The State of It

Inside the negotiations between the government and the doctors' union, the BMA. Why is Keir Starmer putting himself front and centre of this rather than leaving it to his health secretary, Wes Streeting?Even though the Green Party's spring conference this weekend descended into chaotic rows, their leader Zack Polanski has a plan to win over the unions, and it might just work. We have some exclusive words from him. Scoop: what exactly is going wrong with the small boats talks between Britain and France?Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday TimesLara Spirit, deputy political editor, The Sunday TimesProducers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry KitsonExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessPicture credit: Getty ImagesEmail us: [email protected] podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We reveal what happened when Morgan McSweeney lost his phone, and what it means for the Mandelson files. As Angela Rayner looks like she's preparing to challenge Keir Starmer, other senior Labour MPs are jostling for position.What is the government willing and able to do to help in the Strait of Hormuz? Spoiler: not much.And as the questions about Britain's economy and place in the world get harder, are fewer Labour politicians interested in asking, let alone answering, them?Steven Swinford, political editor, The TimesPatrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The TimesGabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday TimesProducers: Euan Dawtrey, Harry KitsonExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessPicture credit: Getty ImagesEmail us: [email protected] podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EXCLUSIVE: how the British government could intervene in the Strait of Hormuz. Is falling out with Donald Trump politically helpful for Keir Starmer?What is the government likely to do about energy bills?Angela Rayner is back and she's trying to reassure the City that everything would be fine if she were PM.Steven Swinford, political editor, The TimesPatrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The TimesGabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday TimesProducer: Euan DawtreyExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessPicture credit: Getty ImagesEmail us: [email protected] podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does Keir Starmer do all day? Who is now pulling the strings in Downing Street? And why is it all going so wrong? Patrick Maguire and Gabriel Pogrund speak to Hugo Rifkind about their updated edition of their book, Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer. Hugo Rifkind, presenter, Times Radio and How To Win An ElectionPatrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The TimesGabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday TimesPicture credit: Russel HernemanEmail us: [email protected]+ members can buy it here with a 20% discount https://timesbookshop.co.ukThis podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keir Starmer is being accused of misleading MPs over his appointment of Lord Mandelson as US ambassador. How bad is it for the prime minister? Steven Swinford, political editor, The TimesPatrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The TimesGabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday TimesProducer: Euan DawtreyExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessPicture credit: Getty ImagesEmail us: [email protected] podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While Keir Starmer may get some credit with the public for his response to the war in Iran, he's still stuck with its consequences: rising prices just when he'd said he was going to cut the cost of living. Meanwhile has Reform UK's response compromised its ability to campaign on the cost of living? Also, who is now wielding the power in Number 10?Steven Swinford, political editor, The TimesPatrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The TimesGabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday TimesProducer: Euan DawtreyExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessPicture credit: Getty ImagesEmail us: [email protected] podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We take you inside the Iran discussions in Number 10. What do they reveal about Keir Starmer's thinking and about Labour's electoral predicament?And as polling suggests that two parties with 2% of MPs command 44% of the vote, does Labour have a coherent argument to coax voters away from the Green Party and Reform UK? Steven Swinford, political editor, The TimesPatrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The TimesProducer: Euan DawtreyExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessPicture credit: Getty ImagesEmail us: [email protected] podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The end of Britain’s political duopoly now looks complete, as Labour suffers a catastrophic by-election defeat to the Greens in Gorton and Denton. Reform comes second, while the Tories lose their deposit with just 2% of the vote. Keir Starmer is now a prisoner of the left, and Britain is undergoing a tectonic realignment of its electoral politics.Steven Swinford, political editor, The TimesPatrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The TimesGabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday TimesProducer: Euan DawtreyExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessPicture credit: Getty ImagesEmail us: [email protected] podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join Caroline as she visits Ukraine on the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion. Burner phones to make sure the Russians don't track them as they travel in on a train called the Bravery Express. A meeting with the first lady, and with a woman who was captured and held in a forced labour camp. Kyiv is a busy, modern city where some residents have to find tents to get heating and electricity.Caroline Wheeler, political editor, The Sunday TimesProducer: Euan DawtreyExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessPicture credit: Getty ImagesEmail us: [email protected] podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three separate scandals have raised serious questions over Keir Starmer's judgement. It's empowered Labour MPs who were once written off as cranks. And with many files still to come out, the questions will keep on coming.Meanwhile, the PM is selling the idea that the Gorton and Denton by-election is a two-horse race between Reform UK and Labour, but will voters believe him when the Green Party is campaigning hard on Gaza? Also, is parliament fit for purpose on the subject of the royal family?Steven Swinford, political editor, The TimesPatrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The TimesGabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday TimesProducer: Euan DawtreyExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessPicture credit: Getty ImagesEmail us: [email protected] podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Labour Together scandal is the latest storm threatening to capsize the government - and Gabriel has been right at the heart. For the first time, he describes what happened when a Labour think tank set private investigators on a journalist. Their secret report falsely accused Gabriel of acting as a Russian agitator and "grotesquely subverted" his faith in an attack on his and his colleagues' reporting in The Sunday Times.Hosts:Patrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The TimesGabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday TimesProducer: Euan DawtreyExecutive producer: Dan BoxEmail us: [email protected] podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.