A matter of life and debt

Beyond Brexit, the government begins the colossal task of sorting out UK-EU commerce, a US-UK trade deal… and maybe trade within the UK itself. Former DExEU permanent secretary Philip Rycroft sets out the scale of the job.  Universal Credit: is it too late to stop now? Senior IfG Fellow and author of The Five Giants: A Biography Of The Welfare State Nicholas Timmins spells out what’s needed to save Iain Duncan Smith’s unloved legacy policy, including the brutal business of recovering £10bn social security debt from people who don’t know they owe it. And the Lib Dems’ Norman Lamb gives us some lessons learned during the party’s bruising experience into coalition.  “Talking about a free trade deal is a bit of a misnomer. It’s about having less free trade than we have and mitigating the effects” – Philip Rycroft Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Joe Owen 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