Pippa Crerar assesses the latest developments at Westminster.The Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveiled her Spring Statement this week and Pippa takes a closer look at the details with the chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Labour’s Dame Meg Hillier and the Conservative frontbencher and former Treasury minister, Dame Harriett Baldwin.Also this week, Keir Starmer travelled to Paris for the latest meeting of the ‘coalition of the willing’. Labour’s Dame Emily Thornberry, who chairs the Foreign Affairs select committee discusses this with the Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin, a former British army officer who served multiple tours in Afghanistan. Reform UK's deputy leader, Richard Tice, who represents Boston and Skegness and Times columnist Fraser Nelson discuss the party's coming electoral test in the local elections. And, following comments by the technology secretary Peter Kyle that the UK will see its first ever space launch this year, Pippa speaks to the physicist and broadcaster Professor Brian Cox about the benefits of space exploration.
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27:59
22/03/2025
Ben Riley-Smith of The Daily Telegraph assesses the latest developments at Westminster.After the government announced savings of £5bn a year from the benefits bill, Ben speaks to Labour MP Clive Lewis, who raised concerns about the plans in the Commons, and David Blunkett, formerly a Cabinet minister under Tony Blair and now a Labour peer.Also this week Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch ditched her party's commitment to make Britain a 'net zero' carbon emitter by 2050, a policy first introduced by Theresa May's government in 2019. Conservative MP and former Cabinet minister, David Davis, and former Conservative adviser, Salma Shah, debate the merits of the plan.Crossbench peer, Minette Batters, who is the former President of the National Farmers Union, joins Ben from her farm in Wiltshire to discuss whether Labour can mend its relationship with farmers.And, following the visit of the new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to Britain, Ben speaks to the former UK High Commissioner to Canada, Susan le Jeune d'Allegeershecque, and Labour MP Matt Western, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Canada.
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28:08
15/03/2025
Sonia Sodha of The Observer assesses the latest developments at Westminster.This week the Prime Minister kickstarted a mission to remake the state which he describes as "overstretched" and "flabby". He started by announcing he would abolish the arms-length body, NHS England. But there was ongoing disquiet in the Labour party about possible cuts to welfare spending which could be coming down the track. Sonia discusses all of this with former Conservative minister, Lord Willetts, who now chairs the Resolution Foundation, and Claire Ainsley, former director of policy for Keir Starmer.After a week of intense diplomatic manoeuvring, could a ceasefire in Ukraine be on the horizon? Sonia brings together Bronwen Maddox, director of the foreign policy think tank Chatham House, and Johnny Mercer, former Conservative MP and Minister for Veterans, who has just returned from a trip to Ukraine.Splits within Reform UK deepened this week following the party’s suspension of one of its five MPs, Rupert Lowe, after allegations of bullying and threatening violence.
Professor Jane Green of Oxford University analyses whether the ongoing row will halt Reform's surge in support.And, MPs who like to use TikTok are regularly flouting parliamentary rules on filming videos for social media. So do the rules need to change? Former Deputy Speaker, Nigel Evans, and Daily Mail political sketchwriter, Quentin Letts, discuss whether it's really a good idea.
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28:06
08/03/2025
Caroline Wheeler from The Sunday Times assesses the latest developments at Westminster.To discuss the announcement this week, by the US government, that there would be a pause in all military aid to Ukraine and a pause in intelligence sharing, Caroline is joined by former Cabinet Secretary and National Security Adviser, Lord Sedwill and Air Chief Marshal, Lord Peach, the former head of the UK Armed Forces who was also chair of NATO's military committee from 2018 to 2021. Lord Peach has just stepped down as U.K. special envoy to the Balkans. The Chancellor will deliver her Spring Statement later this month at at time of limited financial headroom. To discuss the impact of possible cuts to the welfare bill
Caroline is joined by the former Conservative Party leader and architect of the Universal Credit system, Sir Iain Duncan Smith and former Labour MP Rosie Duffield who now sits as an Independent Member of Parliament. Labour's Baroness Hayter and Lord Howard, the former Conservative Party leader, join Caroline to discuss the Hereditary Peers Bill which is currently in the House of Lords. The landmark legislation will remove the right of the remaining 92 hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords.US President Donald Trump has been invited to the UK for a second state visit by the King. To discuss state visits and the so-called 'soft power' of the Monarchy, Caroline is joined by Edward, now Lord Young, of Old Windsor, who was Private Secretary and key adviser to The late Queen. He was with Her Majesty for 20 years until her death in 2022 and oversaw the smooth transition to the start of The King’s reign.
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