Martin Kettle

No iron law of politics says a government cannot recover from a bad early stumble. So don’t write Keir Starmer off too quickly because of the long game he insists on playing or the freebies he took. But don’t kid yourself that his government is not wounded either. Because, after only three months in power, it has already felt a brush with mortality.

Escapist and trivialising solutions are the Johnson and Truss legacy – but that won’t do now. The stakes are too high, the world too volatile, says Guardian columnist Martin Kettle

Directorial tweaks weaken the opera’s fervour and idealism, but Jennifer Davis’s Leonore and Chrstina Gansch’s Marzelline both impressed and in the pit, Alexander Soddy keeps things brisk

Isabella Bywater’s intelligent and demanding production injects fresh menace into Henry James’s tale of a ghosts and dark histories

While it’s likely Labour did nothing illegal in assisting its politicos to volunteer for Harris, it’s yet another issue that was easily avoidable, says Guardian columnist Martin Kettle

Gordon Brown famously brought his moral compass to the prime ministership. Boris Johnson, notoriously, did not. Under Keir Starmer, there is a moral compass in Downing Street once more. But something else has gone missing. Too often, Labour now seems to lack not a moral compass, but a fully functioning political one. It has never needed one more than it does today.

Jonathan Miller’s iconic staging for ENO is 40 years old but with Richard Farnes conducting and a striking debut from Robyn Allegra Parton as Gilda, this remains a vibrant and engaging production

The government is operating in an unforgiving time and lacks capital with voters. It will be crucial to address that, says Guardian columnist Martin Kettle

The pianist delivered the thundering arpeggios and glittering octave runs of Ferrucio Busoni’s prodigiously difficult 1904 piano concerto with total authority

This paper describes the design, delivery and evaluation of a module on decision making for senior managers as part of a master's programme for current and aspiring Chief Social Work Officers (CSWO). Scotland is unique in having a statutory duty that requires local authorities to appoint a CSWO to provide strategic and professional leadership in the delivery of social work services. The CSWO also has certain statutory decision-making responsibilities and as a key decision maker is responsible for decisions that affect individual rights and liberties to an extent that other services do not. This paper describes the key decisions CSWO's are required to undertake before describing the pedagogical approach to developing and delivering the module. Rather than seeking to teach decision making the focus of the module is on raising awareness of factors that impact decision making, shifting from intuitive to active decision making and reflecting on the decision-making process. Results are presented from a thematic analysis of a post-completion survey of participants about their learning. The results highlight the isolation and vulnerability of the role, the weight of responsibility, the complexity and challenges of decision making and how the module supports managers to engage in analytical decision making.