INSIDE BRIEFING with Institute for Government

Institute for Government
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INSIDE BRIEFING with Institute for Government Podcast

These are tumultuous times in UK politics. Government is under strain, the civil service is under pressure, and ministers are grappling with the fallout of Covid, the impact of Brexit and an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. So where is government working well and what is it doing badly? What can be done to make No10, the Treasury and the rest of government function more effectively? And as a general election draws ever nearer, what are the key political and policy dividing lines – and what do they mean for the way this country is run?  Get behind the scenes in Westminster, Whitehall and beyond on the weekly podcast from Britain’s leading governmental think tank, where we analyse the latest events in politics and explain what they mean. Every week on INSIDE BRIEFING, IfG director Hannah White and the team welcome special guests for a free-ranging conversation on what makes government work – and how to fix it when it doesn’t.

  1. 3 DAYS AGO

    Live from the Labour Party Conference!

    The IfG team is up in Liverpool for Labour's first party conference since winning the general election - and the party's first in government since 2009.    So, what's the mood? Has Keir Starmer managed to shift the narrative away from freebies and falling-outs? Does the annual party get together tell us anything about how government is working? And what should we be looking out for as the Conservatives prepare to meet in Birmingham?   The Sunday Times' Gabriel Pogrund, Bloomberg's Ailbhe Rea and UK in a Changing Europe’s Anand Menon join Cath Haddon and Alex Thomas for a special live recording of Inside Briefing.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    39 min
  2. KEIR AND PRESENT DANGER

    20 SEPT

    KEIR AND PRESENT DANGER

    Does it matter if the prime minister accepts a free gift? Lots of free gifts. The House Magazine’s Sienna Rodgers joins the Inside Briefing team to explore a question that, unfortunately for Keir Starmer, is not going away. It has also emerged that Sue Gray, the PM’s chief staff, is paid more than the country’s most senior politician - and a lot, lot more than plenty of special advisers. So is Gray’s pay day a problem?   Talking of money, a new IfG report has set out how the government can save some - billions in fact. Its author reveals where the money can be found.   Plus: How to complete England’s devolution map? Another new IfG report - we’re spoiling you - has the solutions.   Cath Haddon presents.   With Tim Durrant, Ben Paxton, Akash Paun and Matthew Fright.   Produced by Candice McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    38 min
  3. Extra: What can be done to improve government procurement?

    19 SEPT

    Extra: What can be done to improve government procurement?

    The Post Office and PPE VIP-lane scandals have put government procurement in the headlines – and not in a good way. But with the government spending almost £400bn a year on goods, works and services from businesses and charities, what can be done to stop things going wrong?   Well, the Labour government has an opportunity – and a big one – to do things differently, with new legislation – in the form of the Procurement Act – kicking in. But what will this mean for ministers, civil servants and businesses? What opportunities will it bring? What risks might it create? The impact is not entirely clear.   Drawing on a new IfG report, published in partnership with Tussell and AutogenAI, this special episode of Inside Briefing tells you everything you need to know about the scale of public procurement, where billions of pounds are spent, why failures happen, how accountability in procurement currently works (or doesn’t) and where it could be improved.   Emma Norris presents.   With IfG programme director Nick Davies, DEFRA chief commercial officer Einav Ben-Yehuda, the i paper’s senior report Ben Gartside, and Gus Tugendhat, Founder of Tussell.   Produced by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    47 min

  4. 13 SEPT

    Winter Fuel of Discontent

    Is this the week that things started to get a little difficult for the new government?   Prisoners have been released early - something which is never going to guarantee good headlines - and the row about the decision to cut winter fuel payments is not going away.   So are the attacks deserved? Will the government manage to fend them off - or at least take the blows and move on? And what does this all mean for Keir Starmer?    Plus: Select committee chair elections, Conservative leadership contest, and the Liberal Democrat conference.   With Emma Norris, Cath Haddon, Gemma Tetlow and Cassia Rowland, plus guest Aubrey Allegretti, chief political correspondent for The Times.   Produced by Robin Leeburn for Podmasters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    46 min

  5. 6 SEPT

    Decades of failure by central government

    The usual cut and thrust of politics took a backseat this as the Grenfell Inquiry’s final report blamed “decades of failure by central government” and the “systematic dishonesty” of multimillion-dollar companies for a fire which killed 72 people. Sam Coates of Sky News joins the podcast team to discuss the inquiry’s findings – and what happens next.   Elsewhere in Westminster the focus a row featuring cabinet secretary Simon Case and the up and downs of the Conservative leadership contenders – so who has had a good week?   PLUS: Who has served as a minister? Which roles have they held? What dates were they in office? All the answers can be found in the fantastic IfG Ministers Database, which launched this week.   Hannah White presents.   With Jill Rutter, Emma Norris and Philip Nye.   Produced by Candice McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    37 min

  6. 30 AUG

    Starmer looks back in anger

    The prime minister followed Tuesday’s Oasis-fuelled Cool Britannia nostalgia with a rather gloomier vision of Britain in 2024 – with a speech that heaped blame on the last government for the tough choices to come. So will things only get worse? The Guardian’s Jess Elgot joins the podcast team to respond to Keir Starmer’s speech – and look ahead to Monday’s return of parliament. The failure to fix the housing crisis stretches way back to the 1990s – so why have successive governments failed to build the homes the country needs? A new IfG report takes a tour through history – and has some solutions for the future. Plus: What is like to be a minister who takes maternity leave – and is the system working? Another new IfG report speaks to six former ministers. Hannah White presents, with Jess Elgot, Joe Owen, Sophie Metcalfe and Nicola Blacklaws Produced by Podmasters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    45 min
  7. Appointments of contention

    22 AUG

    Appointments of contention

    What is the difference between a spad and pad? How should people be fast-tracked into big government jobs? And is Labour going about this process the right way – or committing a series of unforced errors?  With the new government on the defensive after a string of eyebrow-raising appointments to civil service roles, ConservativeHome’s Henry Hill joins the podcast team to make sense of the row – and explore where Keir Starmer and Sue Gray might have questions to answer.  Plus: Does Rachel Reeves have any money to spend? Presented by Hannah White with Alex Thomas and Jill Rutter. Produced by Milo Hynes  www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    49 min
  8. Does Sam Freedman have a plan to fix the failed state?

    15 AUG

    Does Sam Freedman have a plan to fix the failed state?

    As the IfG knows all too well, government sometimes – perhaps often – doesn’t seem to work. So who or what is to blame? Sam Freedman, IfG senior fellow and author of Failed State: Why nothing works and how to fix it, joins Hannah White for a fascinating discussion about what has gone wrong – and how to make it right.   From a stuttering civil service to a stumbling parliament, failed prime ministers and fraught permanent secretaries, Hannah and Sam take a journey through the failures of British governance – and explore what reforms the Labour government could introduce to help turn the system around.   Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

    36 min
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About

These are tumultuous times in UK politics. Government is under strain, the civil service is under pressure, and ministers are grappling with the fallout of Covid, the impact of Brexit and an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. So where is government working well and what is it doing badly? What can be done to make No10, the Treasury and the rest of government function more effectively? And as a general election draws ever nearer, what are the key political and policy dividing lines – and what do they mean for the way this country is run?  Get behind the scenes in Westminster, Whitehall and beyond on the weekly podcast from Britain’s leading governmental think tank, where we analyse the latest events in politics and explain what they mean. Every week on INSIDE BRIEFING, IfG director Hannah White and the team welcome special guests for a free-ranging conversation on what makes government work – and how to fix it when it doesn’t.

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