‘Excellent choice’: Six ex-cab secs back Antonia Romeo pick Former civil service bosses praise Romeo’s track record after Starmer appoints her to top job

www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/...

Explore the latest Quarterly Highlights Collection and read about the research on our blog @samwarner.bsky.social @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social @profdaverichards.bsky.social @clemmiehilloconnor.bsky.social @haylesben.bsky.social @catherineneedham.bsky.social policyandpoliticsblog.com/2026/02/02/q...

‘Ferocious and relentless’ Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst was band’s power and passion The late rock legend penned some of Midnight Oil’s most successful songs from Power and the Passion to Beds are Burning and Dead Heart.

www.smh.com.au/national/fer...

@haylesben.bsky.social @clemmiehilloconnor.bsky.social @katharinatpaul.bsky.social @nataschavanderzwan.bsky.social @jacinta.bsky.social @draccoops.bsky.social @samwarner.bsky.social @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social @profdaverichards.bsky.social

Budget 2025: Hyperactive Incrementalism and the Missing Long View - The Productivity Institute The 2025 UK Budget had a glaring absence of any long-term economic strategy for growth and investment.

Following yesterday’s Budget, TPI’s @andywestwood.bsky.social @profdaverichards.bsky.social @drdarcyluke.bsky.social @samwarner.bsky.social and Patrick Diamond share insights on the government’s approach to growth and productivity.

Read more: bit.ly/3JVRkLi

Budget 2025: Hyperactive Incrementalism and the Missing Long View - The Productivity Institute The 2025 UK Budget had a glaring absence of any long-term economic strategy for growth and investment.

I'd like to share a link with you www.productivity.ac.uk/news/budget-...

Nice effort to explain for the Prison Service how new public management (NPM) combined with political short-termism, wreaks havoc, every time, with productivity in any public agency
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...

See also

Check it out!

bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...

The broader dimensions to the current prison's crisis are set out in this recent article we published for @policy-politics.bsky.social with @samwarner.bsky.social @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social and Martin Smith
bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journal...

Shame in itself is not an effective tool – the government’s standards regime shakeup should have gone further When it comes to standards oversight, it’s not the acronym that matters – it’s the powers that go with it and the independence to make politically ...

www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/...

@uofgvc.bsky.social, Raquel Ortega-Argilés, Adrian Pabst, @joepeck.co.uk, @profdaverichards.bsky.social, @graemeroy.bsky.social, Martin Smith, @bartvanark.bsky.social, @annavignoles.bsky.social, @samwarner.bsky.social, @andywestwood.bsky.social and Xiaocan Yuan. 4/4

Ex-No.10 Policy Unit head Munira Mirza to play key role in think tank targeting 'Whitehall bureaucracy' Fix Britain says 'HR culture and bureaucracy of Whitehall' and rise in judicial reviews are among 'factors that prevent functionality' in governmen...

www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/... - to add to the others that are already knocking round over last two decades! Problems well know - its willingness to reform that is the road block!

The government should not ban public servants from speaking in public | Institute for Government New guidance will damage the quality of government and public discourse.

The government should not ban public servants from speaking in public www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

Pleased to see evidence submitted with @nathancritch.bsky.social, Patrick Diamond, @profdaverichards.bsky.social, @samwarner.bsky.social & @andywestwood.bsky.social was referenced in the 7th Report on Industrial Strategy by the Business & Trade Committee.

publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cm...

How to ruin a university | Terence Kealey | The Critic Magazine The experiment of empowering councils and disempowering senates has failed, and we need to remodel our universities’ governance

thecritic.co.uk/how-to-ruin-...

From a fragile to an agile state: is the Spending Review enough to enable the Starmer government to deliver on its growth mission? - The Productivity Institute The 2025 Spending Review set out major capital spending, but will it be enough to boost productivity growth?

A short piece on the Spending Review written for the @productivity.bsky.social with my colleagues @nathancritch.bsky.social, @profdaverichards.bsky.social, @samwarner.bsky.social, @andywestwood.bsky.social & Patrick Diamond.

www.productivity.ac.uk/news/from-a-...

The inefficiency of centralised control and political short-termism: the case of the Prison Service in England and Wales by Sam Warner, David Richards, Diane Coyle and Martin J. Smith In our recent article published in Policy & Politics, we examine how centralised financial control and short-term political pressu…

Want to know about the effect of political short-termism on the Prison Service in England and Wales? New to the blog!⚡️

@samwarner.bsky.social @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social @profdaverichards.bsky.social

policyandpoliticsblog.com/2025/06/12/t...

Industrial Strategy - Written evidence - Committees - UK Parliament Written evidence submission publications for Industrial Strategy.

Written evidence from @nathancritch.bsky.social, @profdaverichards.bsky.social, @samwarner.bsky.social, @andywestwood.bsky.social, Patrick Diamond and myself to Business & Trade Committee inquiry on Industrial Strategy has been published

You can read here: committees.parliament.uk/work/8882/in...

Will Labour's Governance Approach Lead to Mission Success or Mission Failure? Abstract Since coming to power in July 2024, the Starmer government’s approach to reform has rhetorically focussed on the centralised, short-term, and fragmented nature of British policymaking and th...

Is Labour doing enough to address the deep-seated problems with the British state?

@nathancritch.bsky.social, Patrick Diamond, Darcy Luke, @profdaverichards.bsky.social, @samwarner.bsky.social, and @andywestwood.bsky.social discuss the government's approach to institutional reform

Will Labour's Governance Approach Lead to Mission Success or Mission Failure? Abstract Since coming to power in July 2024, the Starmer government’s approach to reform has rhetorically focussed on the centralised, short-term, and fragmented nature of British policymaking and th...

Very pleased to have this piece, co-authored with @nathancritch.bsky.social, Patrick Diamond, @profdaverichards.bsky.social, Sam Warner & @andywestwood.bsky.social, in @renewaljournal.bsky.social.

renewal.org.uk/blog/will-la...

CMA told to prioritise economic growth in priority 'reset' A 'strategic steer' from the business department says regulator should 'be attuned, and responsive to, feedback from business'

www.civilserviceworld.com/news/article...

Treasury seeks technical efficiencies of ‘at least 1% a year’ from departments Perm sec tells MPs “stretching and realistic” Spending Review targets are being worked up with the Office for Value for Money

www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/...

POLSIS celebrated its ruby anniversary last night in the glamorous environs of the Vault in the Exchange. Thanks to all who came! #PSA25

PM acknowledges ‘risks’ with increased use of AI in government Starmer tells MPs downsides of technology must be balanced against “huge opportunities”

www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/...

At @somersetccc.bsky.social to see Tom Banton break a few records

'The Spring Statement signals a return to Treasury orthodoxy' new blog for @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social with @samwarner.bsky.social @drdarcyluke.bsky.social @nathancritch.bsky.social - part of @productivity.bsky.social + @nuffieldfoundation.org projects

Hello Bluesky!!

We are the Local Politics & Governance Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social.

Convened by @peckersley.bsky.social, @tjarnold.bsky.social, Joanie Willett, & @jacknewman.bsky.social.

We'll be posting the latest research on local politics.

I've taken on the comms role for @psalocalpol.bsky.social

Please do follow and share. We'll be sharing the latest academic and policy research about local government, local politics, devolution etc.

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.... New article 'Can Starmer’s Labour Government Rebalance Power in the UK State?' with @samwarner.bsky.social and Martin Smith (York) for @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social Political Society from our @nuffieldfoundation.org project

Starmer and Wormald unveil plans for 'more agile, mission-focused and productive' civil service 'We will transform your work for the better,' cab sec and PM tell civil servants ahead of reform announcement

www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/...