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PODCAST

Westminster Insider

POLITICO’s weekly political series lifts the curtain on how Westminster really works, offering in-depth insight into the political issues which typically only get broad-brush treatment in the wider media.

news politics

All Episodes

42:11

2026: The year ahead in 40 minutes

Westminster Insider ·

2025/12/19

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

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44:42

Spin, half-truth or deceit? How political lies really...

Westminster Insider ·

2025/12/12

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

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39:53

Russia raises the stakes: how can Starmer shape...

Westminster Insider ·

2025/12/05

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

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33:46

“Lawless” Britain: Rhetoric and reality

Westminster Insider ·

2025/11/28

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,

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38:09

How to raise taxes and get away with it

Westminster Insider ·

2025/11/21

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,

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45:00

Inside No. 10: The creaky house that runs Britain

Westminster Insider ·

2025/11/14

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

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39:14

Who really cares about Britain's farmers?

Westminster Insider ·

2025/11/07

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

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44:03

How (not) to start a political party

Westminster Insider ·

2025/10/31

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

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41:18

What Liz Truss wants Britain to learn from Trump

Westminster Insider ·

2025/10/24

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

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31:34

Starmer ally: Come clean on relations with China...

Westminster Insider ·

2025/10/17

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

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35:58

Inside Party Conference: Where next for the Tories?

Westminster Insider ·

2025/10/10

With dire poll ratings and Reform UK in the ascendancy, Kemi Badenoch’s well-received speech at party conference provided a rare moment of optimism for the Conservatives. But where are they headed next?Host Patrick Baker has been behind-the-scenes of Conservative Party conference in Manchester, on a mission to find out. From the control center – A.K.A. the Politico Pub at the heart of the conference arena – Patrick challenges Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly on whether the party’s new

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38:48

Postcard from Liverpool: is Starmerism over already?

Westminster Insider ·

2025/10/03

Host Sascha O'Sullivan goes behind-the-scenes of Labour Party conference in Liverpool, talking to senior politicians and advisors as she tries to hunt for Keir Starmer's ideology – once dubbed "Starmerism".She tracks down Andy Burnham as the threat of a leadership challenge from the Manchester Mayor fades into the distance. And she speaks to Lucy Powell as she runs to be deputy leader of the Labour Party. Outside the POLITICO Pub, Sascha interviews Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy about what

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46:20

What do Gen Z want?

Westminster Insider ·

2025/09/26

Four and a half thousand miles away in Nepal, Gen Z protestors recently brought down their government in just 48 hours, amid roiling anger over corruption and nepotism.The uprising, led by online influencers harnessing the power of AI and Tik Tok, has sent shockwaves through South Asia. So, this week on Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker decides it’s time to look at U.K. politics through the eyes of Gen Z — generally regarded as those born between 1997 and 2012. Luke Tryl, UK director of

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47:25

Inside the fight to stop migrants crossing the Channel

Westminster Insider ·

2025/09/19

Just this week, Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, has made a fresh effort to remove migrants arriving from the English Channel with the Government's one-in-one-out agreement with France.So this week on Westminster Insider, host Sascha O'Sullivan finds out why it's so hard – and who is really in control. She speaks to former Home Secretary James Cleverly who explains the thinking behind the controversial Rwanda plan and how it clashed with the courts. Glyn Williams, a top civil servant at the

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33:22

Secrets of a state visit

Westminster Insider ·

2025/09/12

U.S. President Donald Trump is in town next week for an unprecedented second state visit to the U.K. The sacking of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s Ambassador to Washington, following the revelations about the extent of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, could not have provided a more awkward backdrop for the visit. Shorn of his “Trump whisperer,” and badly bruised by recent events, the prime minister needs to make the most of the opportunity after deploying the ultimate diplomatic move. The

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40:40

Can Britain have a proper Green Party?

Westminster Insider ·

2025/09/05

Zack Polanski, the self-confessed eco-populist, won the leadership of the Green Party in a landslide this week. So Westminster Insider Host Sascha O'Sullivan finds out why the Green Party have often struggled to be taken seriously in SW1.Sascha speaks to the man himself – Polanski – who tells her he is a vegan, who doesn't drive and wants to tell "similar stories as Nigel Farage" but his will be "the truth". She speaks to Jonathon Porritt, a Green Party veteran and former chair, who says he

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40:48

How to reset your government

Westminster Insider ·

2025/08/29

With a very busy autumn of politics just around the corner, many in the government are looking at the polls and wondering how they turn their fortunes around. This week, host Patrick Baker explores how Labour might use the coming months to try and reset the narrative.Speaking for the first time since he left Number 10, Ravinder Atwhal, Labour’s former head of policy and author of its election-winning manifesto, takes us inside the government’s difficult first year of power and explains what he

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42:04

Commons people: when politics and music collide

Westminster Insider ·

2025/08/22

From Glastonbury performers to classical music buffs, Westminster has always been packed full of music obsessives. But the music industry has not always been so obsessed with politicians. Who could forget Stormzy calling out Theresa May over Grenfell or Elton John calling Keir Starmer's government "absolute losers"?So this week on Westminster Insider, host Sascha O'Sullivan finds out what how important the cultural capital of the music industry is to SW1. She talks to boss of music lobby PRS

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34:24

Can Tory defections take Reform UK toward power?

Westminster Insider ·

2025/07/11

Reform UK has claimed its biggest scalp so far with Sir Jake Berry, close friend and ally of Boris Johnson and former Conservative Cabinet minister, joining its ranks. Can Reform break the mould of British politics and vie for power at the next election?In this week's episode of Westminster Insider: Summer Interviews, Anne McElvoy talks to MP Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform. He led the party before Nigel Farage decided to return to frontline politics at last year's general election

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27:17

Can Keir Starmer survive the next 6 months?

Westminster Insider ·

2025/07/04

Keir Starmer's authority is under question following a humiliating series of U-turns and a restless parliamentary Labour Party. In this Westminster Insider interview, host Anne McElvoy talks to Maurice Glasman, the Labour peer, who’s seen as the godfather of "Blue Labour" and an influential voice within the Labour movement — with connections to the Trump administration in the U.S.Glasman argues that Starmer has six months to make "significant changes" to his government following the debacle over

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