John McDonough

@Katie_Lam_MP Needs to do this: bylinetimes.com/2024/04/05/mel…

By 2030, 1 in every 4 pounds that you pay in income tax will be spent on health and disability benefits. But Burnham still says that he won't make cuts. Instead, he'll put up tax on those who work, to pay for those who don't - just like Starmer and Reeves did.

@RECNeil @jimmym Took me a long time to understand the obsession with double cuff shirts!

This is as so good @jimmym - loved his comments about improving recruitment, something I am so passionate about. But the thing that struck me - with a similar path from not London to university and London policy is the imposter syndrome vs posh guys who spout on with confidence…

@DavidPintoD All true David and well said. But there are government departments avoiding facts and evidence. This needs serious attention: bylinetimes.com/2024/04/05/mel…

AI rage-bait is distorting our politics. Here’s how 👇

@RECNeil @andyburnham @RECmembers It’s great to see Neil. But as we’ve discussed, the system has to do its bit. And it’s stuck. Some big, horrible, nasty nettles that could be grasped and things would change quickly! Here’s one: bylinetimes.com/2024/04/05/mel…

I've waited a long time to see a politician as senior as @andyburnham talk about the labour market and workforce as more than skills provision/need. @RECmembers across the country will agree with the principal point the Prime Minister is making here... (1/)

@DrSteveTaylor @andyburnham Yep! Which means doing this: peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/175166…

I have saved @andyburnham some time waiting for Casey review Use AI to summarise the past 30 years of reviews Can’t say I’d disagree with most of this! The Government talks a lot about AI yet fails to use its power for the simple stuff x.com/i/grok/share/9…

@LBC Agreed! Which means this: peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/175166…

“If you solved a lot of those problems, you would have many more people domestically.” Baroness Casey says we need to fix the social care workforce before worrying about immigration.

@RachelCDailey_ @KShabby16334956 @LBCNews @LBC @NickFerrariLBC @johnnyljenkins @patmcfaddenmp @recroconsulting @BylineTimes What to talk about NEETs? Read it and weep! recroconsulting.co.uk/recro-evidence…

This is what @LBCNews @LBC @NickFerrariLBC @johnnyljenkins should really be looking at. And asking why @patmcfaddenmp and colleagues have done nothing at all, despite significant evidence from @recroconsulting over many years. Here’s @BylineTimes from 2024: bylinetimes.com/2024/04/05/mel…

I turned down Ferrari's LBC show this morning to discuss Casey's comments on PIP because I'm SICK of defending our rights to people who only care about clicks and views. Its not my job to constantly bargain for our lives with these willfully ignorant gobshites

@RachelCDailey_ @KShabby16334956 @LBCNews @LBC @NickFerrariLBC @johnnyljenkins @patmcfaddenmp @recroconsulting @BylineTimes Why didn’t @UKLabour do this? A number of cabinet ministers (and recently former) has it directly from me: recroconsulting.co.uk/the-need-for-p…

@ScribblerPen Yep! Offers open… bylinetimes.com/2024/04/05/mel…

Another good news. For journalism — it might encourge some proper news reporting rather than leaks and media manipulation from SPADs and Whitehall departments, and weeks of outrage baiting, consent manufacturing and speculation. Hope springs eternal.

@jimmym @andyburnham @JimmysJobs @10DowningStreet Needs to help mayors do this. None have even tried 🤔 themj.co.uk/open-difficult…

Enjoyed chatting to @andyburnham about his career and his plans to change our education system. We chatted: Work shadowing How he hires His leadership philosophy His English degree and his love of literature Out on @JimmysJobs now - Link below 👇

@premnsikka Agree. But also need to do this: peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/175166…

Care workers should be 'best paid' as Burnham seeks to overhaul social care crisis. Privatisation created huge problems. Low wage/investment, profits, poor care. Billions out of public purse to profits. Can't address crisis without ending privatisation itv.com/news/2026-07-2…

From my experience and dealings with them Neil, I think ministers genuinely don’t know what to do and how to get to grips with the broken organisation that is DWP. They didn’t do what I advised during Access Talks (as below) which would have put them on the front foot. Instead, they got owned by the department. My starting point, as I briefed the former chief executive of civil service in 2019, is employment support. Pull that string, everything else unravels. There seem to be a number of senior people leaving / retiring, at least some of whom have been bastions of resistance. Good luck! 🤞 recroconsulting.co.uk/the-need-for-p…

@John_Recro @Debbie_abrahams @andyburnham @patmcfaddenmp @DWPgovuk @BylineTimes I've added further info John..2 ladies one with cancer one (21yrs) frequently bed-ridden and may have to have her womb removed both denied PIP This @UKLabour won't do anything..just carrying on the Tory plan from 2010 Tory 2.0

I promised myself that I was retired from disability appeals But I've just read 2 supposed "assessments" and awards and I am fuming!! So out of retirement for these @Debbie_abrahams @andyburnham @patmcfaddenmp

@RITB_ @KShabby16334956 This is the real problem which still, nobody wants to touch: bylinetimes.com/2024/04/05/mel…

Fraser Nelson failed to declare massive conflict of interest with Dispatches’ Britain’s Benefits Scandal thecanary.co/uk/analysis/20…

@Katie_Lam_MP As we discussed @lfg_uk last year Katie, Labour haven’t touched the problems @recroconsulting have been highlighting in @DWPgovuk since 2009. Last govt didn’t either but there’s no growth without this and welfare bill won’t get sorted either: bylinetimes.com/2024/04/05/mel…

Labour MPs are already talking about a rebellion if Burnham tries to get a grip on welfare spending. In other words, they won't be happy until your taxes go up yet again, to pay for people who don't work. New Prime Minister, same old Labour Party.

As much as I agree with the principle of devolution, we have to check the capacity, capability and motivation of mayors and their teams, especially if it’s their officers who say what they can and can’t do. And none have touched this, as I wrote for @themjcouk in 2023: themj.co.uk/open-difficult…

'A lot of focus in the UK has been this idea that devolution is a boost for growth' 🎙️ @fiscalphillips explains why devolution's case for growth comes back to accountability, not just funding.

@breeallegretti Not before time!

Exc: Cabinet ministers are being urged to prevent leaks and hostile briefings undermining Andy Burnham's bid to build a more "collaborative" government. A letter issued to senior mandarins and ministers this afternoon calls for a "reset" to avoid breaches of government information security. The request came jointly from Louise Haigh, the first secretary of state, and Antonia Romeo, the cabinet secretary. Special advisers are also now not allowed to be in contact with journalists - unless they are specifically in a media-facing role. Cabinet ministers have been told they are personally responsible for ensuring their aides do not leak, and reminded that doing so has damaging "consequences". One source said it was a sign the government would be focused on serving "every postcode, not just SW1 and Fleet Street".

Spot on Jimmy! We should talk. @recroconsulting programmes including The Life You Want always highlight this. Single biggest issue is @DWPgovuk do not learn from, replicate and scale from successful programmes job centres have bought and never have. Easily changed with some intent. But nobody has touched it, despite my efforts since 2009: bylinetimes.com/2024/04/05/mel…

Andy Burnham on @JimmysJobs - out tomorrow. There is lots to unpack, but I wanted to flag one thing ahead of the episode. He is often characterised as the classic career politician: researcher, SpAd, MP, minister, Cabinet. And that is all true. But the first three years of his career were actually pretty unglamorous: unpaid journalism, transport trade magazines and even writing for Sea Container World. And that is part of the WHOLE point of @JimmysJobs. We want to help people see all the extraordinary jobs and opportunities open to them across the UK - and around the world. There are entrepreneurs and business leaders up and down this country creating companies, building industries and employing young people. I genuinely believe it has never been a better time to be working. We are no longer sending people a mile underground to dig for coal, as my father and grandfather had to do to earn a living - if that is what you can call it. But careers can still feel daunting, social media shows you people crushing it. What it rarely shows you is how messy most careers really are: the false starts, the odd jobs, the LUCKY breaks and the moments of chance. At @JimmysJobs, we are trying to increase people’s chances by showing them more of what is possible. So hearing Andy talk about that early period of his life was fascinating. It is a reminder that even when you do not feel as though you are on the right path, you may still be heading somewhere extraordinary. You might even end up as Prime Minister. Follow @jimmym and @JimmysJobs for the full episode tomorrow.