Johnson prepares for his new Prime Minister’s department

He may move out of Number Ten altogether for work and into the Cabinet Office at 70 Whitehall.

Tony Smith: In over 40 years of Home Office experience, I can’t recall a time when our borders have been under so much pressure

I know that government needs a cross-Whitehall programme that actively engages with the myriad of departments and agencies.

Friends of Cummings: “A hard rain is coming.”

“Dom is a decentraliser,” we were told.  “But he’s resistant to decentralising to people who he thinks aren’t up to the job.”

Why the Cabinet Office will be in the dock for Covid failures when the inquiry comes. As will Sedwill.

The Treasury has been welded at the top to Number Ten. Now there’s a push to do more of the same to the Office.

Profile: Helen MacNamara, who could yet hold Cummings’ fate in her hands

“The new Sue Gray” – responsible for policing propriety and ethics – may yet be asked to rule whether Johnson’s adviser has behaved improperly.

A reminder from Johnson’s broadcast. The lockdown won’t end until the NHS can cope with a second wave.

The Government’s main aim to date has been to ensure that it can take the strain – and his remarkable statement shows that this is unlikely to change.

Lee Rotherham: Knife crime can only be tackled by dealing with all the causes

Kids Count has just launched an important new audit, which is the precursor to a much larger study into knife crime reviewing cause and effect.

Duncan Simpson: Three tasks for Johnson. Cull quangos. End taxpayer-funded lobbying. And reform appointments.

Cleaning up the state won’t be a quick and easy task. But if Boris Johnson doesn’t grasp the nettle, it will certainly come back to sting.

Nick Herbert: A ten point plan for the new government

A manifesto from Govern Up on how the Johnson administration can best get to grips with Whitehall – and deliver effectively.

Anthony Browne: Policy Gains from Brexit 6) Getting public procurement to work

At one point, City Hall officials told me the only way to get a project done was to hire external lawyers to take City Hall’s procurement lawyers to court.

How far should Sedwill go over the Huawei leak?

He is perfectly entitled to crack down on leaks. But it’s worth bearing in mind that this one was scarcely unprecedented.

Appointments 6) Foster mans the barricades at Wales, the Cabinet Office, and the Whips Office

He fills the roles vacated by Nigel Adams, and rounds out Theresa May’s latest bid to fill out at least the higher ranks of her Government.

The Government is bluffing. Why I and many others will vote against the Withdrawal Agreement later today.

The EU won’t grant us a long extension for fear of what European elections here would produce. If we hold our nerve, the UK will Brexit on WTO terms in April.

Andy Street: In the West Midlands, inclusion is more than a buzzword. It’s turning our diversity into a strength.

It is a sad and all-too-obvious fact that most of the decision makers I meet in my role as Mayor are people who look like me.

Alex Morton: This week, Hammond’s Budget. Next year, the Spending Review. It must focus on gaining more growth.

The Treasury should not simply accept the growth figures given by the OBR, but seek to raise them.