Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Pat McFadden – the minister for the Cabinet Office – is making a plea for an army of disruptors to sign up to the Civil Service and make Whitehall think like a start up. Jess Studdert, director of New Local, joins us to ask whether this is fresh thinking? Plus, Rachel Reeves has another plan to whip Whitehall into shape, and it’s a familiar one. The chancellor is on the hunt for efficiency savings. So where could they be found - and will they really make a difference?Also: From rewiring the civil service to rethinking the prison service. Does the government have  plan to fix the prison service?Hannah White presents, with Alex Thomas, Tom Pope and Cassia Rowland. Produced by Robin Leeburn for Podmasters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Is that sound the heavy thud of a gauntlet been thrown down? The podcast team are joined by Peter Hyman, a former adviser to Keir Starmer – when he was a key player in designing Labour’s missions – and Tony Blair, to make sense of the government’s new Plan for Change. What do the six new ‘milestones’ say about this government’s five missions? Do targets actually work? Why has Keir Starmer set this plan out now? And why is he sounding so frustrated with the civil service? Plus: Sir Chris Wormald is the new cabinet secretary. So who is he, and what can he do to deliver the prime minister’s command to completely rewire the British state?  Catherine Haddon presents. With Jill Rutter and Nick Davies Produced by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After weeks of speculation, and many rounds of interviews, Sir Chris Wormald has been confirmed as the UK’s new cabinet secretary. But who is Chris Wormald, why has Keir Starmer appointed him, and how can he succeed as the country’s top civil servant?David Lidington, the former minister for the Cabinet Office and Theresa May’s one-time de facto deputy prime minister, joins the IfG team to make sense of someone who is both the conventional pick and yet also the surprise choice for the job of the country’s top civil servant.What does Wormald bring to the role? What is waiting in his in-tray? How exactly could he set about that big rewiring job? And what steps he can take to ensure the civil service can deliver Keir Starmer’s priorities? Presented by Emma Norris.With Cath Haddon and Alex Thomas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a competition that has gripped the nation. The candidates have been whittled down. The country is on tenterhooks. Strictly? Of course not. We’re talking about the appointment of the next cabinet secretary. The Guardian’s Rafael Behr joins the podcast team to speculate about who might get the job – and what they need to do. How can the government get more people back to work? It has published a new “Get Britain Working” white paper for starters, but what does it set out and is this any different to anything we have heard before? Plus: Does the government have an electric car problem?  Hannah White presents.With Alex Thomas and Nehal Davison.Produced by Robin Leeburn for Podmasters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Keir Starmer has been on his travels again, but it has been a tricky week at home for the government. Tim Ross and Rachel Wearmouth, the authors of new book Landslide: The Inside Story of the 2024 Election, join the podcast team to discuss how Labour returned to power – and how Starmer and his team are faring. The Budget has gone down very badly with Britain’s farm owners and a private members’ bill on assisted dying is posing a big headache for Starmer. How much worse could things get? And from bruising encounters to a political bruiser, the former deputy prime minister John Prescott, a key figure in the last Labour government, has died. The pod team look back on Prescott’s legacy. PLUS: Labour is promising to set up a lot of new public bodies: 17 and counting. A new IfG report has been tracking their progress, and reveals how to succeed, or not, when setting these bodies up. Cath Haddon presents, with Giles Wilkes and Matthew Gill. Produced by Jade Bailey for Podmasters and the IfG.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are living in a different world. Donald Trump’s world.Kim Darroch, the UK's former ambassador to the US, joins the podcast team to make sense of what could be some jaw-dropping appointments to the Trump administration.The UK government has been scrambling to make sense of it all too - responding in measured tones while potentially bracing for impact. So how should Keir Starmer handle the new Trump era?Plus: COP29. The prime minister has been on his travels again - this time to Azerbaijan for a major climate change summit. Hannah White presents.With Alex Thomas and Jill Rutter.Produced by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael Gove, a former UK government minister and current editor of The Spectator, reflects on his extensive career in public service. He tackles pressing issues like NHS funding crises and the challenges of healthcare privatization. Gove discusses educational reforms since 2010, stressing the need for strategic leadership consistency. He advocates for integrated approaches to justice system reform and highlights the impact of demographic changes on public services. His insights aim to guide current government efforts and inspire future leaders.

Buckle up everyone. Donald Trump has won the US presidential election and will return to the White House after an extraordinary campaign featuring criminal convictions, assassination attempts, shocking language, and so much more.So what does this tell us about the US? What does it mean for the UK? And how might the world change in the years to come? Scarlett Maguire of JL Partners, the pollsters that called the numbers right, and Michael Martins, a former US Embassy adviser, join the podcast team to explain an extraordinary week.Plus: Kemi Badenoch is the new leader of the Conservative party. We’ll take a look at what this means for the opposition.And finally: another huge story - well, at least for some parts of the IfG. A new ministerial code has been published. We’ve read it and will give you the lowdown.Alex Thomas presents.With Cath Haddon and Sachin Savur.Produced by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Budget day is over and Halloween is here - and Rachel Reeves certainly came up with some pretty scary numbers. Stewart Wood, a former adviser to Gordon Brown at the Treasury and No10, joins the podcast team to make sense of the chancellor’s statement. Will her plans - this is one of the biggest tax raising budgets in modern history - come back to haunt her? Will her new rules for borrowing spook the markets? Or will her announcements begin the process of bringing economic growth back from the near-dead?Hannah White presents.Produced by Candice McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join Tom Pope, Deputy Chief Economist at the Institute for Government, Giles Wilkes, an adviser on industrial strategies, and Stuart Hoddinott, a senior researcher in public services. They dive into the significant implications of Rachel Reeves' budget, dissecting the largest tax increase in over 30 years. The panel reflects on new fiscal rules, the impact on local government funding, and how increased capital spending aims to revitalize public services. Discover what this budget reveals about the government's priorities and growth mission.