by Peter McDonald | Jan 14, 2026 | Articles, Delivery, Interviews, Leadership and Reflections, Sixth Edition
John Manzoni, business executive-turned Civil Service CEO, talks to Peter McDonald about his time in government and change from the inside In 2014, the Civil Service appointed its first Chief Executive, John Manzoni, a joint billing with the then Cabinet Secretary,... 
by Peter McDonald | Oct 28, 2025 | Articles, Fifth Edition, Interviews
In this edited summary of an extensive discussion, Peter McDonald talks to the former Permanent Under-Secretary of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office about the art of diplomacy, organisational resilience, the importance of collaboration across... 
by Peter McDonald | Jun 2, 2025 | Articles, Fourth Edition, Interviews, Leadership and Reflections, The Top Articles of 2025
In this edited summary of an extensive discussion in Spring 2025, Peter McDonald talks to one of Whitehall’s most senior civil servants of the last 15 years about the lessons she took from being at the centre of government, and having a ringside seat during Brexit and... 
by Tim Dickson | Apr 9, 2025 | Articles, Interviews, Third Edition
Doing things differently with data Over the last three months the hue and cry around the size of the state, new ways of working, the need for more specialists and buzzwords like ‘performance’ and ‘accountability’ have reached a new crescendo. As they struggle to cope... 
by Tim Dickson | Dec 16, 2024 | Articles, Interviews, Second Edition
Since the Heywood Quarterly launched in June 2024, the pace of political change across the western world has been frenetic. This year has been the largest democratic exercise in world history, with four billion citizens making their voices heard. Voters in both the... 
by Peter McDonald | Dec 10, 2024 | Articles, Interviews, Leadership and Reflections, Second Edition
In this summary of an extensive discussion in the autumn, Peter McDonald talks to the former Permanent Secretary to the Treasury about responding to crises, working with Ministers, solving problems and other reflections from a multifaceted career Terry Burns...
