Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

For International Women’s Day on 8 March, Australia’s first – and so far only – female Prime Minister JULIA GILLARD sat down with the IfG’s Director Bronwen Maddox to discuss the long march to female political power. How can female leaders navigate male networks of power? Has #MeToo really made a difference to women in politics and beyond? And why are Australians at the cutting edge of modern political strategy?“A lot of young women look at the experience of women politicians and ask ‘Is it all worth it?’ I always answer yes, it’s definitely worth it. But I don’t insult anyone’s intelligence by saying there won’t be gendered moments.” – Julia Gillard See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, big spender: was this the Corona budget or the End of Austerity budget? Is Rishi Sunak doing the right thing for businesses that can’t handle the unprecedented pressures of the Coronavirus? Has he bottled Net Zero on carbon? The perils of badly-drawn business interventions. Why this government is now running on Labour’s fiscal rules from 2010 — the ones they said would bankrupt the country. And can you regenerate a whole country from a highly controlling centre?“This kind of support can be addictive to businesses. When the next crisis arrives, will the chancellor be able to tell them ‘no’?” – Giles WilkesPresented by Bronwen Maddox with Gemma Tetlow, Alex Thomas and Giles Wilkes. Audio production by Robin Leeburn.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the latest of our occasional interviews, former Conservative MP and Treasury Secretary DAVID GAUKE talks to the IfG’s Cath Haddon about what the last Parliament can teach us about the future of this one. How is Boris Johnson faring so far? Are the trade talks with the EU likely to collapse? Will Dominic Cummings see the end of this Parliament? And what is it really like to write a budget?“Number Ten will be very effective in blaming EU intransigence for any collapse in the talk, regardless of how reasonable those talks might have been.” – David Gauke See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Beyond Brexit, the government begins the colossal task of sorting out UK-EU commerce, a US-UK trade deal… and maybe trade within the UK itself. Former DExEU permanent secretary Philip Rycroft sets out the scale of the job. Universal Credit: is it too late to stop now? Senior IfG Fellow and author of The Five Giants: A Biography Of The Welfare State Nicholas Timmins spells out what’s needed to save Iain Duncan Smith’s unloved legacy policy, including the brutal business of recovering £10bn social security debt from people who don’t know they owe it. And the Lib Dems’ Norman Lamb gives us some lessons learned during the party’s bruising experience into coalition. “Talking about a free trade deal is a bit of a misnomer. It’s about having less free trade than we have and mitigating the effects” – Philip RycroftPresented by Bronwen Maddox with Joe Owen and Alex Thomas. 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 seismic, very public resignation of Home Secretary Priti Patel’s permanent secretary Sir Philip Rutnam has blown the state of relations between the Government and its Civil Service wide open. What does it mean? Will Rutnam’s constructive dismissal case make it to court? Do we need a formal process for civil servants to blow the whistle on ministers? And will this extraordinary stand-off permanently reset the relationship between senior civil servants and the politicians they work for? This special edition of INSIDE BRIEFING is hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Alex Thomas. 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 week on the podcast that dispels the mysteries of government: Backroom squabbles, bullying and powergrabs — is the Johnson administration already tearing itself apart from within? We discover why Government should learn to love its Perm Secs and Spads. Plus Tony Blair’s former political secretary turned strategy guru JOHN McTERNAN reveals untold tales of how to grease the wheels of government … and explains why Bernie Saunders will be the next US President. Ex-Business Secretary GREG CLARK on the future of British science and the government’s Coronavirus plans. And what’s in the newly-discovered Commons catacombs?“You can’t make hundreds of thousands of people march in one direction by shouting at one of them.” JOHNHosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon, Tim Durrant 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

This week on the podcast that ventures into the engine room of government, the Treasury vs Number Ten. War without end or grudging partnership of equals? Special guest TIM PITT was a SPAD at the Cabinet Office and senior Treasury advisor. As the Javid fallout settles, Tim tells us where the power really lies.  Plus the Bank of England’s Chief Economist ANDY HALDANE on why our economy needs new metrics of success. And this year’s COP26 conference: Why remedying climate change is the ultimate 4-dimensional chess challenge for government. Will fixing the summit’s wobbles win Britain its first global leadership moment? And how to ace a job interview with Liz Truss.“Net Zero by 2050 is an easy commitment to make. The politicians making it are highly unlikely to be around by then. The challenge is to do those things now that will make net zero achievable then.” – Tim Pitt Hosted by Bronwen Maddox with Emma Norris, Gemma Tetlow 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

When Sajid Javid quit as Chancellor it served up an unexpected vintage Reshuffle Day. But do big ministerial resignations really come as a surprise to the people moving the chesspieces? Special guest GAVIN BARWELL, former Chief of Staff to Theresa May, tells us how tense it gets in Westminster when Cabinet job are reassigned, and offers some insider advice for new ministers. Plus we talk to SARAH WOLLASTON about her time as a select committee chair – and her concerns about this government’s attempt to dodge scrutiny. And there’s one last chance to hear the expertise and mellifluous tones of outgoing Attorney General GEOFFREY COX before he rides into the sunset. “If you want fresh blood you’ve got to be prepared to wield the axe sometimes.” – Gavin BarwellHosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Raphael Hogarth. 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

An extended version of our interview with high-profile Remainer turned constitution campaigner GINA MILLER. She explains how she’s staying in the constitutional fight, why she thinks “Remain and Rejoin” are done for now, why she’s encouraged by how backbenchers have handled HS2 and Huawei, and why the hardest part of Brexit is yet to come. “Some of the government’s language would not be out of place in Orbán’s government,” she says. “Both of the cases we brought were about the fundamentals of democracy. The parliamentary slogans you heard during the referendum were exactly what we were defending.”Interview by Sam Macrory. 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

Where has all the scrutiny gone, long time passing…? As the Government wields its apparently unassailable majority, who will be the thorn on the Government’s otherwise impenetrable hide this year? Plus special guest PAUL HARRISON – Theresa May’s former press spokesman – explains what this week’s spat between lobby journalists and government advisors really means. And can the Government pull off its proposed more stringent sentencing guidelines in the wake of the Streatham attacks?  GINA MILLER explains why she’s staying in the fight to reform the British constitution. (Watch your feed for the full-length unedited interview). And Paul tells us what it’s like to lose your government job at an hour’s notice. “Most of us went straight to the pub,” he reveals.“Big restrictions on the lobby are a terrible look for the government... most journalists are as public spirited as the politicians they cover.” – PAUL HARRISON“Politicians often agree with the way Tom Stoppard put it: ‘I’m with you on the free press. It’s the newspapers I can’t stand’.” – PAUL HARRISONHosted by Bronwen Maddox with Cath Haddon and Hannah White. 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