Micro data point in my “governments changing election rules that they think will help their political party end up either neutral or hurting that party” theory

But still, photo ID for voting is an unnecessary solution to a problem that barely exists

With polling now open in the local, mayoral and PCC elections, head over to the Institute for Government local elections page for full details about what is at stake today instituteforgovernment.org.uk/local-election… #elections2024 #LocalElections #MayoralElection2024 #PCCelections

Civil servants have been placed in the invidious position of facing a legal conflict between the instructions of ministers and their obligations under the Civil Service Code. That's why we've launched a judicial review of the the Safety of Rwanda Act🧵

inews.co.uk/opinion/as-civ…

Caught up with this v good event on the whips in parliament. Myths and clichés about whips busted, and outstanding audience questions to Tim Durrant Rt Hon Anne Milton Chris White Alistair Carmichael MP Emma Peplow

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ins…

This article from the Times uses Oflog data in a really damaging way and paints an unrealistic picture of local authority performance

As Rhys Clyne and I warned in our report last year, it also undermines local gov trust in Oflog

Short thread

thetimes.co.uk/article/worst-…

Interesting article from Josie Stewart about her important employment tribunal. Clarifying public interest disclosure rules and whistleblowing protection while rebuilding trust inside govt is important

prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/65890…

Alex Thomas I agree the guidance couldn’t have said anything else. And - to the extent there is any conflict with the CS Code (or CRAG) or the Ministerial Code - the later Act must prevail. But it is a bad law & sets up UK for breach of international law

A thread: I have only read this article and NOT the book from which it derives, but as the author of the standard biography of Anthony Blunt, I feel inclined to comment. The main contention is that not only was Blunt spying for the Soviets, but that he was/

Trump, Schedule F and the danger of turning the US civil service into “an army of suck-ups” - good piece here

The government's spending plans for the next five years are already a work of fiction.

Increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP will require even deeper cuts elsewhere, says Gemma Tetlow instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/rishi-…

This by Patrick Diamond is dead on:

Labour's challenge is to find 'electorally salient and credible policies' that will 'confront the alarming concentration of wealth and asset ownership...which is increasingly undermining faith in liberal democracy.'

qmul.ac.uk/mei/news-and-o…

📢Application deadline for our next round of Institute for Government research internships is next week! We recently spoke to current interns Finn Baker, Callum Parris, Sameer Aiyar-Majeed, Jeremy Pattison, Darwin Kim, Briony Allen and Anna Whitehead about their experiences - highlights below⬇️