More than seven hours on the train on one of the hottest days of the year. Failing air conditioning on one leg of the journey. Conductors reduced to stoically handing out cups of ice to wilting passengers. Was it worth it?

My reason for entraining before dawn on Tuesday morning (more…)

We sometimes characterise our audiences as the public, policy-makers and Parliamentarians – the people we need to talk to if we are to fulfil our Terms of Reference. These audiences are not always separate, of course, and nor is this an exhaustive list of our ambitions, but it can be a helpful way of thinking about different aspects of our work.

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There is a room in our basement offices – it is known as the Oval Room – where the Council reports are displayed on a range of shelves. As time goes on, and new reports are published, they have to squeeze up more closely to each other. Soon there will be no more room and we will have to decide which ones are relegated to the cupboards. But deciding that any one of them is out of date or has become irrelevant is rather difficult.

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