John Healey's packed budget was big in size but small in ambition. He and Andy Burnham will need to make difficult political arguments and economic decisions in 2027, argues Tom Pope We were promised ...

Some of those objectives are well within reach. Attendance is moving in the right direction, and the Department for Education has a route to further improvement, particularly through better data and ...

Prime minister Andy Burnham and mayor of South Yorkshire Oliver Coppard speak at an event following the announcement that English mayors will be able to keep a share of the taxes collected in their ...

One week on from becoming prime minister, Andy Burnham has now appointed his cabinet, reshuffled ministers, launched a series of machinery of government changes, and set out a range of immediate ...

Claiming the UK is ‘ungovernable’ is a dereliction of responsibility, argues Hannah White Governing the UK has become more difficult over the past decade, as a result of major external crises, ...

This is a King’s Speech which aims to please everyone. However, with big questions about whether the government can deliver on its plans, it is a legislative programme which may end up leaving many ...

Ahead of the 2026 devolved elections, the parties set out competing visions for independence and further devolution – leaving big questions for Westminster, say Harriet Shaw and Megan Isaac While a ...

Many children live in placements that do not meet their needs. The government’s reforms are promising, but rely on more joined-up public services. The children’s social care market in England is ...

There is a case for doing everything possible to reduce the backlog, as soon as possible. But there is still a lot of uncertainty attached to the potential benefits of the government’s proposed ...

In December 2024, the prime minister Keir Starmer tasked his new cabinet secretary, Sir Chris Wormald, with “nothing less than the complete rewiring of the British state”. Whitehall Monitor 2026, the ...

Keir Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen. It is far from clear that a deeper economic relationship with the UK is high on the European Union's priority list. The new year has started with talk about how ...

LIVE BLOG | Autumn budget 2025: Rachel Reeves announces tax and spend measures IfG experts analyse Reeves' budget and explore what the chancellor's plans for the economy, tax and spending mean.