The Rundown by PoliticsHome

How do ministers reform public services?

This week's episode looks at public service reform, how important ministerial leadership is in driving Whitehall transformation, and what this government can learn from those who successfully executed their vision.Joining host Alain Tolhurst to discuss why driving change is often so difficult is Dr Rebecca McKee, senior researcher at the Institute for Government, and lead author of a new paper on the role of ministers in public sector reform, along with Charlotte Pickles, chief executive at the Re:State think tank and a former special adviser to Iain Duncan Smith at the Department for Work and Pensions, and Baroness Simone Finn, Conservative peer and a former Downing Street deputy chief of staff, as well as the founder and co-chair of Francis Maude Associates, having worked as a special adviser in the Cabinet Office during the coalition government.To sign up for our newsletters click herePresented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

The big May elections preview pod

With Parliament now in its Easter recess, focus switches to a very large and very crucial set of elections across the UK next month, with 130 councils in England as well as the Scottish and Welsh Parliament up for grabs.May 7 will likely be the most consequential day in British politics since the last general election, with the results key in deciding not just who ends up governing us, but for the future political direction of this country too.Joining host Alain Tolhurst to look at issues including Labour’s potential collapse in key strongholds in the face of a resurgence by nationalist parties and the continued rise of Reform, if the Greens can maintain their momentum and can the Tories show any signs of life, is the journalist and author Will Hayward, who writes an award-winning newsletter on Wales and Welsh politics. Alongside him is Louise Wilson, political editor of Holyrood magazine, our sister title covering the Parliament up in Scotland, as well as the Liberal Democrat MP Will Forster, and Dr Stephanie Luke, Lecturer in Politics at Cardiff University.To sign up for our newsletters click herePresented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

New towns on the horizon

After the housing secretary Steve Reed announced plans for the creation of seven new towns in England, The Rundown this week looks at how the government is tackling this country’s housing crisis, and how it is getting on in meeting its supremely ambitious target of building 1.5 million new homes in this Parliament.Host Alain Tolhurst caught up with housing minister Matthew Pennycook to discuss how important new towns are to his department’s aims, and their wider economic benefits and creation of a new sense of place, or if they are a distraction in trying to hit the numbers of houses that communities are crying out for.Later in the episode a fantastic panel discusses a whole host of issues around these proposed settlements, featuring the Labour MP Sean Woodcock, who sits on the housing select committee, alongside Vicky Spratt, housing and society correspondent the i newspaper, Professor Susan Parham, head of urbanism and planning and director of the University of Hertfordshire Urbanism Unit, and Rico Wojtulewicz, head of policy and market insight at the National Federation of Builders.To sign up for our newsletters click herePresented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Sajid Javid on racism, Britishness and social cohesion

This week The Rundown is breaking with the usual format and host Alain Tolhurst and producer Ewan head out of Westminster to meet with someone who was secretary of state in six different departments, including two of the great offices of state, during a decade-long ministerial career serving three Conservative Prime Ministers, before stepping down as an MP in 2024.Those listeners of a more anorak nature will have already worked out that person is Sajid Javid, who has a new book out called The Colour of Home, about his life growing up in 1970s Britain, the racism he and his family faced, and how he left a childhood of poverty behind to end up at the heart of British politics, and how his story maps onto the big social changes this country has gone through in the past few decades.In his office in St James’s in central London during a fascinating chat he spoke about what he learned writing his memoir, the state of race relations and social cohesion in 2026, and the travails of the Tory party now it’s out of office.To sign up for our newsletters click hereThis year's Women in Westminster: The 100 is out for 2026. Supported by Lloyds Banking Group, it is a celebration recognising the outstanding achievements of women and the vital role they play in shaping public life. Click here to see who has made this year's listPresented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Can ministers prevent an energy bill crisis?

This week, with the conflict in the Middle East showing no signs of abating, host Alain Tolhurst takes a look at what impact it might have on the UK, with everything from energy bills to government debt and mortgage rates potentially affected by the spike in oil prices, stock market downturns and global uncertainty.He's joined by Labour MP Bill Esterson, chair of the Commons energy security and net zero committee, to discuss what support ministers might give to mitigate rises in petrol prices and gas and electricity bills, and the politics of government intervention.Alongside him is Paul Johnson, provost of Queen’s College, Oxford and a Senior Advisor at Frontier Economics, along with Niamh O Regan, Senior Researcher at think tank the Social Market Foundation, and Dr Simon Cran-McGreehin, Head of Analysis at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit. To sign up for our newsletters click hereThis year's Women in Westminster: The 100 is out for 2026. Supported by Lloyds Banking Group, it is a celebration recognising the outstanding achievements of women and the vital role they play in shaping public life. Click here to see who has made this year's listPresented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot