Explainers
Our explainers cover key subjects relating to our work, setting out key facts and figures and answering the most important questions about government.
Explore our explainers
Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough
The Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is Dr Nik Johnson, who was elected in May 2021.
Mayor of the West of England
The mayor of the West of England is Dan Norris, who was elected in May 2021.
Cabinet secretary
The cabinet secretary is the most senior civil service adviser to the prime minister and cabinet.
Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill: What happens next?
Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill passed second reading on 29 November by a wider than expected margin, 330–275.
Fiscal rules in the UK since 1997
Fiscal rules are restrictions on fiscal policy set by a government to constrain its own decisions on spending and taxes.
Local government unitarisation
Unitarisation is a type of local government reorganisation that replaces separate county and district councils with a single tier of local authorities
Tracker: The government’s proposed new public bodies
What were the public bodies promised in Labour’s election manifesto and what has been delivered since its entry into government?
Diversity in the civil service
Promoting diversity and inclusion has been a priority for the civil service leadership.
Keir Starmer’s ministerial code
Keir Starmer has published his ministerial code. But what does it say?
Private members' bills
Private members' bills provide an opportunity for backbenchers from all parties to pass their own legislation. But how are they introduced?