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cathhaddon.bsky.social
Cath Haddon
@cathhaddon.bsky.social
13K followers 410 following 380 posts
Programme Director for IFG Academy @instituteforgov.bsky.social

+ history, Whitehall geekiness and constitutional agony aunt Subscribe to our newsletter: http://bit.ly/3dxiJ5J
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Reposted by Cath Haddon
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
PODCAST 🎙️ Keir Starmer’s government: Traitors or Faithfuls?

What do the media briefings against Wes Streeting say about how No.10 is working – or not?

@cathhaddon.bsky.social @alexgathomas.bsky.social @jillongovt.bsky.social discuss www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...
Keir Starmer’s government: Traitors or Faithfuls? | Institute for Government
The IfG podcast team explore what the anonymous briefings to the media against cabinet ministers tell us about how No.10 is working.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
November 13, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
cassiarowland.bsky.social
Delighted to be the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk nominee for Researcher of the Year at the @smartthinking.bsky.social think tank awards! Looking forward to entertaining all my fellow nominees with tales of public service performance at the award ceremony in November.
Graphic from the Smart Thinking Awards, reading 'We have nominated Cassia Rowland for Researcher of the year'. Supported by Lloyds banking group with the Lloyds logo is in the top right corner and the Institute for Government logo is in the bottom right corner
September 25, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
teodorgrama.bsky.social
The fast stream saw record application volumes in the last recruitment cycle. But different categories of applicants had different odds of getting on the scheme - with success rates for non-Russell Group candidates several times lower than those for Oxbridge applicants (0.4% to 4.7%).
A table from the Institute for Government showing civil service fast stream success rates by demographic characteristics, 2025, where the success rate for all applicants is 1.0% but varies significantly depending on demographics, ranging from 4.7% for Oxbridge applicants to 0.4% for non-Russell Group applicants.
November 12, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
sammacrory.bsky.social
🎧NEW @instituteforgovernment.org.uk podcast

- Royal trouble
- Inquiry woe
- Prisons crisis

@dannyshaw.bsky.social joins @cathhaddon.bsky.social @cassiarowland.bsky.social & @alexgathomas.bsky.social to make sense of it all

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/pris...
The Prisons Crisis Strikes Back | Institute for Government
Former BBC journalist and Labour adviser Danny Shaw joins the podcast team to discuss the state of the criminal justice system.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
October 24, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
alexgathomas.bsky.social
Not good all round. But where *on earth* did this come from? Just made up
Extract from Times story “Senior advisers in Downing Street are sympathetic to that critique, but have found their room for manoeuvre constrained by an "unwritten rule", which dictates that cabinet secretaries cannot be dismissed until they have spent a year in the post.”
October 21, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
njdavies.bsky.social
NEW: @instituteforgovernment.org.uk have published pt1 of Public Services Performance Tracker 2025 covering local government finances and overall performance, adult social care, children's social care and homelessness

Incredible work by @stuarthoddinott.bsky.social & @amberdellar.bsky.social
Public Services Performance Tracker 2025 | Institute for Government
Labour’s public service plans are less than the sum of their parts.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
October 15, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
sammacrory.bsky.social
🎧NEW: Lessons in Kemistry..

Brilliant Conservative Party conference (& stamp duty) analysis on @instituteforgovernment.org.uk podcast

@drhannahwhite.bsky.social @alexgathomas.bsky.social @tompope.bsky.social
and Patrick English of @yougov.co.uk

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...
Lessons in Kemistry | Institute for Government
YouGov's Patrick English joined the Inside Briefing team in Manchester to assess the state of the official opposition.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
October 8, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
sammacrory.bsky.social
NEW: Mel Stride’s civil service savings are more signal than substance

@alexgathomas.bsky.social & @jackworlidge.bsky.social give the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk verdict on Mel Stride's civil service savings

(& yes, it's a fantasy numbers game)

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/mel-...
Mel Stride’s civil service savings are more signal than substance | Institute for Government
Setting a civil service headcount target is too simplistic.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
October 6, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
sammacrory.bsky.social
🎧🎧Listen now!

Brilliant analysis of Starmer’s speech and the Labour conference with @drhannahwhite.bsky.social @cathhaddon.bsky.social @alexgathomas.bsky.social and guest @sophiestowers.bsky.social of @moreincommonuk.bsky.social

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...
October 1, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
sammacrory.bsky.social
NEW: Trump’s State Visit: The Sequel

@drhannahwhite.bsky.social @cathhaddon.bsky.social @alexgathomas.bsky.social & guest @michaelmartins17.bsky.social preview Donald Trump’s visit

(On the IfG podcast, now landing in your feeds a little earlier in the week)

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/i...
Trump’s State Visit: The Sequel
Podcast Episode · Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government · 17/09/2025 · 32m
podcasts.apple.com
September 17, 2025 at 6:24 AM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
philipnye.bsky.social
I'm on the pod this week talking all things _government_ reshuffle

(Also features others talking _ambassadorial_ reshuffle)
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/podcast/insi...
The Mandelson misjudgement | Institute for Government
The Observer’s Cat Neilan joins the podcast team to weigh up the dramatic end of Mandelson’s time in Washington.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
September 12, 2025 at 2:30 PM
cathhaddon.bsky.social
Mum had questions about how ambassadors are appointed and what vetting they go through. No idea why. But i assembled a crack team of IfG experts to answer her questions

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/se...
Senior diplomatic appointments | Institute for Government
How are the UK's ambassadors and high commissioners appointed – and removed?
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
September 12, 2025 at 11:30 AM
cathhaddon.bsky.social
Liz Lloyd gets THREE jobs as well as a peerage. We were used to joint ministers, and a lot more of them this time, but is this a first? She is a Parly Under-Secretary in DSIT and DBT and a whip.
September 11, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
rebeccamckee.bsky.social
Here's the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk 'seven things we learned from Keir Starmer's reshuffle' from @jackpannell.bsky.social @timdurrant.bsky.social and I with data from @philipnye.bsky.social & our now updated Ministers Database

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/seve...
Seven things we learned from Keir Starmer’s first reshuffle | Institute for Government
What does the prime minster’s first major reshuffle tell us about his new-look government?
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
September 11, 2025 at 12:45 PM
cathhaddon.bsky.social
London weather to londoners: YES, IT IS AUTUMN. LET ME REMIND YOU OF MY RAINYNESS

Londoners: it's good for the garden i suppose

Also londoners: oooh there's weather, let me post about the weather
September 11, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
meganbryer.bsky.social
Angela Rayner's resignation on Friday means that a contest to replace her as deputy leader of the Labour Party has started.

Read my first explainer at the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk to find out how the process will work, who is running, and when will we find out who Rayner's successor will be!
September 10, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
rebeccamckee.bsky.social
Over on @instituteforgovernment.org.uk live blog we're posting our 'cabinet flashcards' - key info on who's who in Starmer's reshuffled cabinet.

Helping you prepare for - presumably - the hottest round at every pub quiz this week (if your local one hasn't been cancelled due to tube strikes...)
September 9, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
timdurrant.bsky.social
Fascinating analysis from @paddy-mcalary.bsky.social on the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk blog of the new ministers: 14 of the 19 new MPs in their first ministerial role were previously parliamentary private secretaries

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/live-blog/st...
A table from the IfG showing the parliamentary private secretary roles that newly-appointed ministers held before being appointed - the original table is available at https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/live-blog/starmer-reshuffle-september-2025
September 9, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
timdurrant.bsky.social
What happened with ministerial changes over the weekend? @instituteforgovernment.org.uk has kept an eye on it - there are *62* ministers in new roles, meaning around half the government are in a new role today

Keep an eye on our analysis here:

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/live-blog/st...
Chart from the Institute for Govt showing the degree of change in the reshuffle
September 8, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
rebeccamckee.bsky.social
Latest chart from the @instituteforgovernment.org.uk live blog showing the government line up post weekend reshuffle - lots of new people in new roles

Keep an eye on the blog as we take a look at the new intake and what's in their inbox

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/live-blog/st...
September 8, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
drhannahwhite.bsky.social
Giving my live take on the government reshuffle to BBC news channel from the Reform UK conference… “There’s long been an expectation of a reshuffle around this time, but Starmer will be frustrated at being bounced into potentially wider changes than he had planned before Rayner’s departure…
September 5, 2025 at 4:38 PM
cathhaddon.bsky.social
Like everyone (except a select few in No10) for one this scale, probably not very!

But for those at centre, in simply executing the PM’s decisions, the logistics of such a massive scramble seem to have gone ok

(Some of us still remember the time someone forgot to keep Buck Palace in loop)
jillongovt.bsky.social Jill Rutter @jillongovt.bsky.social · Sep 5
am wondering how ready Whitehall was for a major reshuffle happening today ................
September 5, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
aliceolilly.bsky.social
Great point from Cassia- and more broadly re legislation, quite a lot of the govt bills currently going through parliament are seeing their sponsoring department change Secretary of State
cassiarowland.bsky.social Cassia Rowland @cassiarowland.bsky.social · Sep 5
Her sentencing bill was published *this week* and is bound to be seriously controversial. The department is also in the middle of deciding on their court reform programme & considering abolishing jury trials for most offenders, all while (let's be frank) picking a fight with some v senior judges:
Justice Secretary introduces democratic lock over Sentencing Council
The Sentencing Council will be unable to issue new guidelines without the approval of the Justice Secretary.
www.gov.uk
September 5, 2025 at 4:16 PM
cathhaddon.bsky.social
A interesting question when it comes to who has left the government and who has stayed, is how the PM is going to apply collective cabinet responsibility in context of a deputy leadership contest some of the Cabinet might contest.

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/co...
Collective responsibility | Institute for Government
Collective responsibility is the convention whereby individual members of the government are accountable for the actions and decisions of government.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
September 5, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Cath Haddon
cassiarowland.bsky.social
We've had a few surprising moves in this reshuffle so far - one of the big ones is Shabana Mahmood becoming home secretary. On our liveblog I've given a bit of an overview of what she'll face coming in:
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/live-blog/st...
Starmer government reshuffle: PM changes top team after Rayner's exit | Institute for Government
The IfG team analyse the moves as Keir Starmer reshapes his Cabinet.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
September 5, 2025 at 4:06 PM