I literally knew everything there was to know about opposition.

I was like an absolute max, premium expert.

And then, of course, I knew absolutely nothing about government. We knew it was going

to be the last meeting that Michael and I would have. And he gave me a list and said, here are the

things that I want you to implement. Hello and welcome to preparing for power, a special

inside briefing podcast brought to you by the Institute for Government.

The days, weeks and months ahead are going to be dominated by opinion polls and campaign slogans, policy pledges and manifesto launches.

But what about the morning after election night?

Whoever forms the next government will need to be prepared and the

job begins almost as soon as the votes have been counted. So what is it like to go

from opposition to government overnight? How do civil servants get ready for the

possibility of a transition of power or a hung parliament? And what is it like

for a governing party to continue in power after a brewing campaign?

Over the next six weeks, the Institute for Government will be taking you behind the scenes

to find out how our politicians, advisers and officials block out the noise of a general election

campaign to get ready for being in government. We'll be speaking to former ministers, special

advisors and senior civil servants to

discover how they prepared for that all-important election result and its aftermath, to hear their

secrets and to work out the lessons for 2024. I'm Catherine Haddon, program director at the

Institute for Government.

In this first episode, we'll be looking at Access Talks, the all-important discussions between the opposition and the civil service in the run-up to a general election.

Requested by the leader of the opposition, authorised by the Prime Minister.

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