Ifg Events Podcast

The question of how to reform the House of Lords dominates discussions about the upper house, with less attention focused on its day-to-day activities. Since his election as Lord Speaker in 2021, Lord McFall of Alcluith has sought to champion its important role of revising legislation and advising the government, while ensuring the Lords remains on the path of modernisation. Lord McFall has focused on parliamentary outreach and prioritised communicating the value of the House of Lords externally, bringing the devolved parliaments and Westminster closer. He has also worked with schools and universities, and launched a podcast, to demystify the upper house. What are public perceptions of the upper chamber and how have they changed? How has the Lords changed its ways of working? What kinds of links does it have with the devolved parliaments? And what might all of this mean for discussions about reform of the Lords? Lord McFall addressed these questions and more in a keynote speech at the Institute for Gov

AI-generated ‘deepfake’ audio clips of both London mayor Sadiq Khan and leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer have circulated on social media. A faked robocall impersonating Joe Biden was sent to voters before a primary election. The number of AI-enhanced images of politicians is increasing. In a year when over two billion people in more than 50 countries will vote in elections, the use of AI technology – more widely accessible than ever – and disinformation could have a major impact on trust and integrity. So what can be done to tackle this growing problem? What can political parties, government, media companies and civil society do to mitigate the risks of AI and ensure electoral integrity? And what steps can be taken ahead the elections of 2024 and then in the longer term. We were joined by an expert panel, including: Professor Joe Burton, Professor of International Security in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion at Lancaster University Louise Edwards, Director of Regulation and Dig

Just a few hours after Jeremy Hunt sets out his spring budget, a team of Institute for Government experts gathered in the IfG studio to record a special edition of the Inside Briefing podcast. Olly Bartrum, Jill Rutter, Dr Gemma Tetlow and Giles Wilkes gave their instant reaction to the budget and shared expert analysis of a major day for the country. What have we learned from the chancellor’s big announcements and what choices did he make? What did the new OBR forecasts show about the UK’s economic prospects? What did it mean for public services? How did Labour respond? And how might this budget shape the battles on the economy at the next general election – and when that election might be held?

Public services have faced the greatest level of disruption from strikes in more than a quarter of a century. Over the past year nurses, ambulance drivers, teachers, junior doctors, consultants, and civil servants, among others, have all staged walkouts to protest against pay and working conditions. While improved pay offers from Rishi Sunak’s government have resolved many disputes, some staff are still on the picket line and other disputes could flare up again. So what impact has recent industrial disputes had on public service performance? What skills do ministers, civil servants, frontline public sector leaders and unions need to effectively negotiate with each other and resolve disputes – and what mechanisms can be used to resolve entrenched disputes? How effective are pay review bodies and do they need to be reformed? And to what extent will the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Act help or hinder the management of industrial dispute? To discuss these questions and more, we were joined by an expert pan

The Treasury is perhaps the most powerful department in Whitehall. Its ownership of public spending means it has direct control over the money available to the rest of government, while the Treasury’s responsibility for tax policy gives it enormous influence over the finances of households and businesses. But criticism of the department’s influence on government policy is almost as old as the institution itself, with frequent complaints about the “dead hand of the Treasury” or attacks on the department’s “orthodoxy”. However, a recent IfG report found many of the fiercest criticisms to be overblown: many simply represent a dislike of a budget constraint. The department plays an important function in effectively managing public spending and guarding against financial disorder. It has also consistently been a champion of economic growth, though there is debate about how that is managed against its responsibility for managing government spending. While the department has clear strengths, there are clearly prob

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. Data Bites aims to change that. This event was the 49th in our series, where the speakers present their work in an exciting, quickfire format.

Fraud is the UK’s most common crime. But despite 3.5 million incidents reported in 2022/23, 40% of all reported crimes, only one in a thousand results in a charge or summons. So why is there such a huge gap between preventing, detecting and prosecuting this crime – and what can be done to fix the problem? A wide range of organisations have responsibility for tackling fraud, including the Home Office, National Crime Agency, Serious Fraud Office, City of London Police, Metropolitan Police Service, Financial Conduct Authority and the National Cyber Security Centre. However, there are problems with coordination, capacity and capability. So what can government and others do to help prevent fraud? How can coordination among the various agencies responsible for tackling fraud be improved? And what steps could be taken to help increase detection and prosecution rates? We were joined by an expert panel, including: Francesca Carlesi, CEO of Revolut UK Adrian Searle, Director of the National Economic Crime Centre Ni

As he prepares to step down as Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service and Permanent Secretary for the Cabinet Office, Alex Chisholm spoke at the Institute for Government for his final time as a civil servant. During nearly a decade at the top of the civil service as a permanent secretary, Alex served four prime ministers and worked with three cabinet secretaries, covering eventful and tumultuous times. After four years as permanent secretary at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in 2020 Alex moved to his current role at the heart of the civil service. Having played a leading part in the civil service reform agenda, Alex reflected on the scheme to relocate parts of the civil service from London, efforts to improve Whitehall’s use of data and digital and to overhaul cross-departmental working, and his reflections on the government’s response during the Covid-19 pandemic. At the event, Alex Chisholm was in conversation with IfG Director Dr Hannah White and will take pa

The future of the UK asylum system could dominate the 2024 general election campaign. The prime minister has made his controversial Rwanda plan a flagship part of the government’s agenda, while Labour has committed to reforming the asylum system as part of its plan to tackle Channel crossings. Rishi Sunak pledged to clear the legacy asylum backlog by the end of 2023, but the sizeable backlog of people waiting for a decision remains – with the government struggling to deal with new asylum cases and problems elsewhere in the system. So what are these problems? Does the government have a coherent plan to bring down the backlog? And what can be done to improve the UK’s asylum system in the long term? This panel examined what steps the government can take to ensure the asylum system is fit for purpose in the long term. We were joined by an expert panel, including: Alvina Tamara Chibhamu, Ambassador at the VOICES network Sal Copley, Executive Director of Communications and External Affairs at the British R

Political parties are increasingly focusing their energy and resources on the approaching general election campaign. The pace will be relentless. The atmosphere will be increasingly fraught. So as the campaign intensifies, how can think tanks make themselves heard – and help to shape policy and political debate? A dramatic – and sometimes chaotic – decade in British politics has brought new challenges to think tanks. Different think tanks, with a range of political views and policy priorities, play different roles – but how has their work evolved in recent years? What level of influence do they have in shaping the priorities and policies of opposition parties and government and how does this change in an election year? What are a think tank’s responsibilities when it works with political parties, government ministers or their advisers? And does being a registered charity impact how a think tank can inform and influence public debate and policy development? These questions and more were explored in a joint I

Fixing the centre of government by Institute for Government

Data Bites #48: Getting things done with data in government - smart data special by Institute for Government

With the general election less than a year away, the Conservatives, Labour and all other political parties are drawing up their manifestos. Scrutinised by the media and voters, manifestos can shape debate, shift the polls, and play a major part in an election campaign – and shape what the winning part does in government. While manifestos are described as a contract between a party and the people, the reality in government is often quite different. Pledges may prove difficult to deliver in practice, with unforeseen crises and the day-to-day challenges of governing seeing commitments fall by the wayside. In a coalition or minority government, parties may have to compromise. So how do the parties develop and write their manifestos? What does a good manifesto actually look like? What are the questions that Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer will be considering when signing off on their manifestos? And just how important are manifestos during – and after – a general election campaign? Joining us to discuss these ques

Productivity Pitches #2: criminal justice and law enforcement by Institute for Government

Inside the Political Mind: How the human side of politics shapes behaviour by Institute for Government

Former deputy prime minister, health secretary and environment secretary Thérèse Coffey joined us at the Institute for Government to reflect on her nine years as government minister. https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/therese-coffey

Devolution to Wales is almost 25 years old. Since the first Welsh assembly elections in 1999, the powers of the devolved institutions in Cardiff have been substantially expanded –with Welsh voters backing the historic transformation of the assembly into a law-making parliament in a 2011 referendum. A quarter of a century since devolution began, what are the potential next steps in Wales’s unfinished constitutional journey? Set up to address this very question, the cross-party Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales, established by the Welsh government, will publish its final report in January 2024 – a key moment in the debate on the future of Wales. The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Rt Hon Mark Drakeford MS, the First Minister of Wales, to discuss the findings of the commission, his perspective on how devolution to Wales could be protected and strengthened, and how a future Labour government in Westminster should reform the constitution and improve relations wit

A special live episode of The Expert Factor podcast. Adam Fleming, Presenter of BBC Newscast Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Professor Anand Menon, Director of UK in a Changing Europe Dr Hannah White OBE, Director of the Institute for Government

The essential IfG briefing From devolution to parliamentary scrutiny, standards in public life to net zero, a panel of IfG experts explore a range of key policy areas that this and future governments will need to focus on. Tim Durrant, Programme Director at the Institute for Government Dr Matthew Gill, Programme Director at the Institute for Government Akash Paun, Programme Director at the Institute for Government Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government Dr Catherine Haddon, Programme Director at the Institute for Government (Chair) 40:51- IfG Director’s closing remarks Dr Hannah White OBE, Director of the Institute for Government

Rhys Clyne, Associate Director at the Institute for Government, set out key findings from Whitehall Monitor 2024 – the IfG’s annual report into the shape, size and performance of the civil service – ahead of a panel discussion on how the civil service can be reformed to deliver for ministers. Rowena Mason, Whitehall Editor at the Guardian Rt Hon Lord Maude, author of the Independent Review of Governance and Accountability in the Civil Service Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, Shadow Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office) Emma Norris, Deputy Director at the Institute for Government (Chair)