Cameron’s resistance to reshuffle is in part a reaction to the supposed shuffle-fever of Tony Blair – a reason for resistance in the resignation of Liam Fox. And indeed, the problem of ministerial churn is something that the Institute for Government has highlighted. However, this does beg the question of whether Blair was as...

The US transition is a very different process, involving a massive scale of personnel change since political appointees occupy many of the posts held in the UK by the permanent Civil Service. But the relative small scale and sometimes ad hoc nature of UK opposition preparations would surprise many on the other side of...

The news that Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service, Sir Gus O’Donnell, is to retire by the end of the year, is not unexpected. He has served for more than 6 years, close to the average since 1979. What is more fascinating is that he leaves in his wake not just...

The riots that began in London, and have now spread to other cities, represent the first big domestic crisis that this Government has faced. When they get a chance, senior politicians will want to sit back and reflect on how their reactions held up. In previous work on the lessons from past crises, we...

In 1986, at the height of the Westland Affair, Michael Heseltine resigned as Secretary of State, walking straight out of the Cabinet to brief the press. The remaining members of the Cabinet were not sure if he was actually resigning or just leaving the room. After this slight issue was resolved, Cabinet was paused...

The first quarter of 2011 has seen an unprecedented cluster of natural disasters in developed countries – from floods in Queensland and Victoria, to the Christchurch earthquake, to the devastation of northern Japan, with the added risk of nuclear fallout.

On 13 Jan, Professor Margaret Wilson spoke at the Institute on New Zealand’s experience of proportional representation and the impact on the diversity of their parliament, joined by Trevor Phillips, Baroness Parminter and Lord Adonis.

Writer L.P. Hartley’s famous opening line, “The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there”, is too often a very real feeling for those analysing government, where the pace of events and media can frequently contribute to a year zero mentality.