Episodes

  • Will Labour's leadership hopefuls grapple with the UK's real problems?

    Will Labour's leadership hopefuls grapple with the UK's real problems?
    May 20 2026
    As new revelations about the cost and delays to HS2 stun Westminster, the team debates our failures to build. And as the Burnham and Streeting teams gear up for a fight the other side of Makerfield, will the face off deliver substantive plans? Plus: John Swinney is going on. The SNP government is going on.

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    40 mins
  • Will Andy Burnham make it to Downing Street?

    Will Andy Burnham make it to Downing Street?
    May 16 2026
    After a crazy week, in this weekend edition the team takes stock of how we got to a full blown leadership crisis in Labour. Will the most dangerous challenger make it in Makerfield's by-election? Do the explosive set of results from May 7 contain a wider warning than Reform's march across the North West? And perhaps Brenda from Bristol should brace for yet another one. Plus: politics and vitriol.

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    55 mins
  • Why do British prime ministers have such a short shelf-life?

    Why do British prime ministers have such a short shelf-life?
    May 13 2026
    Reunited in the studio to compare notes in the middle of Starmer's leadership crisis, the team ask what has gone wrong in less than two years. Is this story of disenchantment a uniquely Labour one? Is it all about the electoral pressures on the party, Starmer’s mistakes, or has the UK developed an allergy to incumbents? Plus: Gordon Brown's surprise comeback under the spotlight.

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    54 mins
  • What is behind the UK's transformed electoral landscape?

    What is behind the UK's transformed electoral landscape?
    May 4 2026
    With a few reminiscences of past elections thrown in, the team debate a fractured voting public in the run up to May 7th. Are we a UK of "fed-up-niks" and does malaise spring from economics? How intense is the political fervour to left and right? Plus: the hard-to-decipher polling in Scotland.

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    47 mins
  • Are prime ministers too dependent on their top advisers?

    Are prime ministers too dependent on their top advisers?
    Apr 29 2026
    After Morgan McSweeney’s first public appearance - in front of the Foreign Affairs committee - we explore the dependence of some prime ministers on their chiefs of staff. Why do they make themselves dependent even when the dependency can lead towards their doom? Plus, did McSweeney emerge as a more complex figure than his caricature and where does this all leave Starmer?

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    50 mins
  • Will the Mandelson saga do for Starmer's premiership?

    Will the Mandelson saga do for Starmer's premiership?
    Apr 21 2026

    After high drama at Westminster, the team debate the low politics that seem to bedevil decision-making at the heart of the government. Has the PM's famous ruthlessness backfired? And how vulnerable is he to a potential challenge after the May 7 elections? Might Scotland provide a twist?


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    50 mins
  • Is Britain in peril because of Starmer’s complacency on defence spending?’

    Is Britain in peril because of Starmer’s complacency on defence spending?’
    Apr 16 2026

    The former NATO Secretary General and Labour peer, George Robertson , has accused Keir Starmer of being complacent in relation to defence, arguing Britain’s national security and safety are in “peril”. Is he right? Plus, Reform and the local elections.


    Warning: apologies for the sound quality on Iain’s recording. Do not be alarmed. He sounds ill but that is the result of a problem with the microphone. Please enjoy the rest of the episode and normal service resumes next week.

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    44 mins
  • Has UK politics become too tribal?

    Has UK politics become too tribal?
    Apr 8 2026
    With elections looming in which a dramatically different set of electoral competitions will play out, the team debates whether we are in an age of uber partisanship. When does party loyalty tip into something destructive? And will Tim's rare foray into predictions work out?

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    45 mins