BBC leadership and coverage challenges

Nearly a month into the war in Iran, and the White House’s objectives are no clearer. Donald Trump is sending conflicting signals - peace overtures in one moment, threats of further escalation in the next. The consequences of this instability is rippling far beyond the Middle East. Ed Balls and 

George Osborne examine what Trump actually wants, and what his mixed messages might mean for allies like Britain, struggling to keep track.  

At home, Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are on the backfoot. With the local elections just weeks away, and both Reform and the Greens on the rise, is the Prime Minister facing down an electoral battering at the polls? Is this the moment Labour's difficulties harden into something more lasting - could the May elections be a dress rehearsal for the next general election? Oh, and what on earth happened to Morgan McSweeney’s phone?

Finally, from political vulnerability, to political victory. Ed and George reflect on the one year anniversary of Mark Carney’s premiership. How has he managed to turn around the fortunes of the Liberal Party in remarkably difficult circumstances - and what lessons Starmer and other leaders facing similar headwinds might take from his playbook. 

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