And so the debate continues to rage about the UK's exit from the European Union. In the last 24 hours, the incomprehensibly complicated nature of the UK's constitutional structure has become illustrated with court rulings about the primacy of parliament in our set up. A judges' ruling on the rule of law gets painted as … Continue reading The European lobster pot
Category: Politics
Whatever your views on Britain leaving the European Union, the country is certain now to be entering an extended period of negotiation with the EU and its member nations to unpick the UK from its forty-year relationship. In the past few weeks there has been a repeated claim from various government ministers that we shouldn't be … Continue reading Poker face
It's all change in Government technology circles. The various changes that have happened at the top of the Government Digital Service and elsewhere in recent days signify something, although I'm not entirely sure what. Derek du Preez makes a good stab of it here. All this change got me thinking. For a while now I've been … Continue reading Change leadership
I've never really identified myself as either English or British. Through a fluke of circumstance I happened to be born in Northern Ireland, to a mum & dad who each had one Irish and one Londoner parent. During my teenage years I thought of myself as in some way Irish. I identified with some of … Continue reading A Londoner. A European.
There was a short exchange between a Twitter account run by the CBI and Minister for the Digitals Matt Hancock MP last week that in less than 280 characters summed up my concerns for what appears to be currently going on in the UK government: https://twitter.com/MattHancockMP/status/697811253385895937 Now I know that it's probably unfair and unkind … Continue reading Technoration
I've spent the last couple of days mostly in the wonderful Names Not Numbers event in London, a festival of eclecticism that was timely given my recent thinking about the importance of diversity of thought. The final session I was able to attend yesterday was a debate about the impact of emergent technologies, and particularly the … Continue reading Technology doesn’t shape the future
Worried about your business being "Uberized"? Concerned that your services need to get more like AirBnB? Well, hope you've got deep pockets... There is a pernicious meme that is well established in business that relates that the Internet is basically free. In turn, it relates that technology using the Internet (and mobile too these days) … Continue reading Digital poster children
The role of BT in providing the digital backbone for our nation is currently in the public spotlight as Grant Shapps has published a report into the state of Internet access in the UK. The report recommends that BT is forced to sell off its infrastructure business OpenReach to encourage more competition and a better service for … Continue reading Broadband – the perfect place for Government as a Platform
The National Audit Office yesterday published a fascinating paper examining the role that contract and consulting staff play within central government and the broader civil service. I found it a somewhat depressing read. The short version: contractors and consultants can be used to help bring in resource on a short-term basis to add skills or capacity when … Continue reading Interchangeable units of resource
I originally published this in early September when I was still technically working at GDS. At the time I was asked to edit it as it was thought that it was "too political". Rather than edit, I withdrew it. I'm no longer there, so thought it worth republishing... I'm just coming to the end of a … Continue reading Public sector
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