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?
STEPHEN COURT| Universities’ response to the government’s announcement of an extra 10,000 places in higher education for 2009/10 has been somewhat muted
HEATHER WAKEFIELD| Social workers are part of a local government workforce dogged by poor pay, high vacancy levels and lack of investment in training. Will the social work task force change anything?
If a tired Labour government, 12 years in, struggles to develop a credible vision to sell to the voters, the Conservatives seem to have hit on a rich and popular idea that I am sure we will hear more...
MIKE THATCHER | Huge cuts to education, health and welfare budgets, higher class sizes, teachers losing their jobs, local government squeezed and public servants forced to take unpaid leave.
In the feature ‘Back in line?’, Guy Lodge says of parliamentary reform: ‘All it takes is political will on behalf of the parties to agree a way forward’ and ‘It will take time....’ (July 17–23)
HELEN DISNEY | Free marketeers have been thrown into confusion by the collapse of the banks. But the Conservatives are hoping they have found a political way out
Analysis by the King’s Fund and researchers from the Institute for Fiscal Studies suggests that from 2011 onwards up to 2017 at least, the NHS will face one of the most significant financial...
DAVID WALKER | John Seddon’s letter in Public Finance (‘Audit Commission needs to back off’, July 17) offered you yet another version of what he’s been recently pushing around the local government...
It was the worst of times but, alas, not the best of times. Launching a green paper into a political and economic and fiscal tornado couldn’t have been worse timed – but how essential has it been to...
Angus Mylles is right to say that Lord Carter’s property review, part of the Treasury’s Operational Efficiency Programme, has turned up the temperature on managers of the public sector estate
Mike Thatcher is right; tinkering with old models is unlikely to get us out of the financial crisis in the public sector (‘The big chill’, Leader, July 10–16)
JUDY HIRST | It’s all very difficult. That seemed to be the gist of Health Secretary Andy Burnham’s speech, as he launched this week’s long-awaited green paper on care for older and disabled people
RAY JONES | As a social services director for 14 years until 2006, I carry the scars and bruises. Some were self-inflicted, because of the personal pain I felt from having to increasingly ration...
The breathtaking cheek of the bankers, the CBI and their chums in the Taxpayers’ Alliance demanding a public sector pay freeze is enough to drive a union maid far beyond distraction
