Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

What it is really like to be an MP in 2026? How unusual is the life of a politician? How does power work in parliament? And how can MPs try to have an impact from government or the opposition benches?

For this special International Women's Day episode of Inside Briefing, three MPs – Conservative Karen Bradley, Labour's Beccy Cooper, and Ellie Chowns of the Green Party – head to the IfG podcast studio to explore the challenges, surprises and perhaps frustrations of life in parliament as one of the 263 female MPs (as a point of comparison there were just 27 female MPs in 1975 when International Women's Day was first recognised by the UN) sitting in Westminster today.

 

Presented by Dr Catherine Haddon.

Featuring:

Dame Karen Bradley MP – Conservative MP for Staffordshire Moorlands since 2010, a former secretary of state for Northern Ireland and at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, and the current chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee. 

Dr Ellie Chowns MP – has been the Green MP for North Herefordshire since 2024 and is the Green Party group leader in Westminster and their spokesperson on 6 different ministerial portfolios.  

Dr Beccy Cooper MP – has been the Labour MP for Worthing West since 2024 and sits on the Health and Social Care Committee. 

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The Middle East is at war - but how does the conflict end and what role will the UK play? Sir Alex Younger, the former head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) joins the podcast team to discuss what the US strikes on Iran mean for the region, for the UK and for global security.

Keir Starmer has said the UK will “not join regime change from the skies”, but huge questions remain over the extent of British involvement in the crisis - and the conflict is certain to have lasting consequences for this country. But just how ready is the UK to respond to a shock of this scale?

Plus: Spring Forecast fall-out? The economy is sure to be affected but global events, but Rachel Reeves struck a bullish tone in her spring forecast on Tuesday. We review the numbers - and assess the chancellor’s plan.

Hannah White and Alex Thomas present.

With Dan Haile and Jill Rutter. 

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The Middle East is at war - but how does the conflict end and what role will the UK play? Sir Alex Younger, the former head of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) joins the podcast team to discuss what the US strikes on Iran mean for the region, for the UK and for global security.

Keir Starmer has said the UK will “not join regime change from the skies”, but huge questions remain over the extent of British involvement in the crisis - and the conflict is certain to have lasting consequences for this country. But just how ready is the UK to respond to a shock of this scale?

Plus: Spring Forecast fall-out? The economy is sure to be affected but global events, but Rachel Reeves struck a bullish tone in her spring forecast on Tuesday. We review the numbers - and assess the chancellor’s plan.

Produced by Podmasters.

Hannah White and Alex Thomas present.

With Dan Haile and Jill Rutter. 
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Fire up the forecasts. Read up on the rules. Study the spending plans. And get ready for Rachel Reeves' big day in Parliament. Rupert Harrison, former chief of staff to George Osborne, joins the Inside Briefing team to preview the chancellor's spring forecast. It’s not a budget. It’s not a fiscal event. So it doesn’t get a primetime post-PMQs slot in the Commons timetable. So what exactly is it for and how significant is this forecast for the government? What will we hear from Rachel Reeves? And what are chancellor’s options - and the risks and possible rewards?

Plus: The government's big spending announcement was on SEND reform. Do the sums add up and just what is the government trying to do?

Hannah White presents.

With Giles Wilkes, Dan Haile and Amber Dellar.
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Antonia Romeo has been appointed as the new Cabinet Secretary and is the first woman to hold the post. So what can she do to turn the civil service, and perhaps the government, around?

Keir Starmer's administration is still reeling from resignations, apologies, suspensions and the latest Peter Mandelson scandal. With questions around ethics and standards back in the news, and both Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor facing Misconduct in Public Office investigations, what does the government need to do to tackle standards in public life and can the PM show his government really is different from the last?

 

Plus: Postponed local elections are now un-postponed and need to be held in just over three months’ time. Just how did the government end up taking such a chaotic approach? 

 

Presented by Alex Thomas

Featuring Hannah White, Tim Durrant, Rebecca McKee, Matthew Fright

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