Highlights: #216 – Ian Dunt on why governments in Britain and elsewhere can’t get anything done – and how to fix it

Highlights: #216 – Ian Dunt on why governments in Britain and elsewhere can’t get anything done – and how to fix it

Author: The 80,000 Hours team May 27, 2025 Duration: 30:56

When you have a system where ministers almost never understand their portfolios, civil servants change jobs every few months, and MPs don’t grasp parliamentary procedure even after decades in office — is the problem the people, or the structure they work in?

Political journalist Ian Dunt studies the systemic reasons governments succeed and fail. And in his book How Westminster Works …and Why It Doesn’t, he argues that Britain’s government dysfunction and multi-decade failure to solve its key problems stems primarily from bad incentives and bad processes.

These highlights are from episode #216 of The 80,000 Hours Podcast: Ian Dunt on why governments in Britain and elsewhere can’t get anything done – and how to fix it, and include:

  • Rob's intro (00:00:00)
  • The UK is governed from a tiny cramped house (00:00:08)
  • Replacing political distractions with departmental organisation (00:02:58)
  • The profoundly dangerous development of "delegated legislation" (00:06:42)
  • Do more independent-minded legislatures actually lead to better outcomes? (00:09:08)
  • MPs waste much of their time helping constituents with random complaints (00:12:50)
  • How to keep expert civil servants (00:15:44)
  • Unlikely heroes in the House of Lords (00:18:33)
  • Proportional representation and other alternatives to first-past-the-post (00:22:02)

These aren't necessarily the most important or even most entertaining parts of the interview — so if you enjoy this, we strongly recommend checking out the full episode!

And if you're finding these highlights episodes valuable, please let us know by emailing podcast@80000hours.org.

Highlights put together by Ben Cordell, Milo McGuire, and Dominic Armstrong


From the team behind 80,000 Hours comes 80k After Hours, a companion podcast that ventures beyond the main feed's structured career advice. Here, the researchers and producers gather for more informal, wide-ranging conversations that reflect their ongoing curiosities. You'll hear discussions that dig into the nuances of effective altruism, grapple with complex ideas in philosophy and policy, and explore unexpected topics in culture and science-all through the lens of how we might better understand and improve the world. The tone is conversational and exploratory, often feeling like you're listening in on a lively lunch debate among experts who don't take themselves too seriously. While the core mission of finding impactful ways to do good remains, this podcast allows for the tangents, personal reflections, and deeper dives that don't always fit a standard format. It’s a space for the team to think out loud, test arguments, and share the interesting, sometimes quirky, material they're engaging with in their own work. For listeners of the main show, it offers valuable background and new perspectives; for newcomers, it provides an accessible entry point into a community of ideas focused on practical problem-solving and self improvement. Tune in for a blend of thoughtful documentary-style analysis, societal deep dives, and candid chats that aim to be both intellectually substantive and genuinely enjoyable.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

80k After Hours
Podcast Episodes
Actually After Hours #3: Finding the Tail with Dwarkesh Patel [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:35:27
Matt Reardon, Arden Koehler, and Huon Porteous sit down with Dwarkesh Patel to find out how you become a world-famous (among tech intellectuals) podcast host at 23. We also discuss how 80k would have advised 21-year-old…
Robert Wright & Rob Wiblin on the truth about effective altruism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:08:00
This is a cross-post of an interview Rob Wiblin did on Robert Wright's Nonzero podcast in January 2024. You can get access to full episodes of that show by subscribing to the Nonzero Newsletter. They talk about Sam Bankm…
Actually After Hours #2: Coming to America with Joel Becker [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:46
You can check out the video version of this episode on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFEb8ICWJQQIn this episode of our new podcast project, Matt Reardon, Bella Forristal, and Arden Koehler sit down with Joel…