Inside Whitehall

This week the team take a look at the upcoming local elections, the impact of those results on the national picture and Jonathan's new role as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.

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Jonathan goes inside the budget process with Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury [EST] Gareth Davies MP. Gareth entered Parliament in 2019 after a stellar career in the City and has quickly risen through the ranks, and he's sure to play a big part in the future of the Conservative Party.

As EST he plays a key role in the budget process and takes listeners through that process.

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The Greater London Authority [GLA] is the body that governs London, the capital city of the United Kingdom, and home to 9 million people with a GDP of over £500 billion. The eventual successor to the Greater London Council, it came about to a backdrop of a wider push towards devaluation.

To discuss the GLA and wider London politics we were joined by Gareth Bacon MP. Gareth is the current Minister for Sentencing and Member of Parliament for Orpington. He previously served as the leader of the Conservative party in the London Assembly as well as a Councillor in Bexley. Gareth also Chaired the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority during Boris Johnson’s time as Mayor.

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They are the people who provide advice to ministers, provide consistency as Government’s change and run departments on a day to day basis. It is impossible to understand how Whitehall works without an understanding of the civil service. 

We were delighted to be joined by Sir David Bell, former Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education. His time there spanned 6 years, a change of government and 4 Secretaries of State, covering both Ed Balls and Michel Gove's time as Education Secretary.

Sir David is a giant in the world of education, having started as a school teacher and working his way to through various senior roles, including Director of Education and Libraries with Newcastle City Council, to become the Chief Inspector of Schools for almost 4 years. He is now Vice Chancellor of the University of Sunderland.

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The first episode of our podcast was Jonathan's journey to becoming an MP, here he gets to turn the tables on James and grill him about how he ended up inside Whitehall.

From Baghdad to the bright lights of Westminster, hear how James ended up working on the Vote Leave campaign and onto his time as Special Advisor with Michael Gove and Priti Patel.

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Pippa Crerar has reported on all there is to in politics, general elections, referendums as well as breaking some of the biggest stories over the past decade. Pippa also covered London for almost a decade, throughout Boris Johnson’s time as mayor, for the London Evening Standard. Pippa is now the Political Editor of the Guardian newspaper, having moved there after 4 years at the Daily Mirror.

Pippa takes us inside the daily print and online lobby, and the Scottish press mafia! Hear about her journey into journalism and life covering Whitehall. We look at how digital news has changed the traditional print lobby and the nature of the changing media landscape.

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There are few buildings as iconic as the Houses of Parliament. A UNESCO world heritage site, the Gothic style building is around 150 years and for many is the image that comes to mind with even the mention of the word Parliament.

Parliament is home to the UK legislature, both the House of Commons and House of Lords with around 3, 000 people supporting the working of the place daily. Running this iconic institution is a mammoth task and one made harder by the restoration needed to a building that hasn’t seen a major refurbishment for over 80 years. 

Joining us to discuss the upkeep of such a special building we have Nigel Evans MP. Nigel is a familiar face to many in Westminster having represented Rible Valley for more than 30 years. Nigel became Deputy Speaker in 2020 and second deputy chairman of the ways and means committee, having also previously held this role for 3 years. Nigel is also chairman of the Restoration and Renewal (R&R) Programme Board which made him the perfect guest to understand more about this crucial process. 

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Can you guess your favourite guest? As we take a break over parliamentary recess tune in to this special 'Best of Inside Whitehall' episode, featuring highlights from: 

• Michael Gove

• Matt Warman

• Priti Patel

• Eleni Courea

• David Linden

• Sir Robert Buckland

• Cat Smith

• Sam Coates

A big thank you to all the wonderful guests who have come on so far.

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In this episode we look at the point business and politics meet. How can that relationship work best? Do great businessmen make great politicians?

Our guest Saqib Bhatti MP, is the Minister for Tech and the Digital Economy. Saqib was the youngest President of the Birmingham chamber of commerce, and also the first Muslim to hold that office.

Previously the Conservative Vice Chair for Business, as well as PPS for Sajid Javid MP during his time as Health Secretary. Saqib talks to us about his own experience as a businessman, and representing businesses as well as how he now interacts with businesses as a Minister. 

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Labour MP Cath Smith takes us inside the petitions committee. This is a part of Parliament that the public get to play a direct role in. The petitions committee is a function of Parliament that perhaps has the most obvious direct public engagement and receives thousands, even hundred of thousands, of signatures from members of the public every week. 

So what is the petitions committee and what does it do? Join us to find out.

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