Code of conduct for IT professionals would help gain public trust in AI Opinion Billions of investment in AI will do little while the public remains suspicious of the tech. A public register for IT professionals could help address this, writes Emma McGuigan.
Over 100 civil servants set to be axed in cull of security teams Politics More than a hundred jobs could be cut from the organisation in charge of vetting people for security clearance as the Government looks to slim down the Civil Service. The Cabinet Office has proposed reducing the staff at UK Security Vetting (UKSV) to 780 full-time roles, down from its current level of just under 900, [...]
Debate: Is the civil service’s working class internship scheme a step forward? Opinion As of October, the civil service's main internship scheme will be restricted to applicants from a working class background. Is this progress?
In Starmer’s Labour, it’s backbenchers that hold the power July 15, 2025 Labour needs backbenchers who fight for growth, not just block spending cuts, writes Michael Martins in today's Notebook.
Britain doesn’t need government efficiency, it needs excellence July 2, 2025 Elon Musk’s Doge assumed that cheaper government was better government. that’s the wrong way round: a better run government is a cheaper government, says Andrew Greenway Democracies around the world are facing a big problem. They don’t deliver well enough. In Britain, we have a housing crisis, a fraying health service and the interminable sagas [...]
50,000 civil service jobs could be cut in Labour spending review May 29, 2025 Civil servants are facing another round of job cuts, with as many as 50,000 civil service jobs on the line in the government’s upcoming spending review. According to reports, ten per cent of civil servants, who number 500,000 in total, will be culled. The civil service swelled after Brexit and the pandemic, with 130,000 added [...]
Labour’s regional growth plan sees 12,000 civil servants moved outside London May 14, 2025 The government is on a mission to relocate 12,000 civil servant jobs across the UK to save taxpayers money — to the tune of £94m a year by 2032. Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden told the BBC this morning he hopes relocating civil servants “will make this government one that better reflects the country it [...]
The government is facing a wave of summer strikes – how will it respond? April 17, 2025 Public sector strike action is always tricky territory for Labour politicians to navigate, particularly when the party is in opposition. When strikes plagued the previous Tory government (teachers and junior doctors in particular) Labour MPs – including Keir Starmer – were quick to condemn the government while trying hard not to criticise the unions, with [...]
Can AI do it better? Why Starmer is right to reimagine the civil service April 11, 2025 What proportion of the civil service's workload could AI handle today? Starmer could revolutionise Whitehall if he's brave enough.
Business needs a real voice in the Civil Service, not a mid-rank mandarin April 3, 2025 The civil service needs an actual industry bigwig, not a mid-rank mandarin, if it wants to properly engage with business, writes Matthew Elliott.