PODCAST

The Week in Westminster

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4"s weekly assessment of developments at Westminster

government

All Episodes

27:53

25/04/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/04/25

George Parker analyses the latest developments at Westminster.To discuss the ongoing row over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador, and what it means for the Prime Minister's authority, George is joined by Labour MP, Preet Gill, and former Conservative Attorney General, Dominic Grieve.This week the Assisted Dying Bill was finally laid to rest after it ran out of time in the House of Lords. To discuss whether the legislative campaign is over George speaks to one of the Bill's

28:01

18/04/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/04/18

The row over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador erupted again this week. Sonia discusses the issues raised over security clearance with Hannah White, Director of The Institute for Government and Caroline Slocock, a former civil servant who was private secretary to Margaret Thatcher and John Major. Sonia discusses the impact on the UK economy of the war in Iran with Labour peer Stewart Wood, who is a former adviser to Gordon Brown and Chair of the House of Lords Economic Affairs

28:26

28/03/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/03/28

Joe Pike looks back at Westminster politics in the first months of 2026.He is joined by FT political editor, George Parker, Guardian columnist, Gaby Hinsliff, and GB News political editor Chris Hope.

28:32

21/03/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/03/21

Isabel Hardman assesses the Iran conflict, three weeks in, with Labour's Dame Emily Thornberry MP who chairs the Foreign Affairs select committee and the former Conservative deputy Foreign Secretary Sir Andrew Mitchell MP. The chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, Ruth Curtice and the business journalist and crossbench peer Patience Wheatcroft, who sits on the Lords Economic Affiars Committee discuss rising energy costs caused by the conflict and whether the government should intervene

27:58

14/03/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/03/14

Pippa Crerar of The Guardian assesses the latest developments at Westminster.To discuss the unfolding conflict in the Middle East, and Britain's response, Pippa is joined by Labour peer, Lord West, a former First Sea Lord and Security Minister, and former Conservative MP, Tobias Ellwood, who also served as a minister in the Foreign Office and MoD.Following the vote on the government's controversial Courts and Tribunals Bill which would restrict jury trials, Pippa speaks to Dame Vera Baird KC, a

28:07

07/03/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/03/07

George Parker discusses Prime Minister Starmer’s decision not to support the US-Israel offensive against Iran, and the pressure he has been under for it, with the crossbench peer Kim Darroch, who was the UK’s Ambassador to the United States during President Trump’s first term, and the Labour peer Cathy Ashton, a former EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs who led negotiations with Iran over its nuclear programme.To analyse the Spring Statement that the Chancellor delivered on Tuesday, George

27:48

28/02/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/02/28

Sonia Sodha discusses the Greens' by-election win in the Greater Manchester seat of Gorton and Denton and where this leaves Sir Keir Starmer with the Bassetlaw MP Jo White, who chairs the Red Wall caucus and Andrew Fisher, who was a senior adviser to Jeremy Corbyn when he was Labour leader and is now a columnist for the i newspaper. To assess reforms for children with special educational needs and disabilities, Sonia is joined by Sir Nick Gibb, a former Conservative MP and a long-serving schools

27:59

14/02/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/02/14

Caroline Wheeler of The Sunday Times assesses the latest developments at Westminster.After a week in which the Prime Minister had to fight for his political survival, Caroline speaks to Labour grandee, Alan Johnson, a Cabinet minister in both the Blair and Brown governments, and Peter Hyman, a former strategist for Tony Blair when he was in Number Ten.In the wake of the scandal around Peter Mandelson, and amid concerns about the slow progress of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, a new

27:16

07/02/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/02/07

The Guardian's political editor Pippa Crerar assesses the latest developments at Westminster.The Mandelson scandal dominated the week and Pippa discusses it with Labour MP Natalie Fleet, herself a survivor of grooming and a member of the Women and Equalities Committee and senior Conservative MP, Sir Bernard Jenkin. To debate the government's EU reset, Pippa brought together Lord Peter Lilley, a former Conservative cabinet minister and long-term Eurosceptic. And the MP Anneliese Dodds, who is a

28:03

31/01/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/01/31

Sonia Sodha assesses the latest developments at Westminster.This week Sir Keir Starmer became the first Prime Minister in eight years to visit China. To discuss the visit Sonia is joined by Labour MP and Chair of the Business and Trade Select Committee Liam Byrne, and the Conservative MP Sir Andrew Mitchell, who served as Deputy Foreign Secretary in Rishi Sunak’s government. Following the Home Secretary's announcement of reforms to the police services in England and Wales Sonia spoke to two MPs,

27:58

24/01/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/01/24

Following President Trump's pressure on European allies over the future of Greenland, Ben analyses whether there has been a fundamental shift in the Transatlantic alliance with Lord Darroch, former UK Ambassador to the USA, and Sarah Elliott, director of the US-UK Special Relationship Unit at the Prosperity Institute.As the government approves plans for a new Chinese embassy in London ahead of the Prime Minister's visit to China, Ben brings together Lord Beamish, chairman of the Intelligence and

28:49

17/01/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/01/17

Sunday Times political editor Caroline Wheeler reports on the latest developments at Westminster.Following the defection of Robert Jenrick from the Conservatives to Reform UK, Caroline speaks to Henry Hill, the deputy editor of Conservative Home and James Orr, a Cambridge University academic and senior advisor to Nigel Farage. Karl Turner, the Labour MP for Kingston-upon-Hull East is a prominent critic of the government's plans to restrict jury trials. He discusses this and other Labour u-turns with

28:03

10/01/2026

The Week in Westminster ·

2026/01/10

Following a week of intense activlty in the international arena - including US action in Venezuela - George discusses the week's events with Labour peer George Robertson, the former Secretary General of NATO, and Sir Simon Fraser, the former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office who now chairs the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House. To discuss the challenges facing graduates seeking jobs after university and the impact of artificial intelligence on future employment, George is joined by

28:14

20/12/2025

The Week in Westminster ·

2025/12/20

To discuss the major political stories and developments over the last twelve months, and what lies ahead for 2026, Ben Wright is joined by George Parker, the political editor of the Financial Times, Pippa Crerar, the political editor of the Guardian and Sebastian Payne, columnist and leader writer for The Times.

27:28

13/12/2025

The Week in Westminster ·

2025/12/13

Radio 4's assessment of developments at Westminster

28:32

06/12/2025

The Week in Westminster ·

2025/12/06

The Daily Telegraph's political editor, Ben Riley-Smith, analyses the latest developments at Westminster.Following further fallout from Rachel Reeves' Budget, and accusations that she misled the public about the state of the public finances, Ben speaks to two members of the Treasury select committee who have been investigating the issue: Labour MP, Yuan Yang, and Conservative MP, Dame Harriet Baldwin.After the Prime Minister signalled that the government would make a fresh attempt to reform the

28:29

29/11/2025

The Week in Westminster ·

2025/11/29

Sonia Sodha takes a look at Chancellor Rachel Reeves' long-awaited Budget with former Treasury Minister and now Shadow Leader of the House, Conservative MP Jesse Norman and Labour MP Jeevun Sandher who until recently served on the Treasury Select Committee. To discuss proposed peace plans for Ukraine, Sonia is joined by Ivanna Klympush Tsintsadze, who chairs the Ukrainian parliament’s committee on integration with the EU.Leaked proposals this week suggest the government is considering limiting trial

28:03

22/11/2025

The Week in Westminster ·

2025/11/22

With just days to go to Rachel Reeves' Budget, George Parker speaks to her Conservative predecessor at the Treasury, Sir Jeremy Hunt MP. They discuss what it's like for Chancellors in the run-up to a fiscal event and the intense speculation around this Budget.Following the publication of the Covid Inquiry's second report George interviews former minister, Lord Frost, who resigned from the then Conservative government over pandemic policy, and Prof Stephen Reicher, who advised both the UK and

28:01

15/11/2025

The Week in Westminster ·

2025/11/15

The Guardian's political editor Pippa Crerar assesses the latest developments at Westminster. Following a turbulent week for the government, with talk of plots to replace the Prime Minister and speculation over the budget, Pippa speaks to two Labour MPs, Chris Curtis and Rachael Maskell, about the mood on the Labour backbenches.To discuss the challenges for BBC following the resignation of its director general, Pippa speaks to Conservative peer Tina Stowell, a former Head of Corporate Affairs at the

27:58

08/11/2025

The Week in Westminster ·

2025/11/08

Sunday Times political editor Caroline Wheeler reports on the latest developments at Westminster.Following a political row about mistaken prisoner releases, Caroline speaks to former Conservative Justice Secretary, Sir Robert Buckland, and Labour MP Chris Murray, a member of the Home Affairs Committee.The chair of the Lords economic affairs committee, Stewart Wood, and Reform MP, Danny Kruger, discuss the Chancellor's speech in which she appeared to lay the ground for the government to break its

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