INSIDE BRIEFING with Institute for Government

After weeks of speculation, and many rounds of interviews, Sir Chris Wormald has been confirmed as the UK’s new cabinet secretary. But who is Chris Wormald, why has Keir Starmer appointed him, and how can he succeed as the country’s top civil servant? David Lidington, the former minister for the Cabinet Office and Theresa May’s one-time de facto deputy prime minister, joins the IfG team to make sense of someone who is both the conventional pick and yet also the surprise choice for the job of the country’s top civil servant. What does Wormald bring to the role? What is waiting in his in-tray? How exactly could he set about that big rewiring job? And what steps he can take to ensure the civil service can deliver Keir Starmer’s priorities?   Presented by Emma Norris. With Cath Haddon and Alex Thomas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s a competition that has gripped the nation. The candidates have been whittled down. The country is on tenterhooks. Strictly? Of course not. We’re talking about the appointment of the next cabinet secretary. The Guardian’s Rafael Behr joins the podcast team to speculate about who might get the job – and what they need to do.   How can the government get more people back to work? It has published a new “Get Britain Working” white paper for starters, but what does it set out and is this any different to anything we have heard before?   Plus: Does the government have an electric car problem?    Hannah White presents. With Alex Thomas and Nehal Davison. Produced by Robin Leeburn for Podmasters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Keir Starmer has been on his travels again, but it has been a tricky week at home for the government. Tim Ross and Rachel Wearmouth, the authors of new book Landslide: The Inside Story of the 2024 Election, join the podcast team to discuss how Labour returned to power – and how Starmer and his team are faring.  The Budget has gone down very badly with Britain’s farm owners and a private members’ bill on assisted dying is posing a big headache for Starmer. How much worse could things get? And from bruising encounters to a political bruiser, the former deputy prime minister John Prescott, a key figure in the last Labour government, has died. The pod team look back on Prescott’s legacy.  PLUS: Labour is promising to set up a lot of new public bodies: 17 and counting. A new IfG report has been tracking their progress, and reveals how to succeed, or not, when setting these bodies up.  Cath Haddon presents, with Giles Wilkes and Matthew Gill. Produced by Jade Bailey for Podmasters and the IfG.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are living in a different world. Donald Trump’s world. Kim Darroch, the UK's former ambassador to the US, joins the podcast team to make sense of what could be some jaw-dropping appointments to the Trump administration. The UK government has been scrambling to make sense of it all too - responding in measured tones while potentially bracing for impact. So how should Keir Starmer handle the new Trump era? Plus: COP29. The prime minister has been on his travels again - this time to Azerbaijan for a major climate change summit.  Hannah White presents. With Alex Thomas and Jill Rutter. Produced by Candice McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices