What does Andy Burnham really stand for?

More from Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government All episodes →

1. 

   24 Jul 2026 · 44 min

   He wants to be adored – Burnham’s people-pleasing policy debut

   Andy Burnham finally takes over No.10 with promises to focus on the cost of living and to make politics better. Can he succeed? Is he the ruthless leader portended by his clearout of Starmerites, or someone more conciliatory? And how will unexpected new Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband and surprise Chancellor John Healey work out alongside Shabana Mahmood, who’s staying at the Home Office? Plus, Burnham takes the IfG’s advice by finally creating a new Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet. How will that work out? IfG associate director Hannah Keenan and our devolution expert Akash Paun join…

2. 

   17 Jul 2026 · 49 min

   Full Time for Starmer: Can Burnham Find a Way to Win?

   Keir Starmer has bowed out of his final PMQs. Andy Burnham is about to become Britain's next prime minister. But after two turbulent years in Downing Street, what went wrong for Starmer? Can Burnham avoid the same mistakes? And will a change of leader be enough to turn Labour's fortunes around? Keir Starmer's former director of communications, Steph Driver, joins the podcast to reflect on the outgoing prime minister's biggest successes and failures - and what Burnham must do differently from day one. Plus: can the next government finally fix England's broken SEND system? We explore the…

3. 

   9 Jul 2026 · 39 min

   Burnham, Binface and Starmer's final flight

   Reform UK may have dominated the headlines this week, but Westminster's attention is already turning to a far bigger political moment: the arrival of Britain's next prime minister. Mirror political editor Lizzy Buchan joins the podcast team to explore who Andy Burnham might appoint to his cabinet, the priorities that will define his first weeks in office, and whether he can succeed where Keir Starmer could not. As the Prime Minister attends his final NATO summit, we ask what mark he is trying to leave on foreign affairs and how much of Burnham's time will be consumed by international crises?…

4. 

   2 Jul 2026 · 44 min

   Northern Soul: Burnham's Manchester No10 plan

   The King of the North says he will remain - for some of the time - in his kingdom, but how will Andy Burnham's vision for a devolution circuit breaker - powered by a new Number 10 in Manchester - really work? Former de facto deputy prime minister David Lidington joins the podcast to discuss the would-be PM's big speech. How would No.10 North work alongside the original? Who calls the shots? Who is in charge? And what does it mean for the balance of power across the centre of government? Plus: Keir Starmer’s parting gift/parting shot. What is in the Defence Investment Plan and how much will…

5. 

   29 Jun 2026 · 53 min

   Brexit at 10: A decade of drama, deals and disruption

   A decade after the UK voted to leave the EU, the IfG's Jill Rutter and UKICE's Anand Menon are joined by the BBC's Adam Fleming - the former Brussels correspondent and Brexitcast presenter who followed every twist and turn of the UK's EU drama - to share their front row experiences of some of the most significant events in recent British and European political history. From the night of the referendum to the painful Brexit deal negotiations, the endless parliamentary votes and the rapid turnover of prime ministers, Jill, Anand and Adam get together for this special joint IfG/UKICE…

6. 

   19 Jun 2026 · 45 min

   Burnham v Starmer: The King of the North heads South

   As Andy Burnham returns to Parliament after winning the Makerfield by election, the Guardian's Rafael Behr joins the podcast team to discuss a huge week for British politics. How should the prime minister - who insists he would compete in any leadership contest - respond? What does this period of volatility mean for how government works? And what would a prime minister Andy Burnham mean for the way Britain is governed? Hannah White presents. With Giles Wilkes and Cath Haddon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

7. 

   12 Jun 2026 · 32 min

   The way you Makerfield

   There is just a week to go until the people of Makerfield vote in what could turn out to be the most important by election in decades. More in Common's Luke Tryl joins the podcast from Makerfield to discuss the mood on the ground – and how this peculiar by-election, with both local and national consequences, is shaping how voters are thinking. Burnham is, presumably, both campaigning to win the seat and preparing for government if he makes it to Westminster. So how should he, Keir Starmer and others be thinking about what a transition of power would mean for government? Plus: Kemi Badenoch's…

8. 

   4 Jun 2026 · 42 min

   Protests, politics and the killing of Henry Nowak

   With the murder of 18 year old Henry Nowak sending shockwaves through Westminster and beyond, IfG senior fellow - and former BBC home affairs correspondent - Danny Shaw joins the podcast team to discuss a fraught week for the police and for politics. What questions do the police need to answer? What could an inquiry explore - and what might need to change? And how could the events of this week shape British politics in the months ahead? Plus: The footage of the riots in Southampton has knocked the Mandelson files off the front pages, but the ongoing saga has left some questions for…

9. 

   28 May 2026 · 52 min

   The Blair Necessities

   With a promise to abolish the position of Cabinet Secretary and scrap the Cabinet Office, Reform UK’s Danny Kruger has launched his party’s plans for reforming the civil service. IfG senior fellow Henry Hill joins the podcast team to explore the Kruger blueprint for government. Tony Blair has entered the Labour leadership race! Well, sort of. The former PM's 5000 word essay sets out his vision for government. But is it a sensible plan for the current - or future - prime minister to follow? Plus: Everyone is talking about Brexit again. Weeks away from the 10th anniversary of the referendum,…

10. 

    22 May 2026 · 51 min

    May 2026 elections: what are the implications for local government reorganisation?

    How has England’s political landscape changed after the May 2026 elections? How will new local leaders go about their new roles? And what does this mean for the delivery of the government’s local government reorganisation (LGR) agenda? In this special episode of Inside Briefing, Matthew Fright, the Institute for Government’s LGR anorak, has been gathering views across three areas - Surrey, Essex and Kent – at the forefront of LGR delivery to see how the government’s aims to remove two-tier local government will be impacted by May’s elections. PLUS: An expert panel to unpick the election…