Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Reform UK may have dominated the headlines this week, but Westminster's attention is already turning to a far bigger political moment: the arrival of Britain's next prime minister. Mirror political editor Lizzy Buchan joins the podcast team to explore who Andy Burnham might appoint to his cabinet, the priorities that will define his first weeks in office, and whether he can succeed where Keir Star...

The King of the North says he will remain - for some of the time - in his kingdom, but how will Andy Burnham's vision for a devolution circuit breaker - powered by a new Number 10 in Manchester - really work? Former de facto deputy prime minister David Lidington joins the podcast to discuss the would-be PM's big speech. How would No.10 North work alongside the original? Who calls the shots? Who is...

A decade after the UK voted to leave the EU, the IfG's Jill Rutter and UKICE's Anand Menon are joined by the BBC's Adam Fleming - the former Brussels correspondent and Brexitcast presenter who followed every twist and turn of the UK's EU drama - to share their front row experiences of some of the most significant events in recent British and European political history.  From the night of the refer...

Keir Starmer has resigned. Andy Burnham is preparing for power. But what will a mid-parliament change of prime minister mean for the government? How should an incoming prime minister prepare for the biggest job in government? What can an outgoing leader do to ensure a smooth transition? And after seven prime ministers in a decade, could another change at the top finally bring greater stability to...

As Andy Burnham returns to Parliament after winning the Makerfield by election, the Guardian's Rafael Behr joins the podcast team to discuss a huge week for British politics. How should the prime minister - who insists he would compete in any leadership contest - respond? What does this period of volatility mean for how government works? And what would a prime minister Andy Burnham mean for the wa...

There is just a week to go until the people of Makerfield vote in what could turn out to be the most important by election in decades. More in Common's Luke Tryl joins the podcast from Makerfield to discuss the mood on the ground – and how this peculiar by-election, with both local and national consequences, is shaping how voters are thinking. Burnham is, presumably, both campaigning to win the se...

With the murder of 18 year old Henry Nowak sending shockwaves through Westminster and beyond, IfG senior fellow - and former BBC home affairs correspondent - Danny Shaw joins the podcast team to discuss a fraught week for the police and for politics. What questions do the police need to answer? What could an inquiry explore - and what might need to change? And how could the events of this week sha...

With a promise to abolish the position of Cabinet Secretary and scrap the Cabinet Office, Reform UK’s Danny Kruger has launched his party’s plans for reforming the civil service.  IfG senior fellow Henry Hill joins the podcast team to explore the Kruger blueprint for government.  Tony Blair has entered the Labour leadership race! Well, sort of. The former PM's 5000 word essay sets out his vision f...

How has England’s political landscape changed after the May 2026 elections? How will new local leaders go about their new roles? And what does this mean for the delivery of the government’s local government reorganisation (LGR) agenda?   In this special episode of Inside Briefing, Matthew Fright, the Institute for Government’s LGR anorak, has been gathering views across three areas - Surrey, Essex...

With Andy Burnham inching closer to a return to Westminster, Sam White, Keir Starmer's former chief-of-staff, joins the podcast team to explore what happens next - and what the prime minister can do while this drama plays out around him. If Burnham makes it to Number 10, then he will follow a path once trodden by Boris Johnson  in being a mayor turned prime minister. So what skills does the mayora...

With Keir Starmer's premiership on the rocks, Claire Ainsley - a former adviser to Starmer in opposition - joins the podcast team to make sense of an explosive week in Westminster.  Can the PM reassert his authority? How could a leadership contest play out? And what have the bust-ups of the last few days revealed about the failings of Starmer’s premiership - and what can he, or someone else, learn...

Keir Starmer and Labour government have just faced their biggest electoral test since the 2024 general election. Reform are on the rise. The SNP have made big gains. And Plaid Cymru are making history in Wales. The consequences for British politics could be huge. So what happens next? What will results mean for who governs in Holyrood? Is Wales ready for a whole new governing party? What will the...

After avoiding an ethics inquiry into the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal, what can Keir Starmer do to get the government agenda back on track? James Lyons, former director of communications in Number 10, joins the podcast team to assess the Prime Minister's options as the days count down to a big set of big local and devolved elections.  For lessons on relationship rebuilding - and delivering the...

Seven days in, Westminster is still consumed by the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal. The PM has had his say. Olly Robbins - the permanent secretary that Starmer dismissed - has also given his account. So where does this leave Keir Starmer?  Foreign Office permanent secretary Peter Ricketts joins the podcast team to work out where a week of blame and counter-blame has left the government - and what...

The government is reeling from the revelation that Peter Mandelson was appointed as UK ambassador to the US despite having failed a security vetting process. With the blame-game dominating the week in Westminster, what will we learn from Keir Starmer's 'judgment day' Commons statement? What will Olly Robbins – who was sacked by the PM as Foreign Office permanent secretary – reveal in a crucial sel...

"We are underprepared. We are underinsured. We are under attack. We are not safe." George Robertson, former defence secretary and co-author of the government's strategic defence review, has issued a stark warning about Britain's national security. So how serious is it - and what should Keir Starmer do? PLUS: From defence to employment. A new IfG paper argues the government should go further and fa...

Oil is in short supply as the Middle East conflict continues. Donald Trump has told the UK to “build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT.” Economist Duncan Weldon joins the pod team to discuss what the government can actually do to respond to rising energy prices. The message to consumers so far is keep calm and carry on as usual. But will this messaging hold - and, if not,...

What should the government do about overseas election funding and cryptocurrency donations? Philip Rycroft, who ran the newly-published Rycroft Review into foreign financial influence and interference in UK politics, joins the podcast team to explain the problem and how it could be fixed. From election funding to funding public services. Labour came into power with a promise to reform the way publ...

As war in the Middle East disrupts energy markets across the world, what are the implications for households and businesses in the UK and how should government respond to the price shock? This IfG webinar explored Rachel Reeves’s options for supporting consumers – and what the ongoing conflict could mean for energy policy, the transition to net zero and for the public finances. What are the implic...

How prepared is the government - and how healthy is the economy - for dealing with another energy bill crisis? The podcast team review the prime minister's response and assess the UK's resilience. The chancellor has delivered a big speech promising more financial devolution to English mayors and closer practical alignment with the EU, but do Rachel Reeves's plans add up? Plus: Should we fire all t...

The conflict in the Middle East has already seen Keir Starmer fall out with Donald Trump - but will the economic fallout of war cause even bigger problems for the government?  Former government adviser Tim Leunig joins the podcast to discuss what the prime minister and Rachel Reeves could do to ease a growing cost of living crisis. In a big week for the government, the controversial courts and tri...

What it is really like to be an MP in 2026? How unusual is the life of a politician? How does power work in parliament? And how can MPs try to have an impact from government or the opposition benches? For this special International Women's Day episode of Inside Briefing, three MPs – Conservative Karen Bradley, Labour's Beccy Cooper, and Ellie Chowns of the Green Party – head to the IfG podcast stu...

The Middle East is at war - but how does the conflict end and what role will the UK play? Sir Alex Younger, the former head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) joins the podcast team to discuss what the US strikes on Iran mean for the region, for the UK and for global security. Keir Starmer has said the UK will “not join regime change from the skies”, but huge questions remain over the extent...

Fire up the forecasts. Read up on the rules. Study the spending plans. And get ready for Rachel Reeves' big day in Parliament. Rupert Harrison, former chief of staff to George Osborne, joins the Inside Briefing team to preview the chancellor's spring forecast. It’s not a budget. It’s not a fiscal event. So it doesn’t get a primetime post-PMQs slot in the Commons timetable. So what exactly is it fo...

Antonia Romeo has been appointed as the new Cabinet Secretary and is the first woman to hold the post. So what can she do to turn the civil service, and perhaps the government, around? Keir Starmer's administration is still reeling from resignations, apologies, suspensions and the latest Peter Mandelson scandal. With questions around ethics and standards back in the news, and both Mandelson and An...