This week on Westminster Insider, host Sascha O'Sullivan lifts on the curtain on the best political lunches — who to invite, where to go, and what to talk about. She speaks to Vivek Singh, owner of the Cinnamon Club, a SW1 culinary institution, about the two decades of drama and intrigue he's witnessed over his famous lamb shanks. Singh tells Sascha about the best tables — where you can see everyone but no one can see you — and how Gordon Brown was partial to a spot of grouse. Former Labour MP a...
Nov 15, 2024•40 min•Season 15Ep. 24
Westminster Insider heads to Washington to capture a historic election night that changed America — and the world. Host Emilio Casalicchio takes us on a wild ride across the political epicenter of the U.S. as the votes began flooding in and the crucial swing states fell to Donald Trump. He spoke to hopeful Democratic campaigners in a plush club in downtown D.C. and excitable Trump fans packed into a dive bar on the less-polished eastern side of the city. As the results became clear, Emilio heade...
Nov 08, 2024•28 min•Season 15Ep. 23
Rachel Reeves' first budget was a historic moment — for her, for the Labour Party ... and for the nation's tax burden. So this week Westminster Insider host Sascha O'Sullivan goes back in history to find out what makes a budget truly memorable. Historian Robert Saunders revisits William Gladstone's bumper 19th Century budget speeches, which sometimes lasted four or five hours. And he discusses the archaic traditions, begun under Gladstone, which U.K. chancellors still follow to this day. Fellow ...
Nov 01, 2024•46 min•Season 15Ep. 22
Alistair Campbell famously once proclaimed of Tony Blair's government: "we don't do God." Two decades on, this week on Westminster Insider, host Sascha O'Sullivan goes to the politicians' church St Bartholomew the `Great to find out if that's still true. She speaks to some of parliament's most prominent Christians about the influence of religion on politics. Liberal Democrat Tim Farron tells Sascha about stepping step down from the leadership of his party after being confronted with a choice bet...
Oct 11, 2024•54 min•Season 15Ep. 21
Host Jack Blanchard goes for a long lunch with Sir Graham Brady, the former chairman of the 1922 committee of backbench Conservative MPs — and the man who helped bring down multiple Tory prime ministers. Over a meal of rare roast beef and Argentine malbec, Sir Graham picks through his 14 years at the helm of the 1922 committee, and his run-ins with the five different prime ministers who occupied Downing Street through his period in office. Sir Graham recalls the topics which really made David Ca...
Oct 04, 2024•49 min•Season 15Ep. 7
This year’s Conservative Party conference will be a beauty pageant for would-be leaders, with each one setting out their stall as to why they’re the right person to head up the party. So this week Westminster Insider host Sascha O’Sullivan dives into what it’s really like to be a contender in a Tory leadership campaign — and how candidates can appeal to both MPs and party members alike. Andrea Leadsom, who made it through to the final two leadership candidates in 2016 before dramatically droppin...
Sep 27, 2024•51 min•Season 15Ep. 6
The red half of Westminster will shortly decamp to Liverpool for the first Labour conference since the party's general election landslide. Host Sascha O'Sullivan looks at a group which played a key role in that victory — the left-wing think-tank Labour Together. Sascha pieces together the fascinating origin story of Labour Together, speaking to ITV Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana, author of a new book, which details the group's influence, and Keir Starmer biographer Tom Baldwin. Andrew C...
Sep 20, 2024•55 min•Ep. 126
Days after the drama of the first U.S. presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, host Jack Blanchard asks senior journalists on both sides of the Atlantic — what's it really like to cover an American election? Podcaster and author Jon Sopel reflects on his years covering the White House as the BBC's U.S. editor, recounting famous televised run-ins with Trump and his predecessor Barack Obama. The BBC's Henry Zeffman recalls his own year in the U.S. as a young reporter with the T...
Sep 13, 2024•48 min•Season 15Ep. 4
More than 300,000 people in Britain — from individuals to whole families — do not have a safe and secure home. Some live on the streets. Others are sleeping in sheds or garages or spending the night in their cars. And many, including more than 145,000 children, live in temporary accommodation, which often means a family sharing a single room. But things don’t need to be this way. Lloyds Banking Group and Crisis, the U.K. homelessness charity, are calling for the U.K. to build 1 million more home...
Sep 11, 2024•18 min
As the new Labour government introduces its landmark legislation to nationalize the railways, host Emilio Casalicchio asks: How do we get the trains to run on time? He travels to Japan, where privatized high speed trains whiz passengers between cities at 300 mph and delays are measured in seconds not minutes. And he examines the nationalized rail system in Switzerland, home to a joined up transport network with passenger experience at the heart of the business. Former Transport Secretary George ...
Sep 06, 2024•43 min•Season 15Ep. 3
As Westminster heads back to work after the summer recess, host Jack Blanchard talks to six political experts about what’s coming up in the months ahead. The FT’s Stephen Bush and the Spectator’s Katy Balls discuss the challenges facing new Prime Minister Keir Starmer this autumn, and consider the Tory leadership contest is likely to play out. Ben Zaranko of the Institute for Fiscal Studies runs the runes over the U.K. economy, with one eye on the all-important budget of October 30. POLITICO’s o...
Aug 30, 2024•57 min•Season 15Ep. 2
Host Sascha O'Sullivan meets a few of the new parliamentarians slowly figuring out their way through Westminster. New Labour MPs — and soon-to-be office buddies — Jake Richards and Chris Curtis give Sascha rundown of their whirlwind first few days in SW1 and a taste of their plans to make a difference in parliament. Lola McEvoy, newly elected Labour MP for Darlington, re-lives the nerves of giving her maiden speech directly after Reform Leader Nigel Farage. She explains the challenges of very qu...
Aug 23, 2024•48 min•Season 15Ep. 1
Our next season of Westminster Insider is gearing up with new episodes next week. To whet your appetite, we’ve reached into our extensive back catalogue to bring you one of our fan-favorite episodes – whether you’re new to the show or been a listener from the beginning, we hope you enjoy revisiting this historical deep dive into what ex-prime ministers do once the gig is up, hosted by Aggie Chambre. Former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, fired by Truss 38 days into her 45 day premiership, talks of th...
Aug 16, 2024•49 min
As Keir Starmer enters 10 Downing Street on the back of a landslide election victory, host Sascha O'Sullivan takes us inside the night power shifted in the U.K. In the final episode of the season, she brings us an hour by hour account of the most consequential general election for a generation, speaking to political insiders for their take on events as they unfolded. At the moment the 10 p.m. exit poll dropped, Sascha spoke to Tom Lubbock, pollster and co-founder of JL Partners, about the implic...
Jul 05, 2024•35 min•Season 14Ep. 10
As the general election reaches its final week, host Sascha O'Sullivan takes us inside the last push of the campaign. She explores how parties use every trick of the trade, from advertising to frantic leafleting, to try to capture every possible vote and travels to the BBC debate in Nottingham where the main party leaders had one final face off. Ayesha Hazarika, broadcaster and former adviser to Ed Miliband, explains how many voters begin tune into an election campaign only once they reach the l...
Jun 28, 2024•44 min•Season 14Ep. 9
As we approach the final lap of the 2024 general election, host Sascha O'Sullivan discovers what life is like for the photographers who trail hot on the heels of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. She speaks to PA photographer Stefan Rousseau, who talks about the blunders of this campaign, the photos we'll remember long after votes have been cast, and how special advisers try their hardest to frame their boss's image. Former Labour aide Ayesha Hazarika relives the turmoil of Ed Miliband's bacon sandw...
Jun 21, 2024•45 min•Season 14Ep. 8
As Reform teeters close to overtaking the Conservative in the polls, Aggie Chambre goes inside Nigel Farage’s party and asks if he will could actually achieve his takeover of British politics. Starting in January, when Aggie first asks Farage if he’s planning to return to frontline politics, she tracks the party’s journey from small start-up to a shock poll putting it ahead of the Conservatives. In February, she hears from the Wellingborough candidate Ben Habib about the progress he has made on ...
Jun 14, 2024•56 min•Season 14Ep. 7
As Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer prepare to launch their manifestos, host Sascha O’Sullivan takes a look at what goes into the making of the crucial documents that spell out each party’s plan for government. Former Tory adviser Cleo Watson recalls how it all went wrong for Theresa May at the 2017 election when a manifesto pledge on social care blew up. Authors of the 2019 manifesto Rachel Wolf and Rob Colvile explain how the slogan “Get Brexit Done” got the election done for Boris Johnson. Stalwa...
Jun 07, 2024•45 min•Season 14Ep. 6
Days before this general election's first television debate, host Aggie Chambre looks back at the history of debates in this country and asks how politicians go about winning them. ITV's Julie Etchingham, who will host the first debate Tuesday, recalls being asked to take on the gig, explains what she's thinking during these set piece events and reveals what really happens before and after the debates take place. Reform's Nigel Farage, who has performed in several TV debates, gives his tips for ...
May 31, 2024•47 min•Season 14Ep. 5
Will the Sun win it? After Rishi Sunak called a shock general election, host Aggie Chambre set out to discover just how much influence newspapers will have in this campaign. Former Labour Leader Neil Kinnock tells her what it was like being attacked in the press in the run up to the 1992 election. Former Sun editor David Yelland reminisces about Rupert Murdoch and Tony Blair's relationship — and said it was like a "love affair." He says getting the backing of Fleet Street can be a "self fulfilli...
May 24, 2024•42 min•Season 14Ep. 4
Just how much power do the economists of Threadneedle Street really wield? As the Bank of England grapples with whether to keep interest rates at an all time high, host Sascha O’Sullivan goes on a mission to find out. In this week’s episode, she speaks to those who have been at the very heart of Westminster's relationship with the Bank for the last three decades. Former Prime Minister Liz Truss tells Sascha exactly why she believes Bank of England economists were attempting to pull apart her min...
May 17, 2024•47 min•Season 14Ep. 3
After the Tories' drubbing in the local elections and the many, many rumors about efforts to unseat Rishi Sunak, Aggie Chambre talks us through how to prepare a secret Conservative leadership campaign. Former No. 10 head of political comms Adam Jones takes us inside Liz Truss's "fizz with Liz" soirees, explains why she took *that* picture in the tank, and says his former boss got "punch drunk" on love from Tory members. Former adviser Lucia Hodgson, who ran Andrea Leadsom's 2019 leadership bid, ...
May 10, 2024•47 min•Season 14Ep. 2
In the first episode of season 14, host Aggie Chambre tells the inside story of how POLITICO broke the Westminster honey trap story , and goes in search of who is really responsible. She hears from most of the key characters involved in the scandal that rocked SW1. Two victims tell Aggie about their messages and one of them explains what happened when he organized a meeting with the catfisher. POLITICO's own Dan Bloom reveals for the first time that he received a message from the mysterious catf...
May 03, 2024•54 min•Season 14Ep. 1
Host Sascha O'Sullivan delves into the secrets of the polling industry and asks — if the polls were wrong before, could they be wrong again? David Cameron's former pollster Andrew Cooper tells Sascha how the Conservatives upstaged the polling industry in 2015 and pulled an unexpected election victory out of the bag. Labour polling stalwart Stan Greenberg, who has run the numbers for Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Ed Miliband, explains what the other side of the 2015 campaign was li...
Mar 22, 2024•52 min•Season 13Ep. 8
This week, Aggie Chambre looks at the art of the leak and asks — why do people do it, and what happens when your political secrets are exposed? Former Deputy Prime Minister Damian Green talks about helping to leak Home Office secrets when Labour was in charge. Aggie hears from journalist and author Isabel Oakeshott about her controversial decision to leak Matt Hancock’s Covid WhatsApps — and why she had to adopt a disguise during the process. POLITICO’s Jack Blanchard and Jeremy Corbyn’s former ...
Mar 15, 2024•41 min•Season 13Ep. 7
New host Sascha O'Sullivan explores Westminster's obsession with all things Australia — and considers the lessons British politics might learn from down under. From the U.K. Tory party's succession of Aussie campaign chiefs to the varying attempts to deploy Australian-style immigration policies, Westminster has held an enduring fascination with its rougher political cousins down under. Sascha speaks to former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who has long enjoyed links with the U.K. Tory pa...
Mar 08, 2024•54 min•Season 13Ep. 6
By now, surely everyone in Westminster knows how to get ready for government — but have enough considered how to prepare for opposition? In this week's episode, host Aggie Chambre tackles the conundrum of how to prepare for the one job in politics no one wants. She speaks to former opposition leader Neil Kinnock about his time in charge, including the advice his children gave Tony Blair's kids. Conservative peer George Young, who has been around since 1974, talks about all the times his party ha...
Mar 01, 2024•43 min•Season 13Ep. 5
As the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine approaches, Jack Blanchard returns home to the north of England to hear the stories of the refugees who arrived there in 2022 — and of one small town community which opened its arms to help. Jack meets those who hosted Ukrainian people in their homes, and hears from the Ukrainians themselves about what it's like to arrive so suddenly in a far-off land. Community organisers discuss how they rallied round to help, while former Refugees M...
Feb 23, 2024•57 min•Season 13Ep. 4
As the people of Wellingborough headed to the polls for a historic vote, hosts Aggie Chambre and Sascha O'Sullivan took a train to the East Midlands to see how by-elections really play out on the ground. Over the course of a month, they went door-knocking with the candidates, spoke to disenfranchised voters and, finally, stayed up all night to watch the count. They watched Reform’s Ben Habib drive round in an gigantic, double-decker blue bus and Labour’s Gen Kitchen show off her Taylor Swift fri...
Feb 16, 2024•40 min•Season 13Ep. 3
Host Jack Blanchard goes for lunch with the Sunday Times' chief political commentator, Tim Shipman, as the deadline for his new Brexit tome approaches. Over a bottle of claret and (medium) rare steak, Shipman discusses the art of long-form political writing; recalls his best and worst interview experiences, from Donald Trump to Theresa May; considers his favorite moments of the chaotic past decade in British politics and offers tips to aspiring journalists on how to do a "proper" political lunch...
Feb 09, 2024•53 min•Season 13Ep. 2
