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Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government — 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 No10, the Treasury and the rest of government function more effectively? What can Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves do to achieve faster economic growth? What will Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives and the other opposition parties do to hold the government to account? How might Donald Trump shape British politics – and how could the UK’s relations with the EU change in the years ahead?
Get behind the scenes in Westminster, Whitehall and beyond on the weekly podcast from Britain’s leading governmental think tank, where we analyse the latest events in politics and explain what they mean. Every week on Inside Briefing, IfG director Hannah White and the team welcomes special guests for a thought-provoking conversation on what makes government work – and how to fix it when it doesn’t.

Copyright: © Institute for Government

Latest Episodes:

Let’s get fiscal: Can Sunak bury Corona in cash? Mar 13, 2020

Show notes

Hey, big spender: was this the Corona budget or the End of Austerity budget? Is Rishi Sunak doing the right thing for businesses that can’t handle the unprecedented pressures of the Coronavirus? Has he bottled Net Zero on carbon? The perils of badly-drawn business interventions. Why this government is now running on Labour’s fiscal rules from 2010 — the ones they said would bankrupt the country. And can you regenerate a whole country from a highly controlling centre?

“This kind of support can be addictive to businesses. When the next crisis arrives, will the chancellor be able to tell them ‘no’?” – Giles Wilkes

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Gemma Tetlow, Alex Thomas and Giles Wilkes. Audio production by Robin Leeburn.

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IfG INTERVIEWS: David Gauke, former Treasury Secretary and one-man “Gaukward Squad” Mar 10, 2020

Show notes

In the latest of our occasional interviews, former Conservative MP and Treasury Secretary DAVID GAUKE talks to the IfG’s Cath Haddon about what the last Parliament can teach us about the future of this one. How is Boris Johnson faring so far? Are the trade talks with the EU likely to collapse? Will Dominic Cummings see the end of this Parliament? And what is it really like to write a budget?

“Number Ten will be very effective in blaming EU intransigence for any collapse in the talk, regardless of how reasonable those talks might have been.” – David Gauke

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A matter of life and debt Mar 05, 2020

Show notes

Beyond Brexit, the government begins the colossal task of sorting out UK-EU commerce, a US-UK trade deal… and maybe trade within the UK itself. Former DExEU permanent secretary Philip Rycroft sets out the scale of the job.

Universal Credit: is it too late to stop now? Senior IfG Fellow and author of The Five Giants: A Biography Of The Welfare State Nicholas Timmins spells out what’s needed to save Iain Duncan Smith’s unloved legacy policy, including the brutal business of recovering £10bn social security debt from people who don’t know they owe it. And the Lib Dems’ Norman Lamb gives us some lessons learned during the party’s bruising experience into coalition.

“Talking about a free trade deal is a bit of a misnomer. It’s about having less free trade than we have and mitigating the effects” – Philip Rycroft

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Joe Owen and Alex Thomas. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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EXTRA: Rutnam vs Patel lays Civil Service/Govt turmoil bare Mar 02, 2020

Show notes

The seismic, very public resignation of Home Secretary Priti Patel’s permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam has blown the state of relations between the Government and its Civil Service wide open. What does it mean? Will Rutnam’s constructive dismissal case make it to court? Do we need a formal process for civil servants to blow the whistle on ministers? And will this extraordinary stand-off permanently reset the relationship between senior civil servants and the politicians they work for?

This special edition of INSIDE BRIEFING is hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Alex Thomas. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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Breaking Spad: is something rotten in the state of Johnson? Feb 28, 2020

Show notes

This week on the podcast that dispels the mysteries of government: Backroom squabbles, bullying and powergrabs — is the Johnson administration already tearing itself apart from within? We discover why Government should learn to love its Perm Secs and Spads.

Plus Tony Blair’s former political secretary turned strategy guru JOHN McTERNAN reveals untold tales of how to grease the wheels of government … and explains why Bernie Saunders will be the next US President. Ex-Business Secretary GREG CLARK on the future of British science and the government’s Coronavirus plans. And what’s in the newly-discovered Commons catacombs?

“You can’t make hundreds of thousands of people march in one direction by shouting at one of them.” JOHN

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon, Tim Durrant and Gavin Freeguard. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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“The Department of No”: Inside the Number Ten-Treasury rivalry Feb 20, 2020

Show notes

This week on the podcast that ventures into the engine room of government, the Treasury vs Number Ten. War without end or grudging partnership of equals? Special guest TIM PITT was a SPAD at the Cabinet Office and senior Treasury advisor. As the Javid fallout settles, Tim tells us where the power really lies.

Plus the Bank of England’s Chief Economist ANDY HALDANE on why our economy needs new metrics of success. And this year’s COP26 conference: Why remedying climate change is the ultimate 4-dimensional chess challenge for government. Will fixing the summit’s wobbles win Britain its first global leadership moment? And how to ace a job interview with Liz Truss.

“Net Zero by 2050 is an easy commitment to make. The politicians making it are highly unlikely to be around by then. The challenge is to do those things now that will make net zero achievable then.” – Tim Pitt

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Emma Norris, Gemma Tetlow and Gavin Freeguard. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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Reading the runes of Reshuffle Day with Gavin Barwell Feb 13, 2020

Show notes

When Sajid Javid quit as Chancellor it served up an unexpected vintage Reshuffle Day. But do big ministerial resignations really come as a surprise to the people moving the chesspieces? Special guest GAVIN BARWELL, former Chief of Staff to Theresa May, tells us how tense it gets in Westminster when Cabinet job are reassigned, and offers some insider advice for new ministers.

Plus we talk to SARAH WOLLASTON about her time as a select committee chair – and her concerns about this government’s attempt to dodge scrutiny. And there’s one last chance to hear the expertise and mellifluous tones of outgoing Attorney General GEOFFREY COX before he rides into the sunset.

“If you want fresh blood you’ve got to be prepared to wield the axe sometimes.” – Gavin Barwell

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Raphael Hogarth. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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BONUS: Gina Miller – “Parliamentary sovereignty is much more important than Brexit” Feb 07, 2020

Show notes

An extended version of our interview with high-profile Remainer turned constitution campaigner GINA MILLER. She explains how she’s staying in the constitutional fight, why she thinks “Remain and Rejoin” are done for now, why she’s encouraged by how backbenchers have handled HS2 and Huawei, and why the hardest part of Brexit is yet to come.

“Some of the government’s language would not be out of place in Orbán’s government,” she says. “Both of the cases we brought were about the fundamentals of democracy. The parliamentary slogans you heard during the referendum were exactly what we were defending.”

Interview by Sam Macrory. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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Getting Away With It? How to scrutinise an all-powerful Government Feb 07, 2020

Show notes

Where has all the scrutiny gone, long time passing…? As the Government wields its apparently unassailable majority, who will be the thorn on the Government’s otherwise impenetrable hide this year? Plus special guest PAUL HARRISON – Theresa May’s former press spokesman – explains what this week’s spat between lobby journalists and government advisors really means. And can the Government pull off its proposed more stringent sentencing guidelines in the wake of the Streatham attacks?

GINA MILLER explains why she’s staying in the fight to reform the British constitution. (Watch your feed for the full-length unedited interview). And Paul tells us what it’s like to lose your government job at an hour’s notice. “Most of us went straight to the pub,” he reveals.

“Big restrictions on the lobby are a terrible look for the government... most journalists are as public spirited as the politicians they cover.” – PAUL HARRISON

“Politicians often agree with the way Tom Stoppard put it: ‘I’m with you on the free press. It’s the newspapers I can’t stand’.” – PAUL HARRISON

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Hannah White. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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BONUS: Gisela Stuart – “I didn’t realise how deep the grievance of Remain voters was.” Jan 31, 2020

Show notes

In an extended version of her interview on this week’s podcast, leading light of Leave GISELA STUART tells Cath Haddon what it was really like inside the campaign to exit the EU.

Listen for fascinating detail on the atmosphere inside the Brexit victory, why she “really likes” Dominic Cummings, why the “old, playful Boris Johnson” has disappeared… and why she worries that we could be in for a crisis in the Union between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that nobody wants.

“We as politicians had become quite lazy. We hadn’t talked about fisheries, agriculture, workers’ rights… those I felt had to come back to the UK parliament.”

Interview by Cath Haddon. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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