Author Archives: Fiona Melville

How can we make Birmingham like Chicago?

Today the Institute for Government held an event on elected mayors; I didn’t go but one of the tweets caught my eye: You can follow the whole Twitter stream here. But then I remembered this tweet: I like Gavin Barwell … Continue reading

Posted in Elections | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Opening doors – but how people must walk through it themselves

A friend was recently invited to attend a formal dinner at a university, aimed at helping students prepare for what will face them in the real world. Setting aside for now the scandal that a university feels it has to … Continue reading

Posted in Social Justice | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

A political Budget: simplification, transparency, responsibility and equality

Unlike most people, I do not consider a political decision to be a bad one by definition. It is what it is – a decision made by politicians whose jobs depend on whether we trust them and whether their decisions … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

From government to start-up: how sharing space can help entrepreneurs

Some of the happiest people I know run their own businesses. It’s tough, and it’s complicated, and they work incredibly hard – but they have enormous satisfaction. One of the many great organisations working with young people at risk of … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

It’s not enough to rely on blaming Labour

Every so often, I get a press release from CCHQ. You might think that, knowing our approach, they would want to tell us about the great things they’re doing – but no. They are all about why Labour is wrong. … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments