Test Botch Special

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

Institute for Government

News, Politics, Government

4.6 • 252 Ratings

🗓️ 18 September 2020

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What has gone so wrong with the Government’s “world-beating” COVID response? After a summer of confusion, can the “moonshot” get the Government’s pandemic policy back on course, or is it just more spin? And can its audacious Internal Market Bill make it through the Commons and Lords without being amended out of all recognition? Special guest Anoosh Chakelian of the New Statesman joins us to discuss Boris Johnson’s two biggest headaches. “From the start this Government has been putting spin and rhetoric before levelling with the public.” – Anoosh Chakelian “If Boris Johnson is having deep conversations with MPs in the tea room, you know they’re spooked.” – Anoosh Chakelian Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Jess Sargeant, Tom Pope and Alex Thomas. Audio production by Alex Rees See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Inside Briefing, the podcast from the Institute for Government.
0:14.6	I'm Bronwyn Maddox.
0:16.2	Broken promises on COVID testing, threats to break international law,
0:20.1	the government is under increasing
0:21.2	pressure over its handling of the coronavirus crisis and the dramatic twist that it has injected
0:26.0	into the Brexit talks. We're going to look at why the government's world beating, its words,
0:31.0	coronavirus testing system is running into difficulties and ask what's going wrong and who is to blame.
0:36.2	The UK Internal Market Bill, that's the controversial piece of legislation which could, if
0:40.8	passed, see the UK break international law.
0:43.5	That's making its way through Parliament.
0:45.5	We're going to update you on its progress and the rows that are certainly going to come.
0:49.7	Joining me in the virtual studio today is the IFGs Alex, Alex Thomas, who leads our civil
0:53.3	service work.
0:54.0	Hi, Alex. Hi Alex.
0:54.8	Hi, I'm Bromynne. Jess Sargent's with us. She's a senior researcher on a Brexit team. Hi, Jess.
0:59.4	Hello. And I'm delighted to be joined to by Anish Chicalian, the Britain editor at the new
1:04.1	statesman. Hi, Anush. Hiya. Thank you for joining us on what is a busy day. Let's get going. Testing was meant to be the answer,
1:11.7	at least until the vaccine arrives, to getting the country moving again after the lockdown.
1:16.3	In the words of the health secretary, Matt Hancock, just a few months ago, if in doubt,
1:20.7	get a test because that is the most important thing people can do to help control the virus
1:25.8	across the country. He now admits that the testing system
1:29.4	faces an enormous challenge after a sharp rise in people seeking those tests. So Alex,
	...

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