Expert insight, analysis and comment on key public policy issues
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
As I have argued (see ‘The Death of Strategy in British Government’, May 5th below), the future of the Spending Review system introduced by Gordon Brown in 1998 is now in serious doubt.
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
John Redwood, the unreconstructed Thatcherite and leading Conservative, thinks we should be cutting about 20% off total public spending. Redwood is not in the current Shadow Cabinet, but is Chairman of their Economic Competitiveness Policy Group, and clearly still influential. And his logic is impeccable – not surprising for someone often mockingly described as a Vulcan.
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
First, let me say I hugely enjoyed Andrew Rawnsely’s magnificent rant in today’s Observer. It was hilarious. And it was quite right about many things.
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
British politics is currently consumed by a single question – how much did various Members of Parliament spend on bath-plugs and various other expenses items?
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
For those of you who have not seen it, the UK National School of Government’s ‘Policy Hub‘ is a useful resource.
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
Participated in a useful roundtable discussion on performance reporting and management, organised by Public Finance magazine – for a full report see Public Finance
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
A flagship policy of the New Labour government was that it would introduce greater stability – no more ‘boom and bust’ as Gordon Brown loudly and frequently boasted. A key component of this approach was more a ‘strategic’ approach to public spending – embedded in the new 3-year ‘Comprehensive Spending Review’ (CSR) process first announced […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
In the USA there are reports of so-called ‘tea-party’ protests, modelled on the famous ‘Boston Tea Party’ protests against taxation imposed by the British government on the (then) US colonies. But the US protesters (in reality the Republicans) rather the miss the point – the ‘Boston Tea Party’ was not a protest against taxation, but […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
I recently attended a ‘professorial dinner’ at Manchester, the purpose of which was to discuss our future strategy. The main message at the start was – universities, after a decade of a relatively benign environment, face a decade or more of austerity. How are we placed to deal with this new reality and what should […]
By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted:
So where are we now, after Budget 09, in terms of the size and shape of the state and public services for the future? The reduction of annual growth in public spending to a mere 0.7% in real terms, whilst protecting some big and sensitive areas like health and education, will mean real terms cuts […]