government – Page 2

Grand Brexit Strategies – Can Whitehall Cope? A Potted-History of [Not] Joining Government Up

By Dave Richards and Martin Smith Filed Under: All posts, Brexit, British Politics Posted: December 6, 2016

Brexit is a political challenge on an unprecedented scale. The process of exiting the European Union impacts every government department, and requires a level of co-ordination that UK governments have rarely managed to achieve. Here, the University of Manchester’s Dave Richards and the University of York’s Martin Smith survey the size of the challenge facing […]

Policy Week: How Much Evidence is ‘Enough’ Prior to Policy Implementation?

By Laura ffrench-Constant Filed Under: All posts, Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: November 6, 2015

The New Researcher Network hosted a breakfast session during Policy Week to investigate how much evidence is ‘enough’ prior to policy implementation and how to strike the balance between ‘ideal evidence’ and pragmatic decision making. The event was chaired by Dr Kieron Flanagan, whilst Dr Julian Simpson of the University of Manchester and Dr Kathryn […]

The online challenge facing government

By Tarlok Teji Filed Under: Featured, Westminster Watch Posted: May 18, 2015

Creating a coherent digital policy that addresses both opportunities and threats is likely to prove a challenge for the new Government, argues Tarlok Teji. One of the major policy challenges facing the new Government is defining our relationship to the hyper-connected digital world. While that world brings fantastic opportunities, it also creates risks of global […]

A Mayor for All Seasons?

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Devo, Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: February 27, 2015

From June, Greater Manchester will get an interim mayor as part of a deal with the Government on regional devolution. But its imposition without a referendum is a fundamental error by the political elite that may well backfire, argues Professor Colin Talbot. ‘Mayors’ seem to have become the default answer of many in the political […]

Civil Service Accountability to the Public part II

By Martin Stanley Filed Under: Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: January 19, 2015

In the second of three blogs Martin Stanley examines whether senior officials should be more accountable – especially to MPs – for the advice that they give to Ministers. This is the fourth post in our series on the Civil Service. How would officials react to greater public scrutiny? Most of them, I suspect, would […]

Civil Service Accountability to the Public

By Martin Stanley Filed Under: All posts, Whitehall Watch Posted: January 14, 2015

In the second of our series of posts exploring the corridors of power in Whitehall, former senior civil servant and public sector chief executive Martin Stanley discusses how we are governed and the tensions between the needs of Ministers, MPs and the wider public. The electorate clearly believe that ‘the Westminster Village’ is incompetent and/or […]

Nomination of Mr Juncker – A tentative step forward for European democracy?

By Georgios Papanagnou Filed Under: All posts, Europe, Featured Posted: July 1, 2014

David Cameron failed to block Jean Claude Juncker from being nominated by the European Council for the post of European Commission President. Dr. Georgios Papanagnou takes a look at some of the weaknesses in the campaigns by Cameron and the British media. In the end “this time was not so much different” – Jean Claude […]

Budget 2014: Smaller and Smaller – the end of ‘Big Government’ in the UK?

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Whitehall Watch Posted: March 19, 2014

George Osborne’s fifth Budget as Chancellor delivered few real surprises or big changes. Many of the detailed adjustments were trailed in advance, and only in the pensions arena did he deliver any radical measures, writes Professor Colin Talbot. It is the pensions issue that will grab the headlines – as he intended. This was a […]

How and when will the Coalition end?

By Colin Talbot Filed Under: Featured, Whitehall Watch Posted: February 17, 2014

As our Coalition Government moves inexorably towards its end, what are the factors and events that will determine how and when the formal dissolution takes place? Speculation is starting to build, says Prof Colin Talbot, not least because of obvious ‘distancing’ tactics being adopted by both the partners to the Coalition. We have 15 months […]

Do we need a ‘new settlement’ with Europe – or just a better sausage factory?

By Clive Bates Filed Under: Featured, Science and Technology Posted: January 10, 2014

In seeking a ‘new settlement’ with the European Union (EU), the UK government is ignoring the existing rules and procedures that should already govern law making, argues Clive Bates. Here he focuses on a current example, the regulation of e-cigarettes, highlights the broader faults in the current process and offers some solutions. Otto Von Bismark […]