Political Thinking with Nick Robinson

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury sits down with Nick to chart his rise to the heart of Starmer's government.How did a Bristol boy, whose parents sometimes went without meals to ensure he had food, end up at the Chancellor's side, in charge of the purse-strings of the government?Producer: Daniel Kraemer

How did Churchill's grandson end up at the top of British industry?Rupert Soames - Chair of the Confederation of British Industry - sits down with Nick Robinson to talk about this Labour government's first budget, which he claims did not offer enough "bang for the buck"Producer: Daniel Kraemer

What shaped the views and principles that Kemi Badenoch hopes will help her win the race to become next leader of the Conservative Party?Nick Robinson sits down with the former Business Secretary near the end of her party's leadership contest. Producer: Daniel Kraemer

The academic and author Matt Goodwin sat down with Nick Robinson in the aftermath of the riots that spread across the UK in the summer, to discuss whether there are 'legitimate grievences' that lay behind the violence, or just 'hate-fuelled mob violence sparked by misinformation.

The Israeli Ambassador sits down with Nick Robinson on the week of the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack. They discuss what lies behind her worldview, the mindset of Israelis and the actions of her government.

The First Minister of Scotland sits down with Nick to reflect on his reluctant path to power.Producer: Daniel Kraemer

The Health Secretary sits down with Nick Robinson at the end of the Labour conference in Liverpool.Wes Streeting reflects on how his family role-models led him to become a political fighter, rebukes those who criticise him for being too gloomy about the NHS, and reveals why an Oasis classic was his kareoke song of choice at the previous night's party.Producer: Daniel Kraemer

Mick Whelan is General Secretary of Aslef, the union representing train drivers. He sits down with Nick on the week that his members voted overwhelmingly to accept a pay offer, bringing to an end two years of strike action.Whelan reflects on growing up in working class West London and being one of a number of 2nd-generation Irish immigrants who have become union leaders in the UK. Producer: Daniel Kraemer

Why does the former Home Secretary believe he has 'outperformed everyone else on this leadership ticket by a country mile'? How did growing up as a mixed-race boy in London at the height of the National Front shape his politics? And what does the government need to do to improve integration in the UK?

The Chief Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court sits down with Nick Robinson.Producers: Daniel Kraemer and Jonathan Brunert

Nick Robinson talks to the new Work and Pensions secretary about being at the centre of the Labour government's first row, taking on the scourge of worklessness and how her 2-year-old son is a cure for stress.Producer: Daniel Kraemer

Robert Jenrick on what went wrong for the Conservative Party and how to turn it around

Nick Robinson talks to the man at the heart of the new Downing Street government.Producer: Daniel Kraemer

Bestselling author and columnist talks to Nick Robinson about why, after years of writing about women and girls, she decided to turn her attention to problems with boys and young men with her latest book "What About Men?"Producer: Daniel Kraemer

After a damning report into maternity services in England, the Health Secretary opens up about her own traumatic childbirth experience in the NHS.Victoria Atkins also speaks to Nick Robinson about a change of tone in dealings with doctors' unions, growing up as child of an MP and what she thought when Natalie Elphicke defected to Labour.

Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister talks to Nick Robinson.

Nigel Farage tells Nick Robinson that "timing is everything" when it comes to deciding whether to return to frontline politics. Fresh off the plane from Florida, Farage talks about what he can learn from - and how he can defend - Donald Trump, as well as islamophobia, Liz Truss, and what he would do if prime ministerProducer: Daniel Kraemer

One of the world's most influencial progressive economists outlines her pitch to leaders across the world - and Starmer's Labour Party - to focus on ambitious 'missions' that can transform society for the better.

The Deputy Chair of the British Medical Association Council talks to Nick Robinson ahead of the latest round of junior doctor strikes. She defends the pay demands set out by doctors, tells the story of a life of activism, and opens up about the horrors of working in Covid wards at the height of the pandemic.Producer: Daniel Kraemer

The Shadow Justice Secretary and Labour's most senior Muslim MP reflects on Gaza, her faith and campaigning for Rishi Sunak's "geek vote" when they were at universityProducer: Daniel Kraemer

Nick looks back at his 2021 conversation with the new First Minister of Northern Ireland

Nick Robinson sits down with the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the dining room of No11 Downing Street. They discuss living nextdoor to the Sunaks, how much headroom he will have at the budget, and who he would invite to his dream dinner party

Sir Tony Blair and Lord William Hague sit down with Nick Robinson to discuss their vision for a new "national purpose". They reflect on facing each other across the dispatch box 25 years ago and how to deal with an unstable worldProducer: Daniel Kraemer

The First Minister of Scotland sits down with Nick Robinson in Glasgow to reflect on his first ten months in power and how his family is dealing with the ongoing trauma of being caught up in the war in GazaProducer: Daniel Kraemer

The former Defence Secretary opens up about the impact of high-pressure government jobs on family relations and tells the behind-the-scenes story of the lead-up to the Ukraine War and his take on the “poison” in British politics.

Nick Robinson sits down with the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, to discuss multiculturalism, transgender rights and challenging the UK government on its asylum policies.

Nick Robinson sits down with the Levelling Up Secretary for an in-depth conversation about what lies behind his drive for reform, having first joined the cabinet 13 years ago. They also reflect on community tensions in the UK as a result of war in the Middle East, what the Home Secretary has said about protests, and what Nadine Dorries has written about himProducer: Daniel Kraemer

Labour's campaign chief talks to Nick Robinson about how to deal with divisions with in the party, communities and families on events in the middle east. And how has he become the "great survivor" of the party, from working as Tony Blair's backroom fixer in the 90s to running Labour's election campaign?

The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology talks to Nick Robinson about the UK's AI summit and how the world can balance protection against AI's dangers and harnessing it for good. Producer: Daniel Kraemer

Poland's former foreign minister talks to Nick Robinson about his journey from rebelling against communist rule as a child, living in exile in the UK, being a leading diplomat, and his party on the brink of returning to power after 8 years

The Schools Minister tells Nick Robinson how his single-minded curriculum reform has kept him in his job for 10 of the last 13 years, and how his sexuality might have limited his career prospectsProducer: Daniel Kraemer

The co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, now behind the scenes in Just Stop Oil, challenges Nick Robinson to emotionally engage with the reality of climate change and take a stand against global inaction

The Leader of the Opposition sets out his vision for getting Labour back into governmentProducer: Daniel Kraemer

The Liberal Democrat leader talks to Nick Robinson about caring for his disabled son, the value of coalitions in politics and why the prime minister's net zero strategy 'hands the future to China'Producer: Daniel Kraemer

Nick Robinson talks to former prime minister Theresa May about why she wants to call out abuses of power, what went wrong after Brexit and growing up as a vicar's daughter.Producer: Daniel Kraemer

Nick Robinson talks to the boss of the TUC ahead of hosting his first Congress in his hometown of Liverpool, what it was like working with ministers during Covid and why we need a national conversation on tax

Nick Robinson has a conversation with, not an interrogation of, the people who shape our political thinking about what shaped theirs.

The Science minister talks to Nick Robinson about how his troubled childhood instilled conservative values from a young age and the challenge of dealing with buccaneering tech billionaires

Lord Daniel Finkelstein talks to Nick Robinson about what it is like preparing Conservative leaders for PMQs and how having two refugee parents shaped his politics of 'moderation'

Baroness Louise Casey has become one of the most influencial non-politicians in the UK. She tells Nick Robinson why it all started with a passion for homelessness and what might be next on her list.

How does a politician with the reading age of an 8-year-old operate as a Shadow Cabinet member?

The former Undertones frontman tells Nick how his youth in Derry during the Troubles led him to becoming one of the most prominent environmental campaigners in Britain today.

The SNP's Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, on what he will demand in the event of a hung Parliament, and how living with a disability shaped his politics.

Penny Mordaunt reveals the secret to holding that sword throughout the Coronation, whether she’s planning another tilt at the Conservative leadership and being PM, and why culture wars may not be such a good idea for her party.

In the week the government introduced tough, controversial new rules on stopping illegal immigrants entering the UK, Nick Robinson talks to the home secretary, Suella Braverman, about her father's journey to Britain while fleeing persecution in Kenya, how her mum's admiration for Margaret Thatcher introduced her to the Conservative Party and how she, as the wife of a Jewish man, feels when people compare her policies with those of 1930s Germany.

Nick Robinson talks to the Conservative Party's deputy chairman, Lee Anderson, about following his father's lead in becoming a miner, how he went from admiring Tony Benn and Arthur Scargill to being deputy chairman of the Conservatives and whether his new job is forcing him to be more diplomatic when talking about issues such as migration and poverty.

Nick Robinson talks to the housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa about his own experience of poor social housing and his father's death, how he harnessed the power of social media to become a powerful voice in Westminster and whether he fancies a go at elected politics himself.

Nick Robinson talks to the shadow justice secretary, Steve Reed, about why the collapse of a factory that employed most of his family led to him joining the Labour Party, how being mugged at knifepoint helped inform his new approach to antisocial behaviour and why he thinks the parentsof young offenders should be sent to mandatory parenting classes.

Nick Robinson talks to the influential lobbyist and new chair of Stonewall, Iain Anderson, about how the case of Isla Bryson has brought gender politics to the top of the news agenda and how he thinks the heat can be taken out of the debate. Anderson, a lifelong Conservative who founded the lobbying firm Cicero and ran Ken Clarke's leadership campaigns, talks candidly about why he's now moving away from his political roots.

Nick Robinson talks to the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, Mary Bousted, about how her headteacher father inspired a passion for education, why she quit her job as an English teacher and whether, in a week of widespread teacher strikes, she can see the current crisis coming to an end anytime soon.