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.

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Lara Love Hardin, THE MANY LIVES OF MAMA LOVE: A Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing, and Healing