Judy Hirst

About Judy Hirst

Judy Hirst is deputy editor of Public Finance magazine and publicfinance.co.uk. She has written extensively on public and social policy issues, for the Guardian, the New Statesman, Community Care and other publications. You can email her at editorial@publicfinance.co.uk.

In a hole, by Judy Hirst

16 September 2010 | Judy Hirst

Unfilled potholes. Crumbling schools and community centres. Is this an overly alarmist vision of the future state of public infrastructure? Read more...

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Life after death, by Judy Hirst

2 September 2010 | Judy Hirst

So what did the Audit Commission ever do for us? Not much, judging from the chorus yelling ‘good riddance’ as soon as Communities Secretary Eric Pickles announced the watchdog’s death. Read more...

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The state we’re in, by Judy Hirst

12 August 2010 | Judy Hirst

We’re all in this together, the PM and his chancellor repeatedly proclaim. How right they are. Read more...

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Public Enemy No 1, by Judy Hirst

1 July 2010 | Judy Hirst

The private sector, we were told last week, has so far borne the brunt of this recession. Many millions of its employees have had their pay frozen and pensions restricted, said the chancellor in his Budget speech. It’s time, he argued,  for the ‘insulated’ public sector to ‘share the burden’. Read more...

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Boxing clever? By Judy Hirst

24 June 2010 | Judy Hirst

We’re all in this together, said the chancellor, in his debut Budget outing this week. We’ve all got to share the pain. Read more...

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Turning up the noise, by Judy Hirst

17 June 2010 | Judy Hirst

The ‘emergency Budget’ is almost upon us. It’s going to be a game of two halves. On the one hand, with the Office for Budget Responsibility acting as fiscal referee, there’s Cameron’s promise of pain, and yet more pain – the unavoidable penalty for all those foul-ups under the old management. Read more...

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More heat than light, by Judy Hirst

3 June 2010 | Judy Hirst

Pay. It’s such a sensitive subject. In most workplaces, the public sector included, salary levels are regarded as a delicate, private matter, particularly when it comes to the highest levels of reward. Read more...

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Plumbing the depths, by Judy Hirst

20 May 2010 | Judy Hirst

Governments come and go. But the political gameplaying never stops. So this week we had the new chancellor and chief secretary to the Treasury tut-tutting and sucking their teeth, like a pair of plumbers called out to fix the boiler. Read more...

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The show goes on, by Judy Hirst

6 May 2010 | Judy Hirst

Big government or the Big Society? It was a constant theme throughout the election campaign. It was even returned to by that old trooper – Tony Blair – on the eve of polling day. Read more...

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Ch-ch-changes, by Judy Hirst

22 April 2010 | Judy Hirst

Change. It’s what we all want, apparently. It’s the reason for a belated surge of interest in the election campaign, the eruption of Cleggmania, and a seismic shift in the polls. Read more...

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