What do the 2025 mayoral and local election results mean for Keir Starmer’s government?
Elections were held across England on 1 May, with votes cast for four regional mayors, in 24 of England’s 317 councils and to decide the new MP for Runcorn and Helsby. So who are England’s newly-elected mayors and what might they do with the power they wield? What impact will the elections have on the Labour government's devolution agenda? And what happens next with its plans to reorganise local government across England?
To explore these questions and more, the IfG was delighted to bring together an expert panel featuring:
Matthew Fright, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government
Stuart Hoddinott, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government
Sarah Routley, Research Assistant at the Institute for Government
The webinar was chaired by Akash Paun, Devolution Programme Director at the Institute for Government.
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1:00:30
From disaster to completion: What can government learn from the Universal Credit story?
Almost 15 years on from the coalition government’s white paper Universal Credit: Welfare that Works, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has finally concluded that its overhaul of the benefits systems is nearly complete. A few thousand people are yet to be transferred from tax credits, income support and Jobseeker’s Allowance, and a rather larger numbers are still on Employment and Support Allowance, but the DWP is confident of completion by the end of the year. The Universal Credit programme board has been closed down and the department plans to publish its version of “lessons learned” from a programme that was meant to have taken seven years from the white paper but will have taken 15.
So what can this and future governments learn from the delivery of this major reform programme? How was the Universal Credit project turned around from near disaster in 2013? And, as it nears completion, what is the impact of Universal Credit?
To explore these questions and more, the IfG was delighted to bring together an expert panel featuring:
Neil Couling, the Senior Responsible Owner for Universal Credit for a decade until March this year
Tom Loosemore, Co-founder of Public Digital and Co-author of Nesta’s report on how to transform government services
Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government
Tom Waters, Associate Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies
The event was chaired by Nicholas Timmins, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and author of the IfG’s 2016 report Universal Credit: From Disaster to Recovery?
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1:05:40
How can government be transformed?
Keir Starmer has said that “nothing less than the complete re-wiring of the British state” is needed for the public sector – and in particular the civil service – to deliver the government’s agenda. So what should this transformation look like – and how can it be made to last?
As the government’s former lead Non-Executive Director, Michael Jary CBE worked closely with the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Cabinet Secretary, the Civil Service Chief Operating Officer, as well as other senior civil servants across government, and has an unparalleled view on what works in Whitehall – and beyond – and what needs to change. In a speech at the IfG, he set out his views on what needs to change – and how this change can be embedded throughout the civil service – before taking part in a panel conversation.
Alongside Michael, we were be joined by:
Josie Cluer, Partner, People Advisory Services at Ernst & Young LLP
Alex Thomas, Programme Director at the Institute for Government
Rt Hon Sir Jeremy Quin, former Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The event was chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director of the Institute for Government.
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1:03:05
Productivity Pitches #6: What can central government do to improve productivity in public services?
Productivity in public services has never been more important. Most services are struggling to return to pre-pandemic performance levels, and the new Labour government has indicated that spending will remain tight. Improvements in performance will likely come from frontline workers finding new, innovative ways of delivering services.
So what can be done to improve productivity? By highlighting outstanding examples of innovation across public services, Productivity Pitches, a series of events hosted by the IfG, aims to share and support ways to improve performance levels.
This event was the sixth in the series and focused on central government.
Each speaker had 10 minutes to present their innovation, followed by 10 minutes of audience questions. The chair and a guest from The Productivity Institute – which is kindly supporting this event series – brought together the common themes from the pitches and discussed the lessons for improving productivity.
The speakers for this edition of Productivity Pitches were:
Brice Dassy and Dominic Lague on how the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) has recently started using the Cabinet Office-developed Government Reporting Integration Platform (GRIP) to simplify and speed up the data collection and sharing process for major projects, providing ministers with more timely and relevant information than under the previous system.
Neil Lloyd on The National Underground Asset Register (NUAR), the first centralised record of all assets that are buried under the ground. When fully implemented, the NUAR will save a range of government agencies time and money when carrying out vital road works and other construction projects.
The event was chaired by Emma Norris, Deputy Director at the Institute for Government. Institute for Government. Bart van Ark, the Managing Director of The Productivity Institute, joined the discussion of common themes.
Productivity Pitches is kindly supported by The Productivity Institute.
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52:47
Government reviews: Dither and delay, or route to reform?
Keir Starmer commissioned a number of high-profile reviews into difficult policy areas on taking office, but the prime minister seems to have become more sceptical about their value in recent weeks.
At this event, to mark the launch of a new IfG report on lessons from past policy reviews, a panel of former reviewers and commissioners of reviews explored when reviews can lead to real change – and what needs to be done to ensure they succeed.
When is it the right time to launch a review? How should ministers best set up, work with and respond to reviews? And has the prime minister changed his view of reviews – and, if so, why?
Discussing these questions, and more, were:
Rt Hon Ed Balls, former Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and Special Adviser at HM Treasury (and commissioner of several reviews)
Dame Carol Black, leader of multiple past reviews, including: the Review of Drugs (2021), Drug and Alcohol Addiction, and Obesity: effects on employment outcomes review (2016), Health at Work Review (2011) and Working for a Healthier Tomorrow Review (2008)
Dame Tracey Crouch, former Minister for Sport and Civil Society and Chair of the Fan-led Review of Football Governance (2021)
Sir Howard Davies, Chair of the Airports Commission (2012–15)
The event was chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.
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