I'm going to laugh myself to death if all the boys leave and they replace them with their overlooked female deputies (quite plausible because they won't be able to recruit externally) and the whole thing starts running better

And it can take years to find the missing piece.

Out on the edge with my tribe...

This was an inspiring blog six months ago from one of the new joint PM’s Chief of Staff

Presumably, because of lead times, this interview was conducted, a few weeks ago, and laid out and printed several days ago but someone in charge should have pulled it. Better to have no magazine this week than this. Hope everyone at the Times is terribly embarrassed

What if we had let a by all accounts superb female career diplomat do her job in Washington? What if we had listened to Sue Gray, who had been leading on ethics and standards for years? What if we acknowledged that many women know how to deal with difficult men and high stakes situations? If only...

I practically grew up in that library. Carnegie left a phenomenal legacy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegi...

Sir Ian McKellen performing a monologue from Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas More on the Stephen Colbert show. Never have I heard this monologue performed with such a keen sense of prescience. Nor have I ever been in this exact historical moment.TY Sir Ian, for reaching us once again. #Pinks #ProudBlue

I'm not sure I entirely regard this as good news...

"...perfectly decent quantitative metrics become corrupted once they’re pressed into service as targets." Don't we know it... and yet standards matter. And so the answer is not, I think, not to have targets and standards, but to wrap the right behaviours around them so we get the right outcomes.

Once again, stuff like this should always be based on need, not clinical condition. Excluding parents of children with other conditions that require frequent visits to regional centres creates a two-tier health system.

Don't conflate digital exclusion and agism.

This whole article was so much what I needed to read today. Just one quote of many I could have picked: "hope does not mean saying this is not bad, and it does not mean saying that we can defeat it. It just means saying we will keep showing up. That we will not give up."

Generally, if people have agency over their own lives and communities, they use it to do good things. I know that might be a little hard to believe given world events over the weekend, but the psychopaths are the exception not the rule. And a little investment into communities can go a long way.

@nigel-edwards.bsky.social made me think of Ptolemy!

DHSC published its impact statement for the 10 Year Health Plan this week (yes, that is 6 months after it published the plan) It's more measured and clear-eyed than the original document and quite a contrast to some of the effusive optimism in the plan Some of the things that caught my eye 👇

So much this. @samfr.bsky.social sets out a practical way to think about getting the basics right. It isn't new and shiny, politicians can't have their photos taken by a piece of kit or unveil a plaque on a new building, but it would make so much difference to so many people.

Get the basics right before overlaying the shiny stuff...

File the carbon copies here. It's half day closing. Always carry 10p for the phone. Oh so many more... Equally there will be a million things which, without revealing their age, a younger person could say to the bemusement of an older person.

Well this looks interesting.

I know 2025 was difficult for the world, but it's been good to me, personally. I've loved touring Wildly Different, from the Hay Festival, by way of Edinburgh, Sheffield and elsewhere and had the pleasure of speaking about it to so many lovely people. So I'm giving away a signed copy (UK) to 1/2

This is something I worry about a lot - missing groups in samples is even more important when we are making claims about public opinion than when we are predicting vote shares.

I also get very grumpy about bad admin, so glad to celebrate good admin! Human admin - makes a big difference. @jacoblant.bsky.social

When one day a government finally decides to act on social care reform, all the research they need will already be there, because Natasha has done it. And not only is she expert in social care, she's a genuinely lovely person. An honour greatly deserved.

I am so lucky to work with such an inspiring person - congratulations Natasha!!

Looking forward to it kicking in.

Excellent thread. Do click on the alt text.

Seriously good advice 👇

One of my favourite insights from this Working Paper on Big Local: the power of taking a more organic approach to governance. Rather than designing governance in Whitehall - a chart that looks neat on paper - cultivate it as a local capability. 🧵

I have much sympathy with the Trustees who will be able to do a lot with £5m. But the film of this would end with the purchaser leaving the triptych on permanent loan and covering the insurance cost...

See also 🎶 We three Kings of orient are/One in a taxi, one in a car/One on a scooter, beeping his hoo-ooter/Following yonder star 🎶

This is such a good piece of work by @nuffieldtrust.org.uk & @instituteforgovernment.org.uk. The structure is not the fundamental problem, it's the multiplicity of dysfunctional behaviours which surround it. Until those are fixed, every structure is likely to fail.

Unless you're @hpiandycowper.bsky.social.

You can now apply for the job I am leaving! Here it is: jobsearch.bmj.com/jobs/job/NIH.... An NIHR job hosted by the BMJ Group. Closing date 30 November

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead was right.

How much do I wish I was qualified for this role...

This piece from the Weekend FT seems relevant bsky.app/profile/heta...

If I was invited to join a panel at a week's notice I would have a pretty good idea why...

Wishing this was the most horrifying news this morning...

It's a long way from the Thames but @londonmudlark.bsky.social might know someone who might know?

Calling ALL health data folk: Re UK Health Data Research Service. The UK gov & Wellcome have pledged up to £600 million to create a HDRS. Myself & an ace team have been tasked by Wellcome to assess the existing health data ecosystem & identify what is needed to support the HDRS 👇. Get in touch

Reform's voters are highly motivated, and for the most part strongly dislike Labour. You win at constituency level by bringing together the 'activated liberals' who dislike the idea of a Reform MP/government more than anything. You don't do that by moving closer to Reform.

At @thisinstitute.cam.ac.uk University of Cambridge, we're looking for a talented early career researcher to support an exciting programme of work on innovation and improvement in healthcare. This is a great opportunity. Apply by 18 November www.cam.ac.uk/jobs/researc...

Oh Siena. Back in my happy place to see the newly restored allegory of good government. The detail is glorious. People dancing and playing games, bootmakers selling their goods, builders repairing the roof. In bad government (still sadly poorly preserved) the buildings are full of holes.

This is good. The NHS espouses Team B/C while still in practice too often behaving like Team A. So everyone is frustrated. Shorter feedback cycles help with the political cycle too, as long as politicians actually understand iteration and don't tear things up after the 1st failure.

Love love love this little newsletter. And the motto and crest. Cheer up, be brave, join in.

🧵 illustrating beautifully how safe care is enabled by people who aren't doctors and nurses. (We need drs & nurses, but we need techies - and porters & cleaners and many others too) Sounds a fab role @hadleybeeman.bsky.social!