INSIDE BRIEFING with Institute for Government Institute for Government

Rishi Sunak has ripped up the UK's net zero plan - but did the prime minister's emissions statement make sense and will it win him votes?

Daily Telegraph political editor Ben Riley-Smith, the author of a new book on the last 13 years of Conservative government, is this week's podcast guest. 

Liz Truss returned to the political fray with a big speech at the IfG on Monday - with the former PM mounting a defence for her doomed mini-budget. Is anyone convinced?

PLUS: The tumultuous last 8 years in British politics have stretched the UK constitution to - and sometimes beyond - breaking point. How can it be strengthened? The author of a new IfG report sets out a plan.

Hannah White presents.
With Jill Rutter and Jack Pannell.
Produced by Milo Hynes.

The podcast team dissect Rishi Sunak's appearance at the G20 summit in India - and Daily Mirror political editor John Stevens reveals what it's really like to join the prime minister on the plane for a foreign trip.

Westminster has been rocked by a spy scandal - but should MPs really be that surprised?

Plus: Is central government set up to deliver the government's 'levelling up' pledge - or Labour's plans for 'real life levelling up'? A new IfG report has the answers - and passes judgment.

Hannah White presents. With Alex Thomas and Rebecca McKee.

Produced by Milo Hynes.

Keir Starmer has reshuffled his team of shadow ministers. So who’s up? Who’s down? Is this the march of the Blairites? And what does the reshuffle reveal about Starmer’s plans for the general election campaign – or for government should Labour win? The Guardian’s Aletha Adu joins the IfG podcast team to run the rule over the new shadow cabinet.
 
The concrete crisis in schools has placed education secretary Gillian Keegan under pressure – with the education secretary’s comments also landing her in hot water. So who is to blame, how has the government handled the fall-out, and how could the problem be fixed?
 
PLUS: A very bad week for Birmingham City Council. So why are city councils running out of money? What does it mean for the people who live there? And how can the government make sure this doesn’t happen again?
 
Hannah White presents. With Nick Davies and Sam Freedman.
 
Produced by Milo Hynes.

There is no job quite like that of a government minister – and no training manual for how to do it. So what happens on the first day in the job? How can ministers manager the demands on their time?
Are particular skills needed to get the best out of civil servants? Is there a trick to working with Number 10? What is the best way to handle a multi-billion pound departmental budget? And how can ministers master the art of navigating parliament?
In this special six-part series from the Institute for Government, former ministers and civil servants reveal what it is really like to hold ministerial office and how to do the job well. You will hear all about the challenges, confusion, decisions and drama of a job which really is like no other. 
Presented by Tim Durrant, with Grant Dalton. Produced by Milo Hynes.

Summer is nearly over. Parliament is set to return. And the Inside Briefing team is back to take stock of the last few months – and look ahead to what a lively couple of months might bring.
 
Ben Wallace is out, Grant Shapps is the new defence secretary, and Claire Coutinho has become the youngest member of the cabinet. But what does Rishi Sunak’s mini-reshuffle tell us about his priorities for government – and is there a better way to go about appointing government ministers?
 
What should we look out for at the party conference season? How is the economy faring and are tax cuts at all likely? And what stage of the Nando’s spice scale is politics going to hit this autumn?
 
Hannah White presents.
With Joe Owen, Cath Haddon and Tom Pope.
Produced by Milo Hynes.

There is no job quite like that of a government minister – and no training manual for how to do it. So what happens on the first day in the job? How can ministers manager the demands on their time?
Are particular skills needed to get the best out of civil servants? Is there a trick to working with Number 10? What is the best way to handle a multi-billion pound departmental budget? And how can ministers master the art of navigating parliament?
In this special six-part series from the Institute for Government, former ministers and civil servants reveal what it is really like to hold ministerial office and how to do the job well. You will hear all about the challenges, confusion, decisions and drama of a job which really is like no other. 
Presented by Tim Durrant, with Grant Dalton. Produced by Milo Hynes.