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PODCAST

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins

Join Ian Collins on Talk for a lively, no-nonsense look at the day’s biggest stories, from politics and current affairs to culture and entertainment. Ian dives deep with expert guests, outspoken commentators, and compelling callers, bringing fresh angles and sharp analysis to everything making headlines. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

news & politics

All Episodes

33:43

Another Starmer U-Turn?

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/02/16

Peter Cardwell sits in for Ian Collins on the Afternoon Empire. He speaks withMark Francois MPaboutKeir Starmer’s decision to delay local elections and his subsequent U-turn, as well as the ongoing debate surrounding the proposed deal over theChagos Islands.The discussion then shifts to royal controversy, withNorman Bakerexamining renewed scrutiny ofPrince Andrewin light of developments connected to theJeffrey Epsteinfiles.Political commentatorLaila Cunninghamalso joins to discuss Starmer's local

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30:49

Votes at 16, colonisation and Labour’s Rotten Elite

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/02/12

Ian Collins takes on a government many critics say is rewriting Britain without voters’ consent.As Labour moves to give the vote to 16-year-olds, Joanna Williams, author of How Woke Won, and Darren Hughes, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, clash over whether this is democratic renewal — or a cynical attempt to rig the electorate in Labour’s favour.We then turn to immigration and national identity, as former Deputy Speaker Nigel Evans reacts to Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s warning that Britain

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25:57

This Government Is Failing Britain

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/02/11

Ian Collins asks the question many voters are now openly raising: has this government dangerously lost touch with reality?Following a series of shocking crimes, including the jailing of an Afghan migrant for raping a schoolgirl and fresh reports of teenage stabbings in London schools - Ben Habib, leader of Advance UK, and Maria Bowtell, spokeswoman for Restore Britain, discuss whether Britain is paying the price for political decisions on immigration, policing and social order.We then turn to what

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33:57

Is Britain Ungovernable?

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/02/10

Ian Collins asks the big question shaking Westminster and beyond: has Britain become ungovernable?As Keir Starmer battles to cling on after a dramatic showdown with rebellious Labour MPs - and ministers move to give the Prime Minister a political stay of execution amid market jitters - Adam Cherry, editorial director at Guido Fawkes, and Lord Peter Lilley, Conservative peer, assess whether Britain’s political system is now permanently stuck in crisis mode.We then turn to free speech on campus, as

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24:02

Downing Street in Meltdown

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/02/09

Ian Collins asks the question dominating Westminster tonight: how long can Keir Starmer hang on?With senior figures including Tim Allan stepping away and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney leaving Downing Street - as Labour MPs openly call for Starmer to resign - Peter Cardwell, former special adviser and author of The Secret Life of Special Advisers, joins Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership and former Labour staffer, alongside Giles Dilnot,

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27:10

Mandelson, Labour and Public Trust

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/02/03

Ian Collins examines the political and cultural fallout from a rapidly escalating Westminster scandal.Mark Stephens, lawyer, and Baroness Catherine MacLeod of Camusdarach, Labour peer, join the programme to assess what the latest revelations linking Peter Mandelson to Jeffrey Epstein mean for the Labour Party - and whether the allegations, police reviews and questions over conduct threaten Labour’s credibility on ethics, transparency and power.We then turn to Britain’s classrooms. Hilary Strong,

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29:20

Epstein Files, Mandelson’s Peerage and Migrants

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/02/02

Ian Collins leads on mounting pressure over migration, public spending and political accountability.Darwin Friend, Research Director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, joins us to break down new research showing council spending on migrant social care has risen by £83 million in five years - and what that means for already stretched local services. Katy Bourne, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner and APCC lead for business crime, responds as Labour MPs revolt against plans to house asylum seekers in new

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28:51

Child Killers, Shoplifters and the BBC Row

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/30

Ian Collins examines three disturbing fault lines in modern Britain.We begin with the shocking rise in serious violence by children. Professor James Treadwell and consultant psychiatrist Raj Persaud explore what is driving extreme behaviour in young people from social breakdown and trauma to warning signs missed by institutions and ask whether Britain is failing to confront uncomfortable truths about youth violence.The focus then turns to the BBC, as Reem Ibrahim debates claims that the

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31:56

Welfare on Hold, Beijing in Focus

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/29

Ian Collins examines mounting questions over Labour’s direction at home and abroad. Political strategist Peter Barnes reacts to growing concern that Keir Starmer is delaying meaningful welfare reform, raising doubts about Labour’s appetite for structural change.Attention then turns to foreign policy, as Chung Ching Kwong, Senior Analyst at the Interparliamentary Alliance on China and Benedict Roger’s. The co-founder of Hong Kong watch scrutinises Starmer’s warming approach to Beijing — from

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26:38

EU Realignment and the Battle for Britain’s Flag

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/28

Ian Collins asks are we ashamed to be patriotic?As Keir Starmer signals closer alignment with the EU, Lee Rotherham examines whether Brexit is being quietly reversed and what that means for sovereignty and democratic trust.We also look at growing cultural tensions as organised campaigns target national flags in public spaces - and what this says about identity, confidence and cohesion.Major General Tim Cross CBE discusses claims of a political “witch-hunt” against Iraq veterans, while Mark

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28:18

Britain Is Broken: Defections, Revolts and Chaos

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/27

Ian Collins is back in the chair.We lead on Suella Braverman’s shock defection to Reform UK and the turmoil it has unleashed on the Right. Sarah Pochin MP (Reform UK, Runcorn & Helsby) and former Tory Cabinet Minister David Gauke debate what her move means for Reform, the Conservatives, and the future of conservative politics.We then look at growing Labour unrest over Keir Starmer’s decision to block Andy Burnham’s return to Parliament, with former Labour adviser Kevin Meagher on whether the row

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31:10

Braverman Defects: Are the Tories finished?

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/26

Peter Cardwell sits in for Ian Collins.We lead on the shock defection of former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who has quit the Conservatives to join Reform UK, sending fresh tremors through the Right and piling pressure on Kemi Badenoch’s leadership. What does Braverman’s move mean for the future of the Conservative Party - and does it accelerate a wider realignment of the British Right?Robert Jenrick MP (Reform UK, Newark), Jo Tanner (Political Strategist), Marco Longhi (Reform UK member and

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27:53

Labour’s Burnham Plot and the Gaza Gamble

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/23

Ian Collins is joined by a heavyweight panel to unpack Labour’s internal power struggles and Britain’s stance on the Middle East.Paul Embery, writer, trade unionist and author of Despised, debates with Kevin Meagher, former Labour adviser, and Liv Ouewhand, local government commentator, as reports suggest Keir Starmer’s allies are manoeuvring to block Andy Burnham’s return to Parliament. Is Labour closing ranks - and who really holds the power?Jonathan Sacerdoti, writer and broadcaster, then turns

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35:12

From Greenland to the Channel: Who’s in Control?

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/22

Ian Collins examines Donald Trump’s dramatic Greenland deal and what it means for global security and Western power, with Admiral Mike Hewitt, retired US Navy officer, and Alan Mendoza, Reform UK’s Chief Adviser on Global Affairs, breaking down how Washington’s move reshapes NATO, the Arctic, and Britain’s strategic interests.The focus then shifts back to Britain’s migration crisis as Nigel Evans, former Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, and Ivon Sampson, immigration lawyer, react to plans for

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31:04

EU or USA? Trump Takes Aim at Britain

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/21

Ian Collins asks whether Britain should align itself more closely with the EU or the United States as Donald Trump tells Sir Keir Starmer to “fix” the UK and brands London a global problem. Professor Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London, examines Trump’s White House intervention, the warning over Greenland, and what it means for Britain’s place between Washington and Brussels.Author and former European Commission official Peter Wilding reacts to

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30:19

Another U-Turn?

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/20

Ian Collins unpacks another day of hot topics in the news. He is joined by former headteacher Serge Cefai to discuss Labour’s apparent U-turn on banning under-16s from social media, unpacking whether it should or shouldn't go ahead.Foreign Affairs Analyst Daniel Davis joins Ian to react to Donald Trump’s explosive criticism of the UK over the Chagos Islands and rising tensions around Greenland.Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat councillor Adrian Betteridge joins to defend controversial 20mph speed limits

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29:55

Tory Defections, WEF Elites and Britain’s Migration...

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/19

Ian Collins examines the accelerating collapse of the Conservative Party as senior Tory Andrew Rosindell defects to Reform. Andrew Allison, Head of Campaigns at Popular Conservatism, and former Reform UK candidate Mayuran Senthilnathan debate whether the right is undergoing a permanent realignment, as Robert Jenrick warns that too many Conservative MPs would now feel more at home in the Liberal Democrats. The panel also discusses the backlash after Lisa Nandy branded a future Reform government

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35:02

Starmer Under Pressure: Digital ID U-Turn, Chagos...

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/14

Ian Collins examines another turbulent day in British politics as Sir Keir Starmer performs his 13th U-turn, rowing back on plans for compulsory digital ID cards after a public backlash over civil liberties and immigration control. Social and political commentator James Melville is joined by Alexander Iosad, Director of Government Innovation Policy at the Tony Blair Institute, to debate what the reversal tells us about Labour’s grip on power, digital governance, and public trust.The focus then

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32:19

Reform or Rupture? Defections, X Bans and the Iran...

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/13

Ian Collins is joined by Jonathan Gullis, former Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party turned Reform defector, alongside Conservative councillor Zak Wagman, to ask whether Reform should actively welcome disillusioned Tories - as fresh rows erupt over defections, peerages and the future shape of the Right following claims Nadhim Zahawi “begged” for a Tory peerage before jumping ship.Former head of the UK government’s Office for AI Sana Khareghani examines mounting pressure on Elon Musk’s X, as Ofcom

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22:22

Iran, Intervention and the Free Speech Squeeze

Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins ·

2026/01/12

Ian Collins asks whether the West should intervene in Iran as pressure grows on Keir Starmer to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. Matthew Syed, columnist for The Times and The Sunday Times, examines the case for branding Iran’s Revolutionary Guards terrorists amid mass protests on the streets of London and across the world against the Iranian regime - and what intervention, sanctions or restraint would really achieve.Human rights activist Gio Esfan joins us with first-hand insight into

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133 results

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