Exclusive: The Ned eyes new clubs in Dubai and LA, with new rural ‘estate’ and first European venture to come
If the Chancellor wants to save money she should look in her own backyard Opinion Bureaucratic, process-obsessed and costly to take part in, public procurement exercises are often set up to fail before they even begin, says Joe Hill The Chancellor’s Budget this month is as high as the stakes can be for the government. It’s the defining test of how they balance competing goals to boost growth, spend on [...]
New business secretary should put deregulation top of his agenda Opinion Peter Kyle becomes the tenth business secretary in as many years – he should go where his predecessors didn’t and genuinely cut red tape, says Joe Hill As Westminster calms down from a heady weekend of reshuffle-watching, new ministers will be getting to grips with their new briefs. It’s not an enviable task – when [...]
Soho isn’t just for residents, so why do they get all the say? Opinion Soho could be a pedestrianised wonderland, but Nimbyism plus a council structure that disincentivises business is punishing all Londoners.
What do civil servants really think about the state? July 11, 2025 Civil servants feel stifled by cumbersome processes, weak talent progression and ineffective procurement, according to a new survey that casts doubt on the government’s ability to deliver on the transformative “missions” it’s promised, says Joe Hill The Government took office a year ago pledging to change the country with five big “missions”. This approach was [...]
Spending Review is a chance to escape managed decline – will Reeves take it? June 11, 2025 Instead of repeating the same lines we’ve heard at every Spending Review since the financial crash, Rachel Reeves should challenge fundamental assumptions about the role of the state, says Joe Hill Today the Chancellor will announce her first full Spending Review – allocating government budgets over the next three years. It’s a defining moment for [...]
Building on the green belt won’t solve London’s housing crisis May 13, 2025 The Mayor’s plan to release green belt land for development is a good start, but if we really want to fix London’s housing crisis we need to build more and higher in the centre, says Joe Hill London’s success isn’t inevitable. It’s based on people wanting to live and work here, and there being enough [...]
Westminster’s Everythingism problem: Why trying to solve everything all at once has ruined politics April 10, 2025 The belief that every policy can be used to deliver every other policy is rife in Westminster, and it's costing us real progress, writes Joe Hill.
Preparing for war: What we didn’t learn from the pandemic March 12, 2025 The health service may not have been ready for the pandemic, but the rest of government was even less prepared. As we brace for a potential war, it’s time policy makers listen to that warning, says Joe Hill Carl von Clausewitz, the Prussian general, famously asserted that war was the “continuation of politics by other [...]
Move fast and break the civil service: Will Whitehall get its own Elon Musk? February 12, 2025 Whether it sees Elon Musk’s DOGE as a success or a failure, Whitehall should see it as a warning. Because institutions which won’t reform themselves can only ever be reformed by outsiders, usually in unpredictable ways, says Joe Hill In December, the Prime Minister pledged to “rewire the State”, and Cabinet Minister Pat McFadden told [...]
What should an office for value for money do? November 21, 2024 There's no point in raising money if it won't be spent well. Joe Hill lays out how the office for value for money could actually help.
