A diary on plain speaking, festive accountability, and Westminster’s allergy to a straight answer I have spent a career watching politicians of every stripe answer simple questions with the verbal equivalent of a locked door, and this December I have concluded that the single greatest reform available to this country…

A diary on committees, competence, and the plain welcome our institutions forgot I have watched enough committees this year to last a lifetime, and I have arrived at a settled festive conclusion: the people who actually run anything are never the people in the meeting. The meeting is where competence…

A diary on public goods, honest questions, and the plain warmth our officials cannot manage I have watched enough politicians this year to develop a permanent eye twitch, and I have concluded that the single object most likely to shame them into competence is the free tree they walk past…