Institute for Government

Devolution, levelling up and local leadership event series 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 Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region and leader of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. After nearly five years in office, Steve Rotheram discus...

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Sir David Norgrove, Chair of the UK Statistics Authority. Sir David’s term as chair of the Statistics Authority, which oversees the UK’s statistical system (including the Office for National Statistics, the Office for Statistics Regulation, and the Government Statistical Service), has taken in a Census, the coronavirus pandemic, technological p...

After a turbulent decade in British politics and government, the civil service faces a crisis of authority. Politicians question its legitimacy and effectiveness, permanent secretaries have been summarily dismissed and officials have been drawn into “partygate” and procurement scandals. A new paper from the Institute for Government will argue that the civil service needs a new statutory role to un...

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Andy Haldane, the Permanent Secretary for Levelling Up. On a six-month secondment from the RSA, Andy Haldane was assigned a key role in defining and delivering one of the flagship policies of Boris Johnson’s government. In conversation with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government, Andy Haldane discussed the recently published l...

The future of the protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland remains uncertain, a year after it came fully into force. The arrangements continue to be a major source of tension in the post-Brexit UK-EU relationship and within Northern Ireland, with the first minister citing the DUP’s objections to the protocol for his recent resignation. The ongoing uncertainty around the protocol is having a real impac...

The Institute for Government recently published the ninth edition of our annual Whitehall Monitor report on the government’s size, shape and performance. This report launch explored what Whitehall Monitor 2022 reveals about the way the pandemic has changed how the government works and how the Covid-19 response will sit alongside ministers’ wider agenda for the second half of the parliament. How ha...

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Sir John Major KG CH to give a keynote speech on the issue of trust and standards in a democracy. It was chaired by Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. Sir John Major was Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997. He served as MP for Huntingdon from 1979 to 2001. #IfGJohnMajor

Bronwen Maddox gave the Institute for Government’s annual Director’s Lecture. This was followed by a response from New Statesman political editor Stephen Bush, and a discussion chaired by Sir David Lidington, the former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister for the Cabinet Office, and Justice Secretary. In her speech, Bronwen reflected on the government’s handling of the pandemic, expecta...

The Department for Education’s Covid response has been widely criticised, with schools closing and reopening with little warning and many pupils adapting to remote learning. And now DfE faces a fresh set of challenges – from ‘levelling up’ educational opportunities to ensuring everyone has a better start in life by improving early education and childcare. But does DfE have the capacity to meet edu...

Institute for Government/Bennett Institute 'Review of the UK Constitution' launch event. From Supreme Court interventions to accusations of ‘dead parliaments’, the Brexit impact to the pandemic response, a tumultuous period in British politics has put the UK constitution under huge strain and undermined public faith in how the UK is governed. Calls for change have come from all sides. Should the U...

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 26th in our series, the speakers presented their work in an exciting, quickfire format. Each speaker has eight minutes, followed by eight minutes of questions from the audience. This month's speake...

The long-awaited government white paper on levelling up is due to be published in early 2022, but the government alone cannot pay for the policies needed to help the UK’s left-behind areas. So what can ministers do to involve the private sector in shaping and delivering the levelling up agenda? What more can be done to unlock greater private sector investment? How can private investment deliver so...

The government's Subsidy Control Bill sets out how the UK will replace EU state aid rules, but will this deliver a post-Brexit dividend, and how will the UK's system change how subsidies are offered? With the bill having passed through the House of Commons and set to be scrutinised in the House of Lords, this Institute for Government panel will explore the opportunities – and risks – of setting up...

Having introduced a legally binding target to achieve net zero by 2050 and with the Environment Act – designed to enforce UK environmental standards – now on the statute book, the UK government is proud of its green achievements. But does the UK’s post-Brexit independent trade policy live up to its domestic environmental commitments? Earlier this year the UK agreed to omit references to temperatur...

Two years ago, Boris Johnson was elected on a promise to ‘get Brexit done’ and ‘level up’ the UK. Then Covid-19 struck and dominated government time, energy and resources. But with the worst of the crisis now passed, and with the UK having left the EU, where will ministers turn their attention in the second half of the parliament – and is the government well set up to deliver its priorities? Is Br...

The UK’s two decade-long campaign in Afghanistan ended this summer with the withdrawal of British troops and diplomatic personnel from Kabul. A mission that began with the overthrow of the Taliban ended with the Taliban returning to power. What did the UK’s 20-year stay in Afghanistan accomplish? Should politicians or the military take the blame for its failures? And how should Afghans and the int...

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome John Pullinger, Chair of the Electoral Commission, who was in conversation with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government. With voter ID, political party funding, and the abuse of candidates all in the spotlight, is enough being done to inspire the confidence of voters, parties and politicians in the electoral system? More than s...

The Institute for Government was pleased to welcome the Rt Hon Angela Rayner MP, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Shadow First Secretary of State, to deliver a keynote speech setting out how Labour would reform the systems that govern standards in public life. She was then in conversation with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government....

What does it mean to be a member of parliament? What do people expect from their elected representatives? And how much have these expectations changed in recent years? The row about MPs’ second jobs has triggered a discussion about what MPs are for and what their priorities should be. From representing constituents and dealing with casework to scrutinising government and improving legislation, MPs...

The use of data has been at the forefront of the government’s handling of Brexit shocks and the Covid-crisis. But how can data best be used to address government priorities such as net zero, “levelling up”, and tackling the social and economic scarring from the pandemic? This IfG event discussed how improvements can be made to the way governments identify data and use it to help make decisions. Wh...

Having 'taken back control’ of the UK border after Brexit, the government has ended free movement of people and introduced a new points-based immigration system. But 10 months on, the UK labour market is under pressure, with a combination of Covid-19, Brexit, and other structural forces causing widespread shortages of workers. To what extent has the new immigration regime contributed to these labo...

How we are taxed will be crucial to how government pays for net zero. It can use the tax system to incentivise sustainable choices by businesses and consumers as well as disincentivise harmful ones. But government revenues will also fall as people and businesses adapt their behaviour to reduce carbon emissions, with the shift to electric vehicles set to eliminate fuel duties. So what changes are n...

As part of our ongoing series of events on devolution and the Union, the Institute for Government was delighted to welcome John Swinney MSP, the Deputy First Minister of Scotland. What is the state of the relationship between the UK and Scottish governments? How well is devolution working for Scotland? What are the current tensions in the devolved settlement and how can they be resolved? John Swin...

As part of our ongoing series of events on the future of devolution across the UK, the Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and leader of the West Midlands Combined Authority. Six months after his re-election to a second term in office, Andy Street – who was in conversation with Akash Paun, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government – discuss...

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 24th 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...