Navigating a Contested Age: Chiefly Reflections of Admiral Sir Tony Radakin
With European nations now spending more on defence than America for the first time since the Second World War, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin explored how the end of the peace dividend is creating new dilemmas for the political class and what this means for the Whitehall machine.
In his first speech since stepping down as head of the armed forces, Admiral Sir Tony, who served four successive prime ministers, reflected on the advent of a third nuclear age, the race to artificial super intelligence and the requirement for grand national strategy to meet the demands of a new more dangerous era.
Following his speech, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin was in conversation with Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government.
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Delivering the government’s economic growth mission: What is the role of the industrial strategy?
The industrial strategy has emerged after a long gestation, with June’s white paper containing an exhaustive list of policy commitments intended to deliver Labour’s promise to “lay the foundation for a decade of growth”, create hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs, ensure that every region thrives, and put Britain “at the forefront of the technological revolution”.
The strategy identifies 37 different ‘Frontier Industries’ within the eight growth sectors already set out in the green paper from October 2024, with these sectors treated as enablers of productivity to other parts of the economy – not just as vehicles of growth in themselves. So how can this ambitious idea be delivered successfully?
What combination of market and regulatory reforms can help to deliver this aim? What will be the role of public sector financial institutions like the National Wealth Fund and British Business Bank? What is the role for private finance? Is the government’s push to encourage more pension fund investment in British industry welcome or risky? And with the industrial strategy containing so many goals, industries and policy instruments, has the government taken on more than it can realistically deliver?
To explore these questions and more, we were joined by an expert panel, including:
Sam Lister, Director General for Industrial Strategy at the Department for Business and Trade
Paul Nightingale, Professor of Strategy at the University of Sussex
Karen Northey, Corporate Affairs Director at the Investment Association
Giles Wilkes, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government
This event was chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.
This event was kindly supported by the Investment Association.
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From protest to power: How can Reform's locally elected leaders govern effectively?
At this year’s local elections, the Reform Party secured outright majorities in 10 local authorities and won two metro mayor contests.
As its local leaders make the transition from opposition to government, what skills will they need to be successful? What are the trade-offs they will have to make? How should they design and deliver policy? And how should they work with the Labour government in Westminster to deliver for voters locally?
Speakers:
Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO of the Institute for Government (chair)
Cllr Linden Kemkaran, Leader of Kent County Council & County Councillor for Maidstone Southeast
Akash Paun, Programme Director (Devolution) at the Institute for Government
Gawain Towler, former Head of Press for Reform UK
This event was an IfG fringe event held at the Reform UK Party Conference 2025 in Birmingham.
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The Freedom of Information Act at 25: What next for freedom of information?
The Freedom of Information (FoI) Act – which was passed 25 years ago and came into force five years later – created a legal right for citizens to request information from public authorities. This was a radical shift in the government's approach to information and a significant step towards a more open culture of government.
FoI was designed to generate more transparency and to tackle perceived secrecy in government, and it has been a vital tool for journalists, researchers and private citizens alike. However, some politicians have been critical of the burden that FoI requests create, and there are outstanding questions about how the FoI system can be more effective.
With FoI requests more than tripling since it was introduced in 2005, this IfG event assessed the state of FoI on its double anniversary – and explored, through a series of proposals and an expert panel discussion, how the system can be improved.
To pitch their proposals for the future of Freedom of Information, the IfG was joined by
Jenna Corderoy, Investigative reporter at Democracy for Sale
Dr Louise Crow, Chief Executive of mySociety
Dr Ben Worthy, Lecturer at Birkbeck University
And to discuss the proposals and the FoI system more broadly:
John Edwards, Information Commissioner
Lord Charlie Falconer, Secretary for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor (2003–07)
Lynn Wyeth, Executive Board Member of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, and Executive Board Member of The National Association of Data Protection and Freedom of Information Officers (NADPO)
The event was chaired by Gavin Freeguard, Associate of the Institute for Government.
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How will Keir Starmer’s No10 reset work?
The prime minister has made some big changes in No10. Darren Jones moves from the Treasury to take on the newly-created job of chief secretary to the prime minister. A new executive director of communications has been recruited. Minouche Shafik has been appointed as the PM’s economics adviser. And other eye-catching job changes are taking place.
So what does this all say about how Keir Starmer wants to govern? How will Darren Jones’s role dovetail with chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden? Will these changes really equip the centre of government for a “relentless focus on delivery”? And what Institute for Government recommendations should Starmer now adopt as he weighs up further changes to the centre?
Alex Thomas, Hannah Keenan, Gemma Tetlow and Hannah White explain all in this expert Institute for Briefing.
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The Labour government has a huge majority in parliament – but Keir Starmer’s administration is also facing an incredibly complex set of policy challenges. So how can the prime minister and his team turn around public service performance? What can chancellor Rachel Reeves do to get the economy growing again? What will mission-driven government actually mean in practice? Who should be making the key decisions in Westminster – and beyond? And what will the appointment of a new cabinet secretary mean for the future direction of the civil service?
From reforming how the centre of government works to the battle for the future of the civil service, from making a success of levelling up to achieve net zero goals, IfG EVENTS stimulate fresh thinking and share ideas about how government works – and how it could work better.
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