John Redwood: Why the Government’s response to the virus can’t be settled by the science – with decisions made by epidemiologists

Many of these matters can only be made on the basis of imperfect information. The advantage of the elected official making the ultimate decision is one of accountability.

John Redwood: Lessons for managing civil service obstruction from the Thatcher years. And my role as head of her Policy Unit.

There were plenty of Yes Minister routines and scripts to live through then as now. Much of the system did not like the privatisation programme.

The Moggcast Returns. “Wash your hands for one verse of the National Anthem” – “we can all play our part” against Coronavirus.

Jacob Rees-Mogg also gives his view on “marvellous” Priti Patel and the role of the civil service. Plus: does he think his Grenfell comment was a mistake?

The behaviours of the civil service

At the heart of the Rutnam row is its reservations not only about how the post-Brexit journey is being negotiated, but about taking it in the first place.

Andrew Haldenby: Even after austerity, shocking amounts of money are wasted by underperforming state bodies

Voters are more open to higher spending, but if they pay higher taxes for services that don’t improve then they won’t be happy.

Beware the Eye of Johnson

It is straining to be bigger and better, and see further, faster. But the lesson of the story is that it can’t see everywhere at once.

Reshuffle 3) Chris White: It isn’t just Ministers who get fired. A third of SpAds are set to lose their jobs.

There will be some bruised personalities on the backbenches who will need careful managing over the next few months, and I hear that Spencer is already on the job.

Johnson’s reshuffle. If he isn’t Thinking Big it should be Kept Small.

Let Sunak and Dowden join Jenrick at the top table. And that should be about it. If the Coronavirus takes off, Ministerial changes will be the least of our worries.

Harry Benson: Number 10 needs a Family Policy Unit

The costs – personal, social and economic – of family breakdown are vast and under-appreciated. This is a social justice issue.

Iain Mansfield: Time to Take Back Control – of Whitehall

We argue that the civil service requires significant reform if it is to rise to the challenges facing our society and maximise the opportunities of Brexit.

Johnson – at a stroke, a bigger player in foreign affairs, because of his larger majority. But what does he want to do?

The scale of his domestic ambitions and the legacy of the Iraq War suggest that his ambitions will be limited – for the moment at least.

Julian Brazier: So Downing Street wants to tackle defence procurement. Here are five ways in which it should change.

Talk of more competition can be naïve if the choice simply amounts to either buying from a national monopoly or making an off-the-shelf purchase from the USA.

Rachel Wolf: I co-wrote this Conservative manifesto. And so can say that its focus was on neither the rich nor the poor.

To view Britain in such a way is to see a useless picture of the nation. Most people are Just About Managing. And they are our new voters.

“Get out of London.” Now watch Johnson and Cummings turn the country upside down. Or try to.

Don’t expect Downing Street to bother too much about what MPs or the media think as it prepares to shake up government and Whitehall.

Nick Hargrave: Why Special Advisers should be neither seen nor heard

The trend of the public-facing political aide near the top of government will do more harm than good.