Ok real talk: how is anyone’s house EVER tidy or clean with small children? Or children full stop? Asking for a friend. A friend who is currently sandblasting dried-on weetabix from the high chair while she prepares yet more food to be sacrificed at the weaning altar.

Cue the inevitable pile-on about the PM being work-shy, bad timing etc. This is such a BORING media trope. Pretty sure every UK citizen wants a PM who can sustain their (considerable) efforts and have functioning family relationships. So the haters can all do one.

Politics UK@politicsuk.com · 2d ago

🚨 NEW: Andy Burnham will go on his first holiday as Prime Minister tomorrow

Adding mine to the long list of congrats to @andyburnham.bsky.social for grasping nettle on social care. It will take a political sledgehammer to crack this particularly stubborn nut and the PM fronting it bodes well. But - we need to figure out something fundamental before we start 👇

Funny, isn’t it, that the journalists call him ‘Andy’ not Prime Minister for quite a bit before correcting themselves. Something about his easy informality that attracts it.

Politics UK@politicsuk.com · 2w ago

🚨 WATCH: Andy Burnham receives a massive cheer outside No 10 North as he shouts "I love you Manchester"

In what - based on X and Bluesky - appears to be a controversial opinion, I don’t think No10 North is just a gimmick. If not just mid ranking officials but the actual PM, 1st SoS and senior cabinet ppl working there, the centre of gravity will necessarily shift.

V positive signals that new No10 appointing experienced, senior folk as SpAds. Nathan Yeowell of FGF, Alison Phillips of ThinkLabour. This is a v diff vibe to the cast of 20-somethings when I was there (as a civil servant) under Johnson. Judgement + ability to ‘get shit done’ takes time to acquire

To put it more bluntly, you cannot counter a sledgehammer (right-wing populism) with a group hug.

Amy Gandon@amygandon.bsky.social · 2w ago

1/ Briefly resurfacing from maternity leave to offer this thought on the new Burnham era. TLDR: we need to see more of what I’m calling ‘Bad Burnham’ 👇

1/ Briefly resurfacing from maternity leave to offer this thought on the new Burnham era. TLDR: we need to see more of what I’m calling ‘Bad Burnham’ 👇

Don’t get me wrong: today’s announcement on extending taxes to sugary drinks is *a very good thing.* In 'It Takes A Village' we called for tougher action on sugar and stronger accountability for what the food & drink industry puts in its products. 🧵👇 www.theguardian.com/business/202...

UK to extend sugar tax to cover bottled milkshakes and pre-packaged lattes

Levy will also apply to more fizzy drinks as health secretary says government ‘will not look away as children get unhealthier’

theguardian.com

Don’t get me wrong: today’s announcement on extending taxes to sugary drinks is *a very good thing.* In 'It Takes A Village' we called for tougher action on sugar and stronger accountability for what the food & drink industry puts in its products. 🧵👇 www.theguardian.com/business/202...

UK to extend sugar tax to cover bottled milkshakes and pre-packaged lattes

Levy will also apply to more fizzy drinks as health secretary says government ‘will not look away as children get unhealthier’

theguardian.com

There was a target back in 2018 to halve childhood obesity. But new data shows that one in ten children in reception and one in five year 6 children are living with obesity.

1/ One of the privileges of writing 'It Takes A Village' with @ippr.org has been hearing from parents about what it’s really like raising healthy children today. Together with a @publicfirst.bsky.social survey of 1,500+ parents, we held 6 focus groups across England. Here are my key takeaways 👇

Families are being left to fend for themselves as the NHS is struggling to support parents. If we want a more preventative NHS, we must start by backing parents with the support they need to keep their children healthy. Find out more here: www.ippr.org/articles/it-...

Patchy advice is pushing new parents online, exposing them to misinformation and overload—and making it even harder to know how to keep their children healthy. Read our new report here: www.ippr.org/articles/it-...

👶 | NEW REPORT: After decades of promises, children’s health is still stalling. Parents are doing more than ever, but the system isn’t backing them. This report sets out a new plan to create the conditions every child needs to thrive. Read here: www.ippr.org/articles/it-...

New report out today: It Takes A Village There’s something fitting about publishing this @ippr.org work on childhood health on my final day before mat leave (and as I tend to a toddler with the flu!) www.ippr.org/articles/it-...

It takes a village: Empowering families and communities to improve children's health | IPPR

Improving children’s health has been a priority for decades. Yet, despite billions of pounds of investment and countless initiatives, outcomes are stagnati

ippr.org

Waiting for boarding info at Euston station. Now then, Bluesky, what % of people a) in Euston station rn and b) on my train to Liverpool Lime St are going to conference? And how to tell the wonks from the normies?

Grateful to @civilserviceworld.bsky.social for publishing this op-ed from me on why the culture of Whitehall puts the brakes on public service reform. Would love to hear your thoughts! www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/...

The human handbrake: Why good ideas so often ‘hit the wall’ in Whitehall

Whitehall rewards “policy heroes” over those who can deliver

civilserviceworld.com

Delighted to publish this first paper in @demos-uk.bsky.social Powering Public Service Reform programme today. And it’s only right that we start with one of reform's biggest, but simultaneously least explored, barriers: culture. demos.co.uk/research/the...

The Human Handbrake: How Whitehall culture holds back public service reform

Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.

demos.co.uk

Delighted to publish this first paper in @demos-uk.bsky.social Powering Public Service Reform programme today. And it’s only right that we start with one of reform's biggest, but simultaneously least explored, barriers: culture. demos.co.uk/research/the...

The Human Handbrake: How Whitehall culture holds back public service reform

Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.

demos.co.uk

Thoughts on the Darren Jones appointment / No10 shake-up: 1) Jones seems the most politically astute and authentic communicator, which No10 desperately need to counteract the vibe that robotic technocrats are in charge. So on that front, good.

Hello BlueSky! I'll be at Labour Party conference 28th-30th Sept. I'm interested and available to be part of events on: - Public service reform - Whitehall and the Civil Service - Public health and prevention - Children and families policy If you're after attendees or panellists, drop me a line.

‘Civil service interns must all be working class’ Click-baity headline - designed to court outrage - but this is the right call. Summer internships in the civil service have become dominated by those from privileged backgrounds. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Civil service interns must all be working class, government says

Internships will only go to students from poorer families in a push to make Whitehall more working class.

bbc.co.uk

Thrilled to be supporting this new programme of work at @demos-uk.bsky.social. It brings together two of my greatest professional interests (/borderline obsessions): 👉 Fixing how Whitehall works 👉 Making public services more human, responsive and impactful for citizens.

Demos@demos-uk.bsky.social · last yr.

Appetite for public service reform isn’t new. But something has shifted. Buried in the last Spending Review were three quiet commitments: 👥 Integrate services around people’s lives 🛑 Shift from crisis to prevention 🌍 Devolve power and design with communities They point to a bigger change. 🧵1/8

NGL I have always found it bizarre that Torode & are host Masterchef anyway. What have an unknown Aussie cook + a greengrocer got to say about cooking that 50 other chefs + presenters couldn’t do with a lot more style? And w/o being gross and offensive? Good riddance.

This new guidance is a big mistake, and stands to be utterly self-defeating unless reversed quickly. Short 🧵 www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

No 10 warned against gagging officials from speaking in public

Government guidance has been criticised as ‘chilling’ by think tanks, while former cabinet secretaries have also raised concerns

thetimes.com

Next on the 10 year plan: prevention. This is a mild obsession of mine, having done prevention policy in the CO. (Loads of cross-govt wrangling, industry finding creative ways to wriggle out of regulation + policies being diluted & delayed.) So how has this govt done? 🧵👇

Next on the 10 year plan: prevention. This is a mild obsession of mine, having done prevention policy in the CO. (Loads of cross-govt wrangling, industry finding creative ways to wriggle out of regulation + policies being diluted & delayed.) So how has this govt done? 🧵👇

Some of you know I’ve spent a lot of time speaking to civil servants about what it’s like working in govt - culminating in my project Civil Unrest with @re-state.bsky.social nearly 2 yrs ago. And now I'm back at it, speaking to 50 officials about the change of govt + Labour's 1st year. 🧵👇

Joe Hill@jo3hill.bsky.social · last yr.

Fantastic to publish this today in partnership with @civilserviceworld.bsky.social. I filled out the official People Survey for seven years as an official. It's a great bit of organisational feedback. But I always wished they'd ask some other questions... So now we have!

I am writing a policy pamphlet. Here are all the ways to demonstrate I don't really have a policy answer, that I need to avoid: a. You call for a "national conversation or debate" b. You suggest that what is needed is “a change in culture” 1/