On the great civil service wfh debate... I think you need a baseline of at least some in-person attendance that managers can be more lenient against for people who need it/they trust. If you try to get people back in without any baseline, it's practically impossible.

I think officials should generally be in the office more (although it depends on the role/department) but this is way over the top - and pivoted on an op-ed from John Glen that's actually pretty mild. Think this tells us more about the Standard's business model than anything

The under-appreciated Truss angle is how new our approach to institutions is:

Bank of England (independent ‘97)
Supreme Court (‘09)
OBR (‘10)

They became embedded quickly because most people think they’re good ideas. But it’s still early & some experimentation could help

'When the vibes change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?'

Shameless plug for the IfG pod but enjoyed the latest ep taking us inside FCDO. V interesting segment on whether, if ministers order it, officials can break international law. I personally think they can but either way needs clarifying. Listen here

open.spotify.com/episode/3n17oI…

Truss an extreme version but it’s interesting plenty of ministers leave feeling alienated & incapable of operating Whitehall. Is it a) they’re powerful but incapable of effectively pulling levers, b) they think they’re powerful but aren’t & that’s frustrating, c) other/nuance?

Looking forward to this event & the launch of our paper on top talent in the civil service. Does civil service culture make it hard to thrive as an external recruit? What skills does the civil service need from expert outsiders? Come along & hear more!

instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/civil-se…

Some classic Whitehall content in the Wikipedia article on R.V. Jones (scientific adviser to the intelligence services during WW2)

Always enjoy the first Mall flags of the season 🇬🇧

I've seen loads about the level defence spending should be at, but quite little about *how* the extra money would/could be spent, including if we could/should fund a DARPA, if Ajax lessons learned is being actioned, MoD procurement more generally, etc. Any good things to read?

Two prominent Labour think tanks have written about the AI revolution and how to respond. I think only one of them has got the right attitude. My blog:

freethinkecon.wordpress.com/2024/04/03/if-…

Just four weeks to go until voters head to the polls to vote in their local and mayoral elections - @Instituteforgov’s new page has all the details (complete with a fun interactive map, of course!)

But why are these elections so important?

A quick🧵
instituteforgovernment.org.uk/local-election…

Did my best to explain the XZ issue to my TikTok and IG audience.

TikTok delisted and demonetized for unspecified community guidelines violations

So here Twitter you get it.

Fascinating how Labour & many Tories have totally different views of how the state should run. Tories often want ministers to have more direct power. Labour happy to hive it off. Hard to say why. Labour definitely more optimistic that bureaucracy can achieve their aims