Nobody runs the civil service – and that is a problem Lord Maude rightly returns to familiar themes. He identifies the problem that nobody is properly in charge of the civil service. The cabinet secretary, Maude says, must get his way through “drollery, …
What powers does the House of Lords have? The powers of the House of Lords today are limited by the Parliament Acts. The Lords has the power to delay a piece of legislation for up to one year but cannot block a bill altogether. It is also unable to amend …
Will it be May? Maybe October? Perhaps November? Surely not January 2025? Yes, everyone is talking about when the next general election is going to be held – and speculating when Rishi Sunak will decide to go to the country. So is it right for the prime …
The biggest change either side could deliver is stability, not policy Rather than detailed policy announcements, both leaders dedicated a significant proportion of their conference speeches to talking about the UK’s broken political system in the UK. They …
Keir Starmer’s speech at the Labour Party conference had a clear objective – it was designed to provide a narrative convincing enough to persuade voters who swung to the Conservatives in 2019 to return to vote for Labour at the next general election. …
The government was aware of these trends In November 2020, the Ministry of Justice forecast that the prison population would be 93,000 in September 2023 1 https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-population-projections-2020-to-2026 – more than 5,000 …
6. This was a busy conference – but one without a buzz The tragic events in Israel and Palestine inevitably saw a sombre tone to Labour’s conference. Foreign affairs fringes became dominated by the question of the Middle East, and pro-Palestine protests …
Rising inflation, a cost of living crisis, striking public sector workers, the NHS facing another winter crisis… costs on the public purse are spiralling and government borrowing is being pushed still higher. So is it true to say there is no more money …
Party conference season is nearly over and the IfG podcast crew have made their way back to London after their trips to Manchester and Liverpool. But which politicians will be returning to parliament battling new headaches? Has Rishi Sunak done enough to …
The government’s focus has been on recruiting more staff: 50,000 more nurses, 6,000 more GPs and 20,000 more police officers were all key pledges in the Conservatives’ 2019 election manifesto. However, new recruits will only ever make up a minority of …
What does it mean when a local authority goes “bankrupt”? Local authorities cannot actually go “bankrupt” in the way that a company or an individual can. Instead, they issue what is known as a section 114 notice. This is a report from the council’s finance …
What are the origins of the PSNI? The Police Service of Northern Ireland was created in 2001 as a successor to the controversial Royal Ulster Constabulary. As policing and justice were not devolved to the new Northern Ireland assembly and executive until …
What question has the Scottish Court of Session has been asked to resolve? In December 2022, the Scottish parliament passed the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill. This bill, if enacted, would reform the process by which people in Scotland can …
1. How much more policy detail will we see? The 2023 party conferences are being widely seen as the launch pad for the parties’ campaigns for the next general election. For the Labour Party, holding its conference after the Conservative gathering in …
How will Keir Starmer respond to Rishi Sunak’s ambitious pitch to be the “change” candidate at the next general election? The New Statesman’s Anoosh Chakelian and Josh Simons, director of Labour Together, are the guests on this week’s Inside Briefing as …
Why did the New Zealand government decide to intensify anti-smoking policies? In 2011, the New Zealand government set a goal to reach “Smokefree 2025”: fewer than 5% of New Zealanders smoking by 2025. This was particularly targeted at reducing smoking in …
Some politicians are keen to talk up Global Britain. Others boast that the UK is world leader in, well, just about everything. But some say this is a country in non-stop decline. So what’s the true story? This week the Expert Factor team take a deep dive …
4. The levelling up agenda no longer looks like a government priority Any discussion of ‘levelling up’ at the conference naturally turned quickly to fevered speculation around changes to HS2. Rishi Sunak’s speech on Wednesday put an end to that …
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25 years after the Scotland Act established the devolved Scottish government and parliament, the future of devolution and Scotland’s place in the Union remain contentious issues. The SNP continues to advocate for Scottish independence. Meanwhile the UK …
