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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:

A Guide to the Constitutional Galaxy Nov 22, 2019

Show notes

This week on the podcast that takes you inside the way that government works and sometimes doesn’t..

The IfG team are joined by David Allen Green to discuss whether the general election will resolve all the constitutional chaos of the last few years? And just how difficult would it be told a second referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU?

A new prime minister might be tempted to redesign Whitehall and announce plans for some brand new government departments. But is that a sensible thing to do? A new IfG report has the answers.

And we speak to former cabinet secretary Gus O’Donnell about the challenges of forming coalition governments and the for politicians to respect the rules and tell the truth.

Plus: Why is 120 the number of the week? Who knows more about the shortest-serving prime minister in British history?

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Maddy Thimont Jack plus David Allen Green, Tim Durrant and Gavin Freeguard. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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Getting Stuff Done: Why it’s always harder than you think Nov 15, 2019

Show notes

This week on the podcast that takes you inside the way that government works (or doesn’t): Labour has massive plans for Britain but what do they need to do to make them happen if they win the Election? We look at how incoming governments routinely underestimate the hurdles of getting big things done.

What can the IfG’s biggest-ever report reveal about how public services have fared under austerity? And we speak to former Downing Street Chief of Staff Gavin Barwell about winning elections and governing afterwards.

Plus: Should you trust a manifesto? The cautionary tale that is Universal Credit. Is there more to NHS policy than just an arms race to spend the most? And we find out what the statistics on A&E waiting times and social care sound like when played on a theremin. Spoiler: “a bit like the theme from Twin Peaks”.

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon, Emma Norris and Joe Owen plus Gavin Freeguard and Graham Atkins. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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A firehose of public spending? Nov 08, 2019

Show notes

This week on the podcast that looks at how Government works, and sometimes doesn’t…

Both major parties are promising massive public spending if they win the Election, but are there enough projects out there to spend it all on? The right to free access to the government’s own reports becomes a key Election battleground. And there’s a brand new Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle. How will Parliament deal with the unprecedented decisions of now-departed John Bercow?

Plus, what happens on “Taking Out The Trash Day”? How Brexit could affect devolution and self-government in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland far beyond any date when we actually leave. Why ‘FORTHWITH’ is the most powerful word in the Parliamentary lexicon. We talk to veteran Lib Dem strategist Olly Grender. And how fast can the IfG’s athletic staffers run from Piccadilly to College Green? It’s a key fitness challenge.

“John Bercow increased the powers of Parliament. Is the new Speaker really going to want to give them back to the Government?” – Hannah White

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Alice Lilly, Joe Owen, Hannah White, Gavin Freeguard and Jess Sargeant. Audio production by Alex Rees.

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Parliament’s wake-up call for Government, the future of tax and David Lidington MP Nov 01, 2019

Show notes

As the 2017-2019 Parliament ends and Britain girds itself for a General Election, how will this Parliament be viewed by history? Has it perhaps done its job better than some people think? Will future governments need to do things differently now that Parliament has flexed its muscles?

“Backbenchers have found that they can get together, form coalitions and do things that Government doesn’t want,” says Hannah White. “That’s a real wake-up call for Government.”

Plus: The loneliness of the long-distance Cabinet minister. What do potential ministers need to look out for? Could we really get by without a budget at all? And might No Deal come back from the dead at the end of the General Election?

Also, our Chief Economist Gemma Tetlow drop in to explain everything you didn’t know - but need to know - about the strange and precarious future of taxation. If good behaviour from the public is bad for the tax base, how will we pay for the things we need? And we speak to David Lidington, the former de facto Prime Minister who’s now stepping down as a Conservative MP, on the lasting legacy of this Parliament.

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon, Joe Owen, Hannah White and Gavin Freeguard. Audio production by Robin Leeburn at Fairly Media.

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Inside the Election stalemate – plus leading Brexiter Graham Brady MP Oct 25, 2019

Show notes

“It’s a ‘yes, but’. But that ‘yes, but’ is political gold-dust…” This week on the podcast that explains how government works (and often doesn’t)… Boris Johnson moves his Brexit Deal further than Theresa May ever pushed hers, but not quite far enough. What are the legal and constitutional positions that hem him in? How soon would the PM need to dissolve Parliament in order to get an election this side of Christmas?

Also: In public services, is outsourcing on the way out and insourcing coming in? If a contract is less a licence to print money than a “Winner’s Curse”, where next for the orthodoxy that has governed public service for decades?

Plus we speak to leading Brexiter Graham Brady, chairman of the Conservative Party 1922 Committee, about rebels, backstops and the state of the Tory Party. Re-convening the Stormont Assembly – what does it mean for Northern Ireland and Brexit too? And can the panel get through the podcast without ever mentioning the Fixed Term Parliaments Act?

Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Dr Cath Haddon, Joe Owen and Maddy Thimont Jack. Audio production by Robin Leeburn at Fairly Media.

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Inside the Brexit endgame – plus Hilary Benn MP Oct 18, 2019

Show notes

How can we make government work more effectively? What are Brexit and the current political tumult doing to our institutions? What needs to change in our system of government – and how can we change it? We’ll explore all these things and more on INSIDE BRIEFING, the new podcast from the Institute for Government, Britain’s leading governmental think tank.

This week: As the most momentous weekend of the Brexit saga looms, we look at the detail of the Johnson Deal and how it might play out in the Commons. Could we get an accidental No Deal after all? Special guest Giles Wilkes joins us to explain his detailed IfG report on on what No Deal would really mean for business. And we talk to Hilary Benn MP, Chair of the Brexit Select Committee, on the workings of the Act that bears his name (colloquially at least). Will it come into effect and what would the consequences be?

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with the IfG’s Hannah White, Cath Haddon and Joe Owen. Audio production by Robin Leeburn.

Theme music: ‘The Breakbeat’ by TwoCatsGang under licence from audiojungle.net

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