And our Government Ministers explainer has all you need to know about the number of ministers, which constituencies they represent, and their responsibilities:
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/go...
For a full list of ministerial resignations from Starmer’s government, read our explainer linked below: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/mi...
This brings the total number of government ministers to 122 – 109 of whom are paid and 13 of whom are entirely unpaid (in line with the legal maximum of 109 paid ministers that is allowed).
Sharon Hodgson was also appointed as minister in the Department for Health and Social Care after Ashley Dalton stepped down from her role over health reasons. And Satvir Kaur – minister in the CO – returned to her role full time in February after her maternity leave.
On 3 March, James Frith (MP for Bury North) was appointed to replace Simons as a joint minister in the Cabinet Office and DSIT.
Baroness Anderson (already a government whip) was also appointed to the CO – making her one of 7 departmental ministers who also serve as whips.
Josh Simons’ resignation last week has brought Starmer’s govt up to a total of 13 ministerial resignations – the highest number of any recent PM at this stage of their tenure.
Who has been appointed to replace Simons and how many ministers are there now in total…? 🧵
And with that, happy international women's day! ☺️
And you can find our Ministers Reflect Archive here: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/ministers-re...
For more stats on gender balance in politics, you can read our full explainer here: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/ge...
Ultimately, more diversity in parliament and government makes it more representative of the population it serves. Jo Swinson told the Institute about the importance of having examples of women as political role-models:
But there is still need for improvement, as several interviewees told us about the male political culture in Westminster and how female politicians face more critical treatment by the media.
For example, the Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Act 2021 introduced formal paid maternity leave for ministers - allowing the PM to designate a pregnant minister as ‘minister on leave’ – paid – for up to six months, and to appoint another paid minister to temporarily fill the role.
The 'Good Parliament' report by Sarah Childs – which set out recommendations for a more inclusive HofC – turns 10 years old this year. Since then, parliament and government have made progress to ensure practices and processes better reflect the people who work there.
But women are underrepresented in cabinet committees where collective decisions are taken on specific policy areas. While women make up 44% of Starmer’s cabinet, they only hold 34.6% of cabinet committee posts – but this remains higher than any previous government.
Rebecca Pow, Hazel Blears and Theresa Villiers told us about the impact of the increased representation of women in parliament – they say it ‘normalised’ women in politics and ‘changed the atmosphere’ of parliament.
The first woman was elected to parliament in 1918. Progress towards increasing the number of women in parliament has not been even since then – momentum picked up dramatically from 1997 onwards.
Harriet Harman and Jacqui Smith were first elected as MPs in 1997 – an election which saw the largest increase of women MPs (from 9% to 18%). Harman recalls being appointed as the first minister for women and equalities while Smith reflects on some of the gender assumptions she faced.
Since the government reshuffle in Sept25, the representation of women among cabinet ministers has dropped slightly from 48% to 44% - but remains higher than under any previous prime minister.
Ahead of International Women’s Day, here's some insights from our interviews with women who served in govt
Student loans have been in the news lately. But how does student finance actually work?
@martha-ford.bsky.social explains what financial support the government offers students in England www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/st...
Yesterday, the Gorton and Denton by-election saw the Green Party claim victory.
But what is a by-election? What triggers one? How do they work?
Read our explainer to find out more:
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/by...
Labour has lost two by-elections since the 2024 general election. Our updated explainer has all you need to know about the latest Gorton and Denton by-election, which the Green Party's Hannah Spencer won with 41% of the votes. Previously in the 2024 GE, Labour won the seat with 51% of the vote.
New comment piece from me and @hcdunlop.bsky.social on independent commissioners.
We say that govts fail to recognise the long-term commitment that comes with establishing commissioners. Commissioners need sufficient resources and ongoing engagement from govt to maintain credibility and succeed.
New comment from @danhaile.bsky.social, @jillongovt.bsky.social and me on why next Tuesday's spring forecast should ideally be a fiscal "non-event".
We don't expect major shifts in the economic outlook, and so shouldn't see the "knee-jerk" policy responses of past spring statements.
Yesterday the Cabinet Office published the ministerial direction on Chris Wormald's exit payment 👇
This has been discussed a bit in the media, mainly in terms of 'civil service tried to block the huge payout'
A few points on this..
www.gov.uk/government/p...
Our explainer has all you need to know about ministerial directions - what are they? when have they occurred?which departments have issued the most and why?
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/mi...
Little concluded it was 'not possible' for her to determine whether the amount represents value for money or not due to the 'complexity of the legal position and the information to be considered'. She sought direction from the PM as a result.
Little wrote that the proposed amount was 'greater than what Wormald would be contractually entitled to'. However, she was informed that a settlement of this level 'is necessary' given Wormald's 'high profile, unique role'.
Cat Little requested a direction from the PM on the grounds of propriety and value for money. Given the seniority of the cabinet secretary role and since Cat Little reported to Wormald, she argued that the PM's authorisation was required to approve the severance package.
Ministerial directions can be requested on the grounds of 4 possible criteria - regularity, propriety, value for money and feasibility. The vast majority of directions issued have been on value for money grounds.
Ministerial directions happen when the permanent secretary of a dept writes to their minister seeking a direction on a spending proposal. In response, the minister instructs the perm sec to implement the decision. They do not happen often- there have been 107 since 1990.
