A matter of life and debt

Beyond Brexit, the government begins the colossal task of sorting out UK-EU commerce, a US-UK trade deal… and maybe trade within the UK itself. Former DExEU permanent secretary Philip Rycroft sets out the scale of the job.  Universal Credit: is it too late to stop now? Senior IfG Fellow and author of The Five Giants: A Biography Of The Welfare State Nicholas Timmins spells out what’s needed to save Iain Duncan Smith’s unloved legacy policy, including the brutal business of recovering £10bn social security debt from people who don’t know they owe it. And the Lib Dems’ Norman Lamb gives us some lessons learned during the party’s bruising experience into coalition.  “Talking about a free trade deal is a bit of a misnomer. It’s about having less free trade than we have and mitigating the effects” – Philip Rycroft Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Joe Owen and Alex Thomas. Audio production by Alex Rees.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

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How can we make government work more effectively? What are Brexit and the current political tumult doing to our institutions? Is Britain's Constitution able to withstand the strains of 21st Century social, political and technical change? What needs to change in our system of government – and how can we change it? Find out in the weekly podcast from Britain’s leading governmental think tank, where we analyse the latest events in politics and explain what they mean. Every week on INSIDE BRIEFING, IfG Director Bronwen Maddox welcomes experts, analysts and special guests for a free-ranging conversation on what makes government work – and how to fix it when it doesn’t. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.