The chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility has gone, the Chancellor is being accused of misleading the public.  So how did that budget go? 

Richard Hughes has taken responsibility for the accidental leak of the budget and resigned. What does this mean for the OBR’s future and political trust in it? 

Meanwhile, the Chancellor has been accused of misleading the public over the state of public finances. So what did happen in the budget pitch-rolling and what does this tell us about how well the UK does budgets? Could we, should we, do them differently? 

Plus - the Justice Secretary has revealed his plans for changes to jury trials. We dig into the latest news. 

Hannah White presents

With Gemma Tetlow, Alex Thomas and Cassia Rowland 

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Just hours after Rachel Reeves sets out the budget to parliament, this webinar brought together a team of Institute for Government (IfG) experts to share their instant and essential analysis of the chancellor’s plans.

Who are the winners and losers of Reeves’s tax and spending announcements? How will her measures affect economic growth? Has the chancellor finally set a coherent tax strategy? And what challenges now lie ahead for Keir Starmer’s government?

To answer these questions and more, this budget day webinar from the IfG brought together an expert line up featuring Dan Haile, Jill Rutter, and Giles Wilkes. The webinar was chaired by Dr Hannah White.

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Scotland is just six months away from May’s crucial parliamentary election, with First Minister John Swinney preparing to lead the SNP into one of the most unpredictable campaigns since the party entered government almost 19 years ago.

On 19 November, the Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Scotland’s First Minister to discuss his priorities ahead of the 2026 Scottish parliament election, the political context in Scotland ahead of the crucial UK budget, and the SNP’s vision for Scotland’s constitutional future.

John Swinney was in conversation with Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government, followed by a Q&A with the live and online audience.

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The First Minister for Scotland joined the Inside Briefing team to discuss football, the political context in Scotland ahead of the UK budget, and the SNP’s vision for Scotland’s future.

Meanwhile, the Home Secretary announced significant reforms to the UK’s asylum and migration system. We discussed how the plans landed, what might happen next and what challenges lie ahead.

And this week saw the final instalment of the IFG’s public services Performance Tracker. We talked to the team about the government’s record on public services since the election, where the greatest risks lie and what the Prime Minister needs to do to turn things around before the end of this Parliament.

Presented by Catherine Haddon.

With Nick Davies, Cassia Rowland, and Jill Rutter.

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Ambitious Labour politicians might or might not be eyeing up the top job. No. 10 isn’t working well. The Prime Minister is on the defensive. Here we go again.

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is in the headlines - accused of plotting a leadership challenge against the prime minister. Streeting has dismissed the attacks as “self-defeating nonsense” and has urged Keir Starmer to sack whoever is briefing the media. So what does this all say about how Number 10 is working, or not, and what impact does this type of row have across government?

PLUS: Wes Streeting really wants to be talking about his plans for turning around NHS performance. But our new report has some mixed news about how that is going. 

Catherine Haddon presents.

With Alex Thomas, Jill Rutter, and Stuart Hoddinott.

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Taxes set to rise? Spending set to be cut? Promises to be kept – or maybe broken? Whatever chancellors choose to reveal on budget day, it’s normally a good idea to let people know what they can expect…

So has Rachel Reeves done a good job of rolling the pitch? How did former chancellors go about warming up their party, voters, the media and business? And what can they do to make sure the right people are listening

Stewart Wood and Giles Winn, former advisers to Gordon Brown and Philip Hammond, join this special Inside Briefing episode to reveal how chancellors get ahead of the big day in parliament – and give their verdict on Rachel Reeves’ attempts to set the scene for the November 26 budget.

Presented by Gemma Tetlow.

With Jill Rutter.

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The Home Office is not fit for purpose. At least that’s the verdict of the home secretary. So what’s the problem and how can it be fixed? Former home office special adviser Hannah Guerin joins the podcast team for a deep dive into the woes of one of Whitehall’s most challenging departments.

Reform UK’s Danny Kruger has been setting out his plans for government reform. Outlandish or workable? We’ve been weighing it up.

Plus: Labour’s historic poll low. What do the numbers say about the state of British politics?

Hannah White presents.

With Alex Thomas.

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Prisons nearly bursting. Court cases backlogged. Prisoners released early. It couldn’t happen again, could it? Former BBC journalist and Labour adviser Danny Shaw joins the podcast team to discuss a brand new IfG report into the state of the criminal justice system.

In another difficult week for the government, the inquiry into grooming gangs has run into problems after at least four members of the victims and survivors panel quit in protest at how the government has handled the process so far. Can Louise Casey fix it?

Plus: Prince Andrew, the Royal family, and the government. What happens next?

Catherine Haddon presents.

With Alex Thomas and Cassia Rowland. 

Produced by Milo Hynes.

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With the prime ministers facing awkward questions over the collapse of the Chinese spy case, the Guardian’s Gaby Hinsliff joins the podcast team to explore the row and what it says about the UK’s relations with Beijing.

Local authorities provide services that everybody relies on, but the findings of a new IfG report into the state of local government finances and services makes for some eye-watering reading. We dig into the detail.

Plus: A big week for the government’s standards and ethics regime! Goodbye ACOBA, and hello Ethics and Integrity Commission. So how will this all work?

Hannah White presents, with Stuart Hoddinott, Amber Dellar and Tim Durrant. Produced by Milo Hynes.

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Lagging well behind Reform in the polls and bruised by a series of defections, the Conservative Party was in low spirits as it gathered for its party conference. 

So did party leader Kemi Badenoch answer her critics with that big stamp duty announcement? Will new Conservative policies win back voters? Do Mel Stride's spending pledges add up? And does any of this really make any difference at all? 

YouGov's Patrick English joined the Inside Briefing team in Manchester to assess the state of the official opposition. 

Presented by Hannah White.

With Alex Thomas and Tom Pope.

Produced by Milo Hynes.

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