Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Institute for Government
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May 27, 2022 • 41min

Gray Matters

The long wait is over, and the Sue Gray report is out. So, what does it tell us about Boris Johnson’s No10? What have we learnt about the culture in Downing Street during the pandemic? And what questions need to be asked about how the prime minister attempted to handle allegations of rule-breaking under his watch?ITN’s UK news editor Paul Brand, whose run of scoops have led the way in the reporting of partygate, joins the IfG podcast team to talk through another extraordinary week in Westminster.Hannah White presents, with Alex Thomas and Jill Rutter.Produced by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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May 20, 2022 • 44min

Belfast and the furious

Breaking news special! The podcast team assembled in the studio as the Met confirmed it had finished its partygate inquiry - and would not issue any more Fines to Boris Johnson. So what does this mean and what happens next?Why is everyone so angry about the Northern Ireland Protocol? The UK government and the EU are arguing over its future, and Northern Ireland's political parties are unable to come up with a power-sharing deal. The BBC's John Campbell dials in from Belfast to discuss the latest - and just how bad things might get.Back in Westminster, the government is under increasing pressure to respond to the cost of living crisis. Is a windfall tax on the cards? The team weigh up the government's options.With Bronwen Maddox, Jill Rutter and Jess Sargeant.Produced by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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May 13, 2022 • 34min

Boris and the Giant Queen’s Speech

A Queen’s Speech without a Queen, but was it a Queen’s Speech without a theme? The Guardian’s Rafael Behr joins the podcast team to dissect Prince Charles’ big day – and make sense of the whopping list of 38 bills unveiled by the government. And just what could Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson have been talking about as they strolled awkwardly together through Parliament to hear the Speech? As the partygate and beergate sagas continue to unfold, which leader is in the most difficulty and what happens next? Presented by Bronwen Maddox, with Alice Lilly and Alex Thomas. Produced by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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May 7, 2022 • 30min

Election selection rejection

Election results were landing by the time the IfG podcast team - with guest Anoosh Chakelian of the New Statesman - assembled in the studio.What do the votes all mean for Boris Johnson and who emerged as the night’s big winner? The latest twist in the beergate story broke while the pod was recording - so what will Keir Starmer do next? And with Northern Ireland on the cusp of a historic election result, what happens next (or doesn't) at Stormont?Hannah White is joined by Cath Haddon, Alex Nice and Jess Sargeant.Produced by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Apr 29, 2022 • 40min

A little local difficulty?

With less than a week to go until a series of elections across the UK, the FT's Jim Pickard joins the podcast team to discuss what's at stake - and what the results could mean. The cost of living crisis will no doubt be featuring on the doorstep, so is there more the government could be doing to help? And as Emmanuel Macron secures a second term as French President, the Institut Montaigne's Georgina Wright dials in from Paris to talk through an eventful - and crucial - election.  Presented by Hannah White, with Akash Paun and Olly BartrumProduced by Candice McKenzie   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Apr 22, 2022 • 50min

Partygate in the House

The prime minister avoided another explosive day in Westminster by heading to India, but is the home front becoming ever-more precarious for Boris Johnson? The i paper’s Paul Waugh joins the Inside Briefing team to make sense of the seemingly never-ending partygate row.                                                                                                                                       And as ministers do their best to knock stories about parties and police fines off the front pages, the podcast crew pick apart the government’s much-criticized plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda and dissect the latest briefings against civil servants who are choosing to work from home. Emma Norris presents with Catherine Haddon, Jill Rutter and Rhys Clyne. Produced by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Apr 15, 2022 • 37min

Paying the penalty?

Boris Johnson’s Fixed Penalty Notice for breaking COVID rules makes him the first sitting Prime Minister who, as far as anyone can remember, has been found to have broken the law while in office. Is this the beginning of the end of the Partygate saga? Or merely the end of the beginning?We discuss what it means for Boris Johnson, his party, the public and for the UK’s system of standards that is supposed to hold our politicians to account. And it has been a tough week for the Chancellor. Even before being fined for walking in on a birthday party, Rishi Sunak was facing a difficult time with revelations over his wife’s tax arrangements and criticism of his department’s response to the cost of living crisis. As Sunak’s popularity plumets, the podcast team weigh up his performance – and what he does next.  Senior UK correspondent at Politico Europe Esther Webber joins presenter Hannah White, Tim Durrant, and Jill Rutter.Produced by Candice McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Apr 8, 2022 • 33min

Information, Misinformation, Disinformation

Propaganda in warfare is an ancient concept, but has Russia’s information campaign since it invaded Ukraine taken things to a new level? Are Russia’s state-controlled media and troll factories all about domestic support or an attempt to win international support? And how does the West counter fake news and help ensure that people can trust the information they see? In this special edition of Inside Briefing, Bronwen Maddox is joined by Marianna Spring, the BBC’s specialist disinformation and social media reporter, Full Fact director Will Moy, and Ian Garner, historian and translator of Russian war propaganda and author of the forthcoming Stalingrad Lives: Stories of Combat & Survival. Produced by Candice McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Apr 1, 2022 • 38min

Another fine mess for No10?

Boris Johnson reckons he is now more popular in parts of Kyiv than parts of Kensington, so how worried should the prime minister be as Partygate returns to the frontpages? With the UK at the heart of the West’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the podcast team weigh up Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin’s comments at the IfG on UK defence priorities. And if it wasn’t for crises – of very different natures – we might be talking more about policy, so was the government’s new education white paper worth the wait? Former Department for Education adviser Sam Freedman joins the podcast to discuss another eventful week in British politics. Bronwen Maddox presents, with Alex Thomas and Tim Durrant. Produced by Candice McKenzie. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Mar 25, 2022 • 35min

Is Rishi fuelling discontent?

After Rishi Sunak's spring statement was met with a barrage of bruising headlines, we crunch the numbers and assess what the chancellor announced - and what he didn't say - with guest John Rentoul, the Independent's chief political commentator. Who authorised an airlift of animals in the midst of the UK's chaotic evacuation from Kabul? That was the subject of an excruciating select committee session this week, but what does it say about how well the Foreign Office is functioning?  And what's up with WhatsApp? Westminster's favourite way to communicate may not be great for good government - and a new IfG paper sets out the problems, and what could be done to fix them. Bronwen Maddox presents. With Jill Rutter, Tim Durrant, Tom Pope and guest John Rentoul. Produced by Candice McKenzie  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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