

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government
Institute for Government
The first Labour government in 14 years is facing a daunting to-do list and complex challenges at every turn. Public services are under strain. The civil service is under pressure. And ministers must deliver the government’s missions and milestones. But could Keir Starmer’s plan to “rewire the British state” – through using AI and creating a “start-up” culture – turn these challenges into opportunities?So where is government working well and what is it doing badly? What can be done to make No10, the Treasury and the rest of government function more effectively? What can Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves do to achieve faster economic growth? What will Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives and the other opposition parties do to hold the government to account? How might Donald Trump shape British politics – and how could the UK’s relations with the EU change in the years ahead?Get behind the scenes in Westminster, Whitehall and beyond on the weekly podcast from Britain’s leading governmental think tank, where we analyse the latest events in politics and explain what they mean. Every week on Inside Briefing, IfG director Hannah White and the team welcomes special guests for a thought-provoking conversation on what makes government work – and how to fix it when it doesn’t.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jan 10, 2025 • 44min
Happy New Year, Keir?
Tricky poll ratings, gloomy economic news, and Elon Musk's online onslaught have made for a tricky start to 2025 for Keir Starmer, but how much should No10 be worrying? Theo Bertram, a former adviser to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown joins the pod team to give his verdict. Musk's X attacks have placed the child grooming scandal on the front pages, but are the Conservatives right to call for a new inquiry? The government would rather we were talking about its announcements on NHS and social care reform: our resident IfG health expert plans all?Plus: What will Mark Zuckerberg's Meta's fact-checking shift really mean? Hannah White presents. With Emma Norris and Stuart Hoddinott. Produced by Candice McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 30, 2024 • 54min
2024 in Review: The Start of the Keir Show
It has been quite some year for British politics. Sure, there were no mass-ministerial resignations, rule-breaking No10 gatherings or economy-shaking mini budgets, but July’s general election saw a change of ruling party for the first time in 14 years. So did Rishi Sunak’s final rolling of the dice really achieve anything? Could the general election ever have turned out differently? And how have Labour adapted to government – and Keir Starmer to the daurning job of prime minister? What was the surprise of the year? What was the moment of election night? And what does it all say about what might come next…? Sam Freedman, Giles Wilkes, Jill Rutter and Hannah White gather in the IfG studio to look back on extraordinary 12 months for politics and government. Produced by Robin Leaburn for Podmasters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 27, 2024 • 41min
Christmas Special: IfG Book Club
The IfG team has spent the year reading government reviews, white papers, select committee reports, consultations, manifestos plans for change… you get the idea. But this podcast is going to step away from the treadmill of political news and instead bring the IfG book club to the podcast studio. So put down whichever IfG report you’re reading, get yourself a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie, and join a cast of your IfG favourites to hear their top tips on non-fiction, fiction, biographies, thrillers, science fiction and more. And look for a festive treat at the end of the podcast too… Cath Haddon and Nicola Blacklaws present. With Hannah White, Alex Thomas, Jordan Urban, Stuart Hoddinott, Jill Rutter and Sophie Metcalfe and the IfG choir. Produced by Robin Leeburn for Podmasters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 20, 2024 • 42min
Power to the people
The devolution revolution is in full swing, with Angela Rayner setting out the government’s plans to give power away across England. Former Conservative special adviser Salma Shah joins the podcast team to explore what the plan contains – and whether it stands any chance of working?Asylum is one of the trickiest issues facing this or any government. The author of a new IfG paper tells us why what has become a chronic policy problem and what could be done to fix it. Plus: Will Elon Musk’s money be making its way into British politics? Hannah White presents with Sachin Savur, Akash Paun and Millie Mitchell. Produced by Candice McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dec 12, 2024 • 43min
Appetite for Disruption
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

Dec 6, 2024 • 44min
The Plans they are A-Changing
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

Dec 3, 2024 • 51min
The new cabinet secretary: Can Sir Chris Wormald rewire the British state?
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

Nov 29, 2024 • 43min
Cabi-not yet Secretary
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

Nov 21, 2024 • 44min
Starmer’s Farmer Drama
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

Nov 15, 2024 • 38min
Donald Trump's Team Calls
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


