What happens behind the scenes in Whitehall when power changes hands

Preparations must begin for a possible transition of power to a Labour government, says think tank

Keir Starmer
With a general election due in the next year, Keir Starmer's party has a 24-point lead in the polls
(Image credit: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

The Labour Party should immediately begin talks with the civil service to ensure a smooth transition of power should they win the next general election, according to a major think tank.

The Institute for Government (IfG) has warned that time is running out to prepare both the Labour Party and the civil service for a new government under Keir Starmer. Labour has an enormous 24-point lead in the polls, according to the latest YouGov figures.

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 Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.