Author Archives: Ed Jones

Localism will never happen as long as we think in Westminster terms

Across the coverage and reaction to Thursday’s local elections, too many commentators have completely missed the meaning of the results. Watching the BBC’s turgid and often confusing late-night coverage (subject for another blog), viewers were treated to the views of … Continue reading

Posted in Party Politics | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Values, fairness, entitlement and reform

The benefits and bonuses debates have provoked important questions about our values and the answers will be fundamental to any successful reform of the state and society. The magnitude of the challenges ahead requires us to ask searching questions about … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Successful change needs radical leadership which isn’t afraid to make mistakes

As Tim Harford and others observe, ultimate success in public policy often starts with a failure. And yet as Fraser Nelson observed in the Telegraph on Friday, Britain’s political culture obstructs and obscures successful experiments. The conservative institutions that orchestrate our public services … Continue reading

Posted in Public Services | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments