Shows / Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The first Labour government in 14 years is facing a daunting to-do list and complex challenges at every turn. Public services are under strain. The civil service is under pressure. And ministers must deliver the government’s missions and milestones. But could Keir Starmer’s plan to “rewire the British state” – through using AI and creating a “start-up” culture – turn these challenges into opportunities? So where is government working well and what is it doing badly? What can be done to make…
Episodes
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Budget 2026: Policies today, problems tomorrow
John Healey’s “breathing space” budget was short on big decisions but big on smaller, immediate measures – so did it all add up? Nick Garland, a former…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Budget 2026: What do John Healey’s choices mean for the economy and the government?
John Healey’s first budget as chancellor on 28 October was a huge moment for Andy Burnham’s government. A difficult fiscal inheritance, made more challenging…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Budget 2026: Does John Healey mean business?
The budget is nearly here. So what is chancellor John Healey going to say at the Despatch Box on Wednesday? The Observer’s Ben Zaranko joins the podcast team…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
What’s on Burnham’s Brexit menu?
With Andy Burnham trying to navigate the ever-precarious tightrope that is doing diplomacy with Donald Trump’s White House, Anand Menon joins the podcast team…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Can Zack fight back?
Another by-election, another win for Andy Burnham - with the Greens defeated in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Deltapoll's Joe Twyman joins the pod…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Burnham goes big: What difference does it make?
No lectern. No tie. And quite a few tears. Andy Burnham promised a different kind of speech. But did the prime minister deliver? After watching Burnham's first…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Mersey Mersey Me: Will Burnham pass his Labour conference test?
From meeting Donald Trump in New York to heading to his first Labour conference as prime minister, it's quite some week for Andy Burnham - so what does he need…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The 72 million pound questions
With Westminster been rocked by the news of a record-breaking – and maybe game-changing – £72 million donation to Reform UK, new Lib Dem peer Tim Leunig joins…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Is Ed Miliband rethinking UK foreign policy?
Foreign secretary Ed Miliband has announced UK sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. So what does this change of position say about UK…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Burnham down the House - the new PM's Parliamentary debut
The summer recess is over. Parliament is up and running. And the new prime minister gave a mammoth statement in the Commons. There were no new policy…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Totally Rewired - Can Burnham really do government differently?
Andy Burnham has clocked up a month mark in Number 10. As the long recess draws to a close and Parliament prepares to return, the Guardian's Kiran Stacey…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Mid-term prime ministers – Episode 3: Adjusting to the role
Every new prime minister arrives in No.10 with a view about what brought down their predecessor as well as a ringside seat to the downfall. So after convincing…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Mid-term prime ministers – Episode 2: The Transition
Becoming prime minister is a job like no other. The arrival of Andy Burnham is the latest in the UK’s recent history of prime ministers coming to the job…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Mid-term prime ministers - Episode 1: preparing for change
Becoming prime minister is a job like no other. The arrival of Andy Burnham is the latest in the UK’s recent history of prime ministers coming to the job…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Mid-term prime ministers – Episode 1: Preparing for change
Our first episode explores the recent history of mid-term changes of prime minister from John Major to Rishi Sunak. Speaking to senior officials and advisers…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Andy Burnham: How is the new prime minister changing the direction of government?
One week on from becoming prime minister, Andy Burnham has now appointed his cabinet, reshuffled ministers, launched a series of machinery of government…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
He wants to be adored – Burnham’s people-pleasing policy debut
Andy Burnham finally takes over No.10 with promises to focus on the cost of living and to make politics better. Can he succeed? Is he the ruthless leader…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Full Time for Starmer: Can Burnham Find a Way to Win?
Keir Starmer has bowed out of his final PMQs. Andy Burnham is about to become Britain's next prime minister. But after two turbulent years in Downing Street…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Burnham, Binface and Starmer's final flight
Reform UK may have dominated the headlines this week, but Westminster's attention is already turning to a far bigger political moment: the arrival of Britain's…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Northern Soul: Burnham's Manchester No10 plan
The King of the North says he will remain - for some of the time - in his kingdom, but how will Andy Burnham's vision for a devolution circuit breaker -…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Brexit at 10: A decade of drama, deals and disruption
A decade after the UK voted to leave the EU, the IfG's Jill Rutter and UKICE's Anand Menon are joined by the BBC's Adam Fleming - the former Brussels…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
What does Andy Burnham really stand for?
Keir Starmer has resigned. Andy Burnham is preparing for power. But what will a mid-parliament change of prime minister mean for the government? How should an…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Burnham v Starmer: The King of the North heads South
As Andy Burnham returns to Parliament after winning the Makerfield by election, the Guardian's Rafael Behr joins the podcast team to discuss a huge week for…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The way you Makerfield
There is just a week to go until the people of Makerfield vote in what could turn out to be the most important by election in decades. More in Common's Luke…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Protests, politics and the killing of Henry Nowak
With the murder of 18 year old Henry Nowak sending shockwaves through Westminster and beyond, IfG senior fellow - and former BBC home affairs correspondent -…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Blair Necessities
With a promise to abolish the position of Cabinet Secretary and scrap the Cabinet Office, Reform UK’s Danny Kruger has launched his party’s plans for reforming…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
May 2026 elections: what are the implications for local government reorganisation?
How has England’s political landscape changed after the May 2026 elections? How will new local leaders go about their new roles? And what does this mean for…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Burnham Issues
With Andy Burnham inching closer to a return to Westminster, Sam White, Keir Starmer's former chief-of-staff, joins the podcast team to explore what happens…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Starmer, Streeting and the fight for No10
With Keir Starmer's premiership on the rocks, Claire Ainsley - a former adviser to Starmer in opposition - joins the podcast team to make sense of an explosive…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Elections 2026: Fragmentation nation
Keir Starmer and Labour government have just faced their biggest electoral test since the 2024 general election. Reform are on the rise. The SNP have made big…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Is Keir Starmer in the last chance saloon?
After avoiding an ethics inquiry into the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal, what can Keir Starmer do to get the government agenda back on track? James Lyons…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Starmer vs Robbins: Why the Mandelson row keeps getting worse
Seven days in, Westminster is still consumed by the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal. The PM has had his say. Olly Robbins - the permanent secretary that…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Peter Mandelson scandal: What are the lessons for Keir Starmer's government?
The government is reeling from the revelation that Peter Mandelson was appointed as UK ambassador to the US despite having failed a security vetting process…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Is the UK (and Keir Starmer) under attack?
"We are underprepared. We are underinsured. We are under attack. We are not safe." George Robertson, former defence secretary and co-author of the government's…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Who will pay the prices of war?
Oil is in short supply as the Middle East conflict continues. Donald Trump has told the UK to “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Money talks: Influence and interference
What should the government do about overseas election funding and cryptocurrency donations? Philip Rycroft, who ran the newly-published Rycroft Review into…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Can Rachel Reeves protect both households and the public finances from the energy price shock?
As war in the Middle East disrupts energy markets across the world, what are the implications for households and businesses in the UK and how should government…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Can the UK weather the Middle East storm?
How prepared is the government - and how healthy is the economy - for dealing with another energy bill crisis? The podcast team review the prime minister's…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Keir Starmer and the cost of security
The conflict in the Middle East has already seen Keir Starmer fall out with Donald Trump - but will the economic fallout of war cause even bigger problems for…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
International Women's Day special: The inside story of life as an MP
What it is really like to be an MP in 2026? How unusual is the life of a politician? How does power work in parliament? And how can MPs try to have an impact…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Trump vs Iran: Is the UK ready for war?
The Middle East is at war - but how does the conflict end and what role will the UK play? Sir Alex Younger, the former head of the Secret Intelligence Service…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Will Rachel Reeves spring a forecast surprise?
Fire up the forecasts. Read up on the rules. Study the spending plans. And get ready for Rachel Reeves' big day in Parliament. Rupert Harrison, former chief of…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
All roads lead to Romeo
Antonia Romeo has been appointed as the new Cabinet Secretary and is the first woman to hold the post. So what can she do to turn the civil service, and…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Resets and resignations: Starmer's worst week yet
Former Downing Street chief of staff Gavin Barwell joins the podcast to discuss another explosive week at the heart of government. On Sunday afternoon the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Keir Starmer's Mandelson Scandal
The revelations about what contact Peter Mandelson had with Jeffrey Epstein, what the government knew, and what it did or is now doing about it is the story…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Growth strategy pains, trains and regional deals
Of all its manifesto pledges, missions and milestones, Labour has been most keen to tell the public that it is ‘going for growth’. But does the government have…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Starmer’s Trump diplomacy and Darren Jones’s fast fixes
In a week when Donald Trump has been escalating his threats to NATO member states over Greenland, Darren Jones was on the home front ensuring that the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Wes Streeting’s government health-check
Drop the excuses culture. Stop complaining about civil servants. And just get it right the first time rather than repeatedly u-turning. Wes Streeting didn’t…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Donald Trumps Starmer’s New Year Plans
With US military strikes on Venezuela dominating headlines, Lawrence Freedman joins the podcast team to ask what Donald Trump's foreign plans mean for the UK -…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
2025 in Review: Starmer's Year of Drama
A year is a long time in the podcasting world, especially for podcasts keeping a close eye on the highs, lows, trials and tribulations of government. Because…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentThe Trump challenge: Chaos, confusion and government communications
According to the Washington Post, Donald Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims during his first term as US president – and Trump 2.0 has also shown…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Four mayors delayed, three ministers reflect, and a House of Lords battle renewed
The government announced that elections for new mayors in four regions will now be delayed. Voters in Greater Essex, Sussex and Brighton, Hampshire and the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Should the U.K. do budgets differently?
The chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility has gone, the Chancellor is being accused of misleading the public. So how did that budget go? Richard Hughes…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Autumn budget 2025: What is Rachel Reeves’ plan for the economy?
Just hours after Rachel Reeves sets out the budget to parliament, this webinar brought together a team of Institute for Government (IfG) experts to share their…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentIn conversation with John Swinney MSP, First Minister of Scotland
Scotland is just six months away from May’s crucial parliamentary election, with First Minister John Swinney preparing to lead the SNP into one of the most…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
John Swinney’s goals for Scotland
The First Minister for Scotland joined the Inside Briefing team to discuss football, the political context in Scotland ahead of the UK budget, and the SNP’s…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Keir Starmer’s government: Traitors or Faithfuls?
Ambitious Labour politicians might or might not be eyeing up the top job. No. 10 isn’t working well. The Prime Minister is on the defensive. Here we go again…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Rachel Reeves and the art of pitch rolling the Budget
Taxes set to rise? Spending set to be cut? Promises to be kept – or maybe broken? Whatever chancellors choose to reveal on budget day, it’s normally a good…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Home Office truths with Shabana Mahmood
The Home Office is not fit for purpose. At least that’s the verdict of the home secretary. So what’s the problem and how can it be fixed? Former home office…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Prisons Crisis Strikes Back
Prisons nearly bursting. Court cases backlogged. Prisoners released early. It couldn’t happen again, could it? Former BBC journalist and Labour adviser Danny…