The Greater Manchester mayoralty made Andy Burnham famous. Now he's hoping he can take the approach he developed in the city to the whole country. This week on Westminster Insider, host Sascha O'Sullivan speaks to four serving mayors — and one former one about whether the role will prepare Burnham for the highest office in the land. Labour Mayor of the East Midlands Claire Ward, who was a minister in Gordon Brown's government, told Sascha that mayors have much more power than junior minister. Ol...
Jun 26, 2026•32 min•Season 22Ep. 8
Makerfield has proved to be the making of Andy Burnham’s bid for the top job, but could it also be the moment that Nigel Farage’s ambitions for Number 10 took a knock? While Reform UK continues to lead the national polls, it failed to capture the Greater Manchester seat last week and was beaten into third place by the Conservatives, the party it’s seeking to replace, in two Scottish by-elections. Is the wind going off Reform’s sails just as Labour hopes to revive its fortunes under a new prime m...
Jun 24, 2026•33 min•Season 22Ep. 7
Andy Burnham is the new Labour MP for Makerfield, heading for parliament and, likely, Number 10. But what does his momentous win here on the outskirts of Wigan tell us about his chances of masterminding a wider Labour revival as prime minister? Host Patrick Baker has been in the constituency over the past few weeks, speaking to people who live and work in this curiously normal part of the country about the prospect of a Burnham premiership. On the campaign trail, Labour MP Peter Dowd reveals wha...
Jun 19, 2026•35 min•Season 22Ep. 6
In a bonus episode of Westminster Insider, host Sascha O’Sullivan sits down with Jack Blanchard to find out who is the real Andy Burnham. Jack talks through the journey Burnham has made from loyal minister in the new Labour years to the man he is today — and the most pivotal moments that have shaped him as the politician who is now hoping to win the Makerfield by-election and, eventually, the keys to No10 Downing Street. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Jun 14, 2026•24 min•Season 22Ep. 6
Climate change, Palestine, Brexit, the Iraq War. Westminster has seen it all when it comes to protests, and the inhabitants of Parliament are largely desensitised to the angry cries at the gates. This week on Westminster Insider host Sascha O'Sullivan asks: what's the point of marching on Whitehall? Peter Tatchell, career protestor famous for his involvement in the gay rights movement, explains how the LGBT marches in the 1990s and early 2000s helped move the needle. But former Conservative MP a...
Jun 12, 2026•41 min•Season 22Ep. 5
Ten years — and six prime ministers — ago Britain was on the brink of voting to leave the European Union. Host Patrick Baker was in his first job as a TV news producer during the referendum campaign. A decade on, he’s gone back to the people who lived through its biggest moments to find out what was really happening behind the scenes, and how those events changed British politics forever. Matthew Elliott, chief executive of Vote Leave, recounts the brutal battle with rival group Leave.EU to beco...
Jun 05, 2026•41 min•Season 22Ep. 4
At the local elections, the Conservative Party lost hundreds of councillors and dozens of seats across England, Scotland and Wales, but Kemi Badenoch declared a comeback. So this week, Sascha O'Sullivan goes inside the Conservative Party's hopes for a renewal. She speaks to Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride in Solihull and James Cowling of Next Gen Tories about why they think the Tories can make a revival. Henry Hill, political editor at The Critic, who has spent years covering Conservative politics,...
May 29, 2026•38 min•Season 22Ep. 3
As Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and former health secretary Wes Streeting jostle for influence in the Labour party, host Sascha O'Sullivan looks at what it takes to turn around a party's fortunes mid-term. Former John Major aide Daniel Finkelstein explains how the Conservative Prime Minister managed to win the 1992 elections against the odds and differentiate himself from his predecessor, Margaret Thatcher. Theo Bertram, former Tony Blair and Gordon Brown advisor turned think tank boss,...
May 22, 2026•42 min•Season 22Ep. 2
With Keir Starmer fighting for his political life after the most perilous week of his premiership, the prime minister and his inner circle have been engaged in a desperate rearguard effort to shore up his position. This week on Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker lifts the lid on what life is really like inside Number 10 when a Prime Minister and their shrinking band of loyal advisers enter what Westminster knows as “bunker mode.” Boris Johnson’s former aide Ross Kempsell sets out his “rules...
May 15, 2026•33 min•Season 22Ep. 1
The Victorians called Britain and Germany “awkward cousins.” These days, Keir Starmer is trying to revive that Anglo-German amity as part of a broader reset with the European Union. The prime minister has wooed Chancellor Friedrich Merz since the Christian Democrat leader took power in Berlin last year, leading to the signing of the Kensington Treaty nine months ago. The treaty was designed to fill the gap in bilateral relations after Brexit and give the Anglo-German relationship more power with...
Apr 17, 2026•36 min
Despite the war in Iran and its economic consequences preoccupying ministers, much work is going on behind closed doors in Whitehall to strike a closer relationship with Brussels. Nearly a decade after Britain voted to leave the EU, Keir Starmer has tasked his ministers with negotiating a post-Brexit reset that aims for closer alignment with the bloc in a bid to bring down prices and cut regulations on businesses. In this interview episode of Westminster Insider, host Anne McElvoy talks to one o...
Apr 02, 2026•31 min
As Westminster rolls into recess, host Sascha O'Sullivan looks at some of the problems which bedevil SW1 from voter disengagement to constant reshuffles to find out if political systems from Australia to Italy might have the solutions. Sascha speaks to Australian-raised Labour MP Lauren Edwards about the push for compulsory voting here in Britain and how it makes Australians more involved in the democratic processes which run their country. Italian journalist Marco Varvello explains the polling ...
Mar 27, 2026•38 min•Season 21Ep. 8
From ChatGPT-written speeches to constituents flooding MPs with AI-generated emails, artificial intelligence has arrived in Westminster. In this episode of Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker explores how politicians and ministers are scrambling to respond, balancing fears about deepfakes, bias and online harms with a determination to harness AI for economic growth. The UK’s first AI minister, Kanishka Narayan, says he believes that an artificial intelligence more capable than humans (so-cal...
Mar 20, 2026•41 min•Season 21Ep. 7
On May 7, Labour faces losing some of its oldest heartlands. In Wales, the party has dominated elections for 104 years, but is, according to polls, fighting for third or fourth place against powerful forces on the left and right – Plaid Cymru and Reform. Host Sascha O'Sullivan and POLITICO's political editor Dan Bloom took the train to Newport and drove through South Wales, where the fight is fiercest, to find out how the parties are vying for the top spot in the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament. Th...
Mar 13, 2026•40 min•Season 21Ep. 6
The Palace of Westminster towers over the River Thames as a symbol of British democracy. But look a little closer and the building is falling apart. From fire risks and asbestos to crumbling stonework and miles of aging wiring, experts warn the U.K. Parliament is becoming an increasingly dangerous place to work for MPs, peers and staff. The Restoration and Renewal Programme has spent years trying to work out how to fix it. But now, the politics of repairing Parliament may be even more complicate...
Mar 06, 2026•48 min•Season 21Ep. 5
The Green Party have won their very first by-election. Westminster Insider Host Sascha O’Sullivan goes inside the Greens’ effort to win the seat, and finds out how the battle for this seat will inform the three-way fights between the Greens, Labour and Reform UK. She speaks to Hannah Spencer on the election trail – and on the night itself. And she speaks to the other candidates, Angeliki Stogia for Labour and Matt Goodwin for Reform to find out what worked – and what didn’t. As Labour licks its ...
Feb 27, 2026•32 min•Season 21Ep. 4
Keir Starmer may have survived a political near-death experience last week. But with a perilous by-election looming and punishing May elections on the horizon, few in Westminster think the prime minister is truly in the clear. With fresh jeopardy ahead, could Starmer become the fifth prime minister in a decade to fall short of a full term? This week on Westminster Insider , host Patrick Baker asks: why don’t UK prime ministers last anymore? Political historian and host of the Past, Present, Futu...
Feb 20, 2026•47 min•Season 21Ep. 3
As Keir Starmer flies to Germany for the Munich Security Conference, Westminster Insider Host Sascha O'Sullivan finds out if the Prime Minister's time abroad has damaged him here at home – and if it has, if it's been worth it. Sascha spoke to half a dozen current or former Labour advisors or government insiders about Starmer's approach to foreign policy. With the help of POLITICO Foreign and Defense Correspondent Esther Webber, she pieces together Starmer's legacy on the world stage. Olivia O'Su...
Feb 13, 2026•40 min•Season 21Ep. 2
After the most difficult week of Keir Starmer's premiership, with mounting speculation over how long he can last as Prime Minister, this week on Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker explores Labour's long and not-too-illustrious history of failed coups and botched insurrections. Former Home Secretary Alan Johnson remembers the "curry house plot" in 2006 that forced Tony Blair to bring forward his departure from office and urges Starmer "not to let himself be forced out". One of those at the h...
Feb 06, 2026•39 min•Season 21Ep. 1
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 challe...
Dec 19, 2025•42 min•Season 20Ep. 8
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 bet...
Dec 12, 2025•45 min•Season 20Ep. 7
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 the...
Dec 05, 2025•40 min
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,...
Dec 02, 2025•34 min•Season 20Ep. 5
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, ...
Nov 21, 2025•38 min•Season 20Ep. 4
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 pr...
Nov 14, 2025•45 min•Season 20Ep. 3
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 Environment...
Nov 07, 2025•39 min•Season 20Ep. 2
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...
Oct 31, 2025•44 min•Season 20Ep. 1
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 i...
Oct 24, 2025•41 min
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 wi...
Oct 17, 2025•32 min
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 ha...
Oct 10, 2025•36 min•Season 19Ep. 8
