To mark the publication of her new book, The Women Who Made Modern Economics, Rachel Reeves MP sat down with IfG's Chief Economist, Dr Gemma Tetlow. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Twenty-five years after the Scotland Act established the devolved Scottish government and parliament, the future of devolution and Scotland’s place in the Union remain contentious issues. The SNP continues to advocate for Scottish independence. Meanwhile, the UK government has pursued a strategy of ‘muscular unionism’. Scottish Labour has called for a new approach, based on greater cooperation between UK and Scottish governments, and for stronger local government within Scotland. So what does Scotland’s constitutional future hold?The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Anas Sarwar MSP, Leader of the Scottish Labour Party. How can Scottish devolution be strengthened? What might a future Labour government at Westminster mean for relations with Holyrood? And what is Sarwar’s vision for Scotland’s place in a reformed Union?To discuss these questions and more, Anas Sarwar was in conversation with Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government, followed by Q&A with the live and online audience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Questions about standards in public life have dominated politics in recent years. As Chair of the independent Committee on Standards in Public Life since 2018, Lord Evans KCB DL has been at the heart of these debates, leading the committee’s work to define and uphold ethical standards across the public sector.  As Lord Evans reaches the end of his five-year term, he joined the Institute for Government to reflect on the work of the committee and the UK’s approach to standards in public life more broadly. He discussed how the standards landscape has changed, the challenges he anticipates, and how he would like to see public standards strengthened in future.  After his speech, Lord Evans was in conversation with Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government. There was an opportunity for questions from the audience.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Baroness Hale, former President of the Supreme Court, joins Dr Hannah White, Director of the Institute for Government, and Professor Michael Kenny, Director of Bennett Institute for Public Policy, University of Cambridge, for an in conversation. This event was part of the IfG and Bennett Institute's joint conference on the Future of the UK Constitution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Institute for Government welcomed Rt Hon Liz Truss MP to give a keynote speech on the economy. A year since her government’s Growth Plan – the September 2022 ‘mini-budget’ – including a programme of tax cuts and supply side reforms, the former prime minister set out her vision for how the government could enable the UK to achieve faster economic growth. Following her speech Liz Truss was in conversation with Dr Hannah White, the Director of the Institute for Government, before taking part in a Q&A with an invited audience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Darlington Economic Campus is rapidly establishing itself as the civil service’s flagship office outside of London – and has been described by chancellor Jeremy Hunt as moving “decision makers and advisers closer to the communities we serve.”So how has the Darlington Economic Campus changed the way policy is made? What difference has it made to the local area and is it contributing to the levelling up agenda? What are the factors behind the campus’s success and should it be used as a blueprint for future relocations? And what are the next steps in the government’s plan to relocate the civil servants from London?A recent IfG report has evaluated the impact of the Darlington Economic Campus on the civil service and the local area and set out recommendations for current and future relocations.At this event, which was held in Darlington, there was a welcome from Nigel Robinson from PA Consulting, and a short presentation from Jordan Urban, the report’s lead author. Baroness Penn, Treasury Lords Minister, responded to the IfG's research.An expert panel discussion followed, featuring:• Jo Crellin, Director General, Trading Systems at the Department for Business and Trade• Mike Hughes, Business and Commercial Editor at The Northern Echo• Baroness Penn, Treasury Lords Minister• Andrew Perkin, Business Growth and Investment Manager at Darlington Borough Council• Beth Russell, Second Permanent Secretary to the Treasury The event was chaired by Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There has been no shortage of central government attempts to support regional development over past decades, but these have been insufficient to close the widening gaps in geographical disparities, with efforts lacking scale, coordination, data and effective oversight, and policies ultimately proving short lived. So what can be done to fix the problem?The Levelling Up White Paper proposed several reforms to 'rewire Whitehall' to ensure the goverenment delivered more effective regional policy, including the creation of a Levelling Up Advisory Council (LUAC) – an expert group reporting to the levelling up secretary of state – to provide insight, challenge, and advice to the government on its design and delivery of the levelling up policy agenda. This event also considered how central government can best be organised to deliver effective long-term regional policy, whether the white paper’s reforms are the right ones, what difference structures like the Advisory Council make, and what else is needed.So what progress has the government made on implementing the white paper proposals? What difference have the structures set out in the white paper made already and is the LUAC fulfilling the purpose it was set up for? What are the key challenges for a government when trying to deliver cross-cutting policy? And are the structures in place for cross-government working, between central and devolved governments, adequate to deliver regional policy effectively?To discuss these questions and more, the Institute for Government brought together an expert panel.• Andy Haldane, Chair of the Levelling Up Advisory Council and Chief Executive of the RSA• Rebecca McKee, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government• Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government• Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering and member of the Levelling Up Advisory CouncilThe event was chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director at the Institute for Government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How to restore trust in politics by strengthening standards in public life has been in the spotlight in recent years. The Labour Party has proposed a new, independent Ethics and Integrity Commission to “stamp out corruption in government, strengthen the rules and ensure they are enforced.”  But how would that commission work in practice? If Labour forms the next government, what powers would the commission have to investigate alleged poor behaviour? How will it enforce its judgements? Who would sit on the commission and how will it work with government ministers?  To answer all these questions and set out her vision for how to make politics work better at a time of depleted trust, the Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP, Labour’s Deputy Leader and Shadow Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster, gave a keynote speech at the Institute for Government.The event was chaired by Tim Durrant, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.Following her speech, Angela Rayner took part in a Q&A with the in-person and online audience Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The rule of law is a fundamental principle of a constitutional democracy – but in recent years it has been the subject of much debate. What role should the rule of law play? What is the government’s commitment to the rule of law? And what part should public law play in solving political disputes? As Attorney General, Victoria Prentis KC MP acts at the intersection of politics and the law. She is Chief Legal Adviser to the Crown and advises the government on both domestic and international law. The Attorney General's Office oversees the Law Officers’ departments, which include the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office, and the Government Legal Department, where the Attorney General was herself a government lawyer for 17 years before being elected as an MP. She gave a keynote speech at the Institute for Government. The event was chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director at the Institute for Government. Following her speech, the Attorney General took part in a Q&A with the in-person and online audience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tackling climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing governments across the world. With both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer pledging to hit ambitious emissions targets and make the UK a clean energy ‘superpower’, the net zero agenda will be a major issue at the next general election. So what needs to be done to switch the UK from being an economy powered by carbon to one that is near emissions free, and does the UK have a credible plan to hit its net zero targets?To explore these critical questions, and examine what government needs to do to meet its climate objectives, the Institute for Government brought together leading politicians and experts from the UK and beyond for a special net zero conference. The morning focused on whether the UK government has the right policies in place to cut emissions. And in the afternoon we examined government’s role in supporting green industries, following major subsidies announced by the US and the EU.At this session, the Rt Hon Ed Miliband MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Net Zero, joined Emma Norris, IfG Deputy Director, to discuss how a Labour government would do net zero differently. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices