Gordon Guthrie
@foundationsofthedigitalstate.com
Just published The Foundations Of The Digital State - a report for the Scottish Government
http://foundationsofthedigitalstate.com/
and blogs at
digitalpolicy.substack.com
Politician manqué, girl group fan, code monkey
http://foundationsofthedigitalstate.com/
and blogs at
digitalpolicy.substack.com
Politician manqué, girl group fan, code monkey
or ukcivilservant.bsky.social even
Martin Stanley (@ukcivilservant.bsky.social)
I write about, and for, the UK civil service and regulators. Author 'How to be a Civil Servant' and 'How to Succeed in the Senior Civil Service'. Previously Business Department and CMA.
ukcivilservant.bsky.social
February 12, 2026 at 4:54 PM
or ukcivilservant.bsky.social even
My Dad left coal mining when the number of miners dropped below 1m, Orla's auntie was a telephone operator - there used to be 500,000 of them...
February 12, 2026 at 4:51 PM
My Dad left coal mining when the number of miners dropped below 1m, Orla's auntie was a telephone operator - there used to be 500,000 of them...
???????????????
Wormald confirmed as leaving as cabinet secretary - interesting that Antonia Romeo (MoJ), James Bowler (HMT) and Cat Little (Cabinet Office) will act as joint interims
www.gov.uk/government/n...
www.gov.uk/government/n...
The Prime Minister and Cabinet Secretary have agreed by mutual consent the Cabinet Secretary will stand down
Sir Chris Wormald to stand down as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service
www.gov.uk
February 12, 2026 at 4:50 PM
???????????????
they could advertise it by taking some talent and going to seaside towns and having a big party in the summer - we could call it a <Roadshow>
February 12, 2026 at 3:31 PM
they could advertise it by taking some talent and going to seaside towns and having a big party in the summer - we could call it a <Roadshow>
RUC sez whit?
‘the most significant modernisation in nearly 200 years’. - Shabana Mahmood MP.
Read the latest RUSI Commentary from Elijah Glantz and Dr Pia Hüsch on the recent flurry of police reforms announced by the UK government, including the newly established National Centre for AI in Policing.
Read the latest RUSI Commentary from Elijah Glantz and Dr Pia Hüsch on the recent flurry of police reforms announced by the UK government, including the newly established National Centre for AI in Policing.
Police.AI - New Tech Tools for UK Law Enforcement
With the National Centre for AI in Policing – dubbed Police.AI – UK policing is stepping up its pursuit of cutting-edge tools, but cost-effective, impactful delivery requires more than a new name.
www.rusi.org
February 12, 2026 at 3:20 PM
RUC sez whit?
Reposted by Gordon Guthrie
🚨 ONE WEEK TODAY 🚨
Join us at Birkbeck College, London & online for
FOI FEST 2026
- Keynotes from ICO & Scottish Info Commissioner, followed by discussion
- Lightning talks
- Skills sessions
Sign up now: pretix.eu/mysociety/fo...
And for FOI Network updates: www.mysociety.org/transparency...
Join us at Birkbeck College, London & online for
FOI FEST 2026
- Keynotes from ICO & Scottish Info Commissioner, followed by discussion
- Lightning talks
- Skills sessions
Sign up now: pretix.eu/mysociety/fo...
And for FOI Network updates: www.mysociety.org/transparency...
FOI Fest 2026
Thu, Feb. 19, 2026
pretix.eu
February 12, 2026 at 10:10 AM
🚨 ONE WEEK TODAY 🚨
Join us at Birkbeck College, London & online for
FOI FEST 2026
- Keynotes from ICO & Scottish Info Commissioner, followed by discussion
- Lightning talks
- Skills sessions
Sign up now: pretix.eu/mysociety/fo...
And for FOI Network updates: www.mysociety.org/transparency...
Join us at Birkbeck College, London & online for
FOI FEST 2026
- Keynotes from ICO & Scottish Info Commissioner, followed by discussion
- Lightning talks
- Skills sessions
Sign up now: pretix.eu/mysociety/fo...
And for FOI Network updates: www.mysociety.org/transparency...
Reposted by Gordon Guthrie
palestinian journalist posting on twitter that his bluesky account was immediately taken down purely because he was in gaza. all palestinian accounts are assumed to be spam.
![Tamer Nahed 𓂆🇵🇸
@Tamer_Alnoaizy
BlueSky is one of the worst platforms I have ever dealt with. Within seconds of creating a second account, after my first one was shut down just two days after it was created, my account was closed again. This happened despite the fact that I hadn’t posted anything or followed anyone. I was only in the process of adding a profile photo, yet I received an email claiming that my account was “spam” and that it was “causing harm.” What kind of logic is this?
The painful truth is that the account was shut down the moment it became clear it was created from inside Gaza. It seems we are no longer allowed to write or speak about what is happening to us here. They are not afraid of content itself, but of our voices and the reality we carry with us.
Millions are spent to silence these voices and to erase the truth. I am exhausted by this platform and by how our photos and videos, which document real suffering, are treated as “violations of community standards,” as if pain itself has become a crime.
What is happening is not simple moderation or policy enforcement. It is an attempt to erase our existence and bury the truth. And honestly, this is shameful and unbearably painful.
[the original poster has included two screenshots showing the email from bluesky admin informing him that his account has been taken down for being 'spammy, inauthentic or disruptive to users'. it's the standard boilerplate you get when they take moderation action.]
2:45 PM · Feb 10, 2026
https://twitter.com/Tamer_Alnoaizy/status/2021234178461704409](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2l6seozmjsqc4kfukjejat77/bafkreiga45xjdal6lfcqt2zmambaymeoelxafbrlt7fi2nmoahpbqj3cja@jpeg)
February 11, 2026 at 5:26 PM
palestinian journalist posting on twitter that his bluesky account was immediately taken down purely because he was in gaza. all palestinian accounts are assumed to be spam.
Howdy
I can’t believe I have to drag out this tag again heatherburns.tech/tag/unregula...
unregulated wild west internet fallacy – Hi, I'm Heather Burns
heatherburns.tech
February 12, 2026 at 7:54 AM
Howdy
Or I, Clavdivs as we used to call it when it was on the telly ;-)
February 11, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Or I, Clavdivs as we used to call it when it was on the telly ;-)
'bus
'phone
'flu'
'phone
'flu'
Age verification?
I still miss Marathon Bars.
I still miss Marathon Bars.
Age verification?
I never understood the kids' newfangled pog thing.
I never understood the kids' newfangled pog thing.
February 11, 2026 at 9:29 PM
'bus
'phone
'flu'
'phone
'flu'
Reposted by Gordon Guthrie
You can joke about Pam Bondi’s ridiculous unprofessionalism all you want, but I’m deeply shocked by it: She acts as if she fears absolutely no consequences, convinced that there will be no more political power transfers. — This should shake everyone to their core.
February 11, 2026 at 5:48 PM
You can joke about Pam Bondi’s ridiculous unprofessionalism all you want, but I’m deeply shocked by it: She acts as if she fears absolutely no consequences, convinced that there will be no more political power transfers. — This should shake everyone to their core.
The majority at the last one took Ireland
February 11, 2026 at 2:01 PM
The majority at the last one took Ireland
Reposted by Gordon Guthrie
Vaguely formed hypothesis: the crypto ‘correction’ and the maturing of agentic AI are connected. At least part of the crypto thing was under-engaged tech people looking for something to do with their time. Now they’ve got Moltbook to play with, crypto has gone back in the toy box.
February 11, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Vaguely formed hypothesis: the crypto ‘correction’ and the maturing of agentic AI are connected. At least part of the crypto thing was under-engaged tech people looking for something to do with their time. Now they’ve got Moltbook to play with, crypto has gone back in the toy box.
...massive repetition, widespread use of common patterns, deep libraries and clean data, annotated, organised and under version control to everything else
That is so not the world, its not even my laundry basket or floordrobe
That is so not the world, its not even my laundry basket or floordrobe
February 11, 2026 at 10:52 AM
...massive repetition, widespread use of common patterns, deep libraries and clean data, annotated, organised and under version control to everything else
That is so not the world, its not even my laundry basket or floordrobe
That is so not the world, its not even my laundry basket or floordrobe
As a techie who uses AI 3 days a week for coding I implore techie AI booster in the bowels of Christ to realise that LIFE IS NOT CODING and you can't read across for AI success in an area where there are right ways to do things, multiple mechanisms for assessing correctness, extensive tooling...
February 11, 2026 at 10:52 AM
As a techie who uses AI 3 days a week for coding I implore techie AI booster in the bowels of Christ to realise that LIFE IS NOT CODING and you can't read across for AI success in an area where there are right ways to do things, multiple mechanisms for assessing correctness, extensive tooling...
At the 1904 London Olympics the 4 home nations had their own teams, at the 1948 ones it was Ireland and GB
Half of sports (ish) are organised on an all Ireland basis
NI athletes have traditionally chosen between an all-Ireland team or GB
Not really a UK team
Half of sports (ish) are organised on an all Ireland basis
NI athletes have traditionally chosen between an all-Ireland team or GB
Not really a UK team
February 11, 2026 at 9:40 AM
At the 1904 London Olympics the 4 home nations had their own teams, at the 1948 ones it was Ireland and GB
Half of sports (ish) are organised on an all Ireland basis
NI athletes have traditionally chosen between an all-Ireland team or GB
Not really a UK team
Half of sports (ish) are organised on an all Ireland basis
NI athletes have traditionally chosen between an all-Ireland team or GB
Not really a UK team
A significant part of government is the drunk man looking for his car keys under the street light not where he dropped them <becuz that's where the light is>
February 11, 2026 at 9:05 AM
A significant part of government is the drunk man looking for his car keys under the street light not where he dropped them <becuz that's where the light is>
Reposted by Gordon Guthrie
Chuck a kiss cam proposal on the fire would ya?
February 10, 2026 at 9:53 PM
Chuck a kiss cam proposal on the fire would ya?
[sniggers in the chapter about leveraged trusts in Galbraith's Crash of '29]
February 10, 2026 at 9:51 PM
[sniggers in the chapter about leveraged trusts in Galbraith's Crash of '29]
Reposted by Gordon Guthrie
I cannot give enough kudos to the We Rate Dogs account for their clear explanation of this issue and for using their *enormous* platform to educate people.
February 10, 2026 at 8:34 PM
I cannot give enough kudos to the We Rate Dogs account for their clear explanation of this issue and for using their *enormous* platform to educate people.
Reposted by Gordon Guthrie
A new post on working in the open for leaders, from our @jocarter.bsky.social.
If you're accountable for outcomes, risk, reputation and public money, but don’t always get a clear view of the work early enough to steer it, this is for you.
transform.wales/blog/2026/wo...
If you're accountable for outcomes, risk, reputation and public money, but don’t always get a clear view of the work early enough to steer it, this is for you.
transform.wales/blog/2026/wo...
Working in the open for leaders
Working in the open is a powerful governance tool that provides leaders with earlier visibility into work, allowing them to identify risks and steer outcomes before they become costly crises. If you f...
transform.wales
January 27, 2026 at 9:51 AM
A new post on working in the open for leaders, from our @jocarter.bsky.social.
If you're accountable for outcomes, risk, reputation and public money, but don’t always get a clear view of the work early enough to steer it, this is for you.
transform.wales/blog/2026/wo...
If you're accountable for outcomes, risk, reputation and public money, but don’t always get a clear view of the work early enough to steer it, this is for you.
transform.wales/blog/2026/wo...
You're not wrong - but the US is long since the point where there is a clean road back to democracy - any process will be at least in part a-legal - it will involve street protest and the withdrawal of the Mandate of Heaven by state security forces
February 10, 2026 at 4:35 PM
You're not wrong - but the US is long since the point where there is a clean road back to democracy - any process will be at least in part a-legal - it will involve street protest and the withdrawal of the Mandate of Heaven by state security forces