Here’s the very useful @instituteforgovernment.org.uk Labour leadership explainer that gets a shout out in this PM’s Playbook. Featuring an ace graphic by @melissaittoo.bsky.social which maps the possible scenarios for Burnham, Starmer & others.. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/la...

Very useful explainer! Because this issue isn’t going away..

This is good. After speculation about interim prime ministers/warnings about government shutting down, well worth reading this new @instituteforgovernment.org.uk piece by @cathhaddon.bsky.social on the constitutional realities/complexities - and the need for politicians not to create confusion

Can a mayor be an MP...? What happens if a mayor resigns...? How are mayors elected...? Lots of intriguing questions and useful answers in this @instituteforgovernment.org.uk explainer. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/re...

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/what-n... Now live! Listen to @drhannahwhite.bsky.social @cathhaddon.bsky.social Alex Thomas and me working it out

⏰📺 This must-watch webinar is about to start! Chaos returns to Westminster: What next for Keir Starmer and the government? Send your Qs into @drhannahwhite.bsky.social @gilesyb.bsky.social @alexgathomas.bsky.social & @cathhaddon.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/what-n...

Will government grind to a halt as Labour edges towards a leadership contest? Read this FT piece… Then sign up to Tuesday’s @instituteforgovernment.org.uk webinar to find how things might really work (or not) in the months ahead.. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/what-n...

Excellent answer to a question that keeps coming up..

Delighted to be joining this fantastic panel at the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk next Monday. Lots of important points to discuss.

Is the UK ungovernable? A question that the IfG has been asked a few times this week... So here's the official verdict from @drhannahwhite.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/is-u...

A King's Speech which aims to please everyone - but may end up leaving many unsatisfied.. Brilliant @instituteforgovernment.org.uk colleagues bring you 10 key takeaways from the King's Speech - & what it says about the government's priorities. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/king...

🎧New @instituteforgovernment.org.uk podcast Brilliant analysis of what this PM - or the next - needs to do differently @drhannahwhite.bsky.social @cathhaddon.bsky.social @timdurrant.bsky.social & former Starmer adviser @claire-ainsley.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...

All sorted www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

It may not be making many headlines today, but the King’s Speech had some very welcome words about civil service reform And it’s a big win for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk too @drhannahwhite.bsky.social and @alexgathomas.bsky.social explain why: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

Big moment for government. And a big moment for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk too.

The government has passed 30 of the 40 bills announced in the King’s Speech 5 have been carried over and 5 have not yet introduced Of those not introduced 4 were draft bills – proposed legislation published for scrutiny before being introduced - 2 of those have been published

Well worth reading the latest @jillongovt.bsky.social blog for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk on a system which treated Mandelson as just another FCDO employee, rather than someone who needed to go through a political appointment process.

Watch now!

🚨30 minutes to go before our expert team set out the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk verdict on the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal, the sacking of Olly Robbins and what it all means for Keir Starmer... www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/peter-...

Olly Robbins is in front of the foreign affairs committee in an hour's time to give his side of the Mandelson vetting story. He is expected to say he followed the rules but here are the 5 things I'm looking for: 🧵

Join us at 12.30 when we will be dissecting the consequences of the Mandelson vetting scandal after Sir Olly Robbins’s evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/peter-...

TODAY | The Peter Mandelson scandal: What are the lessons for Keir Starmer's government? Join us live at 12:30 as @timdurrant.bsky.social @hannahkeenan.bsky.social @jillongovt.bsky.social @drhannahwhite.bsky.social explore the fall-out from the vetting and the sacking of Sir Olly Robbins.

While we hear from Olly Robbins, do sign up for our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk webinar at lunchtime looking at what we can learn from the Mandelson affair... www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/peter-...

Doing a webinar with my very great @instituteforgovernment.org.uk colleagues tomorrow (Tues) lunchtime to try and unpack some of this post Starmer and Robbins statements - do sign up!

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.

📺 The Peter Mandelson scandal: What are the lessons for Keir Starmer's government? Essential @instituteforgovernment.org.uk webinar with @drhannahwhite.bsky.social @jillongovt.bsky.social @timdurrant.bsky.social @hannahkeenan.bsky.social Tues 12:30 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/peter-...

Excellent new @instituteforgovernment.org.uk comment by @hannahkeenan.bsky.social on the handling of the Mandelson vetting row fall-out - and the damage being done to civil service-ministerial relations.

Lively debate upstairs @instituteforgovernment.org.uk on whether this was a fiscal event or not (splitting wonkland now). The fiscal eventers (as per @ruthcurtice.bsky.social) argue that there was a big spending figure on SEND, accommodated by a significant revision to the fiscal forecast.

🎧 Essential listening this week as Sir Alex Younger - former MI6 chief - joins the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk podcast to talk Trump, Iran, Starmer, law, war and much more. Plus: The IfG verdict of Rachel Reeves’s spring forecast www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...

Rachel Reeves has resisted the temptation to use today's spring forecast to tinker with the tax system. @jillongovt.bsky.social says the chancellor has made the right choice. Keep an eye on our spring forecast 2026 page for more analysis soon www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/spring-forec...

"...sticking to one major fiscal event a year gives the government more time and space to make better policy decisions." @danhaile.bsky.social, IfG senior economist, reacts to today's 'low-key' spring forecast. More analysis to follow soon www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/spring-forec...

The government will publish the Office for Budget Responsibility's latest economic and fiscal forecast today. On Inside Briefing we were joined by Rupert Harrison - former chief of staff to George Osborne - to discuss the forecast. Listen here: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...

Five reasons why today's Spring Forecast should not be a fiscal event, building on what my IfG colleagues wrote last week www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rach...

Everyone is analysing the implications of the byelection for Keir Starmer and Labour but the most important lessons are for democracy - my latest for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gort...

Westminster is dangerously underprepared for a multi-party future. Brilliant from @drhannahwhite.bsky.social for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk on the real lesson from the Gorton and Denton by-election.

The new cabinet secretary has a daunting set of tasks ahead, including forging a strong working relationship with the prime minister. But Antonia Romeo can hit the ground running by taking quick decisive action on civil service reform. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/anto...

The @instituteforgovernment.org.uk set five tasks for Chris Wormald when he became cabinet secretary Here’s our verdict (And what his successor should do differently)

Really enjoyed this week’s @instituteforgovernment.org.uk podcast with man-of-the-moment @pickardje.bsky.social and @drhannahwhite.bsky.social Listen to hear Jim’s inside account of how he got such a series of mega-scoops podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/i...

Lack of planning has hit Labour’s efforts to fix public services, says thinktank. Great summary of @instituteforgovernment.org.uk's analysis by @kiranstacey.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

The first chapters of the report (on local government) were published a month ago. The NHS chapters were published today. The Guardian article is an exclusive

Latest fascinating & comprehensive analysis from the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk team of Labour’s public services performance… www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

This new @instituteforgovernment.org.uk report gives our verdict of NHS performance since Labour won the general election. And in a week that Wes Streeting found himself in the news too. Well worth checking out

Big pre-budget @financialtimes.com story... Read it... And then listen again to last week's @instituteforgovernment.org.uk budget about chancellors and the art of pitch-rolling their budget announcements. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...

Has Rachel Reeves rolled the budget pitch? And how did former chancellors manage expectations? Fascinating @instituteforgovernment.org.uk podcast with @stewartwood.bsky.social Giles Winn @gemmatetlow.bsky.social @jillongovt.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/rach...

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...

New from me and @aliceolilly.bsky.social 👇

The monarch, the royal family and parliament (and people no longer called Prince) Here’s a very timely and very useful new @instituteforgovernment.org.uk explainer from top colleagues @aliceolilly.bsky.social and @rebeccamckee.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/mo...

NEW: Home Office truths The Home Secretary says Home Office is not fit for purpose So what’s the problem/solution? 🎧Today’s @instituteforgovernment.org.uk podcast with @drhannahwhite.bsky.social @alexgathomas.bsky.social & ex spad Hannah Guerin www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...

Well this is a particularly depressing illustration of what a collapsing justice system looks like. 262 people were released from prison by mistake in 2024/25 — more than twice the previous year and almost 4.5x 2014/15 www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...