Iain Mansfield

Great defence of the Year 6 English SATs against the shade thrown at them by Rosen and others. Well worth a read.

His book, World Order, written at 90, was fascinating and thought-provoking - and better written than most books written by people half his age. I may not always agree with everything he says, but think it's great we have people of his experience still sharing their thoughts.

Just finished Small Men on the Wrong Side of History, by @edwest. If you want a thoughtful, eloquent, funny, self-deprecating book about what conservatives like me believe amd feel about society, culture and more, then you couldn't find a better book.

Thoughtful report by @instituteforgov on the value of an impartial Civil Service. I largely agree on impartiality having a high value and the need to focus on effectiveness - but there are some elephants in the room it does not address. Five elephants:

But what about in an ideal world? Did the REUL approach make sense? @StevePeers has written a good thread setting out the classic position of why it wasn't - because it didn't leave time for the standard process of consultation etc that produces regs.