The annual publication of A-level results brings with it the agonising over declining standards. Without a good evidence base, it’s hard to ascertain whether there is any truth to the perception that...
PHILIP JOHNSTON| Since Aneurin Bevan established the NHS in 1948, questioning its future has been taboo. But the debate has opened up a can of worms here over US health care
Controversy over UK and US health services rages on, with David Cameron labelling a Conservative critic of the NHS as an ‘eccentric’ whose views are not representative of the party
Ian Owen’s Comment piece argued that the state ‘cannot afford to fund the increasing demand for long-term care’ and ‘individuals will have to make greater provision for themselves
In ‘Down your way’, David Wilson and Martin Yates offered advice to councils on coping with the impending pressures on resources (August 7–20). Am I the only one to see the obvious flaw in the table...
THE KING'S FUND | On this side of the Atlantic we seem to be shocked that our esteemed NHS has been used so readily as a political football in the debate about health care reform in the United States...
CONOR RYAN | Whatever happens at the next election, schools will be subject to performance tables. Labour is proposing to grade schools according not only to their exam results, but also to their...
INSTITUTE FOR FISCAL STUDIES | Today's unemployment statistics showed an increase of 220,000 in the three months to June 2009, using the widely watched International Labour Organisation (ILO) measure...
TONY TRAVERS | George Osborne has clearly aggravated Lord Mandelson. The Shadow Chancellor's Demos speech yesterday attempted to portray the Conservatives as true progressives, citing Disraeli,...
JODY GOLDSWORTHY| ‘The best way to keep one’s word is not to give it.’ This adage might have worked for Napoleon, but it won’t cut the mustard for current day public sector leaders
DAVID LIPSEY| Once upon a time, the idea of Lord Mandelson rescuing the maiden Britannia made for a grim tale. But, despite his new leading role, there will still be no happy ending
JUDY HIRST| Old financial models never die. They just get restructured and rebranded. That seems to be the lesson from the remarkable resuscitation of the Private Finance Initiative, reported in this...
MARK HELLOWELL | What would the next Conservative government do with the Private Finance Initiative? Would they expand it or cut it, reform it or abolish it?
CONOR RYAN | One of the more impressive aspects of Michael Gove, the shadow schools secretary whom I interviewed for this week's magazine, is his grasp of detail and willingness to talk to people...
PETER RIDDELL| The Tories have been consulting on how to avoid the over–centralisation of the Blair/Brown years. But how do they keep government strong yet slim?
