Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

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 UKPLUS: 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