Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Robert Jenrick has resigned as immigration minister, former home secretary Suella Braverman says the Rwanda Bill will lose the Conservatives the next election, and the prime minister has been forced hold an emergency – and rather tetchy – press conference to defend his plan. So how big a crisis is this row over immigration for the government? Paul Waugh, the i paper’s chief political commentator, joins the podcast team to look back on a very tricky week for Rishi Sunak. After much build-up, plenty of briefings to the press, and hundreds of missing WhatsApp messages, Boris Johnson this week appeared before the Covid inquiry. So what are we learning – if anything – about his government’s handling of the pandemic. And Keir Starmer made a big speech on the economy this week and also got into knots when he praised Margaret Thatcher for bringing in “meaningful change” as prime minister. So just how prepared Labour for a big year ahead? Hannah White presents, with Alex Thomas and Jill Rutter. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 catch up on the extraordinary row over the Elgin Marbles. Access talks – the moment that opposition parties begin meeting the civil service ahead of a general election – haven’t started yet, but the pressure is building. So what happens next and how important are they? Cabinet secretary Simon Case is still on medical leave – but what does his absence mean for how the government is functioning? A restless gaggle of Conservative backbenchers, and even some frontbenchers, are waiting for Rishi Sunak’s new plan to get his Rwanda asylum flights off the ground. So what could the prime minister’s scheme look like and what are its next steps in Parliament? Hannah White presents, with Alex Thomas, Alice Lilly and Alex Thomas. Produced by Candice McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy Hunt has framed the autumn statement as the biggest tax cut in British history, but do the chancellor's sums add up? The podcast team crunch the numbers and discuss what Hunt's big day in Parliament told us about the state of the economy, what the government is trying to do, and when the next general election might take place. Giles Winn, a former Treasury special adviser, joins the podcast team to reveal what really goes into planning a big fiscal statement - and trying to secure a set of positive headlines. Cath Haddon presents With Gemma Tetlow and Giles Wilkes Produced by Candice McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Supreme Court's verdict has left the government's Rwanda asylum policy in tatters - but Rishi Sunak says he has a plan to get planes taking off by the spring. So what is the prime minister proposing, and is there any chance it will work? That won't be a job for Suella Braverman, with the controversial now ex-home secretary the biggest loser in this week's reshuffle. The biggest winner was David Cameron, who surprised everyone with his return as foreign secretary. Francis Elliott, editor of the House Magazine and Cameron's first biographer, joins the podcast to run the rule over the reshuffle and weigh up Sunak's Rwanda scheme. Plus: How big a problem did this week's resignations create for Keir Starmer? Emma Norris presents, with Jill Rutter and Rhys Clyne. Presented by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The reshuffle rumour mill went into overdrive over the weekend, and on Monday morning Rishi Sunak kicked off a day of sackings - and surprise appointments. So the IfG team wolfed down their breakfasts, raced to the office, and assembled in the podcast studio for an emergency recording of Inside Briefing. Who is in and who is out? What does this reshuffle tell us about how Rishi Sunak wants to govern - and how he plans to fight the general election? And is David Cameron’s return to the Cabinet a masterstroke or a desperate roll of the dice? Hannah White presents with Jill Rutter, Cath Haddon and Tim Durrant. Produced by Milo Hynes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The King’s Speech on Tuesday meant a day of dashing uniforms and galloping horses, but was there anything of substance behind the pomp and ceremony? The Sun’s Noa Hoffman is this week’s podcast guest as the Inside Briefing team weigh up the legislative agenda on offer from Rishi Sunak. The home secretary is in the news. When isn’t she? We unpick Suella Braverman’s rows with the country’s most senior policeman and ask how Rishi Sunak handles an increasingly outspoken member of his cabinet. And the Covid inquiry is in the news. When isn’t it? We’ll catch up on the latest evidence sessions. Hannah White presents with Alex Thomas and Cath Haddon. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Astonishing revelations and appalling language made for a gripping week at the Covid inquiry, with Dominic Cummings dominating headlines once again with his account of Boris Johnson’s chaotic No10. The BBC’s health reporter Jim Reed joins the podcast team to work out what we’ve learnt from the evidence sessions, Whatsapp messages, witness statements and diary entries. The autumn statement is looming, and chancellor Jeremy Hunt is under pressure to come up with some additional funding for struggling public services – and the IfG’s Performance Tracker 2023, our annual stocktake of nine key public services, published with CIPFA, sets out the scale of the problem. We chat to the report’s author about what could be done to fix it. Rishi Sunak has been busy hosting his AI summit – and taking part in a slightly surreal interview with X boss Elon Musk. How did the two-day gathering at Bletchley Park work out, will the robots rule whr world, and what is the next step to working with this new technology? Hannah White presents. With Emma Norris, Nick Davies and Matthew Gill. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What progress has the government made in devolving power across England? Has it been a success? And what would a Labour government do differently? In this special episode of Inside Briefing, Akash Paun, the Institute for Government’s devolution watcher-in-chief, travels across England to find out whether a devolution revolution – promised by George Osborne back in 2015 – is really taking place. Join Akash as he takes a journey on Manchester’s new Bee Network buses, heads to the Conservative and Labour party conferences, explores how power is being devolved to the East Midlands, and brings together an expert panel to make sense of England’s evolving devolution settlement. Featuring: Simon Christian, director of public services consulting, Grant Thornton UK Charlotte Aldritt, CEO of the Centre for Progressive Policy Adam Hawksbee, deputy director of Onward Mark Sandford, senior research analyst at the House of commons Library Plus interviews with: Ben Bradley MP, leader of Nottinghamshire County Council Jess Studdert, deputy chief executive of New Local Dr Fiona Aldridge, West Midlands Combined Authority Tom Pope, IfG deputy chief economist This podcast was produced with the kind support of Grant Thornton UK. Produced by Milo Hynes. Additional research and production by Briony Allen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rishi Sunak has clocked up 365 days as Prime Minister – but is the anniversary a cause for celebration or just a moment of relief? Politico’s Dan Bloom joins the podcast team to weigh up Sunak’s first year in the job, assess his achievements and failures and how he has surprised us, and explore what might come next. From the man in Number 10 to a woman who might fancy a tilt at the top job… Rachel Reeves enjoyed a successful Labour conference, and this week the Shadow Chancellor launched her new book – which has already caused some controversy – at the IfG. The podcast team take a look at Reeves’s ambitions and challenges, as well as an increasingly complicated party problem for Keir Starmer. With Hannah White, Cath Haddon and Giles Wilkes. Produced by Milo Hynes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Labour's double by-election win has sent shockwaves through Westminster. So what does it mean for Keir Starmer? What does Rishi Sunak do now? And what might it tell us about the battleground on which the general election might be fought? The FT's Lucy Fisher joins the pod team to react to the results. Talking of the general election… everyone is guessing when it might be held. Could it be next May? Early Autumn. Late Autumn? Maybe as late as January 2025? We plot the paths and game the scenarios. Could a second referendum on Scottish independence be back on the cards? The SNP think they have come up with a route. So what is it and could it work? Presented by Hannah White. With Cath Haddon, Alex Thomas and Jess Sargeant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Will it be May? Maybe October? Perhaps November? Surely not January 2025? Yes, everyone is talking about when the next general election is going to be held – and speculating when Rishi Sunak will decide to go to the country. So is it right for the prime minister to have the power to choose the date of a general election? What are the key considerations to make when looking at the polls – or the weather forecast? And what does history tell us about when is the right time to call an election – and when is the wrong time to stick rather than twist? This special episode of Inside Briefing brings together three veterans of elections that were – or maybe weren’t – to look back on their experiences and discuss what might happen next. Former Labour MP Jacqui Smith was home secretary when Gordon Brown chose not to call a general election in the autumn of 2007. Katie Perrior was working as the Number 10’s director of communications when Theresa May decided to call a snap election in 2017. Political adviser and pollster James Johnson worked in No10 as a strategic adviser to Theresa May between 2016 and 2019. Presented by Tim Durrant. Produced by Milo Hynes and Podmasters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Party conference season is nearly over and the IfG podcast crew have made their way back to London after their trips to Manchester and Liverpool. But which politicians will be returning to parliament battling new headaches? Has Rishi Sunak done enough to shake off the Conservatives’ post-Truss era hangover? And did Keir Starmer give Labour reason to believe that a new dawn might be about to break? The Guardian’s Kiran Stacey joins the team to take stock of the post-conference landscape, pick apart the Labour leader’s speech, and look ahead to the renewal of parliamentary hostilities. Presented by Hannah White. With Emma Norris and Cath Haddon. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How will Keir Starmer respond to Rishi Sunak’s ambitious pitch to be the “change” candidate at the next general election? The New Statesman’s Anoosh Chakelian and Josh Simons, director of Labour Together, are the guests on this week’s Inside Briefing as the podcast crew preview Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool. Will the Labour leader add detailed policies to his big five missions? Will there be policy u-turns - or will we see more barnacles being carefully removed from the boat? And what challenges - or traps - has Rishi Sunak set out for Labour on HS2 and net zero? Presented by Hannah White. With Emma Norris. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When you put a load of ministers and MPs in a conference centre for four days, without enough sleep, and very little natural light, something unexpected – at least for the government – always happens. So what – and who – should we be keeping an eye on as the Conservatives decamp to Manchester for their annual conference? Will Suella Braverman – or maybe Liz Truss – create a storm on the fringe? What should Keir Starmer be worried about as he watches on from afar? And is this really a sink or swim conference for Rishi Sunak? The Spectator’s political correspondent James Heale and Robert Colville, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, join the podcast team for a special party conference preview podcast. Hannah White presents. With Cath Haddon. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rishi Sunak has ripped up the UK's net zero plan - but did the prime minister's emissions statement make sense and will it win him votes? Daily Telegraph political editor Ben Riley-Smith, the author of a new book on the last 13 years of Conservative government, is this week's podcast guest. Liz Truss returned to the political fray with a big speech at the IfG on Monday - with the former PM mounting a defence for her doomed mini-budget. Is anyone convinced? PLUS: The tumultuous last 8 years in British politics have stretched the UK constitution to - and sometimes beyond - breaking point. How can it be strengthened? The author of a new IfG report sets out a plan. Hannah White presents. With Jill Rutter and Jack Pannell. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The podcast team dissect Rishi Sunak's appearance at the G20 summit in India - and Daily Mirror political editor John Stevens reveals what it's really like to join the prime minister on the plane for a foreign trip. Westminster has been rocked by a spy scandal - but should MPs really be that surprised? Plus: Is central government set up to deliver the government's 'levelling up' pledge - or Labour's plans for 'real life levelling up'? A new IfG report has the answers - and passes judgment. Hannah White presents. With Alex Thomas and Rebecca McKee. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Keir Starmer has reshuffled his team of shadow ministers. So who’s up? Who’s down? Is this the march of the Blairites? And what does the reshuffle reveal about Starmer’s plans for the general election campaign – or for government should Labour win? The Guardian’s Aletha Adu joins the IfG podcast team to run the rule over the new shadow cabinet. The concrete crisis in schools has placed education secretary Gillian Keegan under pressure – with the education secretary’s comments also landing her in hot water. So who is to blame, how has the government handled the fall-out, and how could the problem be fixed? PLUS: A very bad week for Birmingham City Council. So why are city councils running out of money? What does it mean for the people who live there? And how can the government make sure this doesn’t happen again? Hannah White presents. With Nick Davies and Sam Freedman. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is no job quite like that of a government minister – and no training manual for how to do it. So what happens on the first day in the job? How can ministers manager the demands on their time? Are particular skills needed to get the best out of civil servants? Is there a trick to working with Number 10? What is the best way to handle a multi-billion pound departmental budget? And how can ministers master the art of navigating parliament? In this special six-part series from the Institute for Government, former ministers and civil servants reveal what it is really like to hold ministerial office and how to do the job well. You will hear all about the challenges, confusion, decisions and drama of a job which really is like no other. Presented by Tim Durrant, with Grant Dalton. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summer is nearly over. Parliament is set to return. And the Inside Briefing team is back to take stock of the last few months – and look ahead to what a lively couple of months might bring. Ben Wallace is out, Grant Shapps is the new defence secretary, and Claire Coutinho has become the youngest member of the cabinet. But what does Rishi Sunak’s mini-reshuffle tell us about his priorities for government – and is there a better way to go about appointing government ministers? What should we look out for at the party conference season? How is the economy faring and are tax cuts at all likely? And what stage of the Nando’s spice scale is politics going to hit this autumn? Hannah White presents. With Joe Owen, Cath Haddon and Tom Pope. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is no job quite like that of a government minister – and no training manual for how to do it. So what happens on the first day in the job? How can ministers manager the demands on their time? Are particular skills needed to get the best out of civil servants? Is there a trick to working with Number 10? What is the best way to handle a multi-billion pound departmental budget? And how can ministers master the art of navigating parliament? In this special six-part series from the Institute for Government, former ministers and civil servants reveal what it is really like to hold ministerial office and how to do the job well. You will hear all about the challenges, confusion, decisions and drama of a job which really is like no other. Presented by Tim Durrant, with Grant Dalton. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is no job quite like that of a government minister – and no training manual for how to do it. So what happens on the first day in the job? How can ministers manager the demands on their time? Are particular skills needed to get the best out of civil servants? Is there a trick to working with Number 10? What is the best way to handle a multi-billion pound departmental budget? And how can ministers master the art of navigating parliament? In this special six-part series from the Institute for Government, former ministers and civil servants reveal what it is really like to hold ministerial office and how to do the job well. You will hear all about the challenges, confusion, decisions and drama of a job which really is like no other. Presented by Tim Durrant, with Dr Nicola Blacklaws. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is no job quite like that of a government minister – and no training manual for how to do it. So what happens on the first day in the job? How can ministers manager the demands on their time? Are particular skills needed to get the best out of civil servants? Is there a trick to working with Number 10? What is the best way to handle a multi-billion pound departmental budget? And how can ministers master the art of navigating parliament? In this special six-part series from the Institute for Government, former ministers and civil servants reveal what it is really like to hold ministerial office and how to do the job well. You will hear all about the challenges, confusion, decisions and drama of a job which really is like no other. Presented by Tim Durrant, with Dr Nicola Blacklaws. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is no job quite like that of a government minister – and no training manual for how to do it. So what happens on the first day in the job? How can ministers manager the demands on their time? Are particular skills needed to get the best out of civil servants? Is there a trick to working with Number 10? W hat is the best way to handle a multi-billion pound departmental budget? And how can ministers master the art of navigating parliament? In this special six-part series from the Institute for Government, former ministers and civil servants reveal what it is really like to hold ministerial office and how to do the job well. You will hear all about the challenges, confusion, decisions and drama of a job which really is like no other. Presented by Tim Durrant, with Beatrice Barr. Produced by Milo Hynes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There is no job quite like that of a government minister – and no training manual for how to do it. So what happens on the first day in the job? How can ministers manager the demands on their time? Are particular skills needed to get the best out of civil servants? Is there a trick to working with Number 10? What is the best way to handle a multi-billion pound departmental budget? And how can ministers master the art of navigating parliament? In this special six-part series from the Institute for Government, former ministers and civil servants reveal what it is really like to hold ministerial office and how to do the job well. You will hear all about the challenges, confusion, decisions and drama of a job which really is like no other. Presented by Tim Durrant, with Beatrice Barr. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some MPs are rarely seen in the Commons. Others can’t seem to stay away from the chamber. So what happens in those 45 days when the Palace of Westminster shuts up shop? This week on the podcast, former Attorney General Dominic Grieve and Labour peer Baroness Armstrong join Cath Haddon and Alice Lilly of the IFG to reveal just how switched off parliamentarians can be on their summer break. Stay tuned to the Inside Briefing feed for more podcasts during the summer recess, including a 6-part series on what it’s like to be a government minister. Produced by Alex Rees at Podmasters for the Institute of Government Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After two years of ethical scandals, the government finally published its plans to clean up standards just before parliament went into recess. We’ll dive into the detail to find out what Sunak will be changing and how the rules around ministers, civil servants and other government employees are upheld – and what isn’t going to change after all. We’ll be joined by Fleur Anderson MP, John Penrose MP and Dr Susan Hawley from Spotlight on Corruption to look at the government’s proposals, how they compare with the various independent reviews into government ethics, find out where the gaps are and ask what else might need to change in the future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

By-elections are rarely like buses, but this time three have arrived at once. The Conservatives lost Somerset and Frome and Selby, but held on to Boris Johnson’s old seat in Uxbridge… by a hair’s breadth. As parliament prepares to shut up for summer, the podcast team discuss a night that produced plenty of food for thought in government and the opposition - and not forgetting the by-election experts, the Lib Dems. Will Jennings, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Southampton also joins us after a busy night of polling. With Alex Thomas, Giles Wilkes and Cath Haddon. Produced by Podmasters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rishi Sunak pledged to lead a government of integrity after the high-profile scandals of the Boris Johnson era, but Angela Rayner says only a Labour government would restore trust in politics. The podcast team, with guest Rachel Wearmouth of the New Statesman, review the Labour deputy leader’s big speech at the IfG – and examine whether she has come up with a workable plan. Plus: Simon says what exactly? What did we learn from a rare public appearance by embattled cabinet secretary Simon Case. What follows first past the post? A new IfG report looks at the knock-on implications of changing the UK’s electoral system. Mastering the Art of the Devolution Deal. How Westminster – and local government – can make a success of giving away power. Catherine Haddon presents. With Alex Thomas, Jack Pannell and Peter Hourston. Produced by Podmasters. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's Evidence Week in the House of Commons and on Inside Briefing, we’re interrogating just how effective Parliament actually is at scrutinising and testing policy. We’re joined by Tracey Brown, director of Sense about Science, the independent charity that promotes the public interest in sound science and evidence. We’ll also hear from former Chancellor Sajid Javid, whose big idea for a more effective Parliament is half the MPs… on twice the pay. And, as Rishi Sunak skips out on PMQs once again, we ask if the Prime Minister himself is scrutinised enough. Alex Thomas presents, with Cath Haddon and Alice Lilley. Produced by Alex Rees. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thames Water struggles to stay afloat. But who is to blame, will the taps dry up, and what solutions are there? ConservativeHome’s Henry Hill joins the podcast team to discuss the latest headache for the PM. And are there any good chaps left in politics anymore? Boris Johnson’s new job as a newspaper columnist has caused controversy – so perhaps it is time to overhaul the rules for jobs after government. Plus, does Rishi Sunak actually believe in the Net Zero agenda? A new report by the Climate Change Committee is far from impressed with the government’s efforts to drive down emissions. Tim Durrant presents, with Jill Rutter and Alex Thomas. Produced by Milo Hynes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The prime minister has been trying to fend off a barrage of bad economic news - but what can he actually do about stubbornly high inflation, rising interest rates, and a predicted surge in mortgage payments? The Guardian’s City Editor Anna Isaac joins the podcast team to see what options - if any - Sunak has available. Whatever the cause might be for the UK’s economic woes, don’t mention the ‘B’ word. Ok, whisper it: is Brexit to blame? As the seventh anniversary of the 2016 referendum result passes, the podcast team check in on how leaving the EU has worked out for the UK PLUS: Is there a way out of the political stalemate in Northern Ireland? Hannah White presents. With Jess Sargeant and Giles Wilkes. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Privileges Committee has delivered its verdict on Boris Johnson, with the former PM lashing out after the committee found he had lied to Parliament. Sam Freedman joins the podcast team to ask what the damning conclusions – and a recommended 90-day suspension from Parliament which Johnson has avoided by quitting as an MP – means for the former prime minister and the Conservative Party. Plus, from an inquiry that is over to one that has just got going. The Covid Inquiry has held its first public hearings, and some big-name witnesses are booked in for next week. And: Is the NHS in a death spiral? A new IfG report examines why more money and extra staff has failed to turn around declining performance levels in hospitals. Hannah White presents, with Emma Norris and Cath Haddon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the Covid inquiry gets underway, the Financial Times’ Chris Cook joins the IfG podcast to examine whether public inquiries can actually make any difference – and look ahead to the potential twists and turns – and witnesses – that await inquiry chair Baroness Hallett and her team. Rishi Sunak’s No10 predecessors are notably vocal, and a batch of former Labour leaders still have plenty to say. Should we welcome the contribution of former party leaders or are they just a source of irritation? PLUS: Relocation, relocation! Has the government’s plan to relocate parts of the civil service to Darlington been a success – and is it actually making any difference to its levelling up mission? A new IfG report reveals the answers. Hannah White presents. With Emma Norris and Jordan Urban. Producer by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Westminster watchers are used to the long tails of public inquiries. Baroness Hallett’s investigation of the pandemic will be no different, with hers due to take evidence until 2026. Her first big hurdle is the cache of government WhatsApps that have long been withheld by Number 10. With a legal challenge looming, what do the messages contain that has pushed their publication to the deadline? Former advisor to Sajid Javid, Salma Shah, and the Independent’s Paul Waugh join Catherine Haddon and Tim Durrant to discuss the unprecedented scale of the Inquiry. Plus, with an election not far off, Rishi Sunak is in search of his own strategy, as he attempts to clean up the messes his predecessors left behind. Can he activate the machinery of Whitehall in time to make his own mark on Number 10? Produced by Andrew Harrison and Alex Rees of Podmasters for the IFG Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It has been quite some week for the home secretary. From a row over her handling of a speeding ticket to a row over the latest release of net migration stats, Suella Braverman has hardly been out of the headlines. Sunday Times deputy political editor Harry Yorke, the journalist who broke the speeding story, joins the podcast team to pass judgment on Braverman’s performance. Why does the Home Office always seem to lurch from crisis to crisis – and what can be done to fix it? A new IfG report lays bare the department’s institutional and cultural problems. Boris Johnson is back in the news too – so what exactly is his bust-up about lawyers, WhatsApp messages and Covid rules all about? And is a deteriorating relationship between ministers and civil servants a reason to allow more political appointments into the civil service? A new report sets out the IfG view. Emma Norris presents. With Cath Haddon, Alex Thomas, Tim Durrant and Rhys Clyne. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How does our system of government work? Why does it sometimes fail? And what can be done to fix it? Join the IfG podcast team – and political commentator and author Ian Dunt – for a journey through the corridors of power to discover where Westminster goes wrong. Are MPs doing the job their constituents need – and good government requires? Is No10 really the right building to house the centre of UK government? How much power does a prime minister actually wield? And has the relationship between civil servants and ministers ever been this bad? All this and more on this week’s wide-ranging, thought-provoking and problem-solving Inside Briefing. Hannah White presents. With Alex Thomas and Cath Haddon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Does Rishi Sunak have a strategy for restoring the Conservatives' electoral prospects after the bruising local elections? Tim Bale, author of The Conservative Party After Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation, joins the podcast team to make sense of the prime minister's battles over boats and bust-ups around Brexit. Meanwhile Westminster is abuzz about the possibility of no party winning a majority at the next election, possible pacts and coalitions. But are people asking the right questions about what a hung Parliament might mean for how government works? Plus: Does devolving power from Westminster guarantee regional economic growth? A new IfG report reveals the answers, and its author Tom Pope joins the podcast to explain what works - and what doesn't. Hannah White presents. With Giles Wilkes and Cath Haddon. Produced by Milo Hynes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Big wins for Labour. Big losses for the Conservatives. But just how much should we read into this week’s local election results? The Guardian’s Rafael Behr joins the podcast team to crunch the numbers and examine what the votes mean for Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. The Labour leader is reported to have delayed plans for shadow cabinet reshuffle until the autumn – but is that the right call? A new IfG paper, which analyses the transitions of 1997 and 2010, sets out the steps Starmer should take to ensure his shadow team is best prepared for government – should Labour win the next general election. And how can we all stay engaged with politics without getting enraged? What steps can we take to survive the toxicity of British politics? Rafael Behr explains why his new book can help. Presented by Emma Norris. With Cath Haddon, Peter Hourston and Grant Dalton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dominic Raab’s exit from government hasn’t drawn a line under the simmering tensions between ministers and civil servants. So have expectations of behaviour changed or has snowflakery broken out in Whitehall? The IfG podcast team asks what this all means for the future of the civil service. The Foreign Office is trying to manage another tricky evacuation of UK nationals from an increasingly dangerous situation – so how well is it responding to the crisis in Sudan? And why did the Treasury end up creating a “tug of war” at the heart of government during the Covid pandemic? A major new IfG report reveals all. Hannah White presents. With Cath Haddon, Alex Thomas, Tim Durrant and Gemma Tetlow. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you remember being told to stay at home? Or becoming very familiar with the word “furlough”? How about all those assurances that the Government was following the science? And were you persuaded when ministers urged you to Eat Out to Help Out? The Treasury was at the heart of the Government’s response to the pandemic, rapidly designing and rolling our policies designed to protect jobs, support people and help businesses through an extraordinary – and unprecedented – time. But it was also wary of sharing its analysis, wary of external advice, and reluctant to work openly with other Government departments. To mark the publication of a major new IfG report into the Treasury’s Covid response, Financial Times economics editor Chris Giles joins this special episode of Inside Briefing for a deep dive into how the UK’s finance ministry performed during the pandemic – and asks what lessons needs to be learned. Presented by the IfG’s Emma Norris with Gemma Tetlow and Olly Bartrum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dominic Raab has resigned. The report into whether or not he bullied civil servants finally landed on the prime minister’s desk – so what should we make of Adam Tolley’s findings? Is Rishi Sunak’s response adequate? And what will Dominic Raab’s stinging resignation letter mean for tensions between ministers and civil servants? It had already been a lively week for the prime minister, with a big speech on maths education and some awkward headlines over declaring and registering interests. But did Sunak’s speech add up? And how significant was his slip up? Plus: Why can’t government ever come up with plan to tackling this country’s obesity problem? Hannah White presents, with Jill Rutter, Alex Thomas, Sam Freedman and Sophie Metcalfe. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From unsolved pay disputes to record backlogs, abandoned social care reforms and now accusations of sexual harassment of female surgeons, finding a good news story about health and care services in the U.K. is nigh on impossible. So just how bad is the crisis facing the NHS? Who, or what, can be blamed for the pile-up of problems? And is there any way that Rishi Sunak - or maybe Keir Starmer - can fix the crisis? In this special episode of Inside Briefing, Nick Davies is joined by IfG senior fellow Jill Rutter, Rachel Sylvester, who chairs the Times' Health Commission, and Rachel Wolf, founding partner at Public First, co-author of the 2019 Conservative manifesto, and now also co-author of an upcoming report on NHS productivity in partnership with the Institute and the Health Foundation. Presented by Nick Davies. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Delays at the Dover border mean holidaymakers are getting hot under the collar – while the heat is on the government to fix the problem. The FT's Peter Foster joins us to explore whether the long queues are just an inevitable Brexit non-benefit. Also, the government appears to have ditched any plans (and a manifesto promise) to reform social care. So why is this policy challenge proving beyond the wit of ministers? And teachers have rejected a pay offer from the government. Just how distant is a deal to end public sector strikes? PLUS: In praise of politicians, and politics. This weekend is the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. How was the historic deal reached, what is its legacy, and what might happen next in Northern Ireland? Hannah White presents, with Jill Rutter, Jess Sargeant and Stuart Hoddinott. Produced by Milo Hynes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The 10 April marks 25 years since the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement was signed, paving the way for peace in Northern Ireland and the restoration of devolved government. The agreement was a triumph of political leadership, endorsed overwhelmingly by the public in votes in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This special podcast episode brings together some of the key people who worked behind the scenes to make a deal happen – the officials working in the UK, Northern Ireland, Irish governments – to look back on how the historic agreement was reached, discuss the challenges in supporting the peace process, and reflect on what has been achieved. Presented by Jill Rutter Produced by Podmasters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Humza Yousaf is Scotland’s new first minister – but following the Nicola Sturgeon era is no easy task. The Sunday Mail’s Hannah Rodger joins the podcast team to weigh up the challenge ahead for Yousaf, and ask what the SNP’s change at the top means for the Scottish political landscape. Is Rishi Sunak really that much of a Green Day fan? As parliament rises for recess, Inside Briefing turns its attention to Westminster to issue an Easter report card for Rishi Sunak. PLUS: Panic on the streets of Paris! The Institut Montaigne’s Georgina Wright drops in to the IfG to give us the lowdown on the problems facing Emmanuel Macron. Hannah White presents. With Emma Norris and Akash Paun Produced by Neil Bowerman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Leaving the BBC has given Emily Maitlis the freedom to say what she really thinks, and the co-host of The News Agents podcast doesn’t hold back in this special edition of Inside Briefing. In a wide-ranging and frank discussion with Hannah White, the former Newsnight presenter discusses the media’s role in holding politicians to account, the recent travails of her former employer, and whether government ministers should really by taking part in broadcast interviews conducted by MPs of the same party. Produced by Neil Bowerman. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The decision to go to war in Iraq – 20 years ago this week - remains both the most controversial and consequential American and British foreign policy of the last quarter of a century. Just over a year after the war began, Robin Butler, a former cabinet secretary, published his Review of Intelligence on Weapons of Mass Destruction - better known as the Butler Review. The weapons were never found, and the debate about the decision to go to war has never ended. To mark the 20th anniversary of the start of the Iraq war, to look back at the key findings of his report, and to ask how government has changed since - and whether lessons have been learned, Catherine Haddon speaks to Lord Butler for this special episode of Inside Briefing. Presented by Cath Haddon, produced by Alex Rees Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Guardian’s political editor Pippa Crerar, who led the way in the reporting of partygate, joins the IfG podcast team to weigh up Boris Johnson’s Privileges Committee hearing. How did the former prime minister perform when quizzed about whether he deliberately misled the Commons? What might the committee decide to do next? And what was it like for Crerar to be the journalist at the centre of one of the biggest political stories of recent years? And while Johnson fought for his political future, in another part of the Palace of Westminster Rishi Sunak was celebrating as MPs – Johnson and Liz Truss not included – backed his Stormont Brake. So is Brexit finally done? Will power-sharing return in Northern Ireland? And what does the vote mean for Sunak’s standing? Presented by Catherine Haddon. With Hannah White and Jill Rutter. Produced by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jeremy Hunt hands a pensions tax break to the better off and free childcare to families. There’s £9bn of allowances to business – but little mention of public services and only vague assurances about falling living standards. What’s in the small print? Plus, Boris Johnson comes up before the Privileges Committee next week. Will it be a day of reckoning for the former PM? Henry Hill, Deputy Editor of Conservative Home, is our special guest. “By the standards of past budgets this is a success in that the Government hasn’t fallen over and gone on fire.” – Henry Hill “This economic situation hurts everyone’s living standards. Whatever is in the budget, people are going to feel that they’re just not getting better off.” – Giles Wilkes Presented by Hannah White with Jill Rutter, Olly Bartrum and Giles Wilkes. Audio production by Alex Rees. Inside Briefing is a Podmasters Production for the IfG. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Illegal Migration Bill is the latest government attempt to deter asylum seekers from making their way to the UK by irregular routes. But has Rishi Sunak come up with some substance to match his ‘stop the boats’ slogan? How does the government intend its plan to work – and how likely is it to succeed? Will the legislation prove popular or polarising? And is the row about Gary Lineker and Match of the Day no more than a distraction? The IfG’s Emma Norris and Rhys Clyne are joined by Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, and Madeleine Sumption, director of the Migration Observatory, for a deep dive into the government’s asylum plan. Presented by Emma Norris. Produced by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices