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.
No10 communications chief to quit after nine months March 28, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer’s director of communications, Matthew Doyle, is set to quit No10 Downing Street after nine months in the job. Doyle, who served as the Prime Minister’s communications chief in opposition, is understood to be stepping down immediately after feeling he had stabilised the government’s communications strategy after a rocky first few months in [...]
Analysis: What do Starmer’s reforms actually mean – and can they work? March 15, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has announced his reform plans to make the British state more “innovative and effective”. The Prime Minister unveiled a series of new measures on Thursday, including the headline abolition of NHS England – the arms-length body which runs the NHS in England. But Sir Keir also spoke about his broader ambitions to [...]
Keir Starmer to scrap NHS England March 13, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has announced plans to abolish NHS England and bring the health service under government control. Giving a speech on his plans for civil service reform today, the Prime Minister has confirmed he will scrap the “arms-length body” NHS England. Sir Keir said the decision will see the management of the health service [...]
Quango crackdown as Starmer reportedly set to slash civil service jobs March 12, 2025 The Prime Minister is reportedly planning to slash thousands of civil service jobs amid a crackdown on quangos, as he aims to radically overhaul the British state. Sir Keir Starmer will deliver a speech on Thursday, in which he will set out plans to cut thousands more Whitehall jobs than expected, according to the Guardian. [...]