National Audit Office launches review into Capita’s handling of civil service pension scheme Politics Capita has said the public spending watchdog has launched a review into its administration of the Civil Service Pension Scheme, after admitting its performance “remains below” the standards expected. The National Audit Office (NAO) has launched a further formal review into the London-listed outsourcer’s handling of the scheme, building on the watchdog’s initial June 2025 [...]
Breaking up the science department is a setback for Britain’s AI ambitions Opinion Spreading AI across four different departments is a mistake Andy Burnham will come to regret, says Eliot Wilson Last Tuesday, on his first full day as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham killed the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. That has set back the UK’s approach to science policy by several years, for reasons which are [...]
Top Burnham adviser calls for capital gains and inheritance tax hikes Tax Andy Burnham’s top adviser has called for capital gains and inheritance tax to be hiked and the fiscal rules to be loosened so the government can borrow billions. Ex-transport secretary Louise Haigh, who led Burnham’s Makerfield campaign and is set to take a senior position in his Cabinet, is also pushing to dismantle the Treasury. [...]
Burnham to lay out economic plan, but markets fear Miliband as Chancellor June 23, 2026 With more than three weeks to go before he can formally clinch the keys to 10 Downing Street, leadership challenger Andy Burnham is planning to make a major speech on the economy next week. It’s part of an effort to reassure the bond markets – to which he once said we shouldn’t be “in hock” [...]
Forget Palantir, Microsoft is the government’s real tech problem June 11, 2026 MPs are right to warn about the dangers of the public sector’s use of Palantir, but the bigger story is the vice-like grip Microsoft exerts of government IT systems, says Bill McCluggage Palantir, the Peter Thiel-founded data analytics firm with its murky intelligence community roots, makes for an irresistible villain. So it’s no surprise that [...]
Government aid ‘worth £28bn’ handed to terrorists, criminals and hostile states June 9, 2026 Billions of pounds of UK taxpayers’ money has been misspent as government aid and Covid relief funds ended up in the hands of terrorists, hostile states and criminal gangs, according to reports. A Cabinet Office dossier, unearthed by the Telegraph, found that more than £28bn ended up in the hands of the Islamic State and [...]
Inside Celonis, the German tech unicorn that won over a fifth of the FTSE 100 June 1, 2026 For a company valued at more than $13bn (£9.58bn), Celonis remains relatively unknown in Britain. Founded in Munich in 2011, the software company has become one of Europe’s most valuable private tech firms, with customers including AstraZeneca, ASOS, BMW and the UK Cabinet Office. The UK has become one of its three largest markets globally. [...]
Civil servant defends Starmer over ‘due process’ on Mandelson April 23, 2026 A top Whitehall operator has appeared to defend Sir Keir Starmer’s insistence that due process was followed by the government in the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. Cat Little, the Cabinet Office’s chief operating officer, said that bureaucratic procedures around security and vetting were adhered to by the Prime Minister’s team at [...]
Britain’s problem isn’t too few ministers, it’s too much government March 17, 2026 A little scrutinised bill will allow the government to put even more ministers on the payroll, laments Eliot Wilson Yesterday, behind the impenetrable shield of public indifference, the House of Commons will take all stages of the Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Bill. It was introduced without fanfare on Thursday 5 March and received the ritual First [...]
Reeves’ £1.2bn consultancy savings plan in doubt, watchdog warns March 11, 2026 Despite Rachel Reeves’ focus on cutting government spending on external consultancy services, a damning report stated that the government is unable to set meaningful targets to reduce its reliance on external firms. The UK government has said it wants to put an immediate stop to all non-essential consultancy spending and halve consultancy spending in future [...]