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Explainer
Published: 04 December 2018
There are no fixed rules in the UK for when a referendum should take place.
Referendums are held on an ad hoc basis, as and when Parliament decides. There have only ever been three UK-wide referendums: in 1975 and 2016 on EEC/EU membership, and in 2011 on electoral reform. There have been many... more
Page type: Explainer
Project
Published: 06 December 2018
After decades of cross-party consensus about outsourcing the delivery of public services to the private sector, the viability of this model is now under question.
There is a growing debate on the extent to which the state should rely on private providers for providing public services,... more
Page type: Project
Publication
Published: 07 December 2018
The Prime Minister is hoping to secure the support of Parliament for her Withdrawal Agreement in the coming weeks. If she succeeds, winning the ‘meaningful vote’ on her deal, that will only mark the start of a contentious process to implement the deal in legislation. Parliament will be under... more
Page type: Publication
Event
Published: 07 December 2018
The Institute for Government brought together leading parliamentarians and political figures to ask what happens next for Brexit.
We were joined by:
Hilary Benn MP, Chair of the Committee on Exiting the European Union
Stella Creasy MP
Daniel Moylan, Brexit campaigner and former adviser... more
Page type: Event
News
Published: 12 December 2018
Government spends £284bn – almost one-third of its total expenditure – with external suppliers, finds a new report by the Institute for Government. Given its scale, government procurement could not easily be abandoned even if politicians wanted.
Published today, Government procurement: the... more
Page type: News
Explainer
Published: 10 December 2018
What did the ECJ say about Article 50?
The UK can take back its Article 50 notice without the EU’s permission
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said that the decision to withdraw an Article 50 notice “is for that member state alone to take, in accordance with its constitutional... more
Page type: Explainer
Comment
Published: 10 December 2018
Interserve – one of government’s largest contractors, which works in prisons, schools and hospitals – is in talks with lenders in efforts to avoid collapse. It is unclear if it will survive. This comes on the heels of Carillion’s collapse earlier this year.
The Cabinet Office must deal with... more
Page type: Comment
Publication
Published: 11 December 2018
Government procurement: the scale and nature of contracting in the UK reveals that four departments – the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the Department for Transport (DfT), the Department for International Trade (DIT) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) spent more than... more
Page type: Publication
Comment
Published: 11 December 2018
After almost ten years in office, Carwyn Jones is stepping down as Welsh First Minister. As the newly elected leader of the largest party, Labour’s Mark Drakeford is virtually certain to get the job. Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price and Conservative leader Paul Davies are also expected to be... more
Page type: Comment
Basic page
Published: 11 December 2018
Government spends £284 billion a year on buying goods and services from external suppliers. This amounts to around a third of all public expenditure. The money is spent on everything from goods such as stationery and medicine, through to the construction of schools and roads, the daily delivery... more
Page type: Basic page