Civil service and all things effective government @instituteforgov - ex-Cabinet Office, Defra, Dept of Health civil servant
Joined October 2010
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Alex Thomas retweeted
David Miliband does nothing to squash rumours he could serve as Foreign Secretary under a Burnham ministry.
Serving civil servants giving their views like this to a political party not in government makes me feel very uncomfortable
But good luck to Danny Kruger as he works out what to do to fix the centre of govt. He’s wrong and right in different ways
instituteforgovernment.org.u…
Last weekend I set out Reform UK’s plans to fix the centre of government (preparingforgovernment.com/f…). This policy was informed by hundreds of disillusioned civil servants responding to my call for insights on life in Whitehall. This is some of what they said. Thread:
Alex Thomas retweeted
🧵Always enjoy reading @instituteforgov's Whitehall Monitor.
All change in Westminster this year, but in Whitehall? Not so much. It just goes to show there's nothing new under the sun. Some things which struck me:
Alex Thomas retweeted
Whitehall Monitor 2025, our annual data-driven stocktake of the civil service, is out today.
It examines the civil service that Starmer’s government inherited – and how Labour’s mission-led approach fits in with Whitehall’s ways of working instituteforgovernment.org.u…
Alex Thomas retweeted
PODCAST 🎙️ Appetite for disruption
@jesstud joins @DrHannahWhite @AlexGAThomas
@tompope0 to discuss Pat McFadden's public sector plans.
Plus: Rachel Reeves hunt for efficiency savings and
@cassia_rowland discusses fixing the prisons crisis
instituteforgovernment.org.u…
Overall looks like a good move - slimming down & refocusing the Cabinet Office. Chimes with the critique in our Centre Commission - though we’d go further!
The “odds and ends” are v important and must be done well, but separating them out is worth it for a more effective centre
I agree with @HenryNewman
Whether the civil service gets smaller or not, the government needs a full workforce strategy - to which they’ve now committed 👍👍👍
And it’s good if ministers seek efficiencies without setting a perverse-incentive-creating headcount target
Cuts will (even should) reduce numbers but crude headcount targets have not worked
I wrote more about how to cut the civil service here
instituteforgovernment.org.u…
JOB ALERT
We have a fantastic researcher role coming up in the @instituteforgov civil service team
If you’re interested please consider applying. It’s a brilliant place to work and to contribute to a vital set of debates
Nothing less than the complete rewiring of the British state, in fact
instituteforgovernment.org.u…
Thoughts on today’s Pat McFadden speech - @nehal_davison and me
instituteforgovernment.org.u…
Alex Thomas retweeted
Britain’s civil service, which employs half a million people, is both demoralised and in need of radical reform econ.st/3VoQIA0 👇
Our @instituteforgov reaction to today’s Plan for Change
A positive development, but challenges ahead on targets/milestones, including about the money
And a shot across the bows for the civil service
Not that complicated by the standards of most diagrams in government! (Useful to put them down like this though)
