For too long, government hasn't worked the way it should. No, that isn't the

RFG's new strapline. Those were the words of Darren Jones, the minister charged with

leading reform of the government machine and delivering the prime minister's desire to rewire the state.

I'm Hannah White, and this is Inside Briefing, the podcast from the Institute for Government.

In a week when Donald Trump has been escalating his threats to NATO member states over Greenland,

don't worry, we'll come to that later, Darren Jones was on the home front, ensuring

that the government's desire to transform government was also continuing.

So, what is the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister planning? Is it enough to meet the challenges he's identified?

And what will they need to do to actually see change? We'll get stuck into the latest government reform plans, joined by someone who has been there and done that

job. And of course, it is still 26. It is still January, so Donald Trump is still dominating

all other news. We will discuss the latest challenges he's thrown at the UK government and reflect

on what they mean for UK-US relations, the Starma approach to Trump diplomacy, and what we learned

at a special event we held this week reflecting on the president's first year back in office.

Joining me to pick apart these not inconsiderably significant topics, our executive director,

Alex Thomas.

Hi, Alex.

Hello, Hannah.

And Hannah Keene, an associate director for our civil service team.

Hello, Hannah. Hi, Hannah. And we are extremely pleased to be joined by someone who knows better

than anyone the challenges of leading large-scale reform of how government works. That's Francis Maud,

Baron Maud of Horsham, Minister for the Cabinet Office between 2010 and 2015. Welcome, Francis. Thank you. Good to be with you.

Okay, let's begin by delving into Darren Jones's speech and the reforms that he is proposing.

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