Alex Deane

I hope that the probable next government (with ministers "advised" by Sue Gray) does not let up on the pressure from current Ministers to identify who was responsible for what and when, with regard to the problems with the Post Office, from digital competence to corporate and political governance and decision -taking. Until this is done can we have confidence that lessons (other than to do a better cover up) have been learned? #labdig40

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I’ve written this post a couple of times over … and still struggling to get the right words, but there are a couple of thoughts I’d like to share. 1. Literally thousands of young people have experienced youth social action, community service and built life skills they’ll not get elsewhere BECAUSE of NCS. Their lives have been changed BECAUSE of the relationships they’ve built and the impact they made over those 2 or 4 weeks they spent together over the summer months. 2. So many of those who were impacted by NCS, went on to become Fixers young people who created their own social action campaigns that gave them the opportunity to create change in their own communities. If they didn’t directly get involved, they’ll have pitched their ideas to our YPC’s, taken part in workshops, focus groups or have seen our campaigns at film or media launches. 3. So many of the staff I’ve met, and worked with over the years, have been some of the biggest cheerleaders for those young people they’re empowering and directly supporting. They’ve championed youth voice, created opportunities, and spearheaded campaigns that will go down in history. Just like the YHA’s “Do it for Real” all those years ago, and Fixers, NCS will now have a huge legacy that will become an archive of the amazing work that young people Can and Do achieve when given the opportunity to have a voice. While this government finds ways to cut services and “fill the hole” it’s once again young people who will loose out. It’s not enough to cut council budgets, where youth services are diminished, it’s now the large scale initiatives that are few and far between that take the hit. It’s a sad day. Thoughts are genuinely with all those who’ll be affected by this decision.

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⏰ | NEW REPORT: This paper from Harry Quilter-Pinner explores how and why the next administration will need to be innovative in seeking to renew government, and establishes what a mission driven government means in practice. https://lnkd.in/eCYbQqT6

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🔴 NEW: The SNP’s #indyref2 propaganda drive at our expense is an egregious abuse of power - and an exercise in insanity that must be stopped NOW. Read my latest #MailOnline column👇 #SNP #politics #comment #scotland https://lnkd.in/evEJ-N7t

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Should the United States be concerned about China’s growing involvement in Middle Eastern affairs? If so, what can and should be done about it? Christopher Preble, Zack Cooper, and Melanie Marlowe discuss these questions on this episode of Net Assessment.

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My latest blog, ahead of the PM's big speech later this week: "We need a national rescue plan" Why are the government’s missions so vanilla? Why is the government being all doom and gloom? Why the unexpected tax hikes? These questions asked across the media suggest the government is struggling to connect. Keir Starmer knows this, which is why he is soon to launch his plan for government. But a list of targets won’t be enough. We need a plan based on an honest analysis of where we are at and a compelling vision of where we could get to. The government cannot skip these steps or look to past formulas from Blair, Thatcher or Attlee because the UK’s situation has fundamentally changed. We have declined and, therefore, none of the political stories from the 20th century will help. The UK is tired and old. Our population is increasingly tired an old, and our physical and social infrastructure is too. The UK is Woolworths before it went bust. People feel nostalgia towards it, but little else. We’ve got a large number of defunct assets but we can’t get rid of them or afford to renew them. Most dangerously, there is an inertia in our decision-making preventing us from facing up to reality. But what if we choose not to go bust? What if we choose to break free of our inertia and develop a plan for the future based on a realistic assessment of where we are at and where it could be possible to get to? Read on: https://lnkd.in/e6gRWq79

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Across the ages (and the political aisle), politicians and philosophers from Burke to Locke have agreed on one thing: the importance of the family. Even in ancient Greece, the household - or "oikos" - was considered the fundamental social, political, and economic unit of the Greek polis. In recent times, however, the family has become a divisive topic with battle lines sharply drawn between the political left and right. This has made getting to the root of problems such as crime - and youth crime in particular - difficult to do. It is often thought that enforcement-centric responses such as additional funding for police officers, special investigators, and criminal prosecutors are the best way to fight crime. But, as I argue in my latest piece for CapX, by the time a newly hired police officer or criminal prosecutor is on the scene (or case), the crime has already been committed. To truly solve the problem, we must get tough - not on crime, but the causes of crime. Chief among them: family breakdown.

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Last week saw the unveiling of a new website by the Government, offering practical advice on individual preparedness, based on the National Risk Register. This is one of several initiatives introduced since the Resilience Framework was initiated 18 months ago. These initiatives include the establishment of a dedicated Resilience Directorate for future threat horizon scanning, the Emergency Alert System, and the publication of the National Risk Register. Despite the attention-grabbing headlines about stockpiling, last week's announcement signifies another step towards 'whole of society resilience'. Resilience is the sum of all its components. True resilience is not the sole responsibility of a single entity – whether it's the Government, the private sector, or individuals. It is the result of these various actors collaborating under a shared direction, contributing collectively and directly to enhanced resilience. The recent announcement serves as a reminder of this.

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Important takeaways from the recent budget and its’ implications for foreign policy!

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Major General James Michael Cowan CBE, DSO, Chief Executive at The HALO Trust and CGP Advisory Council member addresses critical global challenges facing the world today in his piece on ConservativeHome. From geopolitical conflicts to humanitarian crises, James underscores the UK’s position as a global leader, writing, “Defence, diplomacy, and development are the three pillars holding up British power overseas, and our success on the world stage depends on the integrated impact of all three. If a nation cuts support for one, the others suffer accordingly.” Read the full article in full below https://lnkd.in/e5HnEBsb

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My commentary for EGMONT - Royal Institute for International Relations about countering the increasingly aggressive hybrid and #FIMI campaign in the #EU : - Measures to bolster the EU’s electoral resilience show that demonstrating awareness of malign actions to our adversaries can be a powerful deterrent and could discourage them. - The EU, under the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2024 , has successfully worked on raising awareness about #ForeignInterference in the context of the EU elections by clear strategic communication through Council Conclusions that we are vulnerable, but not helpless in the face of these threats, as well as by activating the #IPCR mechanism in Information sharing mode. - Also during the Belgian Presidency, the #HybridRapidResponseTeams were established: a new EU instrument, that can also be used to deter malign actors through a demonstration of awareness and solidarity, when a Member State or partner is facing a hybrid or #FIMI attack.

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The Free Speech Union’s (FSU’s) General Secretary, Toby Young, joined Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg on GB News to discuss the troubling case of award-winning Telegraph journalist and FSU member Allison Pearson, who is facing a police investigation over an X post from last year. Needless to say, the FSU is providing Allison with in-house support via our case and legal teams, as well as paying for her to have a solicitor if she's required to attend a voluntary interview at a police station. According to Allison, two police officers turned up at her home at 9:40am on Remembrance Sunday to tell her she was being investigated over a potential ‘non-crime hate incident’ (NCHI). Essex Police responded to this allegation by complaining to the press regulator, IPSO, on a matter of factual accuracy in the reporting of the interaction that took place, claiming “at no stage did the Force say she was having an NCHI” — although given that public bodies can’t sue in defamation, and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights gives particularly strong protection to speech on matters of public concern, it's unclear what purpose this complaint serves other than to provide the Force with some much-needed defensive PR. The Force then released a selective part of the transcript of the conversation, presumably on the basis that it would support their claim. As per the transcript, one of the officers told Allison: “It’s gone down as an incident, or offence, of potentially inciting racial hatred online.” Oops. The use of this confusing either/or formulation — i.e., it might be an incident (NCHI) and not an offence — appears to support rather than refute Allison’s claim that she was “accused of a non-crime hate incident". Click the link to find out more about her case. https://lnkd.in/e8R3T9_Y

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If departments don’t follow existing rules on publishing policy evidence, public trust in politics will continue to erode. CAMPAIGN FOR FREEDOM OF INFORMATION have endorsed our call for the next PM to ensure that departments will stick to the existing rules on #EvidenceTransparency #TrustInPolitics

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Responding to the joint policy statement on a UK-wide DRS and the UK Government policy statement on inclusion of glass,We hear from Duncan Midwood, Co-founder of  DDRS Alliance claims the delayed launch date of October 2027 and the raft of compromises and deferred positions underlines the need to look at an updated and alternative solution for the UK DRS. #sustainablepackaging #recyclability #packaging #sustainability #circulareconomy #recycledmaterials #resourceefficiency #ddrs #beveragepackaging

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📣 UK Government Suppliers to note: key practical procurement considerations for the current Pre-Election Period of Sensitivity* 🙋‍♀️ The high politics and drama of the election campaign continue (last night's Leadership TV debate for example). At a working level however, for those in the midst of government procurement exercises, Civil Service World/Proxima have issued this useful brief, https://lnkd.in/e73rHTAV 🙋‍♂️ In essence, government commercial teams need to be careful about initiating and concluding procurements but balance that with the need to continue normal business to support delivering public services. (*"PEPOS", formerly known as Purdah) #generalelection24 #publicprocurement #civilservice #governmentsuppliers

Total Defence is likely to become a key theme in British defence thinking, but are we ready for the political, cultural and social shifts required? My latest article on Fallout Substack is available tomorrow: https://lnkd.in/eBvQ8WTr

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CT Director Catherine Little and Policy & Research Officer Nina Cilins share the lessons learned from a recent roundtable discussion about the first round of inspections under the new regime, which came into play in April 2024. They also share some top tips for the sector. Read the full blog➡️https://loom.ly/rsIMlrw #ConsumerRegulation #Insights #TopTips #LessonsLearned

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Great to see The Center for Climate and Security Military Response to Climate Hazards (MiRCH) database cited in this excellent commentary from Matt Ince & Laurie Laybourn!

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