Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Borders is borders? Impact from the EU’s aborted triggering of Article 16 of the NI Protocol continues to reverberate. Could the UK government really use this episode to tear up their own border agreement? Special guest Tony Connelly, RTE’s Europe Editor and co-presenter of the Brexit Republic Podcast, joins us to explain the Byzantine nature of the Border Protocol. Plus: ahead of COP26 and the IfG’s net zero conference, can carbon mitigation really make Britain a world leader?  “It feels like the Internal Market Bill all over again. It’s a gun to the head from the British Government. It’s an ultimatum.” – Tony Connelly “If we don’t make the border protocol work then we will have rolling crises every four years.” – Tony Connelly “The politics of vaccines have become toxic… It’s heat every day for the Commission.” – Tony Connell Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Maddy Thimont-Jack, Jess Sargeant, Tom Sasse and Jill Rutter. Audio production by Alex Rees See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If now is not the time to learn lessons from the COVID crisis, when is? We’re joined by writer, broadcaster and host of the Rock’n’Roll Politics podcast Steve Richards to discuss No.10’s painful learning curve and ask if Boris Johnson’s promised public inquiry ever actually happen. Plus, what have the extraordinary 12 months we’ve just lived through meant for the efficacy of government? The latest edition of the IfG’s annual Whitehall Monitor has all the answers. “The lessons, frankly, are obvious even if Boris Johnson repeatedly refuses to learn them.” – Steve Richards “This is a government that finds it hard to admit mistakes… They say ‘we’ll do the right thing at the right time’ without ever admitting when the right time is.” – Tom Sasse “Boris Johnson doesn’t do context or consequences. He didn’t do consequences as a journalist and it’s a really serious flaw.” – Steve Richards “Even if you can’t start an inquiry in the middle of a crisis, there’s merit in getting the ball rolling fast – because these things take a vast amount of time.” – Emma Norris “The Prime Minister seems incapable of learning lessons. The same mistakes are repeated over and over.” – Steve Richards Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Emma Norris, Sarah Nickson, Tim Durrant and Tom Sasse. Audio production by Alex Rees See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is an audio recording of an IfG Live EventThe Institute for Government hosted the annual lecture by Bronwen Maddox, its director.In her speech, Bronwen looked at the government’s performance in the extraordinary circumstances of 2020 and what 2021 might bring.Her discussion was followed by a response from Professor David Runciman and the event was chaired by Sir Richard Lambert.#IfGDirector See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What’s the reality of No.10’s control over government? Is our supposedly superpowered centre really strong enough to command all the organs of state? Do we have too many generalists and too few specialists, and do we even need Special Advisors? Nick Timothy, Theresa May’s former Chief of Staff, joins us to look at the dismal science of “deliverology”. Plus, what will Joe Biden’s arrival mean for Britain? And what was it like dealing with Donald Trump from within No.10? “I mainly spend my time thinking ‘Thank God I’m not advising a Prime Minister right now’…” – Nick Timothy  “For a highly centralised state, we have a surprisingly weak centre of government.” – Alex Thomas “Downing Street was a bit like a sleeping drunk at a party. You’d be going about your life but periodically Downing Street would wake up and start shouting. Then you’ve have to put all your energies into getting them back to sleep.” – Nick Timothy “It’s a real problem that Cabinet doesn’t sit down and set out collective objectives… If you’ve got 570 priorities then you don’t have any.” – Jill Rutter “Special Advisors can be all-powerful or nothing at all. They can practically run a department or be a bag-carrier – or try to run a department with the abilities of a bag-carrier. I’d scrap them altogether.” – Nick Timothy “Donald Trump was a terrible President to deal with but even he didn’t manage to ruin the UK-US relationship.” – Nick Timothy Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Alex Thomas and Jill Rutter. Audio production by Alex Rees See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

COVID is on the verge of overwhelming the NHS but Britain is at least vaccinating faster than almost any other country. Almost a year since the first lockdown, is the Government’s pandemic response gaining any traction yet? And how did the Government come to OK the “abysmal” food parcels distributed to families in need? Plus, will local, national and mayoral elections actually go ahead this year? And the science of “deliverology”. Kate Proctor, political editor at PoliticsHome.com, is this week’s special guest.  “The new year is showing all the signs of being every bit as chaotic as 2020.” – Kate Proctor “Local elections are a verdict on how people feel about a government. So only year after a General Election, Boris Johnson will probably be very happy to avoid them.” – Kate Proctor “Nicola Sturgeon believes that elections in Scotland will help her mandate for another independence referendum – so she’ll be pushing hard for them to go ahead.” – Kate Proctor  Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Alex Thomas, Tim Durrant, Akash Pau and Nick Davies. Audio production by Alex Rees See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The insurrectionary riot in Washington DC has shocked the world. What does it tell us about the fragility of democracies who come up against leaders who reject the rules, fire up popular anger, and trash the institutions that hold up the system? Plus, with the Government still on the back foot over COVID, will the vaccine roll-out lead to some semblance of normality for Britain? And what might 2021 hold for the UK (because everyone’s predictions for 2020 were so accurate, weren’t they)? Paul Goodman, editor of Conservative Home, is our special guest.  “Johnson has pulled off the trick of harnessing the popular anger that’s sweeping the world to a tried and tested political agenda.” – Paul Goodman “The Government seems to be continually taken by surprise by events that seem inevitable to others” – Jill Rutter “There are only two or three ministers who have real experience of running departments. And those who do, Boris Johnson has consigned to the backbenches.” – Paul Goodman “Boris Johnson’s approach comes down to who spoke to him last and how they spoke to him.” – Cath Haddon “Boris Johnson’s government very much had to mind its Ps and Qs with regard to Trump. But now Trump’s going they’ve got no reason to give him a fond farewell.” – Paul Goodman Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Tom Sasse. Audio production by Alex Rees See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A special cross-post from our IFG LIVE feed. The UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement was published on Christmas Eve, just a week before the transition period was due to end. So what does the deal mean for the UK – and for its relationship with the EU? What will change for businesses? How will data be shared? Will the EU and the UK continue to work closely on security issues? How was the contentious issue of fishing finally sorted? And what does ‘taking back control’ really mean in practice? The Institute for Government Brexit team assembles for a special Brexit deal podcast to make sense of what has been agreed and what will happen on January 1. Hear Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government, in conversation with Maddy Thimont Jack (Associate Director), James Kane (Associate), Georgina Wright (Associate), and Joe Marshall (Senior Researcher). Audio production by Candice McKenzie. #IfGBrexit See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve all had quite enough reality for one year. In an IfG Christmas special, we ask what fictional and fantasy worlds can teach us about governing. What does the collapse of the Republic in Star Wars tell us about Brexit? Does the Harry Potter universe need drastic democratic reform? In the real world, who nails life in government better: Borgen or The West Wing? And where’s the Public Inquiry into the murder epidemic in Midsomer? James Graham – our greatest political playwright and the pen behind This House, Quiz and Brexit: The Uncivil War – is our guest for this special holiday edition.  “Dramas like The West Wing let you take an institution like the Presidency and stress-test it in a fictional environment… You get to enjoy the absurdities in a safe place.” – James Graham “What does Obi-Wan Kenobi tell Anakin? ‘Only the Sith deal in extremes’. Star Wars is a love letter to social democracy and George Lucas is the ultimate centrist dad.” – James Graham “Midsomer badly needs a place-based approach to crime prevention.” – Alice Lilly “The Death Star? That’s no moon, that’s a failed Government mega-project.” – Gavin Freeguard “The Thick Of It essentially predicted the Big Society with its ‘Fourth Sector Pathfinders’.” – Emma Norris Presented by Cath Haddon with Alice Lilly, Emma Norris and Gavin Freeguard. Audio production by Alex Rees See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From Barnard Castle to Brussels, from Wuhan to the White House, it has been a year of unprecedented challenges, impossible choices, huge governmental gambles and astonishing mis-steps. Will 2020 prove to be a wild aberration or a turning point for the business of British government? Our crack team of analysts returns from the (virtual) IfG Christmas Party to discuss the successes and failures of a year of crisis, from the pandemic emergency measures to the reform of the Civil service to, yes, Brexit.  “We’ve seen a Prime Minister who struggles to rise to the enormity of what he’s faced with.” – Jill Rutter “The Government’s communications have been so poor that they obscured many of their own successes.” – Alex Thomas “There is a growing narrative about Keir Starmer sitting on the fence. Labour need to address that next year” – Maddy Thimont-Jack “A hard rain fell on a lot of civil servants before it fell on Dominic Cummings himself.” – Bronwen Maddox “Boris Johnson’s optimism has led him into a cycle of overpromising and under-delivering.” – Jill Rutter “To say the peak has passed and you can go out, and then see ANOTHER peak… that could be a blow that a government might not recover from.” – Alex Thomas Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Jill Rutter, Alex Thomas and Maddy Thimont-Jack. Audio production by Alex Rees See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Can Boris Johnson get the country to stick to his plans for a Compact Christmas – or has he already blown the comms challenge? What has a year of lockdown and surveillance done to Britain’s liberal instincts? Plus, with the Brexit saga at least reaching the end of the beginning, how can Britain build a robust industrial strategy for the future without just throwing money about? Ed Conway, economics editor at Sky News and Times columnist, is this week’s special guest. “Whatever happens with Brexit, we’re really going to need our Christmas to deal with what’s coming up next year.” – Ed Conway “The mixed messages are too much for the public to take. You can’t say ‘go outside’ one day and ‘stay inside’ the next.” – Giles Wilkes “Everyone wants everyone else to be restricted, but not themselves…” – Cath Haddon “If these industrial tools for government weren’t a good idea last time, why would they be a good idea this time?” – Giles Wilkes “Trying to impose policies that nobody is going to follow is a question of realpolitik and I don’t envy anyone making that decision.” – Ed Conway “Politicians like to point at things and say ‘We should be better at that!’ But they seldom answer the question of how.” – Giles Wilkes Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Giles Wilkes. Audio production by Alex Rees See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices