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
Saturday Night's Alright for Investing
This week was all about the launch of Invest 2035. Invest what? The Guardian's City Editor Anna Isaac joins the podcast team to get behind the scenes for the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Gray goes out of fashion
Chiefs of staff aren’t meant to become the story. But Sue Gray most definitely did - until she wasn’t. So what does Keir Starmer’s No10 reset mean for how he…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentAfter Sue Gray: How can Keir Starmer reset No.10?
Reports of dysfunction and unhappiness at the centre of government have led to Sue Gray’s departure as the prime minister’s chief of staff. In an effort to…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Why was the Conservative Party Conference so upbeat?
Not even the torrential rain seemed to dampen the high spirits of the Conservative party conference. So what's going on? Scarlett Maguire of JL Partners joins…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
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…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentKEIR 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…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentExtra: 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…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
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…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
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…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
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…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentAppointments 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…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentDoes 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…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The politics of the Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is all about sport – but it is unavoidably also all about the politics. So two days after the opening ceremony, the IfG team assembled its…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentSpAdcast: What is it really like to be a special adviser? – Ep.4: Moving On
Special Advisers are some of the most important yet misunderstood figures in government. They play vital roles – as the voice of their minister in the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Chancellor’s statement of intent
Rachel Reeves has revealed a “£22bn black hole” in the public finances. So do the chancellor’s sums add up and what is her plan for balancing the books? Sonia…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentSpAdcast: What is it really like to be a special adviser? – Ep3: Beyond the department
Special Advisers are some of the most important yet misunderstood figures in government. They play vital roles – as the voice of their minister in the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Trump vs Harris Showdown
There’s only one story in town – actually, there’s only one story on the planet. And that’s Joe Biden’s decision to pull out of the presidential race – and…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentSpAdcast: What is it really like to be a special adviser? – Ep2: Relationships
Special Advisers are some of the most important yet misunderstood figures in government. They play vital roles – as the voice of their minister in the…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentBritain with the brakes off, America at the abyss
The pace of British politics isn’t slowing down. A big international summit for Keir Starmer. Devastating Covid inquiry headlines. And a King’s Speech full of…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentSpAdcast: What is it really like to be a special adviser? – Ep1: Into government
Special Advisers are some of the most important yet misunderstood figures in government. They play vital roles – as the voice of their minister in the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Keir and Prison Danger
The New Statesman’s Freddie Hayward joins the Inside Briefing team to reflect on Keir Starmer’s busy first week as prime minister, with the PM appointing new…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
LIVE: The day after the 2024 general election
We hosted a special livestreamed recording of the Institute for Government podcast, as a team of IfG experts – bleary eyed but full of coffee – gathered in the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Sunak’s election gamble: will Starmer hit the jackpot?
We’re into the general election final countdown and all the polls point to a big Labour win for Keir Starmer. So does Rishi Sunak have any aces up his sleeve…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Election 2024: Poll positions
There are less than two weeks to go until the general election and the polls are showing no signs of shifting. But what do they really tell us about what…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Election 2024: This Charming Manifesto?
Manifesto week of the general election campaign has seen lots of promises, plenty of policies and even more polling – but whose plans for government actually…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentQuestion Time Special: What does the election mean for civil servants?
We were swamped with loads of fantastic questions at our recent IfG webinar and didn’t have time to get to all of them – so, by special request, Jill Rutter…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Sunak vs. Starmer: Tax Attacks
The IfG rebuttal unit kicked into gear this week after our very own Nick Davies found himself dragged into the Conservative party’s tax attack on Labour. So…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Rishi Sunak’s Titanic challenge
Was Rishi Sunak’s rain-soaked speech on the steps of No10 really only a week ago? We’ve had policy announcements, MPs stepping down, a spectacular fall from a…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Extra: General Election question time special
Rishi Sunak has braved the weather and called a general election. So, what happens now? The IfG has been bombarded with questions about what this all means for…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Rishi Sunak’s General Election gamble
The wait is over! The election has been called! The countdown to July the 4th starts now. After months of speculation, and a frenzied day of drama in…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Starmer steps on Sunak’s toes
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer delivered their election pitches to the public this week – the PM with a focus on security and the Labour leader with six broader…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Dover and done with
The defection of Dover MP Natalie Elphicke shocked both the Conservatives and, it seems, most of the Labour Party. The FT’s Lucy Fisher joined the podcast team…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Local Elections 2024: Swings and roundabouts
The Conservatives take a pounding in the local elections and Labour are taking councils in former Brexit heartlands. But there’s a crumb of Tory comfort in Ben…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentThe rules of Rishi’s flight club
Rishi Sunak’s flagship Rwanda Act is finally on the statute book, and the prime minister has promised that – “no ifs, no buts” – flights will be taking off by…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentTrust in government up in smoke?
Liz Truss is back, with her new book providing journalists with all sorts of extraordinary insights into her retrospective arguments about why her premiership…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Foreign Office Politics
Is the Foreign Office still a department built to deliver the UK’s global priorities in the 21st century or is it out of date in the way it looks and works? Is…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Rishi Sunak and the Attack of the Cybermen
Is China really launching cyberattacks on British politicians and institutions? If so, then how serious is the threat – and what can the government do about…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Prime Minister’s plot twists
The Spectator’s Isabel Hardman joins the IfG podcast team to discuss Conservative party plots – and weigh up just how much trouble Rishi Sunak is in. Rachel…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentPreparing for Power: Ep 6 – Into Government
A general election is getting closer – and whoever forms the next government needs to be prepared. The campaign will dominate time and resources, but the job…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
What’s wrong with the centre of government – and how can we fix it?
A weak No.10 Downing Street compulsively micro-manages. The Cabinet Office is bloated and unwieldy. The Treasury dominates decision-making. And prime ministers…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The general election budget?
Jeremy Hunt’s budget was a massive day in Westminster – and a big moment for the country. But what difference did it really make to the government’s fortunes –…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentPreparing for Power: Ep 5 – Making Manifestos
A general election is getting closer – and whoever forms the next government needs to be prepared. The campaign will dominate time and resources, but the job…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
What do we really know about Keir Starmer?
Tom Baldwin joins the Inside Briefing team on the day his long-awaited biography of Keir Starmer is published. So what does the book reveal about the man who…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentPreparing for Power: Ep 4 – The governing party
A general election is getting closer – and whoever forms the next government needs to be prepared. The campaign will dominate time and resources, but the job…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Hoyle Crisis
Wednesday night’s debate on Gaza saw chaotic – and unedifying – scenes in Commons which brought parliament into disrepute. ConservativeHome’s Henry Hill joins…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentPreparing for Power: Ep 3 – The Opposition
A general election is getting closer – and whoever forms the next government will need to prepare for the possibility of power. Thecampaign will dominate time…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Rishi Sunak’s double by-election trouble
A double by-election battering for the government has made this a very bad week for Rishi Sunak. The loss of Kingswood and Wellingborough to Labour followed…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentPreparing for Power – Ep.2: The Civil Service
Whoever forms the next government will need to be prepared. The job begins almost as soon as the votes have been counted. Preparing for Power, a special…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Sunak gambles as Starmer u-turns
The King’s health has dominated the news this week, but the prime minister has been making controversial headlines with his televised bet with Piers Morgan and…
Inside Briefing with the Institute for GovernmentPreparing for Power – Ep.1: Access Talks
Whoever forms the next government will need to be prepared. The job begins almost as soon as the votes have been counted. So what is it like to go from…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Gathering Stormont
A deal to restore government in Northern Ireland has finally been struck and Stormont is set to return. So what was the decisive factor? Who are the big…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Has Sunak lost the plot?
Simon Clarke has called for Rishi Sunak to go. A former No10 special adviser has said the Conservatives won’t win the election with Sunak at the helm. And an…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Rishi vs. The Rebels
Rishi Sunak’s controversial Rwanda legislation has made its way through the House of Commons, but at what cost to his authority? Peter Ricketts, the UK’s first…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The Post Office scandal: Trouble on the horizon
The Post Office scandal has been described by Rishi Sunak as one of greatest miscarriages of justice in UK history – so who is responsible, and is the…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
2024 Preview Special: Let election battles commence
2024 is going to be quite some year for politics. A general election is no more than a year away. The Conservatives are still a long way behind in the polls…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Christmas Special: The IfG Fantasy Cabinet
Have you opened all your presents and need something to lift your flagging festive spirits? Perhaps those in-laws are staying a little longer than you’d like…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
The IfG Review of 2023: Posturing and panicking, poison and paranoia
So that was the year that was. Just the one prime minister this time, but plenty of political drama and intrigue, twists and turns, and high and lows. David…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Rishi Sunak’s unhappy Five Families
While five groups of right wing Conservative MPs – the so-called “Five Families” – have not been making life easy for the prime minister, Rishi Sunak’s…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Was this Rishi Sunak's worst week yet?
Robert Jenrick has resigned as immigration minister, former home secretary Suella Braverman says the Rwanda Bill will lose the Conservatives the next election…
- Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Sunak’s Captain Marble act falls flat
Nobody predicted a massive diplomatic bust-up with Greece, so is Rishi Sunak losing his marbles? PoliticsHome editor Laura Silver joins the podcast team to…