Incisive commentary from the IfG’s expert team on issues facing government and key ministerial decisions.
From analysis of key political events such as budgets and party conferences to snap responses to unexpected developments such as government reshuffles, our writers set out their views and analyse what government gets right, what it gets wrong, and what it can do better.
The prime minister failed to answer the most important questions about merging the FCO and DfID
The prime minister’s announcement that the Department for International Development will be folded into the Foreign Office raises more questions than
The government’s coronavirus announcements outpace its ability to deliver them
Ministers’ rhetoric will undermine public confidence if they consistently fail to deliver
Four things we learnt from the UK–EU high-level meeting
This week’s meeting confirmed that the UK and EU want a quick Brexit deal – but little more than that
Ending the outsourcing of probation is the right decision
Transferring services back to the public sector is the right decision, though it should not be attempted overnight.
There needs to be a rapid review on coronavirus as part of a full public inquiry
A rapid review into the government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis is also essential to be better prepared for a second wave
A virtual parliament was well equipped to make progress on the government’s legislative agenda
The government's justification for abolishing the 'virtual parliament' that it was holding up its legislative programme does not stand up to scrutiny
Preparing the public for Brexit will be much harder this time around
The government has set itself a huge communications task in attempting to prepare the public for Brexit while also keeping it safe during a pandemic
A UK–EU deal is still possible
Brexit negotiators should cancel their summer holidays
The prime minister is right to apply his Brexit management model to coronavirus
The prime minister’s new coronavirus cabinet committees, based directly on the model he used to “get Brexit done”, should help improve government co-o
The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme must adapt to aid the UK's economic recovery