Institute for Government

The IfG DevoLab is dedicated to exploring the innovations enabled by devolution, learning from the results, and sharing the lessons so that places can take better decisions about how to use devolved powers and budgets. On 25 February, in Manchester, we held our fourth IfG DevoLab event, where three speakers set out how the powers and profile of mayors are being used to increase the supply of affor...

This event took place two months before the people of Wales cast their votes in the seventh election to Senedd Cymru (the Welsh parliament) since it was established in 1999. The polls suggest that Plaid is on track to overturn Labour’s century-long dominance of Welsh politics to become the largest party in the Senedd for the first time, opening the path to Rhun ap Iorwerth becoming Wales’s next fi...

The government’s ambitious local government reorganisation (LGR) programme will replace all county and district councils with a single tier of unitary local government. Local authorities have submitted their preferred geographies to central government – but with reportedly 70 submissions across 21 two-tier areas, there is little consensus on the ideal footprints of future unitary authorities. Gove...

On 13 March 2025, Keir Starmer announced the abolition of NHS England, the arm’s-length body responsible for overseeing, planning, funding and delivering the health service – with its functions to be merged back into the Department of Health and Social Care. Work on the transition is underway but key decisions are still to be made. What are the risks and opportunities associated with abolishing NH...

In 2024, Eluned Morgan MS became the sixth first minister of Wales – and the first woman to hold the role – since the dawn of devolution in 1999. She now leads Welsh Labour into the 2026 Senedd election, which will be held under a new electoral system, and at which Labour faces a double challenge from the rise of Plaid Cymru and Reform. On 22 January, the Institute for Government was delighted to...

Following the publication of Whitehall Monitor 2026, the Institute for Government’s annual data-led analysis of the state of the UK civil service, the IfG was delighted to welcome Rt Hon Darren Jones MP, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, to set out why he thinks the status quo isn’t working and update on the government’s efforts to renew the state. He announced his plans to shake up Whitehall...

Trump’s second term has been markedly different from his first and has already brought with it the most radical shift in US foreign policy since the Second World War. 2026 has seen Trump ramping up action and rhetoric on multiple fronts with even greater pressure on UK and European leaders to respond. What do the next three years hold for relations between the UK, US and EU? Are current tactics an...

The government is making major changes to the structure of the NHS. NHS England is being abolished, with its functions merged into the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). At the same time, the number of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) is set to be reduced, with many expected to merge. Changes proposed by the 10 Year Health Plan, including contracts for single and multi-neighbourhood provide...

This event was part of Government 2026, the IfG's annual conference. The shadow chancellor delivered a speech, followed by a conversation with Alex Thomas, Executive Director for Impact and Influence at the Institute for Government. Followed by closing remarks from Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government. We would like to thank Grant Thornton UK LLP for supporting this ev...

This event was part of Government 2026, the IfG's annual conference. Political journalist Carolyn Quinn, former presenter of the BBC’s Westminster Hour, was in conversation with four IfG programme directors to discuss their vital work on policy making, public services, ministers and public bodies – and their verdict on the government’s performance. Nick Davies, Programme Director (Public Services)...

This event was part of Government 2026, the IfG's annual conference. The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister discussed why his role spanning both No.10 and the Cabinet Office was created and the need to modernise public services. Speaking with Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government, he set out the changes being made to the centre of Whitehall to enable the government t...

This event was part of Government 2026, the IfG's annual conference. A preview of the issues at stake in the hugely significant elections taking place across the UK in May 2026. Kezia Dugdale, former Leader of the Scottish Labour Party and Associate Director of the Centre for Public Policy Guto Harri, broadcaster and former No.10 Director of Communications Akash Paun, Programme Director (Devolutio...

This event was part of Government 2026, the IfG's annual conference. Drawing on brand new IfG research, this panel gave its verdict on the government's attempts to reform the civil service. Whitehall Monitor 2026 presentation from Hannah Keenan, Associate Director at the Institute for Government Followed by a panel discussion featuring: Rt Hon Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester (joining vir...

This event was part of Government 2026, the IfG's annual conference. An expert panel explored how well No.10 and the Treasury work together to deliver the government's economic priorities. Rt Hon Ed Balls, broadcaster, presenter of Political Currency, and former Education Secretary Kelly Beaver MBE, Chief Executive of Ipsos in the UK and Ireland Baroness Ayesha Hazarika, broadcaster and former pol...

This event was part of Government 2026, the IfG's annual conference. Baroness Louise Casey, the government's Lead Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Independent Commission into Adult Social Care, discussed her work across the public sector with Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government.

This event was part of Government 2026, the IfG's annual conference. Welcome Opening remarks from Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government Phillip Woolley, Partner, Head of Consulting at Grant Thornton UK LLP ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A keynote speech by Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, Secretary of State for Health and Social Car...

According to the Washington Post, Donald Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims during his first term as US president – and Trump 2.0 has also shown little regard for facts or evidence. Unexpected presidential announcements are made on social media or in press conferences, and Trump’s positions can appear to change overnight. Leaders of other countries, including Keir Starmer, find their own...

Are public inquiries a good way for government to learn lessons by Institute for Government

Just hours after Rachel Reeves sets out the budget to parliament, this webinar brought together a team of Institute for Government (IfG) experts to share their instant and essential analysis of the chancellor’s plans. Who are the winners and losers of Reeves’s tax and spending announcements? How will her measures affect economic growth? Has the chancellor finally set a coherent tax strategy? And w...

On 20 November 2025, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry will publish its second report. This module focuses on political and administrative decision making during the pandemic, examining how key decisions were made across government, and civil service performance. This report will also include perspectives from Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In a rapid reaction webinar the following day, our expert I...

Scotland is just six months away from May’s crucial parliamentary election, with First Minister John Swinney preparing to lead the SNP into one of the most unpredictable campaigns since the party entered government almost 19 years ago. On 19 November, the Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Scotland’s First Minister to discuss his priorities ahead of the 2026 Scottish parliament elec...

At May’s UK-EU summit, Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen unveiled a new Common Understanding between the EU and the UK. The government hailed a new “deal” with the EU which included an agreement on fisheries and a joint commitment to negotiate a ‘youth experience scheme’, as well as new arrangements for agriculture, emissions trading, energy cooperation and defenc...

Poor public service performance was a key reason for Labour’s victory in the 2024 election. Following the new government’s first multi-year spending review and a major reshuffle, this event brough together a panel of experts to discuss how successfully Labour has managed public services since coming to office. This event brought together a panel of experts to discuss these key questions: What was...

Keir Starmer has announced plans for a new digital ID scheme to combat illegal working and make it easier for people to use vital government services like applying for a driving licence and accessing tax records. The government has said that digital ID will be mandatory for right to work checks by the end of this parliament. But critics argue that government has not made a clear case for digital I...

Better use of technology, the transition from analogue to digital, and greater innovation are at the heart of the 10 Year Health Plan. This includes plans to make the NHS app a gateway to the entire NHS, integrate AI into clinical pathways, create a new Health Data Research Service, make genomic sequencing at birth universal, utilise wearable technology in treatments as standard, and to improve up...