.ft.com/content/9be6...

I am not an education policy person, so not going to comment on the content of these proposals. What I find interesting is, as the piece notes, how this is a move against the last government's education policies, seen by many as one of their big successes... www.theguardian.com/education/20...

With thanks to @sophiedaud.bsky.social for spotting it, the government has confirmed that Exercise Pegasus has now concluded - though there will be another phase, looking at recovery, in the new year - and then they'll be publishing the results Great to see govt practising its crisis response...

WEBINAR | Autumn budget 2025: What is Rachel Reeves’ plan for the economy? Our IfG team will share their instant and analysis of the chancellor’s plans @jillongovt.bsky.social @gilesyb.bsky.social @njdavies.bsky.social @danhaile.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/online...

💥 Great to see @philbrickellmp.bsky.social flag the need for the Ministerial Code & Independent Adviser to be on a statutory footing. The Public Office (Accountability) Bill – or #HillsboroughBill – is a crucial opportunity for the govt to finally act on this key recommendation from ethics experts.

and a lot of other things messing up the economy - just all seems a bit -- late?

I feel like this speech could have been an email?

Rachel Reeves cannot start to blame Brexit now for her economic fix @jillongovt.bsky.social takes a closer look at why the government is talking about Brexit and the economy again www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rach...

This is a great read. Polly's point that support for political leaders needs to come from their parties is spot on - with the best will in the world, when it comes to personal skills and behaviours, politicians don't always want to listen to civil servants (or even independent orgs like the IfG)...

Have you seen @ifgacademy.bsky.social Support for MPs webpages, packed with super useful guides and explainers to help MPs understand parliament and government? Perfect for MPs and their staff! www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/ifg-academy/...

What is the relationship between government, parliament and the monarchy? Our latest explainer takes a closer look at the monarch's powers and role in relation to parliament and the legislative process, and whether parliament can remove royal titles www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/mo...

Now we know - Reeves clearly did make a mistake: having been told by the estate agents that they would sort the relevant licence, she assumed it had been sorted. Seems legit! But stand by this: ministers need to take this stuff seriously, and go through their own affairs with a fine toothed comb!

Some thoughts on the Kruger press conference on reforming government, and Reform in government www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/dann...

If there's one thing that unites everyone in the country - rich/poor, north/south - it's frustration at poor service and gobbledegook emails from estate agents

Another day, another standards question facing this government... while the PM shut this case down very quickly, ministers across government need to actually learn from it this time www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rach...

With the official prognosis giving one additional seat to PVV and one to FvD compared to the ext poll, the narrative should really not be that the Netherlands/Jetten has beaten the radical right. The far right bloc remains remarkably stable.

Great piece from Rebecca - the government needs to rethink how public inquiries work and be clear what they want them to achieve, to make sure they work for the victims and learn lessons

New @instituteforgovernment.org.uk comment from me The chaos surrounding the grooming gangs inquiry last week highlights much deeper problems with the way the government sets up public inquiries www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/groo...

Really looking forward to this discussion in a few weeks - as the PM tries to build his case for digital ID, we'll be discussing what it is for, who it helps and what some of the challenges might be. A great panel to discuss this with - do come along!

My thoughts on the recently shared Nick Timothy review for the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/shab...

The justice minister is right to be 'absolutely terrified' of prisons running out of space. As @cassiarowland.bsky.social's report showed last week, prison capacity will be on a knife edge for the next two years unless the govt takes further action to free up space

🎧NEW @instituteforgovernment.org.uk podcast - Royal trouble - Inquiry woe - Prisons crisis @dannyshaw.bsky.social joins @cathhaddon.bsky.social @cassiarowland.bsky.social & @alexgathomas.bsky.social to make sense of it all www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/pris...

“Consistent pattern now emerged from the Starmer operation: he appoints someone and promises radical change; within months other people in the operation start briefing against them; a few months later Starmer fires them and the cycle starts again... 2/5

I'm back on the IfG podcast! Great to welcome @dannyshaw.bsky.social to discuss just a few of the big home affairs stories dominating the news this week - as well as our new report. Have a listen! www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/pris...

Good comment from @timdurrant.bsky.social - DSIT has struggled to become the "digital centre of government" and faced a huge culture shift (it was mainly policy & science and engineering staff before GDS moved there from Cabinet Office). (1/2)

Niche post: the government has announced that the Cabinet Office, rather than the Govt Digital Service (part of the Dept for Science and Tech, DSIT), will run the Digital ID programme When Labour came in they moved much of govt's central digital capability to DSIT... www.gov.uk/government/n...

Some - cautious - good news on the govt’s civil service gagging rules Nick Thomas-Symonds has written to us rowing back on the worst aspects: “it is important for civil servants to speak in public about matters for which they have responsibility” www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/welc...

Another week, another devastating assessment of the state of key public services from team @instituteforgovernment.org.uk Check out Cassia's thread for all you need to know about criminal justice tl;dr - it's not looking good

Big thank you to our panel from yesterday's IfG DevoLab event in Birmingham jpgibson.bsky.social @akashpaun.bsky.social @drhannahwhite.bsky.social 👁️Stay tuned for the next DevoLab session👁️ The event is available to watch on our website: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/devola...

I feel like the learning curve for 'you have switched roles' in both Labour and the Conservatives has been unusually flat - Labour are still acting like they are an opposition, where everything is about position and what you say, the Conservatives acting like they are a governing party.

Found this a very interesting read about how these can work well in practice

Our #DevoLab2 is happening today! Join us at The Exchange - University of Birmingham to learn how mayors' and strategic authorities' powers can be used to secure and deliver private investment for key regional strategic projects. 🎟️Get your ticket: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/devola...

Kicking off this year’s Performance Tracker 2025, Part 1 from the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk looks at how local government, social care and homelessness services are performing. Great job @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social & @amberdellar.bsky.social!

This is a fantastic, in-depth look at how local authorities are performing, and the impact of austerity on local public services. One thing particularly stood out to me from the report - the benefit of stable, long-term political leadership in local authorities for maintaining performance...