Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
Last week’s story in the UK that the Conservatives were now in favour of setting up “workers co-ops” to run public services (really!) was the culmination of a fascinating trend over recent years towards policy-makers favouring the ‘empowerment’ of public sector professionals. Both the New Labour Government and Tory opposition have been touting ideas about […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
The great British sense of humour lives on. Some genius in Conservative central office clearly didn’t recognise the satire potential of the Tories recent poster campaign. MyDavidCameron.com was quickly set up and has spawned hundreds of often hilarious spoofs on the original. As you can see, being off sick has given me far too much […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
‘Whitehall Watch’ might be a bit sporadic over the next month or so – two weeks ago I had a heart attack. I’m recovering well and the prognosis is good, but it’ll be a while before I’m back to full functioning. Meanwhile, “never waste a good crisis” as someone said (it’s alright, I know who) […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
See my recent piece in The Guardian’s on-line magazine ‘Public’, and you might also be interested in my comments in The Guardian’s society section.
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
Just in case you have missed this: The Real-World Economics Review Blog is holding polls to determine the awarding of two prizes: The Ignoble Prize for Economics , to be awarded to the three economists who contributed most to enabling the Global Financial Collapse (GFC), and The Noble Prize for Economics , to be awarded […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
We took my 5 year-old son to see a ‘Horrid Henry’ show after Christmas. At one point in the production Horrid Henry is trying to convince his little brother Peter Perfect that he’s been to the future. “What’s the future like?” asks Peter. As Henry appears stumped for an answer, my son shouts out “scary” […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
The central message of yesterday’s PBR was that we need to put the national finances in order, but not quite yet – in fact not for quite a long time. That does not mean there will not be severe cuts in public spending – there will be. It’s just that they will be severe rather […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
According to the supercomputer Deep Thought the answer to the question of life, the universe and everything was 42 (in Douglas Adam’s Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy). It turns out however that this number may be subject to localised quantum relativity effects – specifically on an insignificant island off the north-west coast of Europe, a […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
No, not the Beetles hit, but the flavour of many of the meetings I’ve been attending in recent weeks and will be in the next few weeks. First was a Guardian ‘roundtable’; this was followed by evidence I was asked to give to the Northern Ireland Assembly Finance Committee; another roundtable, this time organised by […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
I thought I’d share this interesting message from David Halpern, Research Director, Institute for Government London: NEW BOOK: HIDDEN WEALTH OF NATIONS DAVID WRITES: As you may know, since leaving No10 and Cabinet Office, I’ve spent some time revisiting the last 25 years of data on value change, the social and economic challenges (and opportunities) […]