The chancellor is stuck between a fiscal rock and a polit... With the budget looming, Rachel Reeves must decide whether to put up the basic rate

It’s important we ignore the populist sirens & see that govt is complex. Was the Labour pledge not to raise necessary to win power over a discredited Conservative govt? Now said and done, how to get out of that bind. Thoughtful piece @andrewrawnsley.bsky.social
observer.co.uk/news/columni...

An excellent piece from @andrewrawnsley.bsky.social “Communication is on all of the cabinet, up to and especially including the leader of it.”

Collective leadership needs to be modelled from the top.

Treat social housing as critical infrastructure to unlock billions, says Peabody boss Exclusive: Giving social housing same status as roads and energy would mean more investment in sector major providers say is at breaking point

A bold but deliverable proposal ahead of the Spending Review

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

No 10 delays child poverty strategy with tens of thousands more facing hardship Exclusive: Flagship policy put back until at least autumn amid fears cost of removing two-child benefit cap will outweigh political benefit

Scrapping the cruel and unfair two child limit immediately lifts children out of poverty.

“Rebadged” press releases don’t pay bills, and decisions should be based on boosting life chances and reducing barriers to success, not “political capital”.

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Trump’s ambush of South Africa’s president shows how low the US has fallen | Justice Malala Instead of embarrassing Cyril Ramaphosa, the US president’s ‘gotcha’ moment illuminates the fact-free reality show that is Trump’s America

“And there was the emperor, naked: an unethical leader who worships the dollar and has no concept of how corrupt his actions look to the rest of the world”

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The administration's understanding of the "merit-based hiring" that is supposed to replace DEI is to fire a Black woman with relevant professional qualifications and replace her with a personal crony from a different profession entirely who is literally a guy named White.

Got round to reading Farage two page “manifesto” in yesterday’s Mail. Populist slogans/unfunded promises strung together in a piece designed to portray 🇬🇧 as third world. But how about this for nerve from Mr Brexit? “The casual lies and careless attitudes of our political class have let people down”.

Note to party leaders: let Nigel Farage get in your heads and you are doomed Reform’s leader thrives on fear and imitation. To beat him, the main parties need conviction, not copycat politics

“The answer… is not to become more like Reform: it is to be more urgent and convincing about making reforms.” @andrewrawnsley 👏
After 14yrs in Opposition & the current state of global politics (& economics) change means less lawyer caution, more political conviction
observer.co.uk/news/columni...

H is for Home Home is where the heart is, as the saying goes. That’s a place where you can be yourself, somewhere you feel you belong. Finding a good home that is safe and secure with family, friends or neighbou…

The latest blog, A-Z insights from public affairs.
citadelcomms.co.uk/2025/04/22/h...

It’s not too late to stop Trump and the Silicon Valley broligarchy from controlling our lives, but we must act now | Carole Cadwalladr In her final piece for the Observer, Carole Cadwalladr reveals what happened when she returned last week to give the opening speech at Ted, where she gave her first – life-changing – talk six years ag...

“We are not powerless. There are things we can do collectively”
@carolecadwalla.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/global/2025/...

G is for Grounded Effective public affairs is realistic in its goals, managing expectations when world events create turbulence and uncertainty. Yet bold in what can be achieved, by building reputations and relation…

A-Z of Citadel
“G is for Grounded”
20 years of public affairs insights and learning from client experiences
citadelcomms.co.uk/2025/04/07/g...

Opinion | The Rise and Fall of Elon Musk (Gift Article) His belief that liberal democracy has failed and that technologists should lead can be traced to the unusual life of his grandfather.

On Musk's old-fashioned, backwards-looking futurist/techno-authoritarian ideas, all borrowed from failed thinkers of the 20th century
from Jill Lepore

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/o...

Are Trump’s tariffs for real or an AI hallucination? I’m afraid the answer is both | Marina Hyde Amid claims that a chatbot helped shape the key calculations, the president is now off playing golf. He’ll find the world economy in a bunker, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Record high child poverty is a crisis. Shameful but also counterproductive to opportunity/growth. The disadvantages are known - talent is wasted and life chances reduced. The Govt's Child Poverty Strategy must be transformational and tackle the immediate crisis and root causes.

There is definitely a misinformation campaign, just not the one she is describing

Unidentified men grabbing someone off the street and putting her in a car because she wrote an op-Ed. This as flatly authoritarian as anything we’ve seen in this country in a very long time.

“A tax of just 2% on assets over £10m would alone raise£460m a week and would affect only 0.04% of the population” - Julia Davie of Patriotic Millionaires. Surely a better route as we look to special measures for increasing spending on Defence, and it would buy time to reform welfare effectively.

GCSEs harm our young people. Ministers should have the guts to abolish them – and start again | Simon Jenkins A report out this week highlights how destructive the cult of the exam is in Britain’s schools. But it doesn’t go far enough, says Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins

“the cult of the exam is not the answer”

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

There Is No Method to Trump’s Madness. He’s Simply Insane. His defenders try to apply reason to his erratic, nonsensical decisions. That’s a fool’s errand—but fools abound in this administration.

Journalists are trying to understand Trump’s irrational behavior, and are generally unwilling to consider the possibility that it's not some grand strategy, but a madman with increasingly diminished mental faculties.

F is for Forward In Citadel’s 20th anniversary year, the temptation is to reminisce and reflect on the past. Taking on board lessons from the past can help navigate the uncertainties of government and turbulent wor…

A-Z of Citadel
‘F is for Forward’

citadelcomms.co.uk/2025/03/20/f...

E is for Education As the political mantra goes, our priorities can be found in Education, Education, Education. Over the last 20 years Citadel has worked with and promoted education in all its forms.

A-Z of Citadel
Education. Education. Education.

citadelcomms.co.uk/2025/03/07/e...

Government partners with young people to help develop new national youth strategy Young voices to be at the heart of policymaking as government breaks down barriers to opportunity through Plan for Change

Delighted to join the expert advisory group on the government’s new national youth strategy for England

www.gov.uk/government/n...

Exciting things coming soon!

Only 10 days till the 12TH and FINAL N8/CoTN/CfYL report is released🙌

Keep your eyes peeled for more👀

In this dangerous age, Britain needs to exert soft power as well as the hard stuff | Andrew Rawnsley Defence spending has to go up, but siphoning money from international aid is a self-defeating folly

In this dangerous age, Britain needs to exert soft power as well as the hard stuff
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Trump’s Ukraine Mineral Deal Is Seen as ‘Protection Racket’ Diplomacy The United States wants to be paid in exchange for helping the country fend off an invader.

"Experts cannot recall a precedent for the United States, or any other country, extracting cash or resources from its own allies during a time of war"
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/w...

Inquiry Report Calls On The Government To Restore School Playtime Amid Warning That Play Is Being Squeezed Out Of Children’s Lives — Play Commission The Raising the Nation Play Commission, a year-long independent inquiry into why play is critical to the wellbeing of children in England, publishes its Interim Report, ‘State of Play’. The Commission...

Today we’re publishing our Raising The Nation Play Commission interim report.

Thanks to the many people who have contributed evidence and given advice.

We set out the huge benefits of play, the barriers, and make policy recommendations.

www.centreforyounglives.org.uk/news-centre/...

Nigel Farage, Jordan Peterson & co worship each other in alt-right heaven | John Crace Welcome to the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference, a fatuous echo chamber of self-congratulation

Things you can't unsee in NeoCon heaven

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

“Splurged”?

We all need to get behind the #FutureMindsCampaign to call for immediate and scalable steps to address children's mental health.
Find the report here
cypmhc.org.uk/publications...

Alive & kicking! See my latest post on a debate in the House of Commons which cites Jane’s work :)