Opinion

Welcome to the refreshed Global Government Forum website

You may have noticed some changes to the look of www.globalgovernmentforum.com today, and I would like to tell you a bit about them. From this week, we have revised how […]

Opinion: the public sector will bear the brunt of Sunak’s push to balance the books

The budget suggests that this government believes it is business who will power the UK’s recovery from COVID-19. But it’s a fair bet that departments will end up feeling the […]

Opinion: Ministerial errors have undermined the UK’s pandemic response

The latest Whitehall Monitor report reveals just how badly ministers have handled the COVID-19 crisis, failing in key areas such as procurement and working with local authorities, argues Richard Vize […]

Opinion: the ‘power of where’ – realising the potential of geospatial data

For millennia maps have guided exploration, supported trade and allowed us to defend our nations and maintain the social fabrics of our societies. They tell the story of human endeavour […]

Opinion: Labour’s appointment plans say little about civil servants, but much about politicians

Last week, unnamed Labour sources floated the idea of letting politicians directly appoint departmental leaders. Matt Ross argues that the plan fails to understand either government or management – and […]

Opinion: time for Parliament to turn the tables

On Wednesday, UK PM Theresa May argued that parliamentary resistance to her Brexit plan was damaging trust in democracy. But forcing the country to choose between a terrible deal and […]

Opinion: The Mladic convictions are a victory for international justice – but overall, the agenda is going backwards

Last month, the Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes including genocide. But Nadina Ronc fears that his conviction may represent a high water […]

The United Kingdom is choosing between two very different futures in today’s EU referendum: Opinion

As voters go to the polls in the UK’s EU referendum, Matt Ross argues that much of the campaign has missed the bigger picture – and that Europe’s security could […]

Opinion: The irony of Greek debt and German demands

Rob Whiteman, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), argues that German demands on Greece’s finances are somewhat insincere When Wolfgang Steiger wrote an open letter […]