IfG Events

Latest Episodes:

Shadow Chancellor ANNELIESE DODDS MP in conversation Jul 17, 2020

Show notes

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer ANNELIESE DODDS MP joins IfG Director Bronwen Maddox to discuss the government’s economic response to Coronavirus, the implications of Rishi Sunak’s emergency fiscal measures, and what should be done to help businesses and individuals as the furlough scheme and lockdown come to an end. Plus, how have Labour’s economic policies and priorities developed since she succeeded John McDonnell as Shadow Chancellor?

Annelise Dodds has been MP for Oxford East since 2017. Before becoming Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in April 2020, she was Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury from July 2017 – April 2020. Before this she served for three years as a Member of the European Parliament for South East England.

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Is business ready for Brexit? Jul 15, 2020

Show notes

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. With the Government adamant that the UK will not seek to extend transition from EU trading arrangements, it is more important than ever that businesses are prepared for a dramatic change in trading conditions. However with many firms reeling from the economic effects of lockdown, preparing for the end of the year will be a tall order. Ongoing uncertainty about the shape of the UK’s future relationship with the EU only makes the task more difficult.

How ready are businesses, what still needs to be done and how can Government help? Maddy Thimont Jack, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government, welcomes a panel of experts from businesses of different sizes and across a range of sectors to talk over these pressing issues.

Panellists:

Sonali Parekh, Head of Policy at the Federation of Small Businesses
Ian Wright, Chief Executive of the Food and Drink Federation
George Riddell, Director of Trade Strategy at EY
Lloyd Mulkerrins, Policy Manager at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders

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Governing Northern Ireland: Six months of power-sharing Jul 10, 2020

Show notes

Ministers returned to Stormont in January 2020 after three years during which the Northern Ireland assembly did not sit, there was no executive and the NI Civil Service ran Northern Ireland while policy problems piled up. The new power-sharing executive has had to confront those problems, implement the findings of the inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal, prepare for the implementation of the NI protocol, and now marshal Northern Ireland’s response to the Covid-19 crisis.

How have the first six months of the new power-sharing arrangements worked? How is the executive performing? How can it meet the twin challenges of the end of Brexit transition and the COVID-19? And what can be done to improve governance in Northern Ireland and deal with the weaknesses revealed in the RHI report?

To discuss these issues, Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government, welcomes:

Rt Hon Julian Smith MP, former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
Sam McBride, Political Editor of News Letter and Northern Ireland Political Editor of inews
Professor Duncan Morrow, Professor in Politics at Ulster University
Ann Watt, Director of Pivotal, Northern Ireland’s public policy think tank

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Rory Stewart on the Govt's COVID policy, DfID and more Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

Former International Development Secretary and Conservative MP for Penrith and The Borders (2010-19) Rory Stewart was standing as an independent candidate for Mayor of London when early cases of Coronavirus appeared in the UK. He was one of the earliest public figures to call for a lockdown to combat the pandemic in Britain. Here he talks to Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government, about the Government’s handling of COVID-19, the decision to merge the Department for International Development with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the UK’s place in the world after Brexit.

Rory Stewart was MP for Penrith and The Border from 2010–19. He served in the Theresa May government as Secretary of State for International Development and as Minister of State for Prisons. He is a former diplomat and author of several books recounting his long-distance walks in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Scottish Borders. He stood as an independent candidate for London Mayor but ended his campaign when the election was postponed due to Covid-19.

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David McAllister MEP on the European Parliament and Brexit talks Jul 07, 2020

Show notes

Like member states, the European Parliament will play a key role in deciding the outcome of UK-EU negotiations. Last week, it published a draft resolution highlighting its priorities for the future relationship – and warned that MEPs would not be drawn into negotiating a last-minute deal with the UK.

David McAllister, the Chair of the European Parliament’s UK Coordination Group and close ally of Angela Merkel, talks to Georgina Wright, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government, about how the negotiations have unfolded so far – and what we might expect over the coming months and years.

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Andreas Michaelis, Germany’s Ambassador to the UK, in conversation Jul 01, 2020

Show notes

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. On 1 July Germany took over the rotating six-month presidency of the Council of the EU, the grouping of the 27 EU governments. During this time, it will need to help broker an agreement on the multiannual EU budget and the proposed €750 billion Coronavirus recovery fund, as well as forging a new relationship with the UK. Germany has also promised to strengthen EU discussions on climate change and foreign policy, in particular with China.

HE Andreas Michaelis, Germany’s new ambassador to the UK and former permanent secretary to the German Foreign Office, discusses Germany’s presidency of the EU with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government.

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COVID-19, wage subsidies and unemployment Jul 01, 2020

Show notes

Governments across the world have invested huge sums to prop up incomes during the COVID shutdown. But as a new IfG paper shows, some countries including the UK have relied more heavily on in-work wage subsidies while others like the US, Canada and Ireland have increased support to those who have lost their jobs. What will these Coronavirus-related labour market policies have on businesses, employment and the workforce? How will the policies need to adapt to encourage a return to work? And what can the UK government can learn from experience elsewhere?

Dr Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government, talks it over with:

Antoine Bozio, Director of the Institut des Politiques Publiques in Paris
Karen Dynan, Professor of the Practice of Economics at Harvard University
Barra Roantree, Economist at the Economic and Social Research Institute in Dublin
Martin Sandbu, European Economics Commentator for the Financial Times

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Prof Joseph E. Stiglitz on COVID-19 and economic recovery Jun 25, 2020

Show notes

Economist and Nobel Prize Winner Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz joins IfG Director Bronwen Maddox to discuss how the Coronavirus pandemic will change the shape of economies around the world.

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Mark Drakeford, First Minister of Wales talks to Bronwen Maddox Jun 24, 2020

Show notes

The Coronavirus pandemic has put the relationship between Westminster and the devolved bodies to the test. After close coordination in the early phase of the crisis, devolved administrations increasingly formed their own plans for leaving the lockdown. First Minister of Wales, the Rt Hon MARK DRAKEFORD MS has argued that Boris Johnson has not consulted devolved governments enough over his exit strategy from lockdown and other announcements. In recent weeks, the Welsh government has taken a different path for easing the lockdown.

Mark Drakeford joins Bronwen Maddox, director of the Institute for Government, to discuss the relationship between Westminster and Cardiff, the room for divergence, and the rebuilding of the UK’s economy.

Mark Drakeford was appointed First Minister of Wales in December 2018. He previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Brexit Minister and Health Minister. He has been a Member of the Welsh Parliament, representing Cardiff West, since 201

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Devolution and the future UK–EU relationship Jun 22, 2020

Show notes

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live Event. With UK-EU negotiations intensifying, the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish administrations have a strong interest in any future agreement – particularly in contentious areas like fisheries. Implementing parts of the deal or preparing for no deal in devolved areas will be their responsibility. And in Northern Ireland, any UK–EU agreement will have implications for how goods are checked at the Irish Sea border too.

Our panel, chaired by Akash Paun, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government, looks at how the UK government has engaged devolved administrations in its talks with the EU, and how the interests of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can best be represented in any free trade agreement.

Joining us are:

Jenny Gilruth MSP, Minister for Europe and International Development, Scottish government
Jeremy Miles MS, Counsel General and Minister for European Transition, Welsh government
David Phinnemore, Professor of European Politics, Queen’s University Belfast
Maddy Thimont-Jack, Senior Researcher, Institute for Government

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