IfG Events

From its creation in 1997 to its merger with the Foreign Office in 2020, the Department for International Development (DfID) managed nearly £200 billion in total and played a global leadership role in reducing poverty. While DfID also had to deal with high-profile failures and public criticism, sustained political support from Labour, coalition and Conservative governments helped the department to achieve a record of delivery during its 23-year existence. A new book, The Rise and Fall of the Department for International Development, will be published in October. Sir Mark Lowcock, the book's co-author with Ranil Dissanayake, joined an expert panel at the Institute for Government to discuss what we can learn from DfID's history, with a particular focus on building the institution, how to maintain civil service capability, targeting resources and developing ways to measure value for money – with essential lessons for the new Labour government and what other departments can learn from DfID's focus on delivery. Joining Sir Mark Lowcock on the panel were: Sarah Champion MP, Chair of the International Development Select CommitteeAndrew Mitchell MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary and former Secretary of State for International Development The panel was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The government has promised to restore the target to phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030. The zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate also requires that 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in Great Britain will have to be zero emission by 2030. However, car makers have expressed concerns about their ability to hit these targets without further support, and the sale of electric vehicles (EVs) is lagging behind the government target. So what are the barriers to EV uptake? Charging infrastructure is one reason consumers hesitate to make the switch, with a lack of on-street charging, bottlenecks with motorway charging, as well as concerns about price differential and different rates of VAT for on- and off-street parking. More also needs to be done to ensure the electricity network can cope with demand, and that charge points can be easily and cheaply connected to the grid. So what could be done to accelerate the rollout of EV charging infrastructure? How does the new government plan to address these challenges? And where in the country are these problems most acute? To discuss these questions and more, our panel included: Lilian Greenwood MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Future of Roads)Rosa Hodgkin, Researcher at the Institute for GovernmentIan Howells, Executive Vice President of Honda Motor EuropeBharat Pathania, Head of New Technologies at Midlands Connect This event was chaired by Nehal Davison, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. We would like to thank Honda for kindly supporting this event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, joined IfG director Hannah White for fascinating and wide-ranging discussion on his role and priorities, the challenges facing the health service, and how the government plans to turn around performance levels in the NHS. This joint IfG/New Statesman event was recorded at the Labour party conference in Liverpool. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Labour’s first 100 days in power have been marked by reports of conflict, dysfunction and delay at the centre of government. Sue Gray’s short tenure as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff has come to an end, with the prime minister choosing to reset his No.10 team just months after Labour won the general election. What reforms are needed to radically improve the centre of UK government? What does Morgan McSweeney – Starmer’s new chief of staff – need to do to make No.10 work for the prime minister and deliver for the country? What lessons should Starmer take from the way former PMs ran their centres of government – and from those who tried to reset their No.10? To answer these questions and more were: Tom Baldwin, author of Keir Starmer: The Biography and Labour’s Director of Communications (2010–15) Theo Bertram, Director of the Social Market Foundation and a former Special Adviser in No.10 Henry Newman, former Special Adviser at the Cabinet Office and in No.10  Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government and Chair of the Commission on the Centre of Government  The panel was chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Theresa May’s government set the UK’s net zero target and thhe UK has made significant progress in decarbonising its power supply under successive Conservative governments. However, the last parliament saw concerns raised by Conservative MPs about the potential costs of net zero. and the issue becoming increasingly politicised. In the context of Labour’s ambitious plans for clean power by 2030, how could the new Conservative opposition approach energy policy and net zero and constructively challenge the new Labour government on its plans? Rt Hon Claire Coutinho MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net ZeroSam Hall, Director of the Conservative Environment NetworkRosa Hodgkin, Researcher at the Institute for GovernmentProfessor Karl Whittle, Professor of Zero Carbon and Nuclear Energy at the University of LiverpoolThis event was chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.This event was in partnership with The Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place, University of Liverpool. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From David Cameron to Rishi Sunak, prime ministers have been frustrated by policy resource and political energy being spent on reactive decisions rather than dedicated to resolving the chronic problems facing government. So, what can be done differently? This event explored how prime ministers can lead better from the centre and deliver manifesto promises that address issues over the course of the next parliament and beyond.  Rt Hon John Glen MP, Shadow Paymaster GeneralThe Lord Norton of Louth, Conservative Peer and Professor of Government at the University of HullKartina Tahir Thomson, President of the Institute and Faculty of ActuariesAlex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for GovernmentThis event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government.This event was in partnership with the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After 14 years in power, the Conservative party suffered a historic defeat at the 2024 general election. With the party now in opposition and set to choose its next leader, what lessons should the Conservatives take from their time in government? Did the party fail to deliver on key pledges – and, if so, why? Which parts of government worked well under the last Conservative government – and which did not? Where did the electorate feel let down by the Conservative party and why? Which departments delivered – and how could future Conservative ministers best learn from these experiences?Speakers:Rt Hon Damian Green, former First Secretary of State and Minister for the Cabinet OfficeJill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for GovernmentJoe Twyman, Co-Founder and Director of DeltapollHenry Newman, former Special Adviser at No10 and the Cabinet OfficeThis event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A combination of poor public service performance and tight funding for the foreseeable future means boosting productivity – which fell both during and after the pandemic – will remain high on the agenda. The last Conservative government launched a Public Sector Productivity Programme in June 2023 , but what would a future Conservative government do to fix these issues? And how realistic is the hope of delivering better services for less?Baroness Neville-Rolfe, former Cabinet Office and Treasury ministerDan Butler, Head of Government Affairs at Google Cloud UKNick Davies, Programme Director at the Institute for GovernmentProfessor Mark Thompson, Professor of Digital Economy at the University of ExeterThis event was chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government.This event was in partnership with Google Cloud UK and the University of Exeter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Years of low but volatile capital spending have left public services across the country struggling with crumbling buildings and poor-quality IT and equipment. But public finances are tight, meaning that government will need to get better value from its spending – not just rely on spending more. There is a role for both national and local government in making sure that capital budgets are spent well – so what would a Conservative government do?Speakers:Steve Brine, former Chair of the Health and Social Care Select CommitteePolly Curtis, Chief Executive of DemosStuart Hoddinott, Senior Researcher at the Institute for GovernmentSam Rowlands MS, Welsh Shadow Minister for HealthThis event was chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Conservative government made substantial progress between 2019 and 2024 in devolving power to metro mayors in places including Greater Manchester and the West Midlands. Devolution was a core part of the Johnson and Sunak governments’ levelling up strategy, but was this approach a success? This panel discussed the successes and failures of devolution and consider the Conservative case for further empowerment of local leaders across England. Speakers:Councillor Anne Handley, Leader of East Riding of Yorkshire CouncilProfessor Richard Jones, Vice-President for Regional Innovation and Civic Engagement at The University of ManchesterCouncillor Tim Oliver OBE, Leader of Surrey County Council and Chairman of the County Councils NetworkLaura Shoaf, Chief Executive of theWest Midlands Combined AuthorityThis event was chaired by Akash Paun, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.This event was in partnership with Policy@Manchester. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices