In a competitive field, “hiring Chris Wormald and then being surprised that he is a civil service mandarin of the old school” is the most embarrassing thing Keir Starmer has done.

what is interesting about the Goodwin example is that child benefit was introduced as a replacement for child tax allowances, part of the system until the 1970s. Switch benefited low earners/ mothers (this was pre-independent taxation) but CTAs were not regarded as a wild proposal

1/8 It's good to see the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) receiving the attention it deserves. This explainer from @howesdaniel.bsky.social @instituteforgovernment.org.uk explains its role ⬇️. But John Fingleton's recent review of ONR raised regulatory issues that go beyond the sector. A thread...

The next set of mayoral elections will be more like a lottery as voters will have to guess who will make it into the Top Two and who they want/want to stop to be mayor. Lets have proper preferential voting now.

I think that the whole Michael Barber "deliverology" and "delivery chains" is to blame for this. That works for some directly provided public services where you buy outputs. But it was a hopeless approach for other more complex things govt tries to influence.

Also evidence that essentially eliminating irregular immigration - as Australia has - doesn't, by itself, stop the radical right.

Labour should introduce the alternative vote system for mayoral elections AV should have been the system from the start – but political fragmentation now makes it essential, say @akashpaun.bsky.social and @jillongovt.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/mayo...

One year on: the impact of Donald Trump on British politics and policy UK politicians are constantly reacting to – or taking their lead from – the US president. The latest comment by @jillongovt.bsky.social is out www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/trum...

If the MPs who signed the pro-WASPI letter to @patmcfaddenmp.bsky.social can't think of a better use for taxpayer money, they should not be in Parliament. The Ombudsman recommendation would spend £££ and satisfy noone. Should have taken a harder line 2 years ago.

If the MPs who signed the pro-WASPI letter to @patmcfaddenmp.bsky.social can't think of a better use for taxpayer money, they should not be in Parliament. The Ombudsman recommendation would spend £££ and satisfy noone. Should have taken a harder line 2 years ago.

Last opportunity to comment on proposals for improving cycling on Bayswater Road cmsbayswaterroad.commonplace.is/en-GB/

Never made sense to do this as a PMB.

Appreciate there are bigger stories right now... but our new divergence tracker shows this govt is (surprisingly) doing a better job than the Cons of diverging from EU rules (because its plans are less extreme). But it also demonstrates how slim the regulatory "benefits of Brexit" are in reality.

📸Snapshots | What does Trump mean for relations between the UK and Europe, and the rest of the world? We were pleased to be joined by Sir Simon Fraser, Fiona Hill and @anandmenon.bsky.social who discussed the impact of Trump's presidency on the UK and Europe with @drhannahwhite.bsky.social

📣 LATEST DIVERGENCE TRACKER OUT NOW 📣 📈 This report by @jreland.bsky.social clearly outlines how UK and EU rules and regulations have diverged in the period Oct-Dec 2025 🔍 And identifies the key trends driving regulatory alignment and divergence between the UK & EU 🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/reports/uk-e...

Good time to crowd source what I should say, as I'm clueless and confused. Any suggestions?

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-...

Wes Streeting: It does the centre-left "no favours" blaming the civil service for struggles to deliver in government "If we tell the public that we can’t make anything work, then why on earth would they vote to keep us in charge?" @matildamartin.bsky.social reports

Very much enjoying this year's IFG conference (you can watch it all in your own time in the comfort of your own home on YouTube!)

📢NEW REPORT📢 Every year @instituteforgovernment.org.uk sets out the latest on the civil service - size, professions, pay, morale. You name it, we analyse it. This year's report is out today. If you're interested in state capacity, you should be interested in what's happening in the civil service. 🧵

we need the fiscal equivalent of dry January this year .. my suggestion for Rachel Reeves's New Year's Resolution for @financialtimes.com (£) www.ft.com/content/78bc...

So a fortnight on, lets time to torture that Ashes metaphor a bit more.. so England's performance in last two tests -- better choice of people - Tongue and Bethell but hampered by some of best players being ruled out. Could some new Cabinet blood shine? But some performer losses (Rayner/Archer?)

The new year has started with talk about how to get closer to the EU. But, argues @jillongovt.bsky.social, the government has still to find a way to deliver the commitments from the 2025 “Common Understanding” agreed at last May’s summit www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/keir...

I was thinking it's a system everyone hates til it works in their favour and there are better alternatives available 😀

Isn’t FPTP the pitches? - they produce big geographical variations, and some teams think they can use them to their advantage, but they introduce an element of randomness and unpredictability to the whole event which mean you can never be confident about the outcome especially in a close game…

So a fortnight on, lets time to torture that Ashes metaphor a bit more.. so England's performance in last two tests -- better choice of people - Tongue and Bethell but hampered by some of best players being ruled out. Could some new Cabinet blood shine? But some performer losses (Rayner/Archer?)

Will Keir Starmer’s ‘EU reset’ deliver in 2026? The government’s increasing enthusiasm for getting closer to the EU is not reciprocated in Brussels, says @jillongovt.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/keir...

One year on: the impact of Donald Trump on British politics and policy The US president's recent Venezuela intervention shows that Starmer's approach to UK-US relations may get harder still this year, says @jillongovt.bsky.social www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/trum...

Trump 2025 had significant impacts on British politics and policy - but looks like it was just a warm up for 2026...

My assessment of Starmer's latest EU gambit. His rhetoric on "alignment" may be getting bolder but the trade-offs remain the same. The UK will not get much closer alignment with the single market unless it accepts free movement + budget contributions. ukandeu.ac.uk/new-year-sam...

Just a few more days left to apply for the Paul McLean graduate trainee programme at the FT. This is an amazing opportunity for any aspiring journalist job-boards.greenhouse.io/financialtim...

Australia plays cricket well. They manage rain breaks appallingly. Cricket Australia should hang heads in shame at inability to restart at SCG

as an antidote to Paul Ovenden's despair at getting things done in govt, here is Moira Wallace's case study for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk on how the Blair govt tackled school absence. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/... Determined govts with clear priorities can get stuff done.

I’m sorry, but if ‘other people have views, and they’re annoying’ is news to you in govt, then you have not properly prepared for government www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

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.

not very impressed with this article ..but perhaps explains many of the problems with Starmer's Downing Street operation.. just had a go at it on Times Radio

So is England's surprise win at the MCG a sign things might look up in 2026 for our embattled PM? Where is he going to find a very helpful pitch and opposition that fails to press home their advantage?

Lots of parallels between #Ashes defeat and what Labour voters in 2024 are feeling about the govt right now.. "its the hope that kills you". "It was supposed to be different this time". you wait 15 years for a win in Australia/regain power and then it all falls to pieces super quickly

PODCAST 🎙️ 2025 in review: Starmer's year of drama The IfG team and the FT's @chris-smyth.bsky.social pick out the big moments of the last 12 months – the big political developments, and the key appointments that could shape the year ahead www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...

Lots of parallels between #Ashes defeat and what Labour voters in 2024 are feeling about the govt right now.. "its the hope that kills you". "It was supposed to be different this time". you wait 15 years for a win in Australia/regain power and then it all falls to pieces super quickly

Air passenger duty is a terribly designed tax - my substack this week (£/free trial) sets out how to sort it out timleunig.substack.com/p/air-passen...

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”

Have you ever read the Public Services Performance Tracker published by @instituteforgovernment.org.uk? If so, we’d love to hear from you. We’re surveying readers to find out what is most useful and what we should prioritise next year. It will only take around 5 mins to complete

NEW | How can the government ensure inquiries are set up to succeed? Early decisions can set inquiries off on the wrong path. Our report makes a series of recommendations for reforms designed to ensure inquiries are fit for purpose www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...

"The really interesting thing is where this sits within the wider reset? 🇬🇧🇪🇺 Why have they concluded this agreement now, which is something the EU is very keen on, and are they actually landing some of the UK's big objectives?" 🎙️ @jillongovt.bsky.social on the deal to reoopen Erasmus to UK students

The good thing about this is that it gives a bit more of a sense of an agreed timetable which was the big missing in the May Common Understanding... but of course, the date for the next UK-EU summit has not been fixed.

1/ The latest ONS data on public sector employment shows that the civil service has grown (again). After 2 consecutive quarters of plateauing growth, the CS grew in Q3 by 3490 (0.6%) to 520440 FTE. This is the highest quarterly increase since Labour came to power. @instituteforgovernment.org.uk

as Trump throws a $ 10bn lawsuit at the BBC, @instituteforgovernment.org.uk picked a good day to discuss the President's impact on communications - with Katy Balls from @thetimes.com @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social @alexgathomas.bsky.social - sign up www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/trump-...

One of the upsides of Brexit was that politicians would not be able to use “Brussels doesn’t let us” as a pretext for their own indecision

For any home affairs/justice journos out there, I've done some modelling on the likely impact of the government's proposed changes to jury trials and how much time/money it will save overall. Numbers are *extremely* striking so drop me a DM if you might be interested in an exclusive!