Inside Briefing with the Institute fo...

The first Labour government in 14 years is facing a daunting to-do list and complex challenges at every turn. Public services are under strain. The civil service is under pressure. And ministers must deliver the government’s missions and milestones. But could Keir Starmer’s plan to “rewire the British state” – through using AI and creating a “start-up” culture – turn these challenges into opportunities?

So where is government working well and what is it doing badly? What can be done to make No10, the Treasury and the rest of government function more effectively? What can Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves do to achieve faster economic growth? What will Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives and the other opposition parties do to hold the government to account? How might Donald Trump shape British politics – and how could the UK’s relations with the EU change in the years ahead?

Get behind the scenes in Westminster, Whitehall and beyond on the weekly podcast from Britain’s leading governmental think tank, where we analyse the latest events in politics and explain what they mean. Every week on Inside Briefing, IfG director Hannah White and the team welcomes special guests for a thought-provoking conversation on what makes government work – and how to fix it when it doesn’t.

Government
Politics
1
Autumn budget 2025: What is Rachel Reeves’ plan...
57 min
2
In conversation with John Swinney MSP, First Mi...
64 min
3
John Swinney’s goals for Scotland
34 min
4
Keir Starmer’s government: Traitors or Faithfuls?
32 min
5
Rachel Reeves and the art of pitch rolling th...
41 min
6
Home Office truths with Shabana Mahmood
30 min
7
The Prisons Crisis Strikes Back
34 min
8
Tinker, Tailor, Starmer, Spies
36 min
9
Lessons in Kemistry
43 min
10
Gloves off: Starmer v Reform
35 min
11
Starmer’s Liverpool Drama
32 min
12
Trump’s State Visit: The Sequel
31 min
13
The Mandelson misjudgement 
37 min
14
Stand and deliver?
37 min
15
What really happens at the party conferences…
44 min
16
Getting It Right When Things Go Wrong: Minister...
21 min
17
The secrets of being a government minister  
27 min
18
Government in summer: who feels the heat?
42 min
19
The reshuffle revelations
36 min
20
STARMER LAYS DOWN THE RULES
42 min
21
The scandal and the superinjunction
48 min
22
Starmer and Macron: Le Spécial Relationship?
49 min
23
Ending in tears: Labour’s first year in government
58 min
24
Starmer vs the Labour rebels
36 min
25
What do the Nolan Principles mean today?  
46 min