Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

John Healey’s “breathing space” budget was short on big decisions but big on smaller, immediate measures – so did it all add up? Nick Garland, a former speechwriter to ex-chancellor Rachel Reeves, joins the podcast team to explore the significance of Healey’s big day.

There are always winners and losers in budgets – so who did well? What choices have Healey and Andy Burnham left for another day? And are there really more civil service efficiency savings to be made?

Plus: Ringfencing preventative budgets. One of the IfG’s longstanding recommendations has been taken on by John Healey. We’re going to take a closer look.

Hannah White presents.

With Tom Pope, Giles Wilkes and Hannah Keenan.

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John Healey’s first budget as chancellor on 28 October was a huge moment for Andy Burnham’s government.

A difficult fiscal inheritance, made more challenging still by the war in Iran, means Healey and Burnham faced a series of tough choices.

So what will the chancellor’s spending decisions reveal about the government’s priorities? Will he send a clear signal about the future tax changes that are – or are not – on the table? Can Healey and Burnham show that they are capable of taking the difficult decisions facing government? And will they avoid mistakes made by Keir Starmer and former chancellor Rachel Reeves?

Just a few hours after Healey set out his plans, the IfG shared their instant expert analysis in this must-watch budget day webinar.

We were joined by an expert panel including:

• Dan Haile, Senior Economist at the Institute for Government
• Stuart Hoddinott, Associate Director at the Institute for Government
• Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government

This webinar was chaired by Dr Gemma Tetlow, Executive Director for Research and Innovation at the Institute for Government.

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The budget is nearly here. So what is chancellor John Healey going to say at the Despatch Box on Wednesday? The Observer’s Ben Zaranko joins the podcast team to preview the biggest day yet in Andy Burnham’s premiership.

The PM has said he will pull every lever he can to help with the cost of living. The chancellor has said he won’t budge from Labour’s fiscal rules - or its 2024 manifesto pledge not to raise the three main personal taxes. So are Healey’s options and what does he need to do?

Plus: How can he turn around public service performance? A new IfG report says things aren’t likely to much get better by the time of the next election. Can Healey and Burnham do anything about that gloomy prediction? We’ll reveal all.

Hannah White presents.

With Jill Rutter and Nick Davies.

Produced by Milo Hynes

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With Andy Burnham trying to navigate the ever-precarious tightrope that is doing diplomacy with Donald Trump’s White House, Anand Menon joins the podcast team to weigh up the prime minister’s prospects.
Burnham is also exploring a new relationship with Europe, but could that really mean reversing Brexit?
Plus: Can the government fix the criminal justice system. A new IfG report has given its verdict on the performance of prisons, courts, the police and more - some good, some bad, lots of decisions for the PM to make.
Presented by Alex Thomas.
With Jill Rutter and Cassia Rowland.
Producer by Podmasters

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Another by-election, another win for Andy Burnham - with the Greens defeated in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Deltapoll's Joe Twyman joins the pod team to explore what the PM’s by-election double really tells us about his electoral prospects.

It was another bad day for Green leader Zack Polanski, who was already under pressure after a difficult conference in Brighton.

Kemi Badenoch, on the other, was all smiles in Birmingham - but does the Conservative party really have grounds for optimism?

Plus: How well are schools performing? A new IfG report has the answer.

Hosted by Hannah White.

With Cath Haddon, Thomas Pope and Amber Dellar.

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No lectern. No tie. And quite a few tears. Andy Burnham promised a different kind of speech. But did the prime minister deliver?

After watching Burnham's first Labour conference speech as party leader and prime minister, Hannah White is joined in the IfG's pop-up studio in Liverpool by the IfG's Alex Thomas, IfG senior fellow (and former executive director of policy to Keir Starmer) Claire Ainsley, and More in Common's Sophie Stowers to share their instant reactions on the big speech, dissect the policy announcements, and explore what the Burnham agenda means for government.

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From meeting Donald Trump in New York to heading to his first Labour conference as prime minister, it's quite some week for Andy Burnham - so what does he need to do to make a success of Labour's Liverpool gathering? LabourList editor Emma Burnell joins the podcast team to review Burnham's Trump test and preview his conference challenge.

Plus: We take a closer look at an issue that saw Keir Starmer stumble badly, and that’s benefits reform. How could Burnham approach this thorniest of issues? A new IfG report has the answers.

Alex Thomas presents.

With Cath Haddon and Ben Paxton

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With Westminster been rocked by the news of a record-breaking – and maybe game-changing – £72 million donation to Reform UK, new Lib Dem peer Tim Leunig joins the podcast team to assess how the government might respond, and what comes next for party political donations.

Next up on the conference circuit are the Liberal Democrats. So how much pressure is leader Sir Ed Davey under as his party gather in Brighton this weekend?

Plus: These are uncertain times... but just how uncertain are they?

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Foreign secretary Ed Miliband has announced UK sanctions on Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. So what does this change of position say about UK foreign policy under Andy Burnham - and what are the possible consequences for UK domestic policy? The i's Kitty Donaldson joins the podcast team to assess the PM's big move.

On the domestic front it was chancellor John Healey’s turn to make headlines, with a big pre-Budget speech on growth and the economy. So does this mark the dawn of a new economic policy?

Plus: Angela Rayner has hit the pause button on the Local Government Reorganisation plans. What has happened and has it all gone wrong?

Presented by Alex Thomas.

With Giles Wilkes and Akash Paun

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The summer recess is over. Parliament is up and running. And the new prime minister gave a mammoth statement in the Commons. There were no new policy announcements, but there was a promise to do things differently. Henry Hill joins the podcast team to make sense of Andy Burnham's first day back in Parliament.Kemi Badenoch has been busy too, with the Conservative leader reshuffling her top team and bringing in, amongst others, a new chancellor and foreign secretary. So what is she trying to do and what difference could it make?Plus: Farewell to Keir Starmer. As the former prime minister is quitting parliament, we give the Inside Briefing verdict.

Hannah White presents

With Cath Haddon

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Andy Burnham has clocked up a month mark in Number 10. As the long recess draws to a close and Parliament prepares to return, the Guardian's Kiran Stacey joining the podcast to look back on a summer of speeches, policy announcements, guitar-playing and a lot of social media game.

How has Burnham handled the familiar problem of prison capacity and the headache of early release schemes? Do his devolution plans really add up and will Number 10 North make any difference to government? Is this PM's plan for social care finally going to deliver reform? And after a relatively quiet summer recess, what are the challenges heading his way once Parliament returns?

Plus: Is the new prime minister really going to play in the big Labour v the Lobby football match at Labour Party conference?

Hannah White presents.

With Jill Rutter, Cassia Rowland, Matthew Fright and Stuart Hoddinott

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Every new prime minister arrives in No.10 with a view about what brought down their predecessor as well as a ringside seat to the downfall. So after convincing their colleagues why a change of PM is necessary, what happens when the new PM's belief in his or her skills and talents meet the reality of the biggest job in British politics?

How easy it is to learn on the job? What is the right balance between continuity and reinventing the government? And how good is the UK at preparing for mid-term changes of PM?

In this final episode of this special IfG podcast series we’re going to look at how incoming mid-term prime ministers adjust to the role, the dilemma of whether to call an early general election, and what lessons former mid-term transitions hold for Andy Burnham’s premiership – or for future mid-term PMs.

Presented by Catherine Haddon

Featuring Gus O’Donnell, Mark Sedwill, Helen MacNamara, Simon Case, Stewart Wood, Salma Shah, Lee Cain, Asa Bennett and Rupert Yorke.

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Becoming prime minister is a job like no other. The arrival of Andy Burnham is the latest in the UK’s recent history of prime ministers coming to the job mid-way through a parliament. Mid-term prime ministers often take over after crisis, political upheaval or the sheer weight of the job have put paid to their predecessor. And mid-term prime ministers come to the job through very different means – a leadership contest rather than a general election, or sometimes even without that. They have less time to make a difference, a party looking for change, and a policy platform that is already well underway.

In this three-part series, the Institute for Government takes you behind the scenes of the mid-term changes of prime minister from John Major to Rishi Sunak. Speaking to the senior officials and advisers who were there to explore how prime ministers, their teams and the civil service prepare, what the transition is like, how they build their teams, how they change policy, and the lessons from these premierships on what it takes to succeed as a mid-term prime minister.

Mid-term prime ministers – Episode 2: The Transition

Many politicians have ambitions to become prime minister but however long a would-be prime minister, their advisers and civil servants spend preparing for a transition of power, that first day walking through the famous No.10 door is the moment that reality hits and the job instantly begins. In episode two we take a closer look at what happened in the first weeks and months of the mid-term premierships from Major to Sunak. How did they go about reshuffling the ministers they inherited? How did they build their No.10 team? And how did they manage the fundamental question that affects mid-term prime ministers far more than those coming in from a general election: how much do they change their predecessor’s agenda?

Presented by Catherine Haddon

Featuring Gus O’Donnell, Mark Sedwill, Helen MacNamara, Simon Case, Stewart Wood, Salma Shah, Lee Cain, Asa Bennett and Rupert Yorke.

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Our first episode explores the recent history of mid-term changes of prime minister from John Major to Rishi Sunak. Speaking to senior officials and advisers involved, we go behind the scenes of the preparation and leadership contests, the context in which they took over, and find out what kind of experience makes a difference when inheriting the top job in UK politics.

Featuring Gus O’Donnell, Mark Sedwill, Helen MacNamara, Simon Case, Stewart Wood, Salma Shah, Lee Cain, Asa Bennett and Rupert Yorke.

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One week on from becoming prime minister, Andy Burnham has now appointed his cabinet, reshuffled ministers, launched a series of machinery of government changes, and set out a range of immediate policy decisions.

So what have these early choices revealed about the way Burnham wants to govern? How will his restructured No10 make a difference to the way Burnham leads? What does his reshuffled cabinet reveal about the PM's priorities? And how will the new prime minister set about delivering a "new political model and a new economic model" for the UK?

An expert IfG panel assessed Burnham's early decisions, his key appointments, and the way he is approaching the job of prime minister.

Hannah White hosts.

With Stuart Hoddinott, Tom Pope and Jill Rutter.

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Andy Burnham finally takes over No.10 with promises to focus on the cost of living and to make politics better. Can he succeed? Is he the ruthless leader portended by his clearout of Starmerites, or someone more conciliatory? And how will unexpected new Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and surprise Chancellor John Healey work out alongside Shabana Mahmood, who’s staying at the Home Office? Plus, Burnham takes the IfG’s advice by finally creating a new Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet. How will that work out?

IfG associate director Hannah Keenan and our devolution expert Akash Paun join special guest Joshi Herrmann of independent news site the Manchester Mill join Alex Thomas to look at Burnham: Week One.

Presented by Alex Thomas. Produced by Jade Bailey for Podmasters.

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Keir Starmer has bowed out of his final PMQs. Andy Burnham is about to become Britain's next prime minister. But after two turbulent years in Downing Street, what went wrong for Starmer? Can Burnham avoid the same mistakes? And will a change of leader be enough to turn Labour's fortunes around?

Keir Starmer's former director of communications, Steph Driver, joins the podcast to reflect on the outgoing prime minister's biggest successes and failures - and what Burnham must do differently from day one.

Plus: can the next government finally fix England's broken SEND system? We explore the findings of the Institute's latest report and the reforms needed to make it work.

Hannah White hosts.

With Jill Rutter and Amber Dellar.

Produced by Milo Hynes.

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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 Starmer could not.

As the Prime Minister attends his final NATO summit, we ask what mark he is trying to leave on foreign affairs and how much of Burnham's time will be consumed by international crises?

Plus, the Institute's latest report sets out seven lessons for delivering digital transformation in public services. Its author joins the podcast to explain what governments too often get wrong and how they can do better.

Presented by Alex Thomas.

With Tim Durrant, Stuart Hoddinot and Cassia Rowland.

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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 in charge? And what does it mean for the balance of power across the centre of government?

Plus: Keir Starmer’s parting gift/parting shot. What is in the Defence Investment Plan and how much will it cost?

Alex Thomas presents.

With Hannah Keenan and Tom Pope.

Produced by Milo Hynes.

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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 referendum to the painful Brexit deal negotiations, the endless parliamentary votes and the rapid turnover of prime ministers, Jill, Anand and Adam get together for this special joint IfG/UKICE Brexflections episode to back on ten years of key Brexit moments and explore what they told us about Britain and the world.

Jill Rutter is an IfG and UKICE senior fellow.

Anand Menon is the Director of UKICE.

Adam Fleming is the Presenter of BBC's daily Newscast on BBC Sounds.

Produced by Milo Hynes.

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