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
Tinker, Tailor, Starmer, Spies
With the prime ministers facing awkward questions over the collapse of the Chinese spy case, the Guardian’s Gaby Hinsliff joins the podcast team to explore the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Lessons in Kemistry
Lagging well behind Reform in the polls and bruised by a series of defections, the Conservative Party was in low spirits as it gathered for its party…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Gloves off: Starmer v Reform
The gloves are off. And it's a fight for the soul of our country. So says Keir Starmer. So how is he planning to win it? Sophie Stowers of More in Common joins…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Starmer’s Liverpool Drama
Labour is heading back to Liverpool for its annual conference, so what does Keir Starmer need to do to lift the party’s spirits and get some momentum behind…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Trump’s State Visit: The Sequel
The US president is in town. And the timing could probably hardly be worse for a prime minister still reeling from his sacking of Peter Mandelson as the UK’s…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Mandelson misjudgement
Peter Mandelson has been sacked as the UK’s ambassador the US. But what does his downfall say about Keir Starmer’s judgment in making appointments? The…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Stand and deliver?
Phase one is complete. Phase two begins. And it’s all about delivery. But just how hard is it for governments to do the delivery bit of governing? The IfG…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
What really happens at the party conferences…
The party conference countdown has begun, and the Westminster Village is set to decamp to Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bournemouth and beyond. But what…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Getting It Right When Things Go Wrong: Ministerial Leadership During Crises
All governments face crises, from floods and diseases to riots and terrorist attacks. So how can ministers lead during these unexpected events? How can they…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The secrets of being a government minister
Being a minister is a job like no other. No briefing, no training and, sometimes, no warning – from day one a new minister could find themselves making…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Government in summer: who feels the heat?
What is it really like to govern in summer? Who is in charge when ministers leave Westminster? And what happens when, as it so often does, the summer isn’t all…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The reshuffle revelations
Kemi Badenoch has completed one. Keir Starmer is rumoured to be lining one up. Yes reshuffles, or rumours of ministerial reshuffles, are never far away in…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
STARMER LAYS DOWN THE RULES
Partygate, revolving doors, freebiegate and cash for questions... stories about misbehaviour in public life are never far away, and this week the government…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The scandal and the superinjunction
The Afghan data leak – and the unprecedented superinjunction which followed – has dominated the week in Westminster. The FT’s Lucy Fisher – whose reporting has…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Starmer and Macron: Le Spécial Relationship?
The Prime Minister has racked up the visits, tours and summits over the last year, but this week he turned host and invited President Macron for a state visit…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Ending in tears: Labour’s first year in government
It is one year since the general election brought Labour back to government and since Keir Starmer walked into Number 10. Instead of a smooth anniversary, the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Starmer vs the Labour rebels
The government’s controversial plans to cut the welfare budget have caused serious disquiet on the Labour benches. Luke Sullivan, former political director to…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
What do the Nolan Principles mean today?
To conclude the IfG’s conference on the Nolan Principles, our panel will discuss the impact of the Nolan Principles in public life today. How have they changed…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Iran-Israel conflict: Will Trump (and Starmer) go to war?
With conflict in the Middle East is dominating the headlines, the New Statesman’s Rachel Cunliffe joins the podcast team to explore Keir Starmer’s attempts to…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The morning after the Spending Review before
It’s the morning after one of (perhaps the) most significant days in this government’s lifetime to date. Gideon Skinner of IPSOS joins the podcast team to…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
What choices did the government make in the 2025 spending review?
Join IfG experts for instant analysis of the 2025 spending review – a critical moment for Keir Starmer’s government. Were the spending allocations sufficient…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
In conversation with Jeremy Hunt MP: Britain's place in the world
Britain has been through a difficult period since the global financial crisis, leading many to conclude the country is doomed to inevitable decline. But Jeremy…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Keir Starmer gets ready for war
The newly-published Strategic Defence Review sets out how the UK can fight and win a full-scale war. So what is it recommending and just how dangerous is the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
How will Starmer rate his ministers
It is one year since the 2024 general election campaign kicked off and already reshuffle rumours are doing the rounds. Adam Payne, Editor of PoliticsHome…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
THE ART OF THE BREXIT DEAL
Keir Starmer has signed off on a so-called UK/EU reset. So, what’s in the new deal and what does it mean for the never-ending Brexit drama? The Guardian’s…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Starmer and the strangers
After Keir Starmer made headlines with his warnings of an “island of strangers”, British Future’s Sunder Katwala joins the podcast team to dig into the detail…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Trump-Starmer trade deal: What’s the beef?
Will white smoke on two trade deals help shift the narrative for Keir Starmer after a tricky week? Peter Foster, the FT’s new world trade editor, joins the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Local elections: Ready for Reform?
Votes have been counted – well, most of them. So what do Thursday’s elections for four regional mayors, more than 1000 councillors and the new MP for Runcorn…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Are Starmer and Badenoch making plans for Nigel?
As Labour jostles with Reform for polling points and the Conservatives debate the merits of cosying up to Nigel Farage's party, More in Common's Luke Tryl…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentExtra: What is the role of big suppliers in government procurement?
Procurement is central to the operation of modern government but, following a series of high-profile scandals, is often controversial. Much of the criticism…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Trump’s Tariff Turnaround
As Donald Trump pauses his trade war (well, except in the case of China) the podcast team are joined by economist and author Duncan Weldon to make sense of the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Trump Declares War: Tariff Liberation Day
The rules of global trade have been dramatically ripped up by Donald Trump. So what is the US president’s tariff plan actually meant to do? Has a global trade…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Will Trump rip up Reeves’s rebalanced books?
Spring has nearly sprung, but the fiscal forecasts made for a rather gloomy spring statement for Rachel Reeves. Stewart Wood, a Labour peer and former adviser…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Will Rachel Reeves and Darren Jones’ sums add up?
With Rachel Reeves just days away from setting out her spring statement to parliament, chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones MP drops into the podcast…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Keir Starmer rewires the state: An interview with the prime minister
Minutes after setting out his plans for reforming the civil service, abolishing NHS England, and ending ministerial reliance on quangos, Keir Starmer joined…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Will Ukraine be “Keir Starmer’s Falklands - or his Iraq”?
So much has happened since that explosive – and unsettling – White House press conference bust-up between Donald Trump and Vlodymer Zelensky, but does Keir…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Starmer and Trump: special relationship or odd couple?
Keir Starmer has completed his first visit to the White House – and delivered a letter from King Charles to Donald Trump. So just how special is the special…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
What is the UK’s place in Trump’s world?
With Donald Trump making a series of headline-making statements on Ukraine and its leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, former national security adviser Peter Ricketts…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentIn conversation with John Healey MP, Secretary of State for Defence
The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Rt Hon John Healey MP, Secretary of State for Defence, to discuss his priorities for reforming UK…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Starmer’s border crackdown, Trump’s Ukraine sellout
Valentine’s Day is upon us... but there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of love for Keir Starmer and his government right now. So what is the PM going to do…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Keir Starmer: Leader or HR Manager?
Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall Editor of the Sunday Times, joins the podcast team to discuss his new book Get In, which is being billed as the definitive account…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Does Rachel Reeves have a runway to growth?
No more talk of blackholes. No more doom. No more gloom. So what is Rachel Reeves’ plan for economic growth all about? Times columnist Sebastian Payne joins…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Southport attacks: Has terrorism changed?
The details of how Axel Rudakubana, the Southport killer, plotted his attack have forced the government into action. Ciaran Martin, the former CEO of the…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentGovernment 2025 at The IfG: Darren Jones Keynote Speech
In a speech at the IfG this week, Darren Jones MP, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, insisted that “we are long overdue a reckoning with government spending…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Rachel Reeves takes a gilt trip
It has been a tricky couple of days for the chancellor. But how much trouble is Rachel Reeves really in and how much attention should people be paying to the…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentHappy New Year, Keir?
Tricky poll ratings, gloomy economic news, and Elon Musk's online onslaught have made for a tricky start to 2025 for Keir Starmer, but how much should No10 be…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
2024 in Review: The Start of the Keir Show
It has been quite some year for British politics. Sure, there were no mass-ministerial resignations, rule-breaking No10 gatherings or economy-shaking mini…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Christmas Special: IfG Book Club
The IfG team has spent the year reading government reviews, white papers, select committee reports, consultations, manifestos plans for change… you get the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Power to the people
The devolution revolution is in full swing, with Angela Rayner setting out the government’s plans to give power away across England. Former Conservative…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Appetite for Disruption
Pat McFadden – the minister for the Cabinet Office – is making a plea for an army of disruptors to sign up to the Civil Service and make Whitehall think like a…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Plans they are A-Changing
Is that sound the heavy thud of a gauntlet been thrown down? The podcast team are joined by Peter Hyman, a former adviser to Keir Starmer – when he was a key…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentThe new cabinet secretary: Can Sir Chris Wormald rewire the British state?
After weeks of speculation, and many rounds of interviews, Sir Chris Wormald has been confirmed as the UK’s new cabinet secretary. But who is Chris Wormald…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Cabi-not yet Secretary
It’s a competition that has gripped the nation. The candidates have been whittled down. The country is on tenterhooks. Strictly? Of course not. We’re talking…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentStarmer’s Farmer Drama
Keir Starmer has been on his travels again, but it has been a tricky week at home for the government. Tim Ross and Rachel Wearmouth, the authors of new book…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Donald Trump's Team Calls
We are living in a different world. Donald Trump’s world. Kim Darroch, the UK's former ambassador to the US, joins the podcast team to make sense of what could…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentIn Conversation with Michael Gove
Michael Gove spent more than a decade as a senior government minister, including as secretary of state for education, justice and levelling up. He was one of…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Is the world ready for Donald Trump?
Buckle up everyone. Donald Trump has won the US presidential election and will return to the White House after an extraordinary campaign featuring criminal…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Rachel Reeves' Halloween budget: trick or treat?
Budget day is over and Halloween is here - and Rachel Reeves certainly came up with some pretty scary numbers. Stewart Wood, a former adviser to Gordon Brown…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
What did Rachel Reeves’ budget reveal about the government’s priorities?
Rachel Reeves’ first budget might well be one of the most consequential in years – and is the biggest tax-rising budget in over 30 decades. Spending is up too…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Donald Trump and the politics of interfere
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about US politics in recent years, it’s this: don’t fall out with Donald Trump. So how have Keir Starmer and the Labour…