![Alex Thomas](/sites/default/files/styles/wysiwyg_full_width_desktop/public/2022-12/alex-thomas-326x326.jpg?itok=h977P46U)
Alex Thomas
Programme Director
Alex's recent work
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What made Michael Gove one of the most consequential ministers of recent times?
The next government should pay close attention to Michael Gove's approach to government.
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How Angela Rayner operates as deputy prime minister is a core question for Labour
Keir Starmer needs to decide what kind of deputy prime minister he might need in government.
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The parties should focus on substance as well as sales ahead of the election
Election fever is hotting up in the aftermath of the local elections.
All work
Anything to declare?
The government’s civil service reform programme requires increased momentum, clearer plans and renewed attention from senior figures.
Reforming No10 should be about more than Boris Johnson’s partygate response
Tinkering with the centre of government is too important to be a rapid response to the partygate scandal
Better policy making
How government – both ministers and officials – could change to make policy better.
A new statutory role for the civil service
The civil service needs a new statutory role to reflect its permanence, purpose, values and how it should be run and held to account.
Will Boris Johnson’s new chief of staff Steve Barclay be able to get a grip?
It is not yet clear how the prime minister’s new No.10 set-up will help him survive
Boris Johnson’s plan for an ‘Office of the Prime Minister’ won’t address Sue Gray’s criticism
A superficial reorganisation of No.10 cannot solve the government’s problems
Whitehall Monitor 2022
Major reform is needed for government to respond to crises like the pandemic while simultaneously delivering long-term policy goals.
MPs must not outsource their judgement about Boris Johnson to Sue Gray
Conservative MPs and cabinet ministers are putting more weight on Sue Gray’s investigation than it can possibly bear
It is not right to appoint a politician to lead the Civil Service Commission
The government has made a mistake by proposing a politician to lead the body that exists to oversee civil service impartiality
Kate Bingham’s crisis method needs modifying for 'peacetime' government
Alex Thomas sets out how Kate Bingham's lessons from the pandemic should be applied when normal times return