Institute for Government

With rising populism, low levels of trust in governments and a sense that democratic politics cannot deliver solutions for the problems of the 21st century, the need for political leaders who can get things done in government has perhaps never been greater. These issues are not limited to the UK – cynicism and anti-politics sentiment is growing across the democratic world.

So how can democratic societies attract talented people into politics and support them to do the job well? What do people want from their political leaders and what skills do these leaders need? And how what can be done to create a pipeline of leaders – from different backgrounds and with different experiences – who make a career in politics?

To discuss these questions and more, this event brought together an expert panel, including:

Dr Susan Close, CEO of the McKinnon Institute and Professor of Practice
Isabel Hardman, Assistant Editor at The Spectator (joining virtually)
Jorrit de Jong, Director of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University and the Emma Bloomberg Senior Lecturer in Public Policy and Management
Jay Weatherill AO, Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom
The event was chaired by Dr Hannah White, CEO of the Institute for Government.

With elections to Stormont due in May 2027, this IfG webinar brought together an expert panel from Northern Ireland to explore the most recent developments and how they affect the prospects for the next elections.

How is the executive, restored in January 2024 with the first ever nationalist first minister, faring? Will it hold on until the elections – or will the political row over Drumcree trigger another collapse? How is the economy doing, and what is happening with the budget? How are public services performing? What does Andy Burnham’s Brexit reset mean for Northern Ireland? And how are politicians in London and Belfast, including Burnham's recently appointed secretary of state Chris Bryant, managing the relationships and the politics?

For answers to all these questions and more, our expert panel on 5 November featured:

Professor Deirdre Heenan, Professor of Social Policy at Ulster University
Sam McBride, Northern Ireland Editor at The Belfast Telegraph
Sir David Sterling, former head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service
Ann Watt, Director at Pivotal, Northern Ireland’s independent public policy think tank

This webinar was chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.

From hospitals to schools, policing and local government, the effects of Labour’s promised reforms to public services are now being felt. Waiting times for some NHS services have improved, absence from schools is falling, and knife crime and neighbourhood crime have both fallen. But despite these signs of improvement, a thorny set of problems across public services could threaten Andy Burnham’s own ambitious reform agenda.

The launch event for the IfG’s annual Public Services Performance Tracker, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, considered Keir Starmer’s legacy on public service improvement, how Burnham can deliver tangible improvements before the next election, and what choices face John Healey at his first budget and subsequent spending review.

Our expert panel considered:

What is Andy Burnham’s public service inheritance?
How much progress did Keir Starmer’s government make on public services?
What are the biggest public service challenges that need to be addressed over the rest of the parliament?
How might Burnham’s devolution agenda transform public services?
What are the implications for the budget and next year’s spending review?

To discuss these questions and more, we were joined by:

Amber Dellar, Researcher at the Institute for Government
Stuart Hoddinott, Associate Director at the Institute for Government
Cassia Rowland, Associate Director at the Institute for Government

This webinar was chaired by Thomas Pope, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government. Mark Franks, Director of Welfare at the Nuffield Foundation, made opening remarks.

We would like to thank the Nuffield Foundation for kindly supporting this event.

This discussion was part of the Institute for Government's programme of events at the Conservative Party Conference 2026.

Speakers:

Heather Blundell, CEO of Grayling
Rt Hon Baroness Thérèse Coffey, former Deputy Prime Minister
Rt Hon Lord Michael Gove, Editor of The Spectator

This event was chaired by Vicky Elliott, Director at the Institute for Government.

This event was in partnership with The Spectator.

This discussion was part of the Institute for Government's programme of events at the Conservative Party Conference 2026.

Speakers:

Helen Whately MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Helen Barnard, Director of Policy and Research at Trussell
Fraser Nelson, Columnist at The Times
Ben Paxton, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government

This event was chaired by Thomas Pope, Chief Economist at the Institute for Government.

This event was in partnership with Trussell.