Who came off worse in the stand-off between Manchester’s Andy Burnham and London, and what does the confrontation say about Westminster’s real attitude to the regions? With Rishi Sunak launching yet more economic support packages, is the Government’s economic strategy in disarray? A new IfG report reveals exactly what Dominic Cummings’ reforms of Special Advisors is meaning for day-to-day government. Oh, and the Brexit talks. Yes, they’re still going.

“The Treasury and No.10 are paying a price for not treating Manchester strategically.” – Jill Rutter
“Yes, the Brexit talks are about brinkmanship – but it’s also about making any failure look like the other side’s fault.” – Cath Haddon
“Many PMs have complained that No.10 is underpowered compared to departments – and that’s why SpAds have become so important.” – Tim Durrant
“A lot of business leaders didn’t see the sunlit uplands that Michael Gove was seeing” - Jill Rutter
“None of the SPADs we spoke to had anything positive to say about the management of the civil service” – Tim Durrant

Presented by Emma Norris with Jill Rutter, Alex Thomas, Tim Durrant and Cath Haddon. Audio production by Alex Rees

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