Politics On the Couch

On the Couch with Lucy Beresford this week is Reaction editor, Maggie Pagano. They talk about how Boris Johnson's short reign as Prime Minister already feels like a dream and whether Liz Truss is made of the right stuff to handle the many crises we face. And they conclude that so far she is off to a good start and that Sir Keir Starmer has a tougher job than he thought in challenging her.

This week on the couch, Lucy Beresford is joined by John Rentoul, chief political commentator for The Independent. They discuss political downfalls — in particular, Boris Johnson’s — and how the personality traits (such as ambition and risk-taking) that help politicians rise to the top are often the very same traits that lead to their demise.

This week On the Couch, Lucy Beresford is joined by broadcast journalist Adam Boulton. They discuss Tory sleaze, toxic work cultures in Westminister, why Boris Johnson's leadership has caused so many scandals and ask the all important question: does Westminster attract damaged people or damage them?

This week On the Couch, Lucy Beresford is joined by journalist, columnist and author Susie Boniface, otherwise known as Fleet Street Fox. They discuss the role (and possible influence) of the Prime Minister's spouse, why some partners are more popular than others, the Lady Macbeth complex, whether Boris Johnson only does what Carrie tells him to and whether it's time the nation had more compassion for Boris?

This week On the Couch, Lucy Beresford is joined by Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones, politician and former civil servant who served as Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee from 1993 to 1994. They discuss diplomacy, intelligence and the history of trying to psychoanalyse leaders such as Putin or Saddam Hussein to determine their intentions and next moves. Baroness Neville-Jones also discusses what it is like being a woman in the civil service, then and now, and how female intuition and

This week On the Couch, Lucy Beresford is joined by journalist and author Robert Hutton. They discuss political personality clashes, whether Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson could ever get on (and if it matters that they don’t), and ask whether the jock/nerd principle will influence who becomes Prime Minister next?

Lucy Beresford is joined by Foreign Policy columnist and American Enterprise Institute (AEI) fellow Elisabeth Braw. They discuss the psychology of security, the current conflict in Ukraine, how NATO expansion plays on Putin's mindset and how much of the waging of war was influenced by the belief that Europe hadn't paid much attention to security in recent years.

Lucy Beresford is joined by Talk Radio’s political editor Peter Cardwell ahead of Britain’s local elections. They discuss the psychology behind making political choices, how the electorate behaves differently in local and general elections and what motivates politicians behind closed doors (spoiler: there’s a lot of ego involved).