Matthew Hanney

Senior Partner at Former SpAd to @nick_clegg. Mainly about swimming, rugby and cricket. Possibly politics too. Views my own etc.

[Matthew Hanney @MatthewHanney]

@RyanCoetzee Ireland in a World Cup semi? Don’t talk silly Ryan…

[Matthew Hanney @MatthewHanney]

Thank you to @richardmarcj for letting me write a chapter to offer the Lib Dem perspective on the political constitution (alongside some rather more august contributors)

[Richard Johnson @richardmarcj]

I'm excited to announce a new collection I've edited with @Policy_Exchange on the UK's political constitution.

Essays on party leaders, the Ministerial Code, the war prerogative, government lawyers, Commons & Lords, hereditary peers, devolution, international law, ECHR, & more!

[Ed Davey @EdwardJDavey]

In principle there should be a vote in Parliament when troops are deployed. I’m confident all sides of the House are likely to agree with the Prime Minister apart from those Trump bootlickers in Reform.

[Ed Davey @EdwardJDavey]

The PM is absolutely right when it comes to the deployment of British troops in Ukraine to uphold any peace deal and deter Putin.

The Government must look at reversing the Conservatives' 10k troop cuts asap.

[Tom Holland @holland_tom]

I finish I Can’t Stop Thinking About VAR : a book that could only have been written by someone wise, witty, knowledgeable about every detail of sport, relentlessly curious about philosophy, statistics, religion & literature - which is to say, it’s by @daisychristo

[Tom Holland @holland_tom]

En route to Leipzig, I prepare for tonight’s big match by curling up with @daisychristo’s new book - universally hailed as THE definitive contribution to sport’s BIGGEST CONTROVERSY!!!

(Comes complete with an introduction by podcasting’s @jonawils!)

[Daisy Christodoulou @daisychristo]

Why does technology work in cricket & rugby so much better than VAR in football?

What if it's not to do with VAR, but with fan culture instead.

Is there a quantity theory of grievance - a fixed amount of anger regardless of how good the decisions are?

https://t.co/6N8SLf0BJS

[Daisy Christodoulou @daisychristo]

I was on @BBCr4today yesterday discussing VAR. You can listen here from 1.29.15

https://t.co/8iEUbeRMvm

[Daisy Christodoulou @daisychristo]

You’d have been better off reading this instead.

[Daisy Christodoulou @daisychristo]

You can hear me debating Adrian Chiles about the problems with VAR and what we should do instead.

He loves VAR - I don’t…

[New Scientist @newscientist]

Why is VAR so frustrating for football fans? @daisychristo breaks down the issues plaguing the new refereeing tech—and how they might be solved. https://t.co/mBzNKYfIrt

[Daisy Christodoulou @daisychristo]

I Can't Stop Thinking about VAR is published today!

[Daisy Christodoulou @daisychristo]

My new book, I Can't Stop Thinking about VAR, is out on Thursday.

You can pre-order now. https://t.co/to3NoVwaqn

[Daisy Christodoulou @daisychristo]

My new book about VAR is out on Thursday.

@drdavidajames in @TheCriticMag says it's 'Clever, succinct, and remarkably far-reaching'

You can pre-order now.

[Sir Michael Barber @MichaelBarber9]

This book will be a major contribution to the debate about VAR and its problems.@daisychristo

[The Bookseller @thebookseller]

ICYMI: @_SwiftPress has signed I Can’t Stop Thinking About VAR, a 'crucial and controversial' title on video assistant referee in football, from Daisy Christodoulou.

Read more 👇 https://t.co/bjewzigFrc

[Matthew Hanney @MatthewHanney]

David Cameron also appointed Alex Aiken to the very senior civil service (not SpAd) role of leading the Government Communications Service. His previous role? Leading the press office on CCHQ…

[Matthew Hanney @MatthewHanney]

Am happy to correct Henry when he says he doesn’t know of any similar appointments. David Cameron appointed Laura Wyld - a former Conservative campaigns staffer - to the key civil service job of leading the No10 Appointments Unit. She was later made a Conservative peer…

[Henry Newman @HenryNewman]

For nearly two decades @instituteforgov has been an important addition to think tank world around Westminster.

I find much of their work informative and have enjoyed many of their events. They employ knowledgeable people and have a fantastic office.

But - and there is a but - they come with a particular worldview.

I’ve said before that I often felt they were too much “Whitehall across the Park”. Too ready to defend the Civil Service.

That wasn’t always true but it often was.

Now there’s a new problem. The seeming reluctance of the IFG to condemn - clearly - the outrageous mess which the current (Labour) Government is getting itself into over appointments to the Civil Service.

Following the recent Donorgate scandals, the IFG’s @AlexGAThomas has rightly called for greater transparency around political appointments to the Civil Service. But I can’t be alone in wondering whether if this had been a Tory Government making these appointments we wouldn’t see more concerns being raised about the ministerial code and so on.

A key test for the IFG will be the row exploding over the appointment of former IFG staffer, Jess Sargeant, to a position in the Cabinet Office.

Before her appointment in Government, Jess also worked at Labour Together. A think tank dedicated to promoting the Labour party’s electoral prospects. Incidentally Lord (David) Sainsbury, Chairman of @instituteforgov board, has given over £300,000 in the last year to Labour Together.

Tonight @jillongovt tried to claim that appointing a Labour Together staffer to the heart of the Cabinet Office’s Propriety & Constitution Group was a “presentational mess”. In fact it’s a substantive problem.

Sargeant is obviously knowledgeable about her subject matter. But she worked for a political campaign group. Rutter also implied that this appointment was somehow analogous to appointments made by the last Conservative government. There have been no such appointments under any previous Government to the best of my knowledge.

Also tonight @cath_haddon seemingly tried to suggest that misogyny was also at the heart of criticism of Jess Sargeant’s appointment.

***

The IFG is funded to a level most think tanks could only dream of thanks to Lord (David) Sainsbury’s charitable foundation.

As mentioned above Lord Sainsbury is also the Chairman of the IFG Board. He is a card carrying Labour peer. That board included until recently two other Labour politicians (one has just joined Government so I presume she has resigned). There is one Lib Dem and one Conservative board member, as well as others from business and civil service backgrounds.

There is a nexus of donations and personnel linking Labour Together and multiple Labour MPs. For example the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves - herself embroiled in a messy controversy over the appointment of a donor to a senior Civil Service role - is funded by Labour Together. Peter Kyle - embroiled in another row - was funded directly by Lord Sainsbury.

My central point is that the @instituteforgov faces a particular challenge with the new Labour Government.

For the @instituteforgov to retain the respect it has sought to build, it will need to be careful to avoid the impression that it is going soft on the criticism of former colleagues and friends.

Or that it is not willing to criticise the new Labour Government in the way it critiqued previous Conservative administrations.

This is all the more important given its longstanding interest in ethics and standards in Government.

[Matthew Hanney @MatthewHanney]

Great to see this in person.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

Ukrainian athletes take three more medals at the Olympic Games in Paris.

Yaroslava Mahuchikh wins gold and Iryna Gerashchenko wins bronze in high jump. Mykhaylo Kokhan earns bronze in hammer throw.
We are very proud!

Thank you for this result. Ukrainians know how to be strong and how to win.

🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦

[Nick Clegg @nickclegg]

Huge, huge congrats to @EdwardJDavey and his fantastic team for securing the largest haul of seats in over a century - a total vindication of your fun yet disciplined campaign. Great to see the Lib Dems back where they belong, a major Parliamentary force once again!