Keir Starmer has met with his brand new shadow cabinet for the first time, but does his top team now have more Blairites than Tony Blair ever did? Matt is joined by New Labour architect Lord Mandelson, former Starmer aide Chris Ward and Times Radio's Patrick Maguire. Plus: Columnists Daniel Finkelstein and John Stevens discuss the government's defence over collapsing schools, Gillian Keegan swearing and what has happened to Liz Truss' lectern. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...
Sep 05, 2023•45 min
With MPs back after the summer recess, Matt and Times Radio Political Editor Kate McCann bring you their guide to the five things Rishi Sunak should be worrying about between now and the general election. Plus: Kwasi Kwarteng joins Matt to reflect on a year since he was appointed as Liz Truss's chancellor, and columnists Rachel Sylvester and Libby Purves discuss the Labour reshuffle , crumbling concrete in schools , and advice for Sue Gray on her first day in Keir Starmer's office. Hosted on Aca...
Sep 04, 2023•50 min
Brand new Times columnist and Rest is History star Dominic Sandbrook tells Matt why the King's first year on the throne has been a surprising success, why Tony Blair isn't in his top 10 prime ministers, and why he really doesn't like archeology. Plus: Columnists India Knight and James Marriott discuss India getting Covid (again), what Rishi Sunak will be served when he goes to Balmoral, and why James hates video games . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 01, 2023•47 min
From sending stories by mail to sacking ministers by tweet, 'The Political Editors' series showed how the news, and the creators of news, changed over the last half a century. In this final episode, Matt reflects on the evolution of political journalism, and how you might get your news in the future. Plus: Columnists Jane Merrick and Matthew Bell chat about the cabinet reshuffle , hazardous sushi, and Keir Starmer's celebrity lookalikes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...
Aug 31, 2023•47 min
The Times' current Political Editor Steven Swinford has been in the job for a turbulent three years, straddling three prime ministers and at least 42 ministerial resignations. He tells Matt about covering partygate, Tories squaring up to each other, a serene Liz Truss as her premiership exploded, and sacking the chancellor via tweet. The Political Editors is half a century of politics told by the people who wrote the first draft of history for the Times. Plus: Columnists Alice Thomson and Robert...
Aug 30, 2023•45 min
Francis Elliott became The Times' Political Editor in 2013, covering an extraordinary period that saw the end of the coalition, the slow downfall of Theresa May, and how Boris Johnson tried to get first Brexit and then Covid done. The Political Editors is half a century of politics told by the people who wrote the first draft of history for the Times. Plus: Columnists Daniel Finkelstein and Miranda Green discuss new polling showing Labour ahead on immigration , whether the NHS is still our natio...
Aug 29, 2023•46 min
Sixty years ago Martin Luther King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, which went onto shape modern America. Hugo Rifkind asks a panel of former Downing Street speechwriters what makes King's speech so good, and what lessons Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer can learn from the great orators of political history. Plus: Columnists Libby Purves and Zoe Strimpel on Theresa May's new book , the rights and wrongs of preaching "virtues" and what to wear at a music festival . Hosted on Acast. See acast....
Aug 28, 2023•46 min
After covering the US for the Times in the aftermath of 9/11 - and interviewing President Bush in the White House - Roland Watson returned to the "goldfish bowl" of Westminster, becoming the paper's political editor in time for the 2010 election. He tells Matt about Gordon Brown's prickly relationship with the press, making contacts in the coalition, and how David Cameron sowed the seeds of Brexit. The Political Editors is half a century of politics told by the people who wrote the first draft o...
Aug 25, 2023•44 min
Philip Webster was political editor at the Times for 18 years, a colossus of the Blair and Brown eras who survived nine editors at the paper. He tells Matt about writing the story that killed Tony Blair's dreams of joining the Euro, getting stuck on Margaret Thatcher's battle bus, and what happened when he was locked up in Africa with Neil Kinnock. The Political Editors is half a century of politics told by the people who wrote the first draft of history for the Times. Plus: Manveen Rana and Mat...
Aug 24, 2023•42 min
Westminster veteran Sir Peter Riddell tells Matt about his time charting the dramatic end to the Thatcher era, underestimating John Major, Labour coming back from the wilderness, and how the job of covering politics has changed over the years. The Political Editors is half a century of politics told by the people who wrote the first draft of history for the Times. Plus: Columnists Robert Crampton and Hadley Freeman discuss Andy Burnham giving an honest answer about wanting to be Labour leader, t...
Aug 23, 2023•44 min
Julian Haviland became political editor of the Times in 1981, but his career in journalism began in the 1950s and covered every prime minister from Alec Douglas-Home to Margaret Thatcher. He tells Matt about his recollections of a smug Jim Callaghan, the decent but flawed Harold Wilson, and Thatcher having a stiff drink before her weekly audience with Queen Elizabeth. He also reveals that the Queen was horrified by police conduct at the Battle of Orgreave during the miners' strike, a story he co...
Aug 22, 2023•42 min
The Political Editors is half a century of politics told by the people who wrote the first draft of history for the Times. First up is Fred Emery, who became political editor in 1977 after a series of foreign postings including covering the Vietnam War and Watergate. He tells Matt about getting the scoop that President Nixon was about to resign, the fall of the Callaghan government and what it was like to interview Margaret Thatcher. Plus: Columnists Robert Colvile and Libby Purves discuss what ...
Aug 21, 2023•42 min
Has political correctness come to bury comedy, or to save it? Patrick Maguire speaks to David Stubbs, who believes 'wokeness' has been good rather than bad, and takes a tour through the changing face of British comedy. Plus: Columnists Laura Freeman and Ailbhe Rea discuss why Labour is spending so much time talking about class , the decline of the chat show, and how to stage a heist . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 18, 2023•43 min
Military coups are "back" according to the UN, with Niger the latest African nation to have its government overthrown. Patrick asks why they're on the rise, and discusses the most consequential and surprising coups to have ever happened. The Times' Catherine Philp recounts what it was like to report on the 1997 coup in Cambodia with bullets flying overhead. Plus: Manveen Rana and Matthew Bell look ahead to Rishi Sunak's September reset, whether the UK's economic success can be measured by the nu...
Aug 17, 2023•47 min
It's Wednesday, but with the House of Commons in recess we bring you the other PMQs - Patrick Maguire Questions. Patrick is joined by Red Box Editor Lara Spirit and political commentator Isabel Hardman to answer listeners' questions, including what happens if Labour doesn't win the next election, can Nadine Dorries be forced to stand down as an MP, and where did all the Corbynites go? Plus: Columnists Robert Crampton and Phil Tinline discuss whether there are political rewards for falling inflat...
Aug 16, 2023•47 min
It's 16 years since Tony Blair walked away from frontline politics, forced to step down by a party that had fallen out of love with him. But with Keir Starmer keen to hug the three-time election winner close, could he and his Institute for Global Change have a big influence over British politics in the future? Plus: Columnists Robert Colvile and Helen Lewis discuss the implications of Donald Trump's indictment in Georgia, Labour's contortions over congestion charging , and why Parliament is stil...
Aug 15, 2023•47 min
Twenty five years after Bill Clinton infamously denied having an affair with Monica Lewinsky, Patrick speaks to Damian Whitworth, who remembers the chaos that gripped US politics while he was covering the story of The Times. Boris Johnson's former Director of Communications Guto Harri, Andrew Gimson and Isabel Hardman analyse the best and worst denials made by UK politicians. Plus: Anoosh Chakelian from the New Statesman and former Number 10 advisor Jimmy Mcloughlin discuss the government's late...
Aug 14, 2023•47 min
This Saturday we're bringing you an extra episode from another Times podcast - Stories of Our Times - one remarkable story, told in depth, each day. With an election just around the corner, politicians are quitting Westminster in their droves, many of them under 40. Is the job broken – or are they just jumping before they're pushed? We meet the leavers and reluctant remainers. Luke Jones speaks to The Sunday Times columnist Charlotte Ivers. Clips: Times Radio, ITV News, Global. Hosted on Acast. ...
Aug 12, 2023•28 min
How do politicians keep fit? Rishi Sunak spends his holidays going to Taylor Swift-themed spin classes; Keir Starmer prefers to kick around a football. Former health minister Lord Bethell and Tanni Grey-Thompson, Paralympian and crossbench peer, tell Patrick Maguire how to stay healthy in Westminster. Plus: Columnists India Knight and James Marriott discuss Labour's cautious approach to Lee Anderson , youthful cynicism and whether impressions are a dying art form. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/...
Aug 11, 2023•44 min
Is Parliament broken, and how can we fix it? Chair of the Committees on Standards and Privileges Chris Bryant joins Patrick Maguire to discuss his experience of abuse in the Commons, whether MP's behaviour is now worse than it's ever been and why MPs should be allowed to call their colleagues 'liars'. Plus: Columnists Patrick Kidd and Dorothy Byrne discuss travelling for an operation, Nicola Sturgeon's ‘personal and revealing’ memoir and whether your employer should pay for your lunch? Hosted on...
Aug 10, 2023•46 min
It's a journalistic cliché that very little happens in politics while MPs are on holiday during the Parliamentary recess. But is it fair to describe August as 'silly season'? Historian Phil Tinline joins Patrick Maguire to debunk this myth and look at the biggest political moments of summers gone by. Plus: columnists Alice Thomson and Carol Midgely discuss toxic masculinity , Matt Hancock's TikToks , and whether Beyond Meat is past its best . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...
Aug 09, 2023•48 min
A decade of low economic growth has seen Britain fall behind it's wealthy counterparts, and nations like Poland and South Korea are set to become richer than the UK within the decade. How has Britain become so poor, and what can be done about it? Patrick asks the experts, and speaks to a former MP in the American deep-south to find out. Plus John Stevens and Jane Merrick discuss whether boilers are the new front in green politics, the Greenpeace activist standing for Labour and the rules of etiq...
Aug 08, 2023•44 min
Keir Starmer is firmly ahead in the polls, but nothing in politics is ever certain. So, how do you lose an election that seems unloseable? Patrick Maguire looks at Hilary Clinton's defeat to Donald Trump with Corey Dukes, former state director for Hillary Clinton's campaign in Pennsylvania, and the Australian Labor Party's shock loss in 2019 with Ryan Liddell, former Chief of Staff to Bill Shorten. Plus: Columnists Libby Purves and Rachel Sylvester discuss Liz Truss' honours resignation list , d...
Aug 07, 2023•41 min
Very few people in Westminster have had as many lunches as The Sunday Times' Chief political commentator Tim Shipman. So for the final day of food week, he settles his bet for a big lunch by joining Matt at Hawksmoor in Borough Market, to discuss wining and dining ministers, how he is getting on with his book, and the senior politician who had a cheesy doggie bag. Plus: Columnists India Knight and James Marriot chat about cheering up , beans and what it takes to be a professional beer taster Hos...
Aug 04, 2023•58 min
What is it like to cook for world leaders, celebrities, and even the Queen? Graham Howarth is the Head Chef at Chequers - the PM's country retreat. He tells Matt Chorley about being left speechless when the Queen came for dinner, and the prime minister who fancied themselves as a cook. Plus: Columnists Giles Coren and Abbie Moulton discuss going vegan, new food trends, and why burrata is overrated. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 03, 2023•42 min
Join Matt for a pint in Westminster's Red Lion pub. He talks to Gordon Brown's former spin doctor Charlie Whelan about how he inadvertently killed Tony Blair's dream of Britain joining the Euro with a spritzer in his hand, while Ben Wright talks us through which prime minister loved a drink the best. Plus: Alice Thomson and Robert Crampton eat some insects and discuss the plastic bag tax , wild camping in Dartmoor , and debate brown sauce vs ketchup . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for m...
Aug 02, 2023•45 min
After Rishi Sunak delayed the ban on buy-one-get-one-free deals on fatty foods for two years, Matt takes stock of how much the nanny state is policing what we put in our shopping baskets and debates whether more government regulation could help solve the obesity crisis. Plus: Jane Merrick and Matthew Bell discuss the politics of milk, tougher sentencing for shoplifters and how cooking with your spouse can make or break your relationship. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informatio...
Aug 01, 2023•47 min
Food week begins with the history of Bellamy's, a restaurant that's been serving politicians' portions for 250 years. Charles Walker is the MP in charge of all the bars and restaurants in parliament and he tells Matt that Keir Starmer is wrong to criticise the salads on offer, and why a shortage of chefs has led to some eateries closing. Plus: Columnists Libby Purves and Iain Martin discuss green politics becoming the new dividing line , whether life coaches can solve the problem of long-term un...
Jul 31, 2023•42 min
More than one hundred new political parties have already been registered this year, but what does it take to create one that goes the distance? Kate McCann is in for Matt, and speaks to former First Minister Alex Salmond, the Rubbish Party's Sally Cogley, and Maia Thomas, spokesperson for the Transform party, to find out. Plus: Columnists India Knight and James Marriott discuss 'global boiling', politicians on holidays , whether films should be shorter , and delighting in others' relationship wo...
Jul 28, 2023•43 min
A group of people from across England who voted for the Conservatives at the 2019 election, but now say they plan to vote for Labour give their verdict on Rishi Sunak, who they describe as a "clone", and Keir Starmer, who they think is "smug". Matt is joined by James Johnson of J.L. Partners to find out why they're switching, and what might bring them back. Plus: Manveen Rana and Matthew Parris discuss whether MPs should be banned from drinking in parliament if they behave badly , if it matters ...
Jul 27, 2023•43 min
