The Expert Factor

May 03 2024 99
The Expert Factor Podcast artwork

The EXPERT FACTOR is the podcast for people who haven’t had enough of experts. Each week the directors of three leading and respected think tanks – Paul Johnson of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Hannah White of the Institute for Government, and Anand Menon of UK in a Changing Europe – get together to discuss, debate and explain the big questions and themes that will shape the upcoming General Election, and the political landscape for years to come.

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Why should voters care about the government’s industrial strategy?

May 03 2024 36 mins  
The general election campaign will probably be all about immigration, the economy, jobs and the NHS, but an industrial strategy – or not, if there isn’t one – could be critical to the future of this country. But what exactly is an industrial strategy? And why should voters pay attention to whether the government has one – and what Labour might do differently? Hannah and Pau

Is there a better way to pay for the NHS?

Apr 26 2024 32 mins  
The NHS is front and centre of a general election campaign. Rishi Sunak has placed the NHS at the heart of the five pledges he wants to voters to judge him on, while Keir Starmer has made NHS reform one of the five missions which he says would drive a Labour government. But money is tight, and performance levels are poor. That familiar subject of how to reform the NHS is surfacing

What is behind the UK’s asylum policy?

Apr 18 2024 29 mins  
‘Stopping the boats’ was one of Rishi Sunak’s five priorities at the start of 2023. The numbers, and the visuals, of small boats arriving on the UK’s southern coast is an issue long seized upon by Nigel Farage and the Reform Party that has, to some extent, spooked both the Conservatives and Labour. And it is a policy problem that has caused massive headaches for the finest

Will 2024 be the year of (more) populism?

Apr 12 2024 36 mins  
With elections being held in the UK, India, the US, Austria, Belgium and for the European Parliament, 2024 is going to be a huge year for politics, politicians and political parties. But could it also be another big year for populists? In recent years populist parties of the right and left have exploited anger towards the political elite, a loss of trusts in governments, and growin

Biden v Trump: What is at stake in the 2024 US presidential election?

Apr 05 2024 41 mins  
On 5 November 2024, up to 161 million American voters will go to the polls to vote for the next president of the United States – and will be faced with a choice between the same two candidates that stood in 2020. Joe Biden, the incumbent, will again face Donald Trump – the former president who lost to Biden in 2020. But polling suggests many voters are less than enthused by the

What would a hung parliament mean for the UK?

Mar 22 2024 37 mins  
Take a look at the polls and you might be forgiven for thinking that the next general election is heading towards one outcome and one outcome only. But that election could be months away – even next year, and a week, let alone a month, is a long time in politics. Keir Starmer keeps reminding his party not to be complacent, and Peter Mandelson has even predicted that the next elec

What is wrong with the centre of government?

Mar 22 2024 32 mins  
A major new report by the Institute for Government says the centre of government – No10, the Treasury and the Cabinet Office – is not capable of meeting the challenges that the UK faces in the 21st century. So what has been going wrong? How has No.10 failed prime ministers from different parties over the last two decades? What does the Cabinet Office actually do, and why has it

Is politically divisive language getting worse?

Mar 08 2024 25 mins  
Politics is not for the faint hearted, but it feels like we’re witnessing an outbreak of increasingly divisive language. Lee Anderson has been suspended as a Conservative MP. Suella Braverman’s interventions divide opinion. The Labour Party – no stranger to running into controversy over its politicians or party members – has endured a particularly difficult time in the buil

What will be in Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget?

Mar 01 2024 31 mins  
Jeremy Hunt will reveal his 2024 Spring Budget on Wednesday March 6th. So what can we expect from the chancellor? Has the fiscal situation improved – or worsened – over the last few months? Are tax cuts really plausible given the state of public service performance? How will Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves respond? Will this be the last budget before the general elec

What does an era of global instability mean for the UK?

Feb 23 2024 32 mins  
On the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Expert Factor team assemble to examine what an era of global instability means for the UK, for our government and for British politics. What would the return of Donald Trump to the White House mean for whoever wins the general election? How is the conflict in the Middle East impacting British politics – and the deci