Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Join IfG experts for instant analysis of the 2025 spending review – a critical moment for Keir Starmer’s government. Were the spending allocations sufficient to improve public services, deliver growth and make progress on the government’s other missions? Which departments will be pleased – and which lost out? And did this multi-year spending review reveal a coherent strategy for the government ove...

Britain has been through a difficult period since the global financial crisis, leading many to conclude the country is doomed to inevitable decline. But Jeremy Hunt, who was at the top of government as both Foreign Secretary and Chancellor, disagrees. In his new book, Can We Be Great Again?, he sets out to rebut those who think Britain is no longer capable of shaping the world we live in.   With t...

The newly-published Strategic Defence Review sets out how the UK can fight and win a full-scale war. So what is it recommending and just how dangerous is the world right now? Tom Newton Dunn, presenter of The General and the Journalist podcast, joins the podcast team to make sense of an ever-shifting – and alarming – defence landscape.   Plus: Spending Review countdown. This Wednesday will see Rac...

It is one year since the 2024 general election campaign kicked off and already reshuffle rumours are doing the rounds. Adam Payne, Editor of PoliticsHome, joins us to discuss whether a reshuffle is a good way to inject energy into a not-so-new government or risks knocking it off course.   The spending review is looming, and in time-honoured tradition the final negotiations are playing out in the m...

Keir Starmer has signed off on a so-called UK/EU reset. So, what’s in the new deal and what does it mean for the never-ending Brexit drama? The Guardian’s Kiran Stacey joins the podcast team to dig into the detail.   Davie Gauke has been uncorked. So, what is in his review of prison sentencing? The team dig into his recommendations and give their verdict.   Plus: Nick Clegg is back! The former dep...

After Keir Starmer made headlines with his warnings of an “island of strangers”, British Future’s Sunder Katwala joins the podcast team to dig into the detail of the government’s new immigration policy. Farewell to 102 Petty France - and a few other Whitehall buildings too. The government is dispersing civil servants to new locations around the country. Will the plan work? Plus: Why the government...

Will white smoke on two trade deals help shift the narrative for Keir Starmer after a tricky week? Peter Foster, the FT’s new world trade editor, joins the podcast team to dig into the details of breakthrough agreements with both the US and India. Perhaps a bigger win for the government would be to achieve that elusive reset with the EU. A big summit is looming. So what is on the table and is prog...

Votes have been counted – well, most of them. So what do Thursday’s elections for four regional mayors, more than 1000 councillors and the new MP for Runcorn and Helsby mean for British politics, Keir Starmer and the Labour government’s devolution agenda? Another big election has taken place too – and that’s in Canada. Mark Carney – remember him? – has won the general election, and in doing so tur...

As Labour jostles with Reform for polling points and the Conservatives debate the merits of cosying up to Nigel Farage's party, More in Common's Luke Tryl joins the podcast team to take stock of the polls - and what they might say about the upcoming local elections. With Rachel Reeves still looking nervously at the economic data and Donald Trump making increasingly hard-to-follow statements about...

Procurement is central to the operation of modern government but, following a series of high-profile scandals, is often controversial. Much of the criticism has focused on the role of the biggest suppliers, some of whom have become household names for the wrong reasons. But who are these big suppliers and how dependent is the government on them? This special episode of Inside Briefing will tell yo...

As Donald Trump pauses his trade war (well, except in the case of China) the podcast team are joined by economist and author Duncan Weldon to make sense of the president’s wild economic rollercoaster ride – and the uncomfortable choices it means for Keir Starmer. The PM and his team have some levers to pull, and this week they eached for a familiar one labelled ‘Quango Bonfire’. So what has been a...

The rules of global trade have been dramatically ripped up by Donald Trump. So what is the US president’s tariff plan actually meant to do? Has a global trade war started? How big a hit will the UK economy take? And what options does Keir Starmer have to fight back?   The government urgently needs to inject some growth into the economy, but can Whitehall make that happen? Andy Burnham, Mayor of Gr...

Spring has nearly sprung, but the fiscal forecasts made for a rather gloomy spring statement for Rachel Reeves. Stewart Wood, a Labour peer and former adviser to Gordon Brown, joins the podcast team to assess the state of the economy - and Reeves’s attempts to turn it around.  How much will welfare cuts upset Labour backbenchers? What could Donald Trump's tariffs mean for Reeves's plans? And just...

With Rachel Reeves just days away from setting out her spring statement to parliament, chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones MP drops into the podcast studio to discuss the Treasury’s new plans for watching the pennies. So what could the chancellor do? What shouldn’t the chancellor do? The podcast team weigh up her options - and analyse the government’s controversial welfare reforms. Plus:...

Minutes after setting out his plans for reforming the civil service, abolishing NHS England, and ending ministerial reliance on quangos, Keir Starmer joined Inside Briefing for an exclusive interview with IfG director Hannah White. So what type of civil service does the PM need to deliver his missions? Why does he want to close down NHS England? And what should officials and ministers prepare for...

So much has happened since that explosive – and unsettling – White House press conference bust-up between Donald Trump and Vlodymer Zelensky, but does Keir Starmer have a workable plan for peace? UKICE’s Anand Menon joins the podcast team to reflect on another extraordinary week of UK/US/EU relations.   Despite the focus on international affairs, the government also needs to deal with tough spendi...

Keir Starmer has completed his first visit to the White House – and delivered a letter from King Charles to Donald Trump. So just how special is the special relationship looking this weekend? Defence expert Karin von Hippel, formerly of RUSI, joins the podcast team to look back on a huge week for international relations.   Does the PM’s plan to boost defence spending by cutting the international a...

With Donald Trump making a series of headline-making statements on Ukraine and its leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy, former national security adviser Peter Ricketts joins the podcast team to make sense of America’s place in the world – and what it means for the UK and Europe.   British politicians have been scrambling to respond, not least defence secretary John Healey - who this week was speaking at th...

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Rt Hon John Healey MP, Secretary of State for Defence, to discuss his priorities for reforming UK defence.   With war in Europe, instability in the Middle East and a new US administration, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has taken centre stage during the Labour government’s first six months in power. But with increasing threats, how will the MOD...

Valentine’s Day is upon us... but there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of love for Keir Starmer and his government right now. So what is the PM going to do about it? Commentator Ian Dunt joins the podcast team to weigh up Labour's latest policy blitz – this time on immigration – and what seems to be ever-increasing pressure on chancellor Rachel Reeves.   Plus: What does Donald Trump’s statement o...

Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall Editor of the Sunday Times, joins the podcast team to discuss his new book Get In, which is being billed as the definitive account of Labour’s reinvention under Keir Starmer.   The prime minister is continuing his mission to reset UK/EU relations, all while trying to work out what a relationship with Donald Trump’s America should look like. We’ll take a look at the PM’s...

No more talk of blackholes. No more doom. No more gloom. So what is Rachel Reeves’ plan for economic growth all about? Times columnist Sebastian Payne joins the podcast team as they make their way through the chancellor’s vision of reservoirs, runways and the UK’s own Silicon Valley – and ask whether government is really set up to make it all happen.   Plus: Ministers Reflect devolved government s...

The details of how Axel Rudakubana, the Southport killer, plotted his attack have forced the government into action. Ciaran Martin, the former CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre, joins the podcast team to discuss Keir Starmer's response - and his decision to put tech firms in the spotlight. The government also had some more positive tech announcements to make this week, so will its grand pl...

In a speech at the IfG this week, Darren Jones MP, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, insisted that “we are long overdue a reckoning with government spending and a realistic appraisal of how we're using taxpayers' money."   So what is Jones planning? Where might the spending cuts fall? How can AI – the so-called Chat HMTGPT – help deliver Whitehall savings? And what will Jones be doing to embed...

It has been a tricky couple of days for the chancellor. But how much trouble is Rachel Reeves really in and how much attention should people be paying to the markets? Politico’s Esther Webber joins the podcast team to look at the challenges facing the chancellor.   The prime minister tried to inject some optimism into the government’s week with a big announcement on AI, but do his plans compute? ...