Institute for Government

This event was part of the IfG's programme of events at the Labour Party Conference 2026.

Speakers:

Sarah Jones MP, Minister of State (Home Office)

David Pinto-Duschinsky MP, Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Department for Work and Pensions, and former Special Adviser in the Home Office and Treasury

James Reeve, Partner at PA Consulting

Felicity Slater, former special adviser in No.10, Cabinet Office, and HM Treasury

Jack Worlidge, Associate Director at the Institute for Government

This event was chaired by Hannah Keenan, Associate Director at the Institute for Government.

This event was in partnership with PA Consulting.

This event was part of the IfG's programme of events at the Labour Party Conference 2026.

Speakers:

Sam Carling MP, Member of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee

Chris Murray MP, Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Dr Sofia Ropek-Hewson, Senior Research Fellow and Interim Head of Decade of National Renewal Programme at IPPR

Joel Spreadborough, Head of Policy and Impact at the Chartered Management Institute

This event was chaired by Vicky Elliott, Director of the IfG Academy at the Institute for Government

This event was in partnership with IPPR.

Giles Wilkes, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government was joined by Daisy Cooper MP, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference.

High-profile incidents of misconduct, political donations, and freebies have all raised concerns about standards and integrity in UK public life – so what more can be done to tackle corruption in national and local government?

In his new book Corrupted Kingdom, Robert Barrington argues that corruption in Britain is not just a matter of isolated scandals but reflects deeper systemic vulnerabilities that risk undermining trust in democratic institutions. This Institute for Government event will bring together a panel of experts – including Robert – to explore the scale and nature of corruption risks in the UK today, examine where current safeguards are working or falling short, and discuss what reforms may be needed to strengthen transparency and accountability.

Robert’s book argues political leaders are facing a clear choice: tackle corruption or continue on the road to decline. This event will explore what that choice looks like in practice – and whether the UK is ready to act.

The event brought together an expert panel, including:

Robert Barrington, author of Corrupted Kingdom: Britain's Disappearing Integrity – And How We Can Get It Back

Jenna Corderoy, Investigative reporter at Democracy for Sale

Kamila Kingstone, Defending Democracy Programme Lead at Spotlight on Corruption

John Penrose, former government Anti-Corruption Champion

The event was chaired by Vicky Elliott, Director of the IfG Academy at the Institute for Government.

The new prime minister has appointed his ministers and put his No.10 team in place. He has created a new Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet. And set out some immediate policy changes while promising a 10-year plan later in the year. So what happens now?

Having spent the summer setting out the new government's direction, how will Andy Burnham meet the challenge of being prime minister? How will he respond to parliamentary scrutiny? What do his spending choices mean for his fiscal policy? How might a challenging global situation impact his domestic policy? And what are his priorities at the upcoming Labour Party Conference?

The event brought together an expert panel, including:

Steph Driver, Keir Starmer’s former No.10 Communications Director

Paul Johnson, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and former Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (joining virtually)

Neal Lawson, Executive Director at Compass

Alex Thomas, Executive Director at the Institute for Government

The event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, CEO of the Institute for Government.

The Institute for Government was pleased to welcome Daron Acemoglu, the Nobel Prize-winning co-author of Why Nations Fail, to discuss his new book: What Happened to Liberal Democracy? Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity.

In his latest book, Daron Acemoglu, a Nobel Prize winner in economics, documents the rise and, some would argue, fall of liberal democracy, recounting how liberal democratic institutions plunged themselves into crisis over the last several decades.

Looking at rapid advances in technology, shifts in regulatory environments, global political history, and economics, Acemoglu lays out the challenges to these institutions and sets out a new way forward, which he calls working-class liberalism: a philosophy that prioritizes shared prosperity, empowers communities, and accommodates a range of views – essential if liberal democracy is to survive in the 21st century.

Daron Acemoglu was in conversation with Dr Hannah White, CEO of the Institute for Government, before taking part in an audience Q&A, followed by a book signing.

Daron Acemoglu is a professor at MIT and Faculty Co-Director of MIT’s Shaping the Future of Work Initiative in Boston. Why Nations Fail (2012) has sold over one million copies globally.

Angela Rayner, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, has put plans to restructure local government on hold. So what went wrong and what happens next?

The government’s ambitious local government reorganisation (LGR) programme, which affects around 41% of the population, aims to replace all county and district councils with a single tier of unitary local government. This would make it the largest LGR wave since 46 unitary authorities (UAs) were established between 1995 and 1997.

Angela Rayner has now launched a full review of her predecessor’s decisions on future council boundaries, following new legal advice and in the face of a wave of judicial challenges. Rayner said she wanted to be satisfied the right process is in place and to test whether LGR proposals meet the priorities of the new prime minister.

So how did this situation come about? What are the implications for trust between central government and local government? And how do these decisions affect broader ambitions for the government to rewire the state and deliver good growth in every postcode?

As local leaders and the sector process the government’s decision, the IfG assembled an expert panel to respond to these developments, featuring:

Amanda Askham, Partner, Consulting at Grant Thornton UK LLP

Dr Matthew Fright, Associate Director at the Institute for Government

Heather Jameson, Editor of The MJ

Akash Paun, Director at the Institute for Government

This event was chaired by Dr Catherine Haddon, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.

[A previously advertised event considering 'How should central government support local authorities going through LGR?' has been postponed and will be rescheduled in the near future.]

We would like to thank Grant Thornton UK LLP for kindly supporting this event.

The government believes access to sufficient AI infrastructure and compute capacity will be critical for the UK’s economic growth, productivity and global competitiveness – but the UK is in a global race for investment, talent and consequential technological breakthroughs.

So how can ministers and civil servants deliver the government’s ambitions?

Last June, the government announced over £1bn of investment in the UK’s compute capacity, while the government’s Compute Roadmap outlines its strategic approach to building world-class compute infrastructure in the UK. But will this infrastructure translate into the growth and productivity gains that the government has forecast? How can government attract private sector investment? How can the Cabinet Office, DBIST, DCMS, HMT, DESNZ and No 10 best cooperate to drive the whole of the state in support of the strategy? And what are the key challenges for new prime minister Andy Burnham in realising the government’s AI infrastructure goals?

To discuss all this and more, the IfG brought together an expert panel, including:

Emily Darlington MP, Member of the Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee

Matt Davies, Economic and Social Policy Lead at Ada Lovelace Institute

Matthew Harris, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at HPE

Mary Jones, Director for AI Adoption and Preparedness at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

The event was chaired by Heloise Dunlop, Researcher at the Institute for Government.

We would like to thank Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) for kindly supporting this event.

The first days and weeks of Andy Burnham's premiership have seen the prime minister promise to accelerate the devolution agenda, with the launch of Number 10 North demonstrating his commitment to take power away from London.

But what can the prime minister do to make his devolution agenda succeed? How will No.10 North work constructively with the new Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet and other Whitehall departments? What does devolution mean for the government's public service agenda? And how will the rest of the country benefit from Burnham's plan to send more power from London to Manchester?

The event brought together an expert panel, including:

Thomas Pope, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government

Luke Raikes, Deputy General Secretary at the Fabian Society

Jennifer Williams, Northern Correspondent at the Financial Times

The event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, CEO of the Institute for Government.

Speakers:

Cllr Stephen Atkinson, Leader of Lancashire County Council and Leader of the Local Government Association's Reform UK Group

Justin Galliford, Chief Executive Officer at Norse Group

Cllr Linden Kemkaran, Leader of Kent County Council

Akash Paun, Programme Director (Devolution) at the Institute for Government

Cllr Daniel Sutherland, Leader of Calderdale Council

This event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, CEO of the Institute for Government.

This event was in partnership with Norse Group.

This event was part of the Institute for Government's programme of party conference events at the Reform UK Party Conference.