1. Mayors make a difference Institute for Government has argued that big cities need mayors – but their value is intangible. They can make complex relationships work. They can get governments to move in support. They can act as figureheads for their city in a way an indirect council leader cannot. Boris was a...
Labour had quite a penchant for legislated targets, introducing the target to eliminate fuel poverty by 2016; the target to ‘significantly reduce’ child poverty by 2020; and the Climate Change Act which targets an 80% emissions reduction by 2050. The current government has also committed to enshrining the 0.7% ODA target in law. But...
Gus’s favourite statistic never bore that much scrutiny – in reality there were many more men with the rank of permanent secretary who did not ‘count’ – whether the proliferation of permanent secretaries at the centre or ambassadors with permanent secretary rank. But at one point, some time in early 2011, it was possible...
Yesterday’s announcements by Nick Clegg that Lords reform plans were being dropped in the face of Conservative opposition, and that the Lib Dems would veto the Tories’ boundary changes in return, has triggered another bout of speculation about whether the coalition can survive till 2015, and what can be done to avoid collapse. One...
Part-time leadership of the Civil Service is clearly the plat du jour in Whitehall. Muttering from retired grandees condemned the splitting of the Cabinet Secretary role that created the dual leadership of Sir Jeremy Heywood and Sir Bob Kerslake. Witnesses at the Public Affairs Select Committee hearing argued that Sir Bob could not...