As Andy Burnham enters Downing Street, he needs to find the financial headroom to fund his ambitious agenda. But what are the policy cul-de-sacs that Burnham should avoid - ideas for revenue raising, cost cutting that might seem easy or tempting but which are likely to fail or trip up a new government?

In this special deep-dive from the Policy Fix, Nesta's policy podcast, Nesta CEO Ravi Gurumurthy sits down with some of the country’s leading experts on policy and government. Rather than just rehearsing the problems facing Burnham, they'll stress-test the big ideas that should shape his agenda, discuss the policy solutions he should actually pursue, and map out the steps he should take to get started in his first 100 days.

In this episode, Ravi is joined by Nesta's chief economist, Tim Leunig, to explore where a new government should look for funding- and where it shouldn't.

Together, they challenge some of the most common ideas for raising tax revenue and instead explore practical, evidence-led reforms that could raise revenue, improve public services and boost long-term economic growth.

The conversation covers closing the tax gap through stronger enforcement, modernising VAT, reforming disability assessments and making targeted investments in education, transport infrastructure and AI-enabled public services.

Our duo set out a pragmatic roadmap for a new government’s first 100 days, exploring where not to look for money, how to avoid tempting policy traps and where to focus to lay the foundations for genuine economic growth.

Watch the full episode on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

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Tim Leunig, chief economist, Nesta

Tim is chief economist at Nesta. Tim Leunig served as a senior UK government adviser for a decade, including as an economic adviser to two chancellors, senior policy adviser to six other cabinet ministers, and chief analyst and chief scientific adviser to the Department for Education. He invented the UK’s furlough scheme, the National Funding Formula for England’s schools, and Progress 8, the method for evaluating secondary schools. In autumn 2023, he was the prime minister’s education adviser. He has taught at the London School of Economics for 25 years and is a multiple international prize-winning economist. He is also a director of economics at Public First.

Ravi Gurumurthy, group chief executive officer, Nesta

Ravi Gurumurthy is group chief executive officer, joining Nesta as chief executive in December 2019. Nesta’s mission is to design, test and scale solutions to society's biggest challenges, from sustainability and health to educational inequality.

Ravi also leads the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), often known as the ‘Nudge Unit’. BIT has grown from a small team in No 10 Downing Street to a 250-person global social purpose consultancy and a subsidiary of Nesta.

Prior to joining Nesta, Ravi co-founded and led the Airbel Innovation Lab at the International Rescue Committee. He was responsible for designing new products and services for people affected by crises in over 40 countries.

Ravi worked in the UK government from 1999 to 2013. He was an adviser and speechwriter to Foreign Secretary David Miliband, leading the creation of Every Child Matters and the Children Act 2004, and the world’s first legally binding climate legislation.

Ravi has held a number of non-executive roles, including lead non-executive director for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.