Ministers and mandarins: how the civil service relationship really works
The permanent civil service serves any elected government impartially, and the friction between ministers and officials is a designed…
Sarah Mitchell
#Government
Stories tagged “Government”.
11 stories
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Why public inquiries take so long, and what they actually deliver
Public inquiries trade speed for thoroughness and legal fairness, and their recommendations bind nobody, which makes the follow-up the part…
Sarah Mitchell
Special advisers: who spads are and why they matter
Special advisers are temporary civil servants appointed personally by ministers, exempt from impartiality rules, roughly a hundred strong…
Sarah Mitchell
The ministerial code: what it demands and who enforces it
The ministerial code sets rules on honesty, interests and conduct for ministers, but it is not law, and the only person who can enforce it…
Sarah Mitchell
How the UK Cabinet Works: The Prime Minister's Inner Circle
The Cabinet is where the biggest decisions in British government are made — here's who sits in it, how it operates, and why Cabinet…
Jordan Pike
What Is Judicial Review? How UK Courts Check Government Power
Judicial review lets courts rule that ministers have acted unlawfully — a crucial check on executive power, but one that cannot overturn…
Jordan Pike
How UK Parliament Works: A Complete Guide to Westminster
From the Commons to the Lords, how Britain's Parliament actually functions — the chambers, the procedures, and the power dynamics that…
Jordan Pike
UK Politics in 2026: What Two Years of Labour Government Have Actually Changed
Two years into Labour's parliamentary majority, which pledges have been kept, which have been abandoned, and what has genuinely shifted in…
Liam Chen
How a Bill Becomes Law: A Plain Explainer
A bill is a proposed law that must pass through several stages before it takes effect. This explainer walks through the general legislative…
Liam Chen
What Is the Civil Service and How Does It Work?
The UK civil service employs over half a million people and serves whichever party is in power. Here is how the permanent bureaucracy…
Liam Chen
What Is Lobbying?
Lobbying is the practice of trying to influence the decisions of government on behalf of an interest or cause. Here is how lobbying works…
Liam Chen