![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
![](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_card_desktop/public/2024-06/michael-gove.jpg?h=58c8a5e7&itok=F7AEMu7V)
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.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_card_desktop/public/2024-06/keir-starmer-angela-rayner-labour-manifesto-2XBT8R3-1504x846px.jpg?h=d46ee4cc&itok=MRndlzDO)
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.
![](/sites/default/files/styles/medium_card_desktop/public/2023-10/rishi-sunak-keir-starmer-composite-party-conference-2023-1504x846px.png?h=07e9081f&itok=bKrGZRC6)
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
The answers to Dominic Cummings’s critique
Dominic Cummings rightly identified the need for reform – but was short on prescription. The government still shows appetite for reform – but what cha
The questions to ask Dominic Cummings
The select committee interrogating Dominic Cummings needs to make sure he answers questions on their terms, not his own
Improving ethical standards in government
Greensill, and subsequent revelations on relations between private sector interests and the government, have exposed serious weaknesses in the rules o
Finding the right skills for the civil service
What skills the civil service has and those it needs to meet the demands of government in the coming years.
Responding to shocks: 10 lessons for government
10 lessons that government should learn from its handling of the Covid crisis.
The government’s integrated review describes but does not resolve foreign policy tensions
In implementing the “integrated review” of security, defence, development and foreign policy, the government will need to resolve tensions
Gaps in policy, not just operational failings, are the problem with Covid test and trace
However much the government spends on test and trace, the cash cannot make up for gaps in policy
Investigating the Home Office’s criminal records blunder can improve government accountability
The Home Office’s deletion of important criminal records should not have happened
Civil Service Code
The Civil Service Code outlines the values and standards of behaviour that civil servants are expected to follow.
The centre of government should do more to help the prime minister
Sir Michael Barber should prioritise strengthening No.10 and the Cabinet Office