Incisive commentary from the IfG’s expert team on issues facing government and key ministerial decisions.
From analysis of key political events such as budgets and party conferences to snap responses to unexpected developments such as government reshuffles, our writers set out their views and analyse what government gets right, what it gets wrong, and what it can do better.
One year on: Where has the government’s decision to abolish NHS England left the NHS?
The NHS is dealing with the fall out of Keir Starmer’s hasty and confused announcement.
The warmth of the government’s Brexit rhetoric is outpacing concrete progress
Keir Starmer’s claim that “this is not the Britain of the Brexit years” doesn’t yet add up.
Is government by executive order a plausible model for the UK?
Senior Reform UK members are reportedly exploring a US-style executive order approach to government.
Ministers should lose their sweeping powers to delay local elections
The back-and-forth over election timings has been bad for central and local government alike.
Reform UK’s reported civil service purge plan would be a big mistake
An effective state needs capable administrators as well as "true believers".
The Good, the Bad and the Unrealistic in Rachel Reeves's second Mais lecture
There is welcome consistency to be found in the chancellor’s growth approach.
The government’s consultation on digital ID marks a shift in tone and substance
Will the government’s digital ID plan recover from Keir Starmer’s hasty false start?
Rachel Reeves should not be rushed into action on energy bills
Expectations of state protection against unwelcome external shocks have risen.
Four things we learnt from Rachel Reeves’s spring forecast 2026
The chancellor’s spring forecast was short and free of new policy content.
The real lesson to take from Gorton and Denton is for the future of UK democracy
Westminster is dangerously underprepared for a multi-party future.