PUBLIC SECTOR NEWS

The presidency of the Council of Europe (CoE) changes in May and November, each year. It is usually a quiet transition from one member state to another, a task taken on with little publicity and sometimes little enthusiasm.

But this time it is the turn of the UK and since this was announced there has been a plethora of articles and programmes in media all around the world – the question has to be asked why?

Well, the CoE – and, in particular, its European Court of Human Rights – could be claimed as a British idea. While the Second World War was raging, Churchill wrote about the CoE states that he wanted to emerge from the defeat of Nazi Germany. British lawyers drafted the first of the council's conventions, the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Only five governments negotiated the original treaty in 1949, and four of those had been occupied during the war. Fact is, Westminster and Whitehall are looked up to by the European political class with a sense of admiration, even awe.

But is the British presidency of the Council of Europe likely to produce any radical reforms? The question is asked by Martyn Bond, visiting professor of European politics and policy at Royal Holloway, University of London.

Read the full story here.

A strange bout of consensus has broken out across the political spectrum. Party leaders are jostling for headlines with speeches about the "moral economy", "fairness" and building a more responsible form of capitalism. Models of public service delivery also face increasing pressures and scrutiny. The issues are examined from different perspectives in the February edition of Public Servant.

Business Secretary Vince Cable calls for an early amnesty on fairness; Jonathon Porritt accuses the Treasury of undermining sustainable growth and he seeks a lead outside government; and Tristram Hunt makes an impassioned plea to harness the power of the people for real innovation, efficiency and a moral economy.

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