logo
episode-header-image
May 2
1h 4m

Local Electioncast: The Results! (Part 1...

BBC News
About this episode

Today, Reform have won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election by just six votes - one of the closest parliamentary elections ever. Sarah Pochin overturned Labour's large majority to become Reform's fifth MP after a recount.

Elsewhere, Reform wins its first mayoral election in Greater Lincolnshire, and Labour narrowly holds three mayoral races in North Tyneside, the West of England, and Doncaster - with Reform second in all three.

This is still an emerging picture, with plenty more results to come.

Adam is joined by Chris Mason, Laura Kuenssberg - as well as Richard Fuller from the Conservatives, Luke Pollard from Labour, Adrian Ramsay from the Greens and Daisy Cooper from the Lib Dems.

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://discord.gg/m3YPUGv9

New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bit.ly/3ENLcS1 Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Alix Pickles. The technical producer was Philip Bull. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Up next
Today
Episode 2 - Old Newscast: The Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm, 1991 (Part 2)
On the 24 February 1991 The ground operation in Kuwait begun. After 6 weeks of decisive air offenses, allied forces moved in with the mission to expel what was left of Saddam Hussein’s military presence in Kuwait.Adam is joined again by three BBC reporters who were in the region ... Show More
28m 32s
Yesterday
Episode 1 - Old Newscast: The Gulf War, Operation Desert Storm, 1991 (Part 1)
On the 17th January 1991, a US led coalition began its air offensive into neighbouring Kuwait, which had been invaded the year before by the Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein. Codenamed operation ‘Desert Storm’, it marked the defining chapter of the first Gulf War - a conflict which h ... Show More
28m 20s
Aug 22
The Government Prepares To Fight Asylum Hotel Ruling
Today, we discuss the government seeking the right to appeal against a High Court ruling blocking a hotel in Essex from housing asylum seekers.Epping Forest District Council was granted a temporary injunction to stop people being placed at the Bell Hotel earlier this week. The Ho ... Show More
28m 59s
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2024
The Today Podcast: Live!
Hundreds of our listeners assembled in the BBC Radio Theatre for the first ever live recording of The Today Podcast!Nick and Amol were joined on stage by a panel of experts: former Labour deputy prime minister Lord Mandelson; Fiona Hill, Theresa May’s former chief of staff in Dow ... Show More
59m 14s
Apr 2025
Farage’s hopes for a Reform storm
Nigel Farage is throwing the kitchen sink at Labour and he’s not being subtle about it. As Reform UK ramps up its local election efforts, Farage is fielding candidates in councils up and down the country. But the real showdown is in Runcorn and Helsby, where Reform is plotting a ... Show More
30m 9s
Jun 2024
Will Reform throw a brick in the Tories' red wall?
In 2019, Boris Johnson’s Conservatives upended decades’ of traditional voting behaviour, as lifelong Labour seats in the north and midlands fell to the Tories. But with Brexit delivered and Johnson gone, the Tories are being challenged from the right by a resurgent Reform, as Luk ... Show More
25m 54s
May 2
Local elections special: end of the two-party duopoly?
This week, we’ve seen Reform UK trounce Labour and the Conservatives across England in local elections. Nigel Farage’s party has secured a fifth MP, clinched two mayorships and seized control of at least seven councils.In response, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is vowing to go ... Show More
35m 28s
Jul 2024
86. Nick Clegg: Coalition, Cameron, and Chaos (Part 1)
What closed-doors conversations led to the 2010 coalition? What were the coalition years like? How did it all go wrong for the Liberal Democrats in 2015? Rory and Alastair are joined by Nick Clegg to discuss all this and more. If you'd like to hear the second episode RIGHT NOW, i ... Show More
1 h
Jul 2024
UK Election: What the Media Isn't Telling You
In this episode, Mehdi and Owen Jones met up in London this week to debrief the significant UK election results - and to vent about all the things the media hasn’t been covering about it. Owen explains how Labour won “a Jenga landslide" but what does that mean going forward? And ... Show More
34m 23s
Jul 2024
French election: Political deadlock as the left beats far right
Many expected the far right to win France's snap election, but not only did they lose, they came in third. Instead, it was a left-wing coalition that won the most seats in the French Parliament. But, with no party securing an outright majority, the country’s political future is s ... Show More
26m 30s
Oct 2024
WTF just happened in the Tory race?!
It's very rare you see the News Agents speechless. But today is one of those rare moments. James Cleverly, Tory MPs favourite as of yesterday has just been knocked out of the leaders race by Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick. You can hear from our voices, that we spend the entire ... Show More
24m 18s
Jun 2024
Election 24 Special, Ep 1
Here we go! Matt's attempt to interview a candidate in every constituency begins with four candidates: Dave Rowntree, Labour, Mid SussesHitchin: Bim Afolami, Conservative, HitchinJess Asato, Labour, LowestoftSara Gezdari, Conservative, Richmond and North Kingston 646 left to go.. ... Show More
1h 8m
Oct 2024
Badenoch vs Jenrick: the battle for the soul of the Tory party
The Tory party are down to the final two in another long contest for leader. It's an unusual contest with both Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick coming from the right of the party. So, who are they? What do they believe? And how would they shape the Conservative Party after the wo ... Show More
39m 52s