Features

Analysis: The UK’s black comedy of errors

Conventional wisdom holds that the House of Commons must reject Theresa May’s Brexit deal. But current UK politics is defined by miscalculations and fear, not logic and principle; Matt Ross […]

Challenging the policy of procrastination

The British government has decided not to decide its Brexit goals, Gordon Brown argued this week; but the country can’t begin this journey without knowing its destination. Matt Ross hears […]

Taxation in a digital age: Global Government Finance Summit, part 6

Individuals and businesses are increasingly generating value in the digital sphere, but governments’ systems of taxation remain rooted firmly in the physical world. At the 2018 Global Government Finance Summit, […]

Should we put our trust in blockchain?

Blockchains could validate people’s rights – but, misused, they could as easily steal them. David Whitehouse finds that building trust will be key to realising the technology’s potential Blockchain has […]

Singapore’s digital pioneers: Global Government Finance Summit, part 5

Not every nation enjoys the advantages that have enabled Singapore to lead the way in digital public services. But as delegates learned at the 2018 Global Government Finance Summit, there […]

Beating the jams in France’s journey to electric vehicles

France has ambitious plans to shift to electric vehicles, finds David Whitehouse – but its focus on encouraging big corporates to drive the agenda has proved ineffective: it’s time to […]

Rallying Britain’s moderates

This week, former UK PM John Major raised a banner for centrist MPs, urging them to challenge the radicals shaping Britain’s politics. Matt Ross asks why Parliament’s moderate majority has […]

How Britain built its own cliff edge

The UK’s former Permanent Representative to the EU, Sir Ivan Rogers, left the civil service last year after providing advice on Brexit that ministers didn’t want to hear. Now he […]

The power of technology: Global Government Finance Summit, part 4

Today’s citizens demand convenient, user-focused public services, Australia’s finance department chief told delegates at the 2018 Global Government Finance Summit. And digital technologies give governments the power to provide them […]

A revolution in health and care: Global Government Finance Summit, part 3

With 295 municipalities and 20 hospital districts serving its 5.5m people, Finland’s health and care system looks cumbersome. It is time, the country’s finance department chief told delegates at the […]