For the first episode of the year, host Aggie Chambre goes inside right-wing TV channel GB News and investigates the role it might play in shaping the future of the U.K. Conservative Party. And she looks at the scandals, controversy and culture that has surrounded the channel so far. With the help of the channel's chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos, and former presenters including Simon McCoy and Guto Harri, Aggie tells the story of how the organization went from a chaotic launch to finding it...
Feb 02, 2024•59 min•Season 13Ep. 1
For the final episode of the year, host Jack Blanchard and a series of expert guests look ahead to 2024 and what is certain to be an extraordinary year of world politics. The Spectator’s Katy Balls and the Times’ Patrick Maguire survey the election prospects of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer respectively, while More in Common’s Luke Tryl — a polling and focus group expert — assesses Britain’s current electoral landscape. The Resolution Foundation’s David Willetts looks ahead to the Budget in March...
Dec 22, 2023•57 min•Season 12Ep. 8
Host Aggie Chambre explores the crisis in Britain's prison system and asks what can be done to fix it. She goes inside a prison riddled with drugs and violence, and hears from the governor and from long-serving inmates about what's really going on. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk sets out his plan to overhaul the sector, and why he believes part of the answer is to stop handing out jail terms for less serious crimes. Former Tory leader Michael Howard relives his famous "prison works" speech of 1993...
Dec 15, 2023•44 min•Season 12Ep. 7
In the week Boris Johnson finally said sorry for the mistakes made by his government during the COVID-19 pandemic, host Aggie Chambre explores the art of the political apology — and asks how politicians can redeem themselves after completely screwing up. Johnson's former Downing Street aide Cleo Watson analyses her former boss's apology, and why he chose to deploy it this week. Neil Parish, the former Tory MP who apologized — and quit — after getting caught pornography in the House of Commons ch...
Dec 08, 2023•48 min•Season 12Ep. 6
With opposition parties starting to dream about life in Whitehall as the next election looms, host Aggie Chambre takes a look at how politicians actually prepare for government. She hears from the key players involved in the 2010 election — the last time opposition parties came to power. The former Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell, then the most senior civil servant in the country, recalls an eyebrow-raising chat with David Cameron when he was leader of the opposition. Former Tory minister Nick B...
Dec 01, 2023•43 min•Season 12Ep. 5
With opinion polls showing Donald Trump beating President Joe Biden in key battleground states a year out from the next U.S. election, podcast host Jack Blanchard asks whether Westminster is even remotely ready for the prospect of a second Trump presidency. Britain's former Ambassador to the U.S. Kim Darroch and ex-Downing Street comms chief Katie Perrior recall their own interactions with Trump during his first tenure as president, while Keir Starmer's former chief of staff Chris Ward considers...
Nov 24, 2023•45 min•Season 12Ep. 4
In the week U.K Home Secretary Suella Braverman was finally sacked, host Aggie Chambre asks what you actually have to do to get fired from the government — and what the calculations are for the leaders doing the firing. Neil Kinnock, the former Labour leader, recalls his "underhand" sacking of two junior ministers, while Cleo Watson, a former deputy chief of staff at Downing Street, reveals the secrets of the reshuffle whiteboard. Former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan tells Aggie what really h...
Nov 17, 2023•42 min•Season 12Ep. 3
Britain's civil service is under fire like never before — criticised as an obstructionist "blob" by ministers and castigated for a "terrifyingly sh*t" response to the COVID-19 pandemic by former Downing Street aide Dominic Cummings. So what do U.K. government officials — normally banned from speaking to the media — actually make of it all? This week in a special 'focus group' episode, five former mid-ranking civil servants sit down with host Aggie Chambre to lift the lid on life inside Whitehall...
Nov 10, 2023•41 min•Season 12Ep. 2
As war rages in the Middle East, host Jack Blanchard sits down with Alf Dubs, the 91-year-old Labour peer who arrived in Britain on the Kindertransport — which organized the rescue of children from the Nazis — aged just six. Dubs reflects on his experiences as a child refugee in 1939 and on how he forged a new life in the U.K. He explains why he got into politics, and how he has since devoted much of his life to helping other young people in dire need. He calls for more humanitarian support for ...
Nov 03, 2023•42 min•Season 12Ep. 1
With Labour Party leader Keir Starmer dragging his party onto the center ground, host Aggie Chambre asks what remains of the left in Britain — and what the future may hold for this increasingly marginalized group. She hears from three Labour MPs in the left-wing socialist campaign group, all former members of Jeremy Corbyn's shadow Cabinet. Dawn Butler, Clive Lewis and Ian Lavery describe a widespread sense of nervousness at being at odds with the leadership following what Lavery calls a "purge"...
Oct 13, 2023•45 min•Season 11Ep. 8
One year on from Liz Truss’ chaotic premiership, host Ailbhe Rea takes on what remains a controversial topic: the role free-market think tanks really play in our politics. Ailbhe interviews the co-founder of one of these free-market think tanks, the ASI’s Madsen Pirie, and hears his candid account of how they wield influence across Westminster. Then we dive inside the funding of these think tanks, with the man who beats the drum against so-called dark money in politics, investigative journalist ...
Oct 06, 2023•45 min•Season 11Ep. 7
With Conservative Party conference about to commence, host Aggie Chambre asks the question on everyone's lips: What the hell is the point of the conference season anyway? She speaks to former Deputy Prime Minister Michael Hesiltine about what conferences used to be like in years gone by. Sky News' Sam Coates and POLITICO's own Jack Blanchard talk about their importance for journalists, and how and when conference events can shape the narrative. The Spectator's Fraser Nelson tells Aggie about his...
Sep 29, 2023•44 min•Season 11Ep. 6
Host Ailbhe Rea hits the campaign trail in the greater Glasgow constituency of Rutherglen and Hamilton West, where a high-profile by-election battle between Labour and the ruling Scottish National Party looks very much like next year's general election in Scotland in microcosm. Ailbhe meets the leaders of the two parties battling it out here: the SNP leader and Scottish First Minister, Humza Yousaf, and the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar. She meets their candidates, the SNP's Katy Loudon an...
Sep 22, 2023•43 min•Season 11Ep. 5
This week host Aggie Chambre sits down with her old boss Robert Peston, the TV journalist who shot to fame during the last financial crash. Almost two decades on, ITV's political editor remains one of the best-known faces in U.K. politics. He's also joined a celebrity band with his pal Ed Balls, launched a high-profile podcast, and just published his second novel, a fictional work set in the chaos of the 2007/08 financial meltdown. In a wide-ranging interview Peston discusses the art and the eth...
Sep 15, 2023•47 min•Season 11Ep. 4
In the week we marked the first anniversary of Liz Truss taking office — and Boris Johnson leaving Downing Street — host Aggie Chambre explores what former prime ministers do next with their lives. Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, fired by Truss 38 days into her 45 day premiership, talks of the “emptiness” and “numbness” that comes with leaving Downing Street, and how he felt “let down” by his old friend. Speaking agency founder Jeremy Lee, recently retired, is gloriously indiscreet as he regal...
Sep 08, 2023•49 min•Season 11Ep. 3
As MPs return to parliament after the summer break, host Ailbhe Rea and an array of expert guests provide an essential briefing on everything that’s coming up in British politics over the next few months. The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls takes Ailbhe through Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s "not-a-reset" leadership reset, and explains No. 10's thinking around reshuffles, the King's Speech, the party conferences ... and its plan to go "in the gutter" for a fresh wave of attacks on Labour l...
Sep 01, 2023•48 min•Season 11Ep. 2
With Westminster largely empty during the summer recess, host Aggie Chambre heads out of London to watch MPs in different parts of the country meet the people who really matter — the voters. At constituency surgeries in Glasgow East, Pontypridd and North Norfolk, Aggie watches politicians help desperate constituents who have nowhere else to turn, hearing heartbreaking stories of poverty as well as local rows about overgrown trees and NHS dentists. And on doorstep visits she sees them met by bark...
Aug 25, 2023•42 min•Season 11Ep. 1
Westminster Insider will be back next Friday! Hosts Aggie Chambre and Ailbhe Rea chat about what to expect from season 11 of the weekly podcast from POLITICO. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 18, 2023•1 min
In the final episode of the season, host Aggie Chambre explores the clandestine operations, secretive briefing wars and campaign stunts that make up the darker side of politics — and asks if there is still a place for such activities in 2023. She speaks to crossbench peer John Woodcock, who — in a former life — was a Labour Party researcher and occasional undercover spy. He tells Aggie how one secret mission in 2005 derailed the career of a former deputy Conservative Party chairman. Former Downi...
Jul 07, 2023•43 min•Season 10Ep. 8
In the second half of a two-part profile, hosts Ailbhe Rea and Aggie Chambre take a closer look at the man hoping to become Britain's next prime minister. This week they take listeners through Starmer's political career so far, from entering parliament as a political novice in 2015, through the difficult days of Jeremy Corbyn's leadership, to his own successful leadership bid and beyond. They hear from Starmer's closest political advisers: Ben Nunn, his former head of communications; Chris Ward,...
Jun 30, 2023•50 min•Season 10Ep. 7
In the first part of a major profile of Labour leader Keir Starmer, podcast hosts Ailbhe Rea and Aggie Chambre take a deeper look at the man hoping to become Britain's next prime minister. Starting their journey from the kitchen of the house in Surrey where Starmer grew up, they follow his path through childhood and university toward a stellar legal career, speaking to those who’ve known him along the way. Andrew Cooper, a schoolfriend who would go on to be an adviser to Prime Minister David Cam...
Jun 23, 2023•46 min•Season 10Ep. 6
Two weeks ago, POLITICO revealed Geraint Davies was accused of sexual harassment by 5 different women. The Labour MP said he did not recognize the allegations but apologized if he inadvertently caused offence to anyone. This week, host Aggie Chambre asks why we keep hearing new allegations of sexual misconduct and bullying in the British parliament, and asks what can be done to make it better. She speaks to her POLITICO colleague Esther Webber, who has broken numerous stories on inappropriate be...
Jun 16, 2023•39 min•Season 10Ep. 5
Host Ailbhe Rea explores how and why dealing with migrants crossing the English Channel has shot to the top of the prime minister’s to-do list — and what he’s actually doing about it. Pollster Scarlett Maguire outlines the political headache for Sunak, while disgruntled Tory MP Matt Warman explains how this has now become the top issue of concern for his constituents in Boston and Skegness — hundreds of miles from the Kent coast. Ailbhe also meets an Iranian asylum seeker, Ali, who made that dan...
Jun 09, 2023•41 min•Season 10Ep. 4
Host Aggie Chambre speaks to Westminster spouses from across the political spectrum about the ups and downs of life married to a British MP. Felicity Mercer, wife and constituency aide of Tory MP Johnny, tells of her pride in her husband's work, but also of the political abuse they receive — and what happens when that reaches your front door. Tory MP Mark Fletcher and his charity worker husband Will discuss the struggle of life in such a long-distance relationship, while vet Kate Carmichael, wif...
Jun 02, 2023•46 min•Season 10Ep. 3
POLITICO’s Ailbhe Rea takes us inside the art of the political interview. In a rare conversation on the other side of the microphone, Today programme presenter and ex-BBC political editor Nick Robinson opens up about what’s going through his mind in the middle of a high-profile grilling, politicians lying, persuading them to come on the Today programme, and what happened behind the scenes when he notoriously told Boris Johnson to “stop talking.” Rob Burley, who has plotted political interviews w...
May 26, 2023•50 min•Season 10Ep. 2
In a special episode, host Aggie Chambre gathers a group of 20-something politicos who spent years working as aides and researchers for some of Britain's best-known politicians — and hears what working for an MP is really like. They tell stories of drunken sleepovers in parliament, MPs' texts at 4 a.m., and high-pressure casework for distraught constituents which changed their lives forever. And the group explains how in the world of Westminster, your MP is also your "judge, jury, and executione...
May 19, 2023•38 min•Season 10Ep. 1
In a special anniversary episode 25 years on from the agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland, host Ailbhe Rea heads home to Belfast to retell the gripping story of how a historic compromise was reached. Former British PM Tony Blair and former Irish premier Bertie Ahern explain why — and how — they decided to pursue a peace deal when they both came to power in 1997, and recall key moments of drama from inside the negotiating room. David Kerr, right-hand man to the late David Trimble — t...
Apr 07, 2023•1 hr 22 min•Season 9Ep. 8
In the week Jeremy Corbyn was blocked from running again as a Labour MP, host Aggie Chambre takes a look at the secretive world of MPs' selections — and learns how insidery cliques, funding and old-school sexism can all be barriers to entry. Aggie takes a road trip with the man who helped select Rishi Sunak for his North Yorkshire seat, and hears more about the prime minister's slick sales pitch to local members. Tory peer Anne Jenkin discusses her efforts to get more women into parliament, whil...
Mar 31, 2023•46 min•Season 9Ep. 7
Westminster Insider profiles the woman who could be running Britain alongside Keir Starmer in a year's time. Host Ailbhe Rea sits down with Labour Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves to explore her background, her political instincts, her successes and failures ... and tries her hand at a game of chess against the former child star. Reeves takes us back to the south London of the 1980s where she grew up; the Oxford University of her New Labour years; her career in banking both pre-and post-global fi...
Mar 24, 2023•48 min•Season 9Ep. 6
Host Aggie Chambre explores the best and worst political U-turns of recent times — and ponders how and why certain politicians get away with abrupt changes of heart. Former Lib Dem Cabinet Minister David Laws recalls the tuition fee furor that sunk his party, while former Downing Street chief of staff Fiona Hill discusses Theresa May's swiftly-abandoned 'Dementia Tax' of 2017. Liz Truss' close allies Simon Clarke and Sarah Ludlow relive the U-turn over her disastrous 'mini-budget' of 2022, while...
Mar 17, 2023•45 min•Season 9Ep. 5
