logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
47m 54s

Back to school briefing: A whirlwind gui...

POLITICO
About this episode
As MPs return to parliament after the summer break, host Ailbhe Rea and an array of expert guests provide an essential briefing on everything that’s coming up in British politics over the next few months. The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls takes Ailbhe through Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s "not-a-reset" leadership reset, and explains No. 10's thinkin ... Show More
Up next
Feb 6
A handy guide to Labour regicide
After the most difficult week of Keir Starmer's premiership, with mounting speculation over how long he can last as Prime Minister, this week on Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker explores Labour's long and not-too-illustrious history of failed coups and botched insurrection ... Show More
39m 8s
Dec 19
2026: The year ahead in 40 minutes
As another year of political mayhem beckons, host Patrick Baker dusts off the crystal ball to see what’s in store in 2026, both in Westminster and around the world. POLITICO's Dan Bloom and Annabelle Dickson explain what's at stake at the crucial May elections in Scotland and Wal ... Show More
42m 11s
Dec 12
Spin, half-truth or deceit? How political lies really work
Surfball was supposed to be the sport of the next generation – but it instead it was a fiction created by Peter Mandelson. Lying in politics is nothing new, but after the budget, Rachel Reeves' extraordinary pitch-rolling was viewed by some as an outright lie and others as justif ... Show More
44m 42s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2022
What caused the turmoil in British politics?
After the resignation of Liz Truss the UK will soon have its third prime minister this year. Britain has long been considered a politically stable nation. So has something changed? The governing Conservative Party is divided on many issues, including the country’s future directio ... Show More
49m 11s
Oct 2023
Rishi Sunak’s conference speech – Politics Weekly UK podcast
Rishi Sunak has confirmed the Manchester leg of HS2 will be scrapped and replaced with transport projects in the Midlands and the north. But with the Conservative conference dominated this week by Priti Patel dancing with Nigel Farage, Liz Truss being treated like a rock star and ... Show More
38m 10s
Mar 2024
Will the economy save Sunak?
<p>The prime minister is urging his MPs to unite or face electoral defeat. Rishi Sunak has rallied backbenchers to hold their nerve, as he cleaves to the prospect of an improving economy rescuing the Tory party’s fortunes. But in a week where the government’s flagship Rwanda poli ... Show More
34m 54s
Oct 2023
Rishi Sunak’s ‘questionable radicalism’
<p>Rishi Sunak is pitching himself as the change candidate at the next election with a raft of policy shake-ups - but does the substance match the rhetoric? The FT’s Whitehall editor Lucy Fisher is joined by columnist Robert Shrimsley and political editor George Parker to discuss ... Show More
31m 52s
Oct 2022
Rishi Sunak becomes new UK PM
Conservative candidate Penny Mordaunt dropped out of the leadership race in the final minutes before nominations closed. Sunak will succeed Liz Truss seven weeks after she defeated him in the previous leadership contest. Also on the programme: we get the political reaction to the ... Show More
50 m
Jan 2024
Who’s behind the Tory plots?
<p>The FT’s Whitehall Editor Lucy Fisher is joined by the FT’s George Parker and Robert Shrimsley to lift the veil on the Tory party plots against the prime minister. As rightwingers prepare to launch the new Popular Conservatives (PopCons) group and the demand for a new directio ... Show More
31m 6s
Feb 2023
Northern Ireland: Rishi Sunak’s big test
<p>A deal to resolve the bitter dispute over post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland was due this week but the UK prime minister appears to have a fight on his hands to stop it unravelling as he faces opposition from Tory Eurosceptics and the Democratic Unionist party. Is Sunak fac ... Show More
23m 18s
Dec 2023
Tory turmoil: Sunak stumbles towards end of year
<p>As politicians and political hacks limp towards the end of a long year in Westminster, Lucy Fisher is joined by the FT’s Robert Shrimsley and Miranda Green to assess the turmoil engulfing Sunak’s Tory party. The PM has won an important battle, but faces more strife in the new ... Show More
27m 33s