a more serious contribution to the debate on fuel prices than we have seen from the official opposition parties

It is absolutely stupid that a major focus of policy response to the Iran War is on the planned 1p rise in fuel duty in September (watching Trevor Phillips interview Bridget Phillipson). Of no help now to anyone to abandon it. Shows how trivial our political debate has become.

The @instituteforgovernment.org.uk research internship programme is now open for applications www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/about-us/car... And if you're interested in applying, see what advice our current interns have:

There's a whole array of strategic bungles in this operation, it deserves a thread. 1/ below

new acronym needed - Trump Strategies Usually Backfire.. T-SUB. Pushes UK closer to EU (and makes EU more open to trad deals around the world). Pushes countries into the arms of China.. Makes oil and gas incredibly risky and unpredictable so accelerates moves to decarbonise..

The warmth of the government’s Brexit rhetoric is outpacing concrete progress Keir Starmer’s claim that “this is not the Britain of the Brexit years” doesn’t yet add up, says @jillongovt.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/reev...

Prompted by @jillongovt.bsky.social I looked at what happened to NHS energy usage and spending during the energy shock in 2022 Spending increased dramatically between 2021/22 and 2022/23, from £779m to £1.2bn, an increase of 53.4% in cash terms. It's remained high since Energy usage barely changed

Note that, taking stated Green values of pro-Net Zero and anti-poverty, three *clearly* better things to do than this proposed universal bailout could be: - Targeted relief at the poorest. - Give people cash instead. - Spend the money on solar/heat pumps etc. This is bad *on its own terms.*

Guess what? I have written something! I think it is interesting!! How to get more building!!!

I think central bank reaction function here is very non-linear. Short term spike in inflation driven by disruption: look through. Medium term rise in inflation: hike to control expectations. Major spike in inflation driven by lasting war: growth fears dominate, cut.

With Rachel Reeves due to give an update on energy bills support, why not check out our webinar on the chancellor's options for protecting both households and the public finances from the energy price shock www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/rachel...

EVENT | Book launch: What is immigration policy for? 📆Tuesday 28 April, 18:00–19:00 Join us online as Madeleine Sumption is joined by former Home Secretary Amber Rudd to explore how governments can design immigration policies that work www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/book-l...

Young @stephenkb.bsky.social writes about the much mocked cones hotline today. (Younger readers: ask your parents). I knew someone who thought it meant that if you had seen a cone that had fallen over, you would ring, and someone would come and put it the right way up. ep.ft.com/permalink/em...

OK @explaintrade.com did it.. the best gloss on it is that the UK-Australia FT is much better for UK beef consumers than the EU one is...

Significant day for UK trade policy. With the announcement of the EU-Australia FTA the UK now only has an FTA where the EU doesn't with Malaysia and Brunei as part of CPTPP. The EU meanwhile has a deal with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay that the UK doesn't.

Interesting to do a compare and contrast with the UK-Australia deal. Australian farmers seem unhappy (contrast UK-Aus where UK farmers worried). Looking forward to @samuelmarclowe.bsky.social comments.

NEW: Keir Starmer says he's already looking at prospect of energy bill support next winter - suggesting he doesn't expect energy price shock to be resolved soon. PM again suggests he would prefer a plan which focuses on poorest households rather than a costly universal bailout.

another war and energy week, so get up to speed with @instituteforgovernment.org.uk webinar from last Friday with Nick Butler, Emma Pinchbeck @thecccuk.bsky.social @acjsissons.bsky.social @nestauk.bsky.social and @danhaile.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/rachel...

we found that internal party divisiveness seems to be a feature of many of the most successful policies. Lots of case studies from @instituteforgovernment.org.uk - smoking ban, climate change act and devo and the minimum wage in this from 2012 www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

Ministers are meeting next week to work out what the govt should be doing to prepare for the increasing impacts of the energy shock. They must have been listening to our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk event www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/rachel... If they missed it, they certainly should

What an incredible coup for The Observer! Ben's one of the best economic communicators in the business - and also a top researcher/thinker in a formidable range of economic areas

This was great - my main takeaways: - We have summer months to crunch down on oil/gas demand (heat pumps, EVs)- all no-regrets stuff- even if the crisis ends tomorrow, it won't be the last - There's more to do on levy reform - The fiscal space for universal bill support just isn't there this time.

half an hour to go until our top webinar on the energy price shock and what it means for households and the public finances.. join @instituteforgovernment.org.uk www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/rachel...

really looking forward to chairing this @instituteforgovernment.org.uk event at 10.00 a.m. previewed by @politico.com - everything you need to know about the energy crisis but were afraid to ask

⏰ COMING SOON ⏰ 👀 The next instalment of the UK in a Changing Europe podcast is a regulation special 🎙️ @anandmenon.bsky.social, @jillongovt.bsky.social & @jreland.bsky.social discuss it all - from the take back control agenda to the current govt.'s ambitions for closer alignment with the EU

I’ll be talking about the energy crisis (alongside a dauntingly impressive IfG panel) tomorrow morning at 10. Sign up here: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/rachel...

TOMORROW | As war in the Middle East disrupts energy markets, what are the implications for UK households and businesses and how should government respond? Tune in live at 10:00am with Emma Pinchbeck @thecccuk.bsky.social @acjsissons.bsky.social @danhaile.bsky.social @jillongovt.bsky.social

With gas prices rising, what impact could the ongoing conflict in the Middle East have on domestic energy bills? Our explainer looks at what the government was already doing to lower energy bills – and what it could do if energy prices stay high www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/do...

British schoolgirl blocked from returning to U.K. because of Labour’s new rules on British dual nationals getting on board flights to london. This girl is sitting GCSE’s and has already two weeks of class www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

What does the pandemic tell us about the true capacity of the UK state? ☕ @jillongovt.bsky.social and @andrewgreenway.bsky.social join the Policy Fix to explore why the "crisis energy" of the furlough scheme is so hard to harness for long-term policy. 🎥 Watch here: https://bit.ly/4shTzt9

and now the picture changes again... so get up to the minute reaction on the ever shockier energy shock from @instituteforgovernment.org.uk tomorrow morning

🚨Clearly there's loads of news today so there's a chance this gets ignored but... it is a BIG deal. Britain, the country that invented free trade as we know it, is raising steel tariffs to 50%. Biggest tariffs since Brexit. A massively symbolic moment. news.sky.com/story/waters...

so @anandmenon.bsky.social decided to be nice about RR's reset proposals.

we have an emergency webinar coming up @instituteforgovernment.org.uk - the Chancellor wants to protect households and the public finances. Can she? - great line-up Emma Pinchbeck @thecccuk.bsky.social @acjsissons.bsky.social @nestauk.bsky.social our own @danhaile.bsky.social and Nick Butler

Interesting Brexit snippets from Reeves's Mais lecture. 1) she cites the NBER 8% economic cost to the economy vs the OBR's 4%. First public outing for that. I wondered if she might do at the time of the budget. It was your piece from budget time!! www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rach...

Ep 2 of the Policy Fix is out now. 🎙️ Successive governments have promised to fix the British state, but most have left it worse. Nesta’s Joe Owen joins @jillongovt.bsky.social and @andrewgreenway.bsky.social to tackle the "delivery problem" haunting Whitehall. 🎧: https://bit.ly/3NGoeRJ

we have an emergency webinar coming up @instituteforgovernment.org.uk - the Chancellor wants to protect households and the public finances. Can she? - great line-up Emma Pinchbeck @thecccuk.bsky.social @acjsissons.bsky.social @nestauk.bsky.social our own @danhaile.bsky.social and Nick Butler

Will the government’s digital ID plan recover from Keir Starmer’s hasty false start? @hcdunlop.bsky.social takes a closer look at the much-anticipated consultation on digital ID www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

so for me the oddest part of the process, when those red flags were raised by the (adequate looking) due diligence was that Starmer did not ask the Cabinet Secretary to quiz Mandelson but left it to friendly political aides. His duff choice of process which he should have been warned about.

Also - the messaging is all around making the system stronger, to ensure there can't be a repeat of the Mandelson appointment. But as @rebeccamckee.bsky.social and I wrote for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk, that was as much a failure of judgement as of the system

So much to change in the civil service. It needs - a centre of govt that works - far better performance management - confidence & curiosity to lean in - less churn and more reward for sticking around and achieving things - many more reforms (see all our @instituteforgovernment.org.uk work)

Don't get how UK negotiators could be "blindsided" by this demand for home fees for students. www.theguardian.com/politics/202... This was in the original Commission draft negotiating mandate way back in 2024 spice-spotlight.scot/2024/04/19/t...

Rachel Reeves is talking a lot about #brexit. But as I said before the November Budget, its not clear there are proposals the UK would make and the EU accept that would move the dial. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rach...

Important news for EU citizens with settled status in the U.K. who naturalise - Home Office says you CAN use your other passport. Made change to gov.uk two weeks after telling everyone British dual nationals could not www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Important point here by @stephenkb.bsky.social that English students at non-elite universities are paying far more than students in any other country - even the US. Worth remembering in any fees/loans discourse. www.ft.com/content/a067...

Congratulations to @msumption.bsky.social! www.gov.uk/government/n...

Turns out that if you spend most of the allotted time rhetorically grandstanding under the guise of asking a question, you run out of time to hear any answers.

"If repeat crises are becoming more commonplace, and there is a rising expectation of government protection, we will need stronger underlying public finances to be able meet them." Read @jillongovt.bsky.social's latest comment www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rach...

Govt default is not to settle severance claims -- even if the costs might exceed the payout acc Treasury guidance assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6926c5... #Mandelson