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The ethics of the case for public sector reform
[Originally posted on Liberal Democrat Voice, 24/02/11] David Cameron’s article on public service reform in the Telegraph was the opening shot in what could be a significant battle both within the...
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Think Tanks and the policy process: Right, wrong and possibly both at the...
I’m currently halfway through The Conservative Party and Social Policy, edited by Hugh Bochel. The contributors chart recent developments in the policy agenda of the dominant Coalition partner. The...
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Dispatching rogue landlords
Tonight’s C4 Dispatches programme provided some very clear evidence regarding poor standards of accommodation and management in the private rented sector. It is linked to the Shelter campaign to Evict...
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Policy and evidence – the homelessness episode part II
Last weekend the Observer ran with the story on welfare reform and homelessness. A senior civil servant at CLG had written to the Prime Minister warning that the Government’s proposed welfare reforms...
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Is nudging enough?
Rene Kinzett, one of my fellow contributors over at Dale & Co, posted Nudging or Nannying last weekend. The argument was perhaps a little cryptic, but the point was that relying on the subtlety of...
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Appraising health reform
Blogging is a fantastic medium for providing a brief statement of your views. Or for building an argument involving a small number of points. Or, perhaps, for giving a high level summary of a more...
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Research and the policy process
[This text accompanies a presentation made to a SW Crucible event on 13th February] In this post I offer a perspective on academic research and the Whitehall policy process. It draws on interactions of...
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Evidence or otherwise on Housing Benefit reform
The mainstream media seem finally to have cottoned on to the fact that our welfare system is to undergo substantial change tomorrow. I mentioned a couple of months ago that the changes around the...
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Reinhart and Rogoff: replication and responsibility
… the actions of economists today bear on the life chances of the world’s population far more substantially than do the actions of the members of most other professions. George DeMartino Replication is...
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Blond’s take on social science
Guess what, I think I’m parked in the red zone! Reservoir Dogs Phillip Blond has posted a provocative piece offering his perspective on the...
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Aggressive intolerance as a substitute for aggressive housing policy?
Something’s been bugging me, but I’ve not fully thought it through. That may well become apparent in a bit. I’ve a sense there is a link that isn’t being made as effectively as it needs to be. Within...
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‘Quackademics’ under fire as critical voices targeted
[Originally posted at The Conversation, 22/08/13] With independent journalism increasingly under threat, will academics be the next set of critical voices to be targeted? A report calling for research...
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Crossing boundaries
I spent the back half of last week at the European Network for Housing Research Annual Conference in Edinburgh. The organising committee were kind to me. My paper on the battle over the “bedroom tax”...
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Liberal Democrat travails over the bedroom tax
Well, well, well. It turns out that the bedroom tax isn’t such a good idea after all. Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander have U-turned on the policy, ostensibly in the light of the (delayed) publication of...
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Developments in the ongoing Bedroom Tax saga
You have to admire Andrew George. Or at least I do. Commentators are busying themselves accusing the Liberal Democrats of inconstancy or hypocrisy in supporting his Private Members’ Bill to reform the...
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Nudge and the state
Last week I took part in an enjoyable discussion on nudge policy as part of Thinking Futures, the annual festival of social sciences. Through a slightly mysterious process I ended up speaking in favour...
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The smoke and mirrors of small politics
This is supposed to be the most exciting election for decades, with the outcome still unclear only four days before polling day. But I can’t say I’m feeling it. With the exception of yesterday’s quite...
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On the way out or in hibernation? The plight of evidence-based policy
Last week Paul Cairney posted at the Guardian on evidence-based policy making. The post is directed at academics seeking to influence policy. It highlights the need to recognize the complexity and...
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