Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

As Boris Johnson struggles to shake off questions about standards and MPs’ second jobs, what’s the latest in the never-ending row gripping Westminster? Also how did the Government scramble supplies of PPE during the pandemic peak? The data has been released so we take a closer look. And John Swinney, Deputy First Minister of Scotland gave a talk at the IFG, and he didn’t hold back. Our special guest is HENRY DYER, politics reporter for Business Insider, specialising in political financing, appointments and data-driven investigations.“We all lose when people don’t have faith in Parliament as an institution” - ALICE LILLEY“The UK’s stockpile of PPE was much too small, we hadn’t prepared for this” - TOM SASSE“According to John Swinney, the Government is undermining devolution” - AKASH PAUN“A lot of MPs currently in jobs are thinking ‘am I going to be able continuing doing these jobs or not?’” - HANNAH WHITEPresented by Tim Durrant with Hannah White, Alice Lilley, Tom Sasse and Akash Paun. Audio production by Alex Rees. Inside Briefing is a Podmasters Production for the IfG. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the Owen Paterson mess unspools to expose Geoffrey Cox’s novel approach to working from home and much more, has the Government set off a multi-polar controversy it can’t control? Did Boris Johnson do himself any favours by refusing to face the Commons in contrition? And how does it play outside Westminster when someone on £80,000 a year claims they needs a second or third job?Our special guest is ROB HUTTON, veteran lobby journalist and now sketchwriter at The Critic. • “What did I make of last week in Parliament? It was objectively hilarious.” – ROB HUTTON• “Rees-Mogg and Mark Spencer had to sit silently on the benches and take their punishment – and that was quite the sight.” – CATH HADDON• “It’s not important to say you’re not a corrupt country. It’s important not to HAVE to say you’re not a corrupt country…” – ROB HUTTON• “If MPs like Geoffrey Cox have time to do all this extra work, why don’t they spend it trying to improve Parliament?” – CATH HADDON• “The fact that Geoffrey Cox had massive outside jobs was known ten days ago and it wasn’t news back then. It is now.” – ROB HUTTONPresented by Hannah White with Cath Haddon and Tim Durrant.  Audio production by Alex Rees. Inside Briefing is a Podmasters Production for the IfG. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a series of unforced errors, the Government first whips its MPs to rescind the suspension of OWEN PATERSON MP for lobbying and rethink the entire Commons standards process… then suffers a rebellion and a roasting in the press… and then reverses their decision entirely. How damaging is this episode? And is there a case for reforming the system? Plus, we hear the latest on COP26 from RICHARD BLACK, senior associate of climate change non-profit the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, who’s on the spot in Glasgow. • “Yes, there is a case to be made for reforming the standards process, but not when you’re investigating a former Cabinet Minister.” – JILL RUTTER• “If you have a PM who is willing to use his political capital to protect someone who has broken the rules, there is no recourse in our system” – TIM DURRANT• “Upending a whole system to protect one of your own laid the Government open to charges that it would just protect its friends.”– JILL RUTTER• “If the country is going to become carbon neutral then the countryside is going to have to become carbon negative” –  RICHARD BLACKPresented by Bronwen Maddox with Tom Sasse, Jill Rutter and Tim Durrant.  Audio production by Alex Rees. Inside Briefing is a Podmasters Production for the IfG. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On 27 October, Rishi Sunak presented his third budget and the first multiyear spending review since 2015. Now the dust has settled, what did we learn? Why was the fiscal windfall so large? How did the chancellor choose to spend it? Was there evidence of a Brexit dividend? Did the spending review settlements meet the needs of public services? Can government become more productive to achieve much more with only a bit more money? Our special guest for this special edition was Chris Francis, government affairs director for SAP. This special Budget edition comes with welcome support from SAP. Find out more at www.sap.com/uk Audio Production by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fuelled by a Twix and a can of Sprite, Chancellor Rishi Sunak finally set out his budget and multi-year spending review on Wednesday, we take a look at his plans will mean for Britain’s economy. Also, COVID hasn’t gone away, but what would the introduction of plan B look like? Is the public ready for it?And COP26 begins at the weekend. MO HUSSEIN, former advisor to Climate Change Secretary Amber Rudd joins to tell us what these conferences are really like, and what needs to happen to make the event a success for both Britain and the world. * “The rhetoric of the budget speech didn’t match up to the forecasts.” - GEMMA TETLOW* “When Sunak receives bad news, he raises taxes. When he gets good news, he raises spending.” - GEMMA TETLOW* “It was noticeable how little ‘net-zero’ was mentioned in the budget, especially with COP26 next week.” - ROSA HODGKIN* “The Conservatives are matching, even outdoing Labour on spending in some areas.” - MO HUSSEIN* “Lots of geopolitics happens at COP summits, countries need to cut through that.” - MO HUSSEIN* “Failure would look like coming out COP26 with the same climate targets as we have now.” - ROSA HODGKINPresented by Bronwen Maddox with Gemma Tetlow and Rosa Hodgkin of the IfG. Audio production by Alex Rees. Inside Briefing is a Podmasters Production for the IfG. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s Budget is Rishi Sunak’s third – but the first he’s undertaken outside of firefighting mode. What can we expect? Will Sunak be able to finally put some meat on the bare bones of levelling up? How much room to manoeuvre does he have in the midst of crises on the cost of living, staffing and productivity? And what should he do for small business?Our special guests for this special edition are SONIA KHAN, former special advisor to Sajid Javid; and CRAIG BEAUMONT from the Federation of Small Businesses. This budget preview edition is supported by the Federation of Small Businesses. Find out more at www.fsb.org.uk * “Even if we get back to a pre-pandemic economy, that wasn’t so rosy… Unless we get a step change in productivity it’s not going to feel like the Roaring Twenties.” – TOM POPE* “When Chancellors deliver growth or investment, it’s often the Chancellor after them that reaps the credit.” – SONIA KHAN* “Small businesses have had a torrid 18 months and they’re expecting a torrid autumn-winter… We’ve lost over 400,000 small businesses.” – CRAIG BEAUMONT* “We’re seeing Sunak shake off his Mr Nice Guy image… We’re seeing the start of the definition of what he’s about.” – SONIA KHAN* “The economy is smaller than it was for small businesses and the recovery looks like it’s running out of steam.” – GRAHAM ATKINSPresented by Gemma Tetlow with Tom Pope of the IfG. Audio production by Alex Rees. Inside Briefing is a Podmasters Production for the IfG. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The murder of Sir David Amess MP has shocked the political world deeply. With the threat level to MPs now assessed as “significant”, how will this terrible event affect the face-to-face contact with parliamentarians that British democracy depends upon? Plus, are the Government’s voluminous climate change plans in shape for Boris Johnson’s big moment at COP26? As energy prices soar, has the Government got its Net Zero tax sums rights? Tim Ross, executive editor (politics) of the New Statesman, is our special guest.  “The mood in Westminster is incredibly sad… David Amess and also James Brokenshire were two of the nicest and kindest MPs.” – Tim Ross “If leaders want the public to treat MPs with respect, it needs to start from the top. We can’t have Prime Ministers bashing Parliamentarians.” – Jill Rutter “What is driving this aggressive culture? There is a profound cynicism about Parliament – but most parliamentarians are decent people who are trying to help.” – Alice Lilly “I question whether the country cares enough about its democracy. Do we care enough to protect our MPs?" – Tim Ross “You can’t spin shortages on the shelves as a brilliant idea.” – Giles Wilkes Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Alice Lilly, Jill Rutter and Giles Wilkes. Audio production by Alex Rees. Inside Briefing is a Podmasters Production for the IfG. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the EU produces sweeping new proposals on previous red-line issues, can the Government really rewrite the Northern Ireland Protocol to everyone’s satisfaction? If Britain always intended to sign now and ditch it later, what will that do future relations with the EU? Plus, we read every page of the Coronavirus: Lessons Learned report to tease out what really matters. Adam Payne of politicshome.com is our guest.  “Will Johnson ever be able to say that Brexit is done? It’s more a case of, will he ever WANT to say that Brexit is done?” – Jill Rutter “Any future COVID inquiry will inevitably be hugely damaging to the Conservative brand – but this report is not going to damage this particular government.” – Adam Payne “It’s amazing that a report covering perhaps the biggest public health failure ever is a one-day news story.” – Jill Rutter “From the COVID report there’s perhaps too much emphasis on the advice and not enough on the political decision-making.” – Tom Sasse Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Joe Marshall, Jill Rutter and Tom Sasse. Audio production by Alex Rees. Inside Briefing is a Podmasters Production for the IfG. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Boris Johnson used his conference speech to promise higher wages, productivity and economic growth. But against a backdrop of petrol shortages, empty shelves and a mass cull of healthy pigs, is he really leading an economic revolution akin to Thatcher’s? And the fallout from Germany’s federal election continues. Berlin-based author and commentator John Kampfner joins us to discuss who will form the next government, and the issues that could define Europe’s biggest power in the years ahead. “Johnson’s speech did the job for the party, but it felt incongruent with events happening elsewhere.” - Alex Thomas “If you look at the state of Britain, Labour should be on a roll, but Johnson carries the floor with unbridled optimism.” - John Kampfner “It wasn’t an anti-business conference, but there was a different attitude towards the state from previous years.” - Gemma Tetlow “Germany shows us that levelling-up is a vast, national project” - Alex Thomas Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Alex Thomas and Gemma Tetlow. Audio production by Alex Rees. Inside Briefing is a Podmasters Production for the IfG. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a bruising Brighton conference, has Keir Starmer strengthened his position as Labour leader? And did Rachel Reeves do enough to convince Britain that Labour can be trusted on the economy, green issues and value for public money? Our special guest, the Daily Mirror’s senior political correspondent Rachel Wearmouth, helps us to rate Starmer’s relaunch. Plus, what can we learn from a good old-fashioned fuel crisis?  “The key job at a Labour conference is to look like you’re in control of the madness that is the world of Labour.” – Rachel Wearmouth “Troops on the street isn’t a good look – but the impression of things being done urgently in a crisis IS a good look.” – Alex Thomas “Conservative MPs have told me that if they lose the motorists, they lose the next election.” – Rachel Wearmouth “40,000 HGV drivers have left the UK in the last year - and most of them haven’t come back.” – Gemma Tetlow Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Gemma Tetlow and Alex Thomas. Audio production by Alex Rees. Inside Briefing is a Podmasters Production for the IfG.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices