Author Archives: Colin Talbot

Theresa May, Home Secretary, has announced the dismantling of the UK Borders Agency just a few months before the London Olympics. This is just the latest twist in a saga that goes back years during which Ministers (and senior civil … Continue reading →

Michael Ward kindly sent me this short paper about HS2 and the “policy-making” process surrounding it. Whilst I personally do not agree with his conclusions, his critique of the process is well worth reading. CT  The case for High Speed … Continue reading →

with Greece in the news again, those who haven’t already might want to read my analysis of the background to their fiscal crisis here.  

With most economists now forecasting that Britain will officially re-enter recession in Q1 2012, the Chancellor will be under immense pressure by the time of the Budget on 21st March to at least be seen to be doing ‘something’ about … Continue reading →

I thought this was worth sharing……..

A new report from the National Audit Office examines the British governments attempts to reorganise “arms-length bodies” in the UK. One of the central conclusions is that the reorganisation is dragging many of the functions of these bodies back to … Continue reading →

There is often more continuity between themselves and their predecessors than any new Government cares to admit. One way they seek to disguise these continuities is to change the names of things, with minimal change to the actual thing itself, … Continue reading →

1st Posted on Huffington Post (UK): 9/1/12 18:43 GMT Does the SNP really want a free, democratic, Scotland? If so they are everything they can to ensure it may, just, become independent but is unlikely to be a genuine democracy.

Tonight (Thursday 22) and tomorrow the BBC Radio 4 PM programme will carry items by reporter Andrew Bomford about how greater Manchester has fared over the past year in the face of a sluggish economy and large public spending cuts. … Continue reading →

Inequality across the OECD is rising, including in Britain, even before the impact of the current crisis has even worked its way through, an important new OECD report shows.

George Osborne’s “Autumn Statement” is certainly not a Pre Budget Report, as he promised it would not be. Instead, it is much more like a mini-Budget or even, given the timescales involved in many announcements, a mini-Spending Review.

Last week I gave evidence – alongside Professor Lord Peter Hennessy and Professor Tony Dean –  to the Public Administration Select Committee in Parliament on the changes taking place at the top of the UK Civil Service. The uncorrected minutes … Continue reading →

I reprint below an excellent briefing by Professor Allyson Pollock and colleagues on key clauses of the Health and Social Care Bill. It addresses two critical issues: The removal of  legal responsibility from the Secretary of State to prove health … Continue reading →