There’s only one story in town – actually, there’s only one story on the planet. And that’s Joe Biden’s decision to pull out of the presidential race – and vice president Kamala Harris’ coronation as the new Democrat candidate to face Donald Trump in November. Mark Landler of the New York Times is back on the podcast to reflect on an absolutely momentous week in US politics, what Biden’s exit means for the presidential race, and what this all means for the UK.

PLUS: What is the government’s public service inheritance – and how will public services look by the next general election if the government sticks to its spending plans? A new IfG report has the answers.

Hannah White presents, with Alex Thomas and Stuart Hoddinott. Produced by Candice McKenzie.

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Special Advisers are some of the most important yet misunderstood figures in government. They play vital roles – as the voice of their minister in the department, shaping policy agendas and managing the media.
As a new government gets up and running and scores of new SpAds get to grips with their roles, this four part series lifts the lid on what SpAds do, how they do it, and why they’re indispensable to modern government.
In the second episode, we’re focusing on how important relationships are to any SpAd’s job. We start by discussing the importance of trust and understanding between SpAds and their secretary of state – how is this relationship built, and why is it so critical? And what about junior ministers – how do SpAds work with them?
The link between SpAds and the civil servants they work with is also vital. We look at their links with both the secretary of state’s and their own private offices, as well as what they thought about the civil service overall, and whether anything frustrated them.

Presented by Jack Worlidge. Produced by Candice McKenzie.

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The pace of British politics isn’t slowing down. A big international summit for Keir Starmer. Devastating Covid inquiry headlines. And a King’s Speech full of bills.

But all this is nothing compared to the US. President Biden – now isolating with Covid – is under pressure to withdraw from the 2024 race, and his rival Donald Trump survived, by millimetres, an assassination attempt. 

The FT’s Lucy Fisher hot-foots it from Blenheim Palace to join the podcast team to make sense of big events either side of the Atlantic.

Presented by Hannah White, with Alex Thomas and Rosa Hodgkin

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk 

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Special Advisers are some of the most important yet misunderstood figures in government. They play vital roles – as the voice of their minister in the department, shaping policy agendas and managing the media. As a new government gets up and running and scores of new SpAds get to grips with their roles, this special four-part series from the Institute for Government lifts the lid on what SpAds do, how they do it, and why they’re indispensable to modern government. 

In this first episode, we look at how SpAds are recruited, and how they found their first days in government. What surprised them, and how did they fit into the wider SpAd team in their department? 

We also ask our interviewees what their day-to-day lives were like in government, how they added value for their ministers, and finally how they dealt with crises. 

Presented by Jack Worlidge. Produced by Candice McKenzie.

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The New Statesman’s Freddie Hayward joins the Inside Briefing team to reflect on Keir Starmer’s busy first week as prime minister, with the PM appointing new ministers, the government firing off press releases and policy announcements, and Rachel Reeves making her first big speech as chancellor. But Starmer is also facing his first difficult decision: how to deal with a major crisis in prisons. England and Wales are on the brink of running out of cells...

Hannah White presents, with Emma Norris, Tom Pope and Cassia Rowland. Produced by Candice McKenzie

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We hosted a special livestreamed recording of the Institute for Government podcast, as a team of IfG experts – bleary eyed but full of coffee – gathered in the podcast studio to make sense of a momentous night in British politics.

What does the general election result mean for how the UK will be governed? What decisions and duties await the prime minister over the next days and weeks? How are governments formed and what does it mean civil servants? And what are the big challenges facing the government – and how can it meet them?

Hannah White and the team shared their instant reaction, expert analysis, and essential insights.

Presented by Hannah White with Giles Wilkes, Tim Durrant and Catherine Haddon.

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We’re into the general election final countdown and all the polls point to a big Labour win for Keir Starmer. So does Rishi Sunak have any aces up his sleeve or has the general election gambling scandal confirmed many Conservatives’ fears that that their leader is a busted flush? The Guardian’s Rafael Behr joins the podcast to look back on the campaign and explore what might happen next for Labour and the Conservatives.

Who has had a good campaign and who has had a bad one? The podcast team pick their choices.

What is it the last day – and the first day – in government really like? The IfG’s Giles Wilkes and Jack Worlidge, both former government special advisers, give the inside story.

PLUS: What are the big barriers to Labour’s clean energy plan and what can Keir Starmer do to knock them down?

Presented by Emma Norris.

With Gilkes Wilkes, Jack Worlidge and Rosa Hodgkin.

Produced by Candice McKenzie

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There are less than two weeks to go until the general election and the polls are showing no signs of shifting. But what do they really tell us about what voters are thinking about Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer? Which Labour or Conservative policies and promises are cutting through? What are the polls to look out for? Deltapoll’s Joe Twyman joins the podcast team to explain all.

Plus: What exactly is a supermajority? We break down the Conservative party’s warnings about what a big Labour election win would mean in Parliament. 

Presented by Hannah White with Alice Lilly. Produced by Candice McKenzie.

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Manifesto week of the general election campaign has seen lots of promises, plenty of policies and even more polling – but whose plans for government actually add up? Kitty Donaldson, chief political commentator of the i paper, is this week’s podcast guest as Inside Briefing weighs up what we learned from the manifesto launches – and what they mean for Rishi Sunak and for Keir Starmer.

Hannah White presents, with Alex Thomas. Produced by Milo Hynes

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We were swamped with loads of fantastic questions at our recent IfG webinar and didn’t have time to get to all of them – so, by special request, Jill Rutter, Cath Haddon and Alex Thomas have reunited in the IfG podcast studio to record this special Question Time episode of Inside Briefing. So as Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer hit the general election campaign trail, what does this frenzied time in British politics mean for the nation’s civil servants?

What happens to special advisers during general election campaigns? What should private offices be getting ready for? Why don’t we talk about purdah anymore?  And why is it important that everyone reads the IfG’s brilliant Ministers Reflect series of interviews? Produced by Candice McKenzie

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The IfG rebuttal unit kicked into gear this week after our very own Nick Davies found himself dragged into the Conservative party’s tax attack on Labour. So where did that number really come from – and what can Labour do about it? Full Fact’s Chris Morris joins the IfG podcast to look back on a very noisy TV debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer.

We’re into the manifesto countdown – but will either Labour or the Conservatives say anything about the problems piling up for whoever forms the next government? A new IfG paper, The Precarious State of the State, sets out the scale and severity of the challenges likely to dominate the next parliament.

Plus: The state of GPs’ surgeries. Another new IfG report – out on Saturday – says GPs’ surgeries are old, cramped and crumbling. So, what can be done about it?

Hannah White presents, with Nick Davies and Ben Paxton. Produced by Candice McKenzie.

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