Westminster Insider

Despite the war in Iran and its economic consequences preoccupying ministers, much work is going on behind closed doors in Whitehall to strike a closer relationship with Brussels. Nearly a decade after Britain voted to leave the EU, Keir Starmer has tasked his ministers with negotiating a post-Brexit reset that aims for closer alignment with the bloc in a bid to bring down prices and cut regulations on businesses. In this interview episode of Westminster Insider, host Anne McElvoy talks to one of the Prime Minister’s closest allies, Nick Thomas-Symonds. The Cabinet Office Minister has been notching up the Eurostar hours back and forth to Brussels in a bid to strike a deal by the summer. Will he and his EU counterparts be able to agree a youth mobility scheme and alignment in key sectors of the economy, or will their differences be too great to overcome? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Westminster rolls into recess, host Sascha O'Sullivan looks at some of the problems which bedevil SW1 from voter disengagement to constant reshuffles to find out if political systems from Australia to Italy might have the solutions. Sascha speaks to Australian-raised Labour MP Lauren Edwards about the push for compulsory voting here in Britain and how it makes Australians more involved in the democratic processes which run their country. Italian journalist Marco Varvello explains the polling ban in Italy which makes it illegal to forecast the result 15 days before an election. Mark Paul, London correspondent for the Irish Times, gives Sascha the run-down on citizens assemblies which might be trialled in the UK on digital ID, but have been used in Ireland for decades now. And Jack Blanchard, managing editor and author of POLITICO's Playbook in the US, reflects on how an American-style Cabinet prevents the reshuffles British politics is so accustomed to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From ChatGPT-written speeches to constituents flooding MPs with AI-generated emails, artificial intelligence has arrived in Westminster. In this episode of Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker explores how politicians and ministers are scrambling to respond, balancing fears about deepfakes, bias and online harms with a determination to harness AI for economic growth. The UK’s first AI minister, Kanishka Narayan, says he believes that an artificial intelligence more capable than humans (so-called AGI) could arrive in five years' time, and explains how he is trying to balance the risks of AI with its economic potential. Labour MP Mike Reader, dubbed the “ChatG-MP” after being spotted using the model to respond to constituents on a train, describes how AI is changing the day-to-day work of politicians. Conservative MP Luke Evans reflects on delivering the first AI-generated speech in the House of Commons. Labour MP Dawn Butler, who served on Parliament’s Science and Technology Committee, sets out her concerns about AI perpetuating racial discrimination and why she believes it must be tightly controlled. POLITICO’s Tech Editor Isobel Hamilton traces the twists and turns of the UK’s AI policy, including the influence of a pivotal meeting between the Prime Minister and a leading tech CEO. And Andrea Miotti, CEO of Control AI, explains why he believes urgent action is needed to guard against the existential risks posed by increasingly powerful systems. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On May 7, Labour faces losing some of its oldest heartlands. In Wales, the party has dominated elections for 104 years, but is, according to polls, fighting for third or fourth place against powerful forces on the left and right – Plaid Cymru and Reform. Host Sascha O'Sullivan and POLITICO's political editor Dan Bloom took the train to Newport and drove through South Wales, where the fight is fiercest, to find out how the parties are vying for the top spot in the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament. They spoke to first minister Eluned Morgan as she launched the Welsh Labour campaign in Newport Market. And newly-appointed Welsh leader of Reform Dan Thomas explained why the party there differs from the one led by Nigel Farage. Westminster Insider speaks to Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth about how the party has ditched their message on independence in a bid to scoop up voters on the left disillusioned with Labour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Palace of Westminster towers over the River Thames as a symbol of British democracy. But look a little closer and the building is falling apart. From fire risks and asbestos to crumbling stonework and miles of aging wiring, experts warn the U.K. Parliament is becoming an increasingly dangerous place to work for MPs, peers and staff. The Restoration and Renewal Programme has spent years trying to work out how to fix it. But now, the politics of repairing Parliament may be even more complicated than the engineering. In this week’s Westminster Insider, Patrick Baker takes a tour of the building’s crumbling infrastructure and hears from the people battling over what to do next. Restoration expert Alexandra Meakin sets out the risks of continued delay. Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman argues MPs should temporarily move out to allow the work to be done. Conservative MP and Father of the House Edward Leigh dismisses the plans as over-engineered “gold-plating”. And former minister Ed Vaizey wonders whether Parliament should move out altogether. Finally, POLITICO’s Ottawa bureau chief Nick Taylor-Vaisey explains how Canada tackled the same problem — and what Westminster might learn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Green Party have won their very first by-election. Westminster Insider Host Sascha O’Sullivan goes inside the Greens’ effort to win the seat, and finds out how the battle for this seat will inform the three-way fights between the Greens, Labour and Reform UK. She speaks to Hannah Spencer on the election trail – and on the night itself. And she speaks to the other candidates, Angeliki Stogia for Labour and Matt Goodwin for Reform to find out what worked – and what didn’t. As Labour licks its wounds, director of the Labour Growth Group Mark McVitie talks Sascha through how the party machine have been thinking about the Greens and what needs to change. Pollster and director of More in Common Luke Tryl examines what the curious combination of voters can tell us about the future fights Labour will shake out. And deputy political editor of the Spectator James Heale explains why Reform’s Matt Goodwin didn’t win here in Gorton and Denton. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Keir Starmer may have survived a political near-death experience last week. But with a perilous by-election looming and punishing May elections on the horizon, few in Westminster think the prime minister is truly in the clear. With fresh jeopardy ahead, could Starmer become the fifth prime minister in a decade to fall short of a full term? This week on Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker asks: why don’t UK prime ministers last anymore? Political historian and host of the Past, Present, Future podcast David Runciman argues the revolving door at the top reflects a wider global surge in political instability — driven above all by economic turbulence. Former Downing Street communications directors Katie Perrior, Lee Cain and James Lyons lift the lid on how Britain’s unforgiving 24/7 media machine is grinding down modern premiers. David Lammy's former adviser Ben Judah and the Institute for Government’s Jill Rutter probe whether the civil service is helping — or hindering — an era of increasingly fragile premierships. And the author and historian Anthony Seldon says a “massive collapse” in prime ministerial experience means many new arrivals in Downing Street are stepping into the job unprepared for the demands of governing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Keir Starmer flies to Germany for the Munich Security Conference, Westminster Insider Host Sascha O'Sullivan finds out if the Prime Minister's time abroad has damaged him here at home – and if it has, if it's been worth it. Sascha spoke to half a dozen current or former Labour advisors or government insiders about Starmer's approach to foreign policy. With the help of POLITICO Foreign and Defense Correspondent Esther Webber, she pieces together Starmer's legacy on the world stage. Olivia O'Sullivan, director of UK in a Changing World at Chatham House, says the Prime Minister has managed to secure "the least worst option" with Donald Trump. And Peter Ricketts, former head of the U.K.'s diplomatic service, said the shift towards “a hyper-personalized world” demands Starmer’s presence. “Unless you are in the room with Donald Trump, you're not influencing him," Ricketts added. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 insurrections. Former Home Secretary Alan Johnson remembers the "curry house plot" in 2006 that forced Tony Blair to bring forward his departure from office and urges Starmer "not to let himself be forced out". One of those at the heart of "balti-gate" as it became known, ex-Labour MP Sion Simon, explains how being well-organised and having a viable successor in Gordon Brown made all the difference. Labour peer Ayesha Hazarika and The Independent's John Rentoul remember the one-man kamikaze mission that was ex-Culture Secretary James Purnell's hapless bid to oust Gordon Brown, and reflect on why the Tory party seem to be much more efficient at removing leaders. Former Jeremy Corbyn adviser Andrew Fisher describes what it was like to be on the receiving end of multiple failed attempts by Labour MPs to remove the then Labour leader, pointing to the power of the Labour membership - a factor which could mean Labour is now more ripe for a change at the top than the famously regicidal Conservative party. POLITICO's Dan Bloom takes us through the dramatic week in Westminster, with Number 10 engulfed by the revelations about Peter Mandelson. Labour insider Sienna Rodgers of Parliament's The House magazine outlines who she believes might be in the strongest position to challenge Keir Starmer. And politics expert Richard Johnson, an academic at Queen Mary University, illuminates the complex tangle of rules and procedures that any would-be Labour challenger needs to follow to depose Keir Starmer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Wales — and how dire results for Labour could lead to a very real leadership challenge against the prime minister. Dan and Annabelle set the scene for the King's Speech, scheduled for mid-May, and set out the massive challenges the Government faces on a host of domestic fronts including immigration and welfare. Jack Blanchard, POLITICO Playbook managing editor and author in Washington D.C., paints a picture of what we can expect in Trump's America in 2026; highly-charged midterms, crucial Supreme court decisions, multiple foreign policy skirmishes and …. a UFC fight on the White House lawn. Russia expert Mark Galeotti of Mayak Intelligence describes how the war in Ukraine might play out in 2026 and weighs in on the likelihood of a peace agreement both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy can swallow. POLITICO's Sarah Wheaton, host of the EU Confidential podcast, looks ahead to elections in Hungary in April, which could spell the end for President Viktor Orbán. Middle East expert and author Kim Ghattas, who writes for The Atlantic, explains what could be in store for the next phase of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. And football writer Henry Winter looks ahead to the FIFA World Cup next summer. Could 2026 be the year it finally comes home? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 justifiable spin. Inspired by this grey area, host Sascha O'Sullivan tries to find out the difference. BBC Radio 4 Presenter Nick Robinson tells Sascha how he can spot when a politician is lying and explains the difference between ministers making a justifiable argument and those who read "the line to take." Former Keir Starmer Political Director Luke Sullivan says Rachel Reeves was "absolutely not" lying in the run-up to the budget and explains how Starmer made the most of Boris Johnson-era scandals when the Tory prime minister was accused of lying. Craig Oliver, David Cameron's former director of communications, rehashes the fibs told during the Brexit referendum, telling Sascha there were attacks "that were straightforwardly untrue." Sascha then digs in to what happens when a minister... fesses up. She speaks to Mark Harper, who resigned as immigration minister after discovering his cleaner did not have the right to work in the UK. Harper lost his job – but was welcomed back months later. Full Fact Chief Executive Officer Chris Morris tells Sascha it's hard to distinguish outright lies and spin — because most of the time politicians quote half-truths wrapped up in narrative. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest round of peace talks in Moscow between the Americans and the Russians has ended without agreement. As President Vladimir Putin talked of being ready to fight a war with Europe, attention in Westminster turned to whether the U.K. has the capability and the will to help protect Ukraine in all scenarios. While Keir Starmer flew to Scotland to announce a joint maritime operation with Norway to ward off prowling Russian submarines in the North Atlantic, defense chiefs and MPs asked why there was so little mention of the spending commitments in the Budget — and what that means for Britain's preparedness. This week, Anne McElvoy talks to John Foreman, who was Britain’s military attaché in Moscow between 2019 and 2022 having previously performed the same role in Kyiv; and with Esther Webber, POLITICO’s Senior Foreign and Defense Correspondent. Both have been keeping a close eye on the talks. Later she's joined by two influential MPs to discuss Starmer's options. James Cartlidge is the Shadow Defence Secretary, and Labour’s Calvin Bailey sits on the influential Defence Select Committee and served in the RAF for 24 years, including in Afghanistan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Politicians in Westminster are always falling all over themselves to sound tough on crime. But with so-called “low level” crimes like shoplifting and phone snatching now at record levels, the rhetoric on “lawless” Britain has been growing ever louder. This week, host Patrick Baker has been to Dagenham in outer London where the Labour MP Margaret Mullane says she fears parts of her local area are being overrun with street crime. After speaking to local residents and shop owners about their fears, Patrick speaks to the Policing Minister Sarah Jones in Parliament about how the government is planning to cut crime and make people feel safer. Gavin Stephens, chief of the National Police Chief’s Council, sets out why he believes Westminster’s obsession with police numbers makes policing harder and what reforms he feels are needed tackle the worsening perception of crime in Britain. And Alastair Greig of the security think tank RUSI explains how social media is amplifying public fears — and says policy makers face tough tradeoffs when trying to tackle crime. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Rachel Reeves' budget approaches, Westminster is braced for tax hikes. The political manoeuvring necessary may just be one of the greatest political challenges of her career. So on this week's episode of Westminster Insider, Sascha speaks to those who have been there, and compiles some golden rules on how to raise taxes – and get away with it. Social Market Foundation Director and former Gordon Brown advisor Theo Bertram walks Sascha through Brown's 2002 decision to raise National Insurance, and how he kept voters onside while he did it. And Rishi Sunak's former advisor James Nation explains why Sunak's health and social care levy was such a difficult tax rise to announce – and how he tried to mitigate the political blowback. Jeremy Hunt, former Conservative Chancellor, defends not bringing back this tax rise and tells Sascha why freezing income tax thresholds – as Reeves is expected to do – was "less visible" than a hike to the basic rate of income tax, but still "very politically painful". And Sascha, with the help of Bloomberg journalist and author of Can You Run the Economy Joe Mayes, puts herself in the shoes of Rachel Reeves and goes through the options available to her to fill what is expected to be a £20bn blackhole in the budget. Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, warns Britain is in for a productivity down-grade, and if she were Rachel Reeves, she would worry about whether or not the budget will "drag down growth". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a wild week in No.10 Downing Street, host Patrick Baker takes listeners on a podcast tour of the famous building to find out how the hell a cobbled-together Georgian townhouse is meant to run a modern state. Patrick asks how the rabbit warren layout influences those who govern the country, for better or worse. In one of his first interviews since stepping down, former Cabinet Secretary Simon Case opens up on how the building is less-than-ideal for the demands of modern government — with problems like losing the PM all-too-common. Case argues its layout contributed to the Partygate scandal that toppled Boris Johnson. The set designer of the film “Love Actually,” Jim Clay, recounts a tour given to him by Gordon Brown so he could memorise the layout — and commentates on Hugh Grant as he boogies down the Grand Staircase. Jack Brown, author of “The Power of Geography at No 10,” gives a step-by-step tour, taking us inside the pokey “Den,” the prime minister’s office at the heart of Downing Street. POLITICO Political Editor Dan Bloom explains why Keir Starmer prefers working in open-plan offices — and shares some secrets from rooms you’ve never heard of. Beatrice Timpson, former deputy press secretary to Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, shares her sympathy for those in the policy unit, seen as banished to the rafters of Number 10. And she reveals the constant battle for phone signal that rages at the heart of British power. John McTernan, who served as political secretary to Tony Blair, reveals stories from the Number 10 flat — and sets out what the current government must do to overcome the limitations of the building. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does anyone care about British farmers? Those ploughing the fields and harvesting crops certainly don't feel Westminster pays attention to them. So this week Westminster Insider finds out how the relationship between politics and farming – from post-Brexit trade deals to inheritance tax. She speaks to NFU President Tom Bradshaw about how Keir Starmer set up the promise of hope for farmers, before swiftly letting them down. Michael Gove, editor of the Spectator and former Conservative Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) Secretary, admits the Australia trade deal did betray Britain's farmers. Emma Pryor, former special advisor to Defra Secretary George Eustice, explains how subsidies, which mean farmers can make a profit on producing food, changed after Brexit. And Sascha heads to rural South West Norfolk, where she speaks to Terry Jermy, the Labour MP who ousted Liz Truss. He tells her the new rules on inheritance tax are "unfortunate" and he hopes they are changed. Sascha gets on a tractor harvesting potatoes and speaks to farmers Danielle and Richard Gott. And she visits a farm run by Ed Pope which has turned 170 acres of the property into wildlife conservation. This episode was produced by Robert Nicholson and Artemis Irvine at Whistledown Productions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Jeremy Corbyn's Your Party suffering some teething problems, host Patrick Baker delves into the art of starting a new political outfit. Corbyn himself speaks to POLITICO's Bethany Dawson at one of the many Your Party regional assemblies happening across the country. With tensions between Corbyn and co-leader Zarah Sultana simmering as the duo try to get their start up off the ground, Labour insider Sienna Rodgers of The House magazine explains the roots of the discord and how rival factions have been undermining the party's progress at an early stage. Patrick sits down with former Change UK MP Gavin Shuker in Nando's, site of one of the now-extinct party's early summits, to discuss the pitfalls of starting a new venture in Westminster. Journalist Catherine Mayer, who co-founded the Women's Equality Party alongside comedian Sandi Toksvig, lifts the lid on the curious underworld of smaller political parties and the outsized impact they can have on our politics. Professor Alan Sked, the founder of UKIP, tells the story of arguably the U.K.’s most consequential political newbie and describes how he slowly lost control of the party to Nigel Farage. And Reform UK board member and Farage's former press secretary Gawain Towler sets out how he believes the U.K.’s current insurgent can complete its journey from newcomer to party of power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liz Truss is never far from the shores of the United States, hobnobbing with the folk seeking to "Make America Great Again." What does she think Britain can learn from the second Trump era? Anne McElvoy travels to Washington to talk to the former Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss, who’s on a self-proclaimed “mission” to remake the U.K. in the image of MAGA-land. It’s exactly three years since she left Downing Street after just 49 days in office following a mini-budget that sent the markets into freefall — and has haunted her party ever since. In a wide-ranging interview, Truss tells Anne that the Green Party might end up being the official opposition party after the next general election and argues that voters are sick of "technocratic managerial crap" in politics. She insists that she will foreseeably not be joining Reform UK, despite criticizing her own party’s record in office. Truss also pours scorn on both Kemi Badenoch’s leadership of her old party and the Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves, whom she blames for an impending economic crisis. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been a week where the politics of the Middle East and Britain’s relations with China have loomed large over Westminster. For all the backslapping and goodwill of Sharm el-Sheikh, will the ceasefire and exchange of hostages and prisoners in Gaza pave the way for a political solution? What part could Britain play? And how will the row over the collapsed Chinese spy case play out at home as the blame game between the government, opposition and prosecutors continues to rumble on? What impact will it have on Keir Starmer's attempts to boost economic relations with China? Anne McElvoy talks to one of Westminster’s most prominent figures on foreign affairs, Emily Thornberry, who chairs the influential Foreign Affairs Select Committee of MPs. As one of Labour’s most senior backbenchers and a former shadow attorney general, she’s been unafraid to be a critical friend of Starmer. She's also joined by Tim Ross, POLITICO’s chief political correspondent for Europe and the U.K., who’s been reporting on the reaction to President Trump's Gaza peace plan and gauging the mood in Westminster over the row about Chinese espionage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices