Comment
Burnham is trying to fix Whitehall, but will the political machinery change?
Andy Burnham is shaking up government with more changes than by any incoming prime minister in memory. But, asks Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, does he understand why the political machinery has failed for previous PMs?
Dame Antonia’s key civil service reforms are ready to be supported by Whitehall, says Jonathan Freeman
The Civil Service is ready to support Dame Antonia Romeo’s flagship changes to government machinery – notably relating to AI and devolution – under new prime minister Andy Burnham, writes Jonathan Freeman, CEO of the Charity for Civil Servants.
Experts warn more government support needed to help UK aviation meet net zero by 2050
UK aviation can decarbonise while meeting growth ambitions, but urgent government action is needed to prevent costs increasing for passengers and the sector losing its competitive edge.
Don’t rule out an early election as Burnham may see an opportunity to kick Reform, says Fred de Fossard
With the new Prime minister championing policies which go beyond Labour’s very confined 2024 manifesto, an early election is not illogical.
Despite promises of radical change, Labour’s culture of ruling political families remains entrenched
Andy Burnham’s inner circle appears to perpetuate Labour’s long-running culture of nepotism, and is doomed to cause frustration among backbenchers.
Kemi’s true blue purge, with help from Sir Philip May
The news that former Home Secretary Sir Grant Shapps has failed to make the new Tory candidate list has put fear into dozens of former Conservative MPs. Whether the party should be humiliating former senior Cabinet ministers of the party is a Westminster talking point, says William Cash.
Why Burnham’s energy VAT cut will make a difference
Cameron Brown, a former special advisor to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, explains why Burnham’s VAT cut on energy bills is a measure people will actually notice.
If Burnham wants growth, he must start by backing AI and Tech founders and risk-takers, says Liam Houghton
New Prime Minister Andy Burnham has an opportunity to make Britain the best place to start and scale a business, argues CEO Liam Houghton.
The continuing political Whydunnit of the murder of Ann Widdecombe
The strangely guilty way that the media, and some politicians have reacted to Widdecombe’s shocking death shows the double standards that can operate when a politician of the right, or left, is murdered in a targeted attack.
What James Purnell’s return to No 10, along with the new cabinet, reveals about Burnham’s Labour network
James Purnell’s return to frontline politics is more than a nostalgic Blair-Brown era reunion. As Andy Burnham builds his Downing Street operation, public affairs professionals will need to understand the overlapping Labour networks — from the Roses set to the Miliband revivalists — now competing to shape the new administration.
