Institute for Government

Devolution, levelling up and local leadership As part of a special series of events on devolution and levelling up, featuring local leaders from across England, the Institute for Government was delighted to be joined by Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester. First elected in May 2017 and re-elected for a second term in May 2021, Andy Burnham discussed his role and priorities, the challenges of...

How much influence does the public have on the decisions made by government? Should they have more? And how should that work? People want a greater say in the decisions that affect them and their lives, with polling by UCL’s Constitution Unit finding that 77% of people felt they had too little influence over how the UK is governed. There is often a disconnect between the public and the UK’s repres...

The government wants to phase out petrol and diesel cars from 2030. So how can this ambitious target – which has been brought forward by a decade – be delivered? Key policy issues, such as the treatment of hybrid vehicles, are still to be settled, but the government will also have to address a series of complex questions. What can it do to encourage consumers to switch vehicles? What needs to done...

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve. At this month's event, the 30th in our series, the speakers presented their work in an exciting, quickfire format. Each speaker had eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience. This month's speake...

The Conservative Party’s 2019 manifesto promised to level up “every part” of the UK, but there is unlikely to be enough money to radically improve economic prospects across the country. Will the government need to ‘pick winners’ or are there other ways of ensuring that money is spent where it can have the biggest impact? The sheer breadth of the levelling up agenda – and the missions that the gove...

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Wes Streeting MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. With the Covid-19 pandemic continuing to place the NHS under huge strain, Wes Streeting discussed with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government, how Labour would tackle waiting list backlogs, address workforce problems and reform the social care system. He a...

COP26 was one of the biggest diplomatic events any UK government has hosted in recent decades, with a huge amount of diplomacy, logistical preparations and careful planning required both ahead of and during the conference. So what lessons should the government take from the experience of hosting a major international summit, and can they play a part in its wider global ambitions? It is now half a...

WhatsApp is Westminster’s favourite way of communicating. Widely used across government , it is quick, convenient and easy to use. But WhatsApp also brings problems – it can lead to bad decision making, poor record-keeping and a lack of transparency. So how should ministers, special adviser and officials use WhatsApp to ensure that the benefits outweigh the risks? How can the government prevent cr...

During the Covid-19 pandemic, unprecedented numbers of people engaged with evidence behind government policy. Many had to interpret and implement government decisions while making trade-offs with other priorities, like protecting children, cancer care provision or running businesses. Based on testimony from expert witnesses and the experiences of people from a broad range of sectors across the UK,...

As part of a special series of events on devolution, levelling up and local leadership, featuring local leaders from across England, the Institute for Government was delighted to be joined by Jamie Driscoll, Mayor of the North of Tyne region. Powers over infrastructure, skills, and housing have already been transferred to the North of Tyne combined authority, and the government's levelling up agen...

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was created by the merger of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for International Development (DfID) in 2020. Since then, the department has implemented a substantial cut to the UK’s aid budget, dealt with the foreign policy implications of Brexit, handled the UK’s presidency of the G7 and the COP climate conference,...

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve. At this month's event, the 29th in our series, the speakers presented their work in an exciting, quickfire format. Each speaker had eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience. Our partner, Plough...

Boris Johnson's 2019 pledge to ‘level up’ the UK has become his government’s flagship agenda. But this is not the first government aiming to reduce regional economic disparities, and the Johnson administration will need to learn from the experience of past administrations if it is to succeed where others failed. With previous attempts to level up let down by frequent churn in institutions and prog...

At the 2019 general election, the Conservative Party won votes in many places that had not traditionally voted Tory - with the promise to 'level up' the UK seen as a key factor. A recent white paper finally set out the government’s plan to turn the levelling up slogan into reality, including 12 missions to be achieved by 2030. But with the general election due in no more than two years, will the g...

From attending parties during the Covid-19 lockdown to taking payment for lobbying, some MPs seem to think the rules they set for others should not apply to them. Their procedures are complex, they are far from representative of the UK population, and many appear detached from the lives led by their constituents. So what can be done to reform the way the House of Commons works? How can MPs make th...

A decade since Michael Gove passed legislation allowing all schools to convert to academy status, academies make up just under half of all schools in England. The rest are regulated as maintained schools, meaning two parallel systems – with resulting confusion, gaps, and misalignments – now exist. Neighbouring schools can have different rules around admissions, special educational needs provision,...

Levelling up and net zero are the government’s twin flagship agendas. But how do they align? Where and how can policies complement each other? And what is required to make that happen? While the levelling up white paper acknowledged and explored some of the links between the two agendas, the government has yet to set out a coherent plan for how they will be brought together. On our panel to discus...

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve. At this month's event, the 28th in our series, the speakers presented their work in an exciting, quickfire format. Each speaker had eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience. This month's speake...

Better use of data is key to more effective government. Across government, teams are doing fascinating work with data. But those projects don’t get the attention they deserve. At this month's event, the 27th in our series, the speakers presented their work in an exciting, quickfire format. Each speaker had eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience. This month's speake...

After the long years of counter-insurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means the United Kingdom once again faces a conflict in Europe. At the same time, China is taking an increasingly assertive approach to Taiwan. The government's response to this era of renewed global competition is the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy. O...

In 2017, Michael Gove called Brexit an ‘unfrozen moment’ which would allow ministers to address long-standing criticisms of the EU Common Agricultural Policy and free the government to radically reform the way it supports farmers. So will redirecting England’s £2.4 billion annual farm budget deliver a substantial Brexit dividend? Will reforms bring about everything farmers, environmentalists and t...

Boris Johnson has set 'levelling up' the UK as the mission for his government, but few in Whitehall or the country can explain exactly what it is, how it will be implemented and what success looks like. Tackling regional inequalities lies at the heart of the Conservative Party's re-election hopes, but relies on the implementation of a complex series of policies across national and local government...

COP26 highlighted the critical role business and finance will play in driving the transition to a net zero economy. Businesses made new net zero commitments; regulators discussed how to tighten scrutiny of those commitments; and policy makers announced plans to mandate the publication of climate-related risks to business. So how can finance best help the transition to net zero? What can be done to...

Devolution, levelling up and local leadership As part of a special series of events on devolution and levelling up, featuring local leaders from across England, the Institute for Government was delighted to be joined by Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire and leader of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. After just under a year in office, Tracy Brabin discussed her role as mayor, working with...

The norms and conventions of the UK’s uncodified constitution are being pushed to their limits – and sometimes beyond. In the absence of clear legal rules, the constitution relies on a shared understanding of what constitutes good behaviour in public and political life, and trust that people in positions of power will abide by that understanding. The constitutional historian Peter Hennessy describ...