IfG DevoLab #1: How devolution can address health inequalities

Inside Trump’s America: In conversation with Tim Ryan

Special advisers are a vital part of the glue that helps make government work effectively, and since July 2024 more than 100 spads have been appointed by Keir Starmer and his ministers. As well as experiencing the day-to-day challenges that come with one of the most intense jobs in Westminster, the new cohort has also faced ministerial churn, parliamentary rebellion and a change of No.10 chiefs of staff.

So how can special advisers be most effective in government? What are the challenges they face, and how can they deal with them? And how is the current cohort of spads faring in their difficult, and misunderstood, roles?  

To discuss how the spads of today (and tomorrow) can do the job well we were joined by:

Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall Editor at the Sunday Times and co-author of Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer
Salma Shah, Special Adviser to Sajid Javid (2014–19)
Sam White, Special Adviser to Alistair Darling (2004–10) and Chief of Staff to Keir Starmer (2021–22); Chair of Foundations: the national what works centre for children and families
The event was chaired by Tim Durrant, Programme Director at the Institute for Government.

Spads under Starmer: How can Labour’s special advisers do the job well?

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?

Listen to the IfG's fringe event at the Reform UK Party Conference 2025.

Speakers: 

Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO, Institute for Government (chair)
Cllr Linden Kemkaran, Leader of Kent County Council & County Councillor for Maidstone Southeast
Akash Paun, Programme Director (Devolution), Institute for Government
Gawain Towler, Former Head of Press, Reform UK 

From protest to power: How can Reform's locally elected leaders govern effectively?

The prime minister has made some big changes in No.10. 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?

This IfG expert briefing explores the prime minister's reshuffle of his No.10 team.

How will Keir Starmer’s No.10 reset work?

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.

Delivering the government’s economic growth mission: What is the role of the industrial strategy?

The Freedom of Information Act at 25

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.

Navigating a Contested Age: Chiefly Reflections of Admiral Sir Tony Radakin

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From protest to power: How can Reform's locally elected leaders govern effectively?

Institute for Government

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