Westminster Insider

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.

They spoke to first minister Eluned Morgan as she launched the We...

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 complicated than the engineering. 

In this week’s Westminster Insider, Patri...

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 wounds, director of the Labour Growth Gro...

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, Future podcast David Runciman argues the revolving door at the top refl...

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'Sullivan, director of UK in a Changing World at Chatham House, says the Prime Minister has manag...

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 heart of "balti-gate" as it became known, ex-Labour MP Sion Simon, explains how being well-organised and having a v...

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 challenges the Government faces on a host of domestic fronts including immi...

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 between ministers making a justifiable argument and those who read "the line to...

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 was so little mention of the spending commitments in the Budget — and wha...

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, Patrick speaks to the Policing Minister Sarah Jones in Parliament about how the...

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, and how he kept voters onside while he did it.

And Rishi Sunak's former advisor Ja...

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 problems like losing the PM all-too-common. Case argues its layout contributed to the Party...

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, Farming and Rural Affairs (Defra) Secretary, admits the Australia trade deal did betray Britain's farmers.

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 have been undermining the party's progress at an early stage.

P...

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 into freefall — and has haunted  her party ever since.

In a wide...

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 it have on Keir Starmer's attempts to boost economic relations with...

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 hardline immigration policies represent a shift away from moderate, center-ground conservatism.

Members of t...

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 he thinks Starmerism means.

And Sascha speaks to head of po...

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 polling company More in Common, sheds light on the conce...

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 Home Office for more than a decade, tells Sascha the European Convention of Human Ri...

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 U.K. is looking to make progress on a whole hos...

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 isn't "completely comfortable with eco-populism".

And Natalie Bennett, Gree...

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 thinks Keir Starmer needs to do to get back on track.

Wi...

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 organisation and former Longpigs frontman Crispin Hunt about Tony Blair being buoyed to success during the Britpop era. <...

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.

Despite rising in the polls, gaining Tory defectors and emerging victorious in the l...

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 the government's welfare bill. They discuss the broader challenges confronting Labour after one year in office, the position of Chan...

Even as Keir Starmer faces the threat of all-out rebellion over his welfare bill, Westminster can feel the summer recess approaching. So six months into the year and with the anniversary of Labour's electoral victory approaching, host Sascha O'Sullivan enrols a host of experts to give their view on the government's progress on the 'milestones' set out by the Prime Minister last year.

Harry Quilter-Pinner, director of the IPPR and Charlotte Pickles, director of Re:State think tank (formerly called Reform) talk Sascha through each of the milestones – from the economy to energy security – and gives Keir Star...

This week on Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker takes a pint-fueled tour through some of Westminster's best-known watering holes in his bid to find out what makes the best political boozer.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage explains why the Westminster Arms is his favorite pub and why his longtime friend, Gerry Dolan, its former landlord, is behind the pub's popularity.

Dolan himself recounts how lager-loving politicians would race over the road to vote at the sound of the division bell, before haring back to finish their drinks, and remembers how each of the different parties...

In the midst of spending reviews, rows of migration and fights about water bosses' bonuses, everyone could do with a laugh. So this week on Westminster Insider, host Sascha O'Sullivan speaks to a coterie of comedians and satirists in SW1 to find out: what's the point of political satire?

Legendary co-creator of Yes, Minister Jonathan Lynn explains how a show designed to make people have a laugh at the expense of some pompous civil servants defined how we now see "the blob".

Sketch-writers Madeline Grant and John Crace give us a peek into their lives...

As Reform UK sends its Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team into its new councils to assess "wasteful spending", host Patrick Baker takes a trip to Durham to speak to the county council’s new deputy leader, the former Brexit activist and GB News broadcaster, Darren Grimes, about what Reform's DOGE plans might mean for the local area.

And in Westminster a whole host of copycat DOGEs have started popping up too. 

Max Young, news editor of the right-wing political website Guido Fawkes, runs the project 'UK DOGE', highlighting perceived government was...

Host Sascha O'Sullivan goes for lunch with Jo Coburn as she leaves her position as presenter of Politics Live, the BBC's lunchtime political programme.

Over a carafe of Picpoul de Pinet, Coburn tells Sascha about keeping calm amid the din of politicians rowing with one another live on air. She discusses the most poignant episodes – and the rowdiest. And Coburn reflects on 28 years at the BBC and how it's political programming has changed to reflect a more "visceral" environment in Westminster post-Brexit.

Jo hints at how she might approach her life after the BB...

With tensions simmering in Keir Starmer’s top team over Labour’s approach to the economy, this week host Patrick Baker looks at what the PM might be able to learn about managing your ministers from past Cabinets and examines Starmer's own leadership style.

David Owen, former foreign secretary under Jim Callaghan, recounts the IMF crisis in 1976 as an example of Cabinet government at its most effective.

Michael Cockerell, the legendary political documentary-maker, describes how Margaret Thatcher and John Major approached their Cabinets and how, despite their contrasting styles, both were undone by their Cabinet minis...

With Nigel Farage's Reform UK muscling in to key parts of the country, Westminster Insider Host Sascha O'Sullivan speaks to politicians through the North of England, where Labour has an uphill battle to convince their heartlands they can be trusted.

Sascha speaks to Labour MP Josh Simons, whose seat of Makerfield had one of the highest proportion of votes for Reform without actually voting in one of the party’s MP. Simons tells Sascha about his plans to convince his voters that Westminster – and the Labour Party – speak for them, and how finally building one road, first earmar...

Politicians of all stripes will tell you that the slog of breakfast time interviews constitutes the morning ritual from hell.

So this week on Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker speaks to those who’ve spent more time than anyone trying to master the art form that is the “morning round” — and is given an exclusive broadcasting lesson from Scarlett MccGwire, a media trainer currently working with ministers in the Labour government to help them hone their messaging.

Former Tory Cabinet minister Grant Shapps explains the late night prep with his team, who were told to be as ru...

With Ukraine and Russia in the throes of attempting to negotiate a ceasefire, Westminster Insider Host Sascha O’Sullivan talks to some of the leading figures on the frontline of the war with Russia.

She speaks to Finnish Minister for Nordic Co-Operation Anders Adlercreutz, who told her Finland has never stopped buying tanks and building bomb shelters, for fear of a Russian invasion, and builds resilience at every level through initiatives like media literacy to protect from ‘hybrid threats’ such as misinformation.

Lithuania Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė told Sascha Russia could be ready for a full scal...

With the stench of rebellion hanging around the tearooms of SW1 after ministers announced fresh welfare cuts, this week host Patrick Baker explores the backbench revolts of years past, asking how disobedient MPs really plan and plot against their own parties.

Veteran Tory MP David Davis describes how he and other rebels defeated David Cameron's plans to bomb Syria almost by accident — and offers tips on shutting down confrontational government enforcers, or chief whips.

Christopher Howarth, a secretive member of the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs, was instrumental in defeating Theresa May's EU deal...

As Mike Amesbury bows out of his career as a Labour MP after being caught on tape assaulting a constituent, this week’s episode of Westminster Insider goes inside politicians’ wrangles with the law.

Host Sascha O’Sullivan finds out if winding up in front of a judge can ever be survivable for a politician — high-profile or not. She talks to former Lib Dem advisor Sean Kemp about how the case of Chris Huhne, climate secretary during the coalition years, triggered a by-election which almost threatened the leadership of Nick Clegg.

Fergus Mutch, former director of commu...

Have you ever wondered about COBRA? Not the snake or the yoga pose — but Cabinet Office Briefing Room A, the place at the heart of Whitehall where a highly sensitive, critical government committee meets when a crisis hits the U.K.

This week, host Patrick Baker takes you inside these mysterious meetings to find out how those in charge take crucial decisions — often on matters of life and death.

One of the original architects of COBRA, David Omand, who went on to become director of spy agency GCHQ, explains how the Munich Olympics hostage crisis trig...

With Keir Starmer recently forced to promise his Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, would stay on until the next election, Westminster Insider Host Sascha O'Sullivan talks to former Chancellors and advisors who have worked in No 10 and No 11 Downing Street over the last 30 years to find out how to survive one of the toughest gigs in politics.

She talks to former Chancellor Norman Lamont about the aftermath of the Black Wednesday financial crisis in 1992 and what lead to John Major sacking him less than a year later.

Former advisor to Blair and Brown Theo Bertram tells Sascha...

Turncoats, opportunists … or just idealists whose bosses lost their way? 

Defecting to a new party is one of the momentous decisions an MP could ever make. Years of loyalties, backroom deals and deep friendships are lost in an instant. Patrick Baker speaks to MPs who have wrestled with the decision to switch party, to discover what it is really like. 

Shaun Woodward, who left William Hague’s Conservative party to join Blair’s New Labour in 1999, recalls the dirty tricks used try to prevent his defection and how the move precipitated a huge media storm.

Former I...