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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:

Home and Huawei: Will Boris pass his first post-Brexit test? Jan 31, 2020

Show notes

As Britain finally leaves the EU, the vastness of the Brexit task ahead becomes clearer. Special guest PETER FOSTER, Europe Editor of the Telegraph (and soon Policy Editor at the FT), joins us to talk about our future relationship with the EU and who will hold the Government to account at home.

Meanwhile, was Boris Johnson’s first big independent decision – on allowing Huawei into the UK’s 5G plans – a wise one? Old China hand Peter thinks not. Plus we talk to leading light of Leave GISELA STUART on the inside story of the campaign, her thoughts on Remain, and what Dominic Cummings is really like. Watch your feed for the full-length unedited version too.

“The Chinese have driven a wedge between the United Kingdom and the United States. From their point of view, job done.” – PETER FOSTER

“Membership of the EU has depoliticised a lot of trade issues in the past… It’s going to be striking on how politics intrude on these big decisions. And ministers are going to be exposed.” – ALEX THOMAS

“Remaking our relationship with the EU is very much not going to be on the same exasperated but friendly terms of the past.” PETER FOSTER

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Maddy Thimont-Jack and Alex Thomas. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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What works in Whitehall – and what doesn’t? Jan 24, 2020

Show notes

Blood runs cold in Westminster as the IfG hands down its annual judgment on government efficiency, the Whitehall Monitor. Who gets an A-Star, who has room to improve and who’s on the naughty step? And why does Britain’s idiosyncratic approach to talent management mean that the Civil Service is getting older and younger at the same time?

Also, Northern Uproar: Moving the grand old Lords to York – would it it take ten thousand men (and women)? With Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland’s assemblies all symbolically rejecting the Government’s Brexit plans, have we now passed Peak Devolution? And which domestic policies might get trampled in Boris Johnson’s rush for a US trade deal?

“Reform of local and regional government has been on the Too Difficult box for far too long” – Alex Thomas

“By an elegant solution, you mean a fudge, right?” – Bronwen Maddox

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

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The Leverage Report Jan 17, 2020

Show notes

Who’s really got the whip hand during Britain’s post-Brexit negotiations with the EU? Special guest RACHEL SYLVESTER of The Times joins us to look at whether Boris Johnson can play the brinkmanship game again when it comes to new trade arrangements with our European friends.

Plus, we talk to LIAM FOX about starting a government department from scratch, that putative Trump trade deal, and whether he got the Brexit he wanted. Why do ex-ministers heap praise on individual civil servants but rail against the Civil Service in general? The surprise return of self-government in Northern Ireland. And our data guru Gavin Freeguard turns Freedom of Information requests into free jazz. He’s got all the right requests, just not in the right order.

“Brexit WILL be done in the narrow sense... but what exactly are we doing with the control we take back?” – Joe Owen

“There’s been a Roundheads vs Cavaliers divide in politics and Labour have been the joyless Roundheads. The next Labour leader will need to be someone who can spark some joy in the country.” – Rachel Sylvester

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon, Joe Owen, Jess Sargeant and Gavin Freeguard. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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BONUS: Jonathan Powell – “What I discovered in No.10 is how LITTLE power you have” Jan 10, 2020

Show notes

“You need to persuade the Civil Service. Attacking them is not the way to do it.” As Tony Blair’s Chief of Staff during the New Labour years, Jonathan Powell trod the path of radical reform that Dominic Cummings now walks. In this extended version of his interview in this week’s INSIDE BRIEFING, he tells Sam Macrory of the hidden pitfalls of rapid government reform, the perils of absentee opposition, and the real possibility of the UK breaking up over Brexit.

“I think Boris Johnson will survive this year, politically,” he says. “But I don’t think Dominic Cummings will.”

Interview by Sam Macrory. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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Revolution Number Ten Jan 10, 2020

Show notes

Dominic Cummings wants to make “seismic” changes to the way government works. Can the PM’s supreme advisor pull off such radical transformations in short order? And are his reforms really all that radical, or just designed to look that way? Special guest James Kirkup of the Social Market Foundation joins us to discuss what levelling up government” really means – and whether proper scrutiny is a thing of the past in an age of massive majorities.

Plus, secrets of how new MPs look busy. Can Boris Johnson really ban the word Brexit? The march of the “misfits and weirdos”. And the undiscovered political power of the English-not-British. And we talk to Tony Blair’s former Chief of Staff Jonathan Powell about the limits of power and the bear-traps hidden in the heart of Whitehall. Watch out for a special extended version of the interview in your podcast feed.

“These are the beginning of the lean years for lobby journalists who have for three years feasted on huge fatted corpses.” - James Kirkup

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

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Get with the programme? Johnson’s new era of government Dec 20, 2019

Show notes

It’s the second Queens Speech in two months, with perhaps more changes than we expected. Will Boris Johnson’s huge majority mean he can deliver on his election promises? Or will his radical programme be derailed by governments’ oldest enemies: unforeseen circumstances, hubris, and “events, dear boy”*?

On this last INSIDE BRIEFING before Christmas, we also look at whether Johnson can pull off his much-touted NHS reforms and whether Dominic Cummings can remake Whitehall in his own image. Is it a mistake to plunge into government departments into wholesale upheaval, however good your intentions? And we ask prominent Brexiteer Douglas Carswell if his dreams have come true in quite the way he wanted.

Plus, should auld acquaintance be forgot, there’s a look at the lessons and legacy of David Cameron’s government – remember them? – with special guest Chris Cook of the innovative “slow news” start-up Tortoise Media. And our statistical savant Gavin Freeguard is on hand with some Speed Data about ministerial turnover.

“It’s really hard to get government money spent on things that people can actually see.” – Chris Cook

“Ministers have actually said to us, how do we get stuff done?” – Bronwen Maddox

* Did Harold McMillan ever actually say this? We may never know…

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Emma Norris plus Chris Cook and Gavin Freeguard. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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Holyrood vs. Westminster: A Scottish Independence Special Edition Dec 18, 2019

Show notes

PODCAST EXTRA: As the SNP sweeps Scotland in the General Election, can the Union survive? And with Holyrood and Westminster on a collision course, will Nicola Sturgeon’s demands for another referendum be impossible for Boris Johnson to rebuff?

The IfG has just released its most detailed report yet into possible roads to IndyRef2 and potential fallout of another vote. On this special podcast its co-authors Akash Paun and Jess Sargeant – plus eminent legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg and Kevin Schofield, editor of PoliticsHome – look into how Scotland might get to vote again, and the unforeseen consequences for the whole UK.

What happens if Nicola Sturgeon’s mandate clashes with Boris Johnson’s? If Westminster won’t relent, could we see a Catalonian-style ‘unofficial’ referendum, civil disobedience or even UDI? And even an independent Scottish currency? And a tour of the possible flashpoints: Brexit, the WAB, trade, agriculture, the trial of Alex Salmond, and fish.

Listen closely. This could be the big crisis of 2020.

“The future of the union is not devolved to Scotland. It’s a matter for the United Kingdom.” – Joshua Rosenberg

“Brexit has been a massive recruiting sergeant for the SNP.” – Kevin Schofield

“Scotland would wants to rejoin the EU. What we don’t know is, does the EU want Scotland?” – Joshua Rosenberg

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Akash Paun and Jess Sargeant plus guests Joshua Rozenberg and Kevin Schofield. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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Johnson unbound? Election results special Dec 13, 2019

Show notes

It’s the general election result we half-expected – but few thought it would upset politics on such a seismic scale. Aside from the party tumult, will Boris Johnson’s giant majority mean wholesale change for the way Whitehall does business? How can he resolve the tension between what the Conservatives promised and what their tax commitments can deliver? And beneath the surface, the hidden issue of British fish. Does Boris grasp the scale of the problem?

Plus the Election result could mean big changes to the very fabric of the United Kingdom. As the SNP’s calls for a second Independence Referendum in Scotland grow louder, the IfG’s Akash Paun explains the constitutional challenges presented by IndyRef2. You can read the IfG’s special report here.

All this plus Gavin Freeguard’s statistical box of delights.

“Johnson’s now making the weather. So what does he want?” – Joe Owen

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon, Hannah White, Gemma Tetlow, Joe Owen and – plus Gavin Freeguard and Akash Paun. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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Election: The Final Countdown Dec 06, 2019

Show notes

As the General Election goes down to the wire, we’re joined by special guest Sebastian Payne of the Financial Times to look at campaign control freakery and the constitutional uncertainty that surrounds this unpredictable vote. What happens if there’s a hung parliament but the biggest party can’t form a government? Can the PM just stay in place? And what would happen if Boris Johnson lost his seat?

Plus, the social care crisis is a pressing issue for government but why are politicians so terrified of touching it? Nick Davies of the IfG tells us why this politically radioactive issue urgently needs cross-party consensus.

And with political journalism under the spotlight as seldom before, we speak to Jo Coburn, formidable presenter of the BBC’s Daily Politics show, about the challenges of fake news, unconscious bias and dealing with politicians who simply refuse to turn up to face scrutiny. “When parties attack us, I think they’re losing the argument,” she says. “It’s an easy hit to blame journalists when we bend over backwards to ensure we represent every shade of opinion.”

All this plus Seb Payne coining the world “Coalitious”. Remember that one for future use.

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Hannah White plus Gavin Freeguard and Nick Davies. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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Inside the Manifestos Nov 29, 2019

Show notes

This week on the podcast that explains the way that government works (and why it often doesn’t)...

The IfG team are joined by New Statesman political editor Stephen Bush to make sense of the party manifestos. Do all the spending pledges add up? And does it matter if they don’t?

There’s a bit of Brexit in there too – but what are the EU up to while UK politicians are busy knocking on doors?

We also speak to Full Fact boss Will Moy about calling out politicians who don’t tell the truth.

Plus: What does Breakfast at Tiffany’s have in common with the Labour manifesto?

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Giles Wilkes plus Stephen Bush, Georgina Wright and Gavin Freeguard. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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