Westminster Insider

Following Rishi Sunak's unprecedented 50-day turnaround from defeated leadership candidate to U.K. prime minister, Westminster Insider host Jack Blanchard looks back at some of the great political comebacks of our times.Guests include Peter Mandelson, who shocked Westminster — and himself — with a sensational return to the U.K. Cabinet in 2008 after four years away as an EU Commissioner; and U.S. historian John A. Farrell, who recalls Richard Nixon’s extraordinary rise to the American presidency in 1968, eight years after his crushing defeat to John F. Kennedy. Professor Edith Hall tells the story of the great Roman leader Cincinnatus and his return to power from his humble plow — famously namechecked by Boris Johnson in his farewell speech as prime minister. Professor Nicholas Allen recalls other great British political comebacks of the 20th century; while POLITICO's own Meredith McGraw assesses former U.S. President Donald Trump's prospects of a return to the White House in 2024.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Ailbhe Rea profiles the U.K.'s new prime minister, with the help of those who know him best. From his early years in Southampton and his lifelong Hindu faith; his elite education at Winchester, Oxford and Stanford; to his rapid rise through the political ranks, his time as U.K. chancellor and his machinations for the top job, we uncover the values, personality traits, priorities and potential pitfalls of the new man in No. 10.At the Hindu temple in Southampton that Rishi Sunak's family have been attending for generations, we learn about what he was like as a young boy and the values instilled in him by his faith.Shabana Mahmood, now his opponent as Labour's national campaign coordinator, recalls Rishi the "library geek" from their days at Oxford together, and Alan Mak, a former Treasury minister and the Conservative MP for Havant, recalls the buzz around this high-flying banker when he arrived in parliament in 2015. Peter Cardwell, now political editor at TalkTV, looks back on being a special adviser working with Sunak in his first junior ministerial role. Cardwell's book is "The Secret Life of Special Advisers."Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates analyzes Rishi Sunak's rise through the ranks at Westminster — his strengths, weaknesses, and the help of Dominic Cummings — while one of the prime minister's former advisers and closest allies, the education minister Claire Coutinho, describes his approach to economics and being vindicated after the leadership contest.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the world grapples with the energy crisis stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, energy security has climbed to the top of the political agenda.Successive U.K. governments had already laid out strategies to decarbonize all sectors of the economy to meet net-zero targets by 2050. Now, in the sprint towards energy independence, pledges have been made to make the U.K. a net energy exporter by 2040.But is that possible? Spoiler alert: not without renewables.Presenter David Baker speaks to Lord Adair Turner, chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, about the U.K.’s potential to harness vast amounts of energy – quite literally – out of thin air. Emma Pinchbeck, chief executive at Energy UK, explains how simplifying the country’s planning system would make it fertile ground for investments in renewables. Finally, Sam Peacock, managing director of Corporate Affairs and Strategy at SSE, says partnerships between government and the private sector will be essential to preserving the U.K.’s leadership in renewables. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Liz Truss considers another humiliating budget U-turn, host Jack Blanchard looks back at the U.K.'s infamous 1972 'Dash for Growth' budget — when another Tory Chancellor announced unfunded tax cuts and sent inflation through the roof — and considers the parallels with Truss' chaotic first month as prime minister.Historians Duncan Needham and Nick Thomas-Symonds explain the backdrop to that 1970s meltdown, while economists Paul Johnson, Gerard Lyons and Soumaya Keynes consider what's gone wrong in the U.K. economy today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Ailbhe Rea goes behind the scenes at this week's chaotic Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, with newly-installed leader Liz Truss already on the ropes.The conference saw Truss openly criticized by members of her own government and forced to U-turn on a flagship tax cut, just 10 days after it was announced. Ailbhe gives the inside story from the biggest speeches, the fiery fringe meetings and the late-night drinks parties as Tory MPs despair at the new regime.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

POLITICO's Ailbhe Rea meets the ultimate Westminster Insider, Laura Kuenssberg, until recently the BBC's political editor and the new host of the BBC's flagship Sunday politics show.In a rare interview, Kuenssberg discusses her early career, life covering the tumult of the past seven years in British politics, and how she managed to survive the relentless pace at the coalface. She discusses the sisterhood in Westminster, how it feels to be at the center of heated rows about bias and impartiality, and reveals what she really thought of British comedian Joe Lycett's controversial appearance on her debut show.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time for the weirdest few weeks of the British political calendar: conference season.Host Ailbhe Rea takes us on a whistle-stop tour of the speeches, fringe events, champagne receptions and bad karaoke parties that happen at the annual Conservative and Labour conference, with the help of Emily Thornberry, Labour's shadow attorney general and a conference veteran. Two former advisers to Conservative cabinet ministers, Tim Smith and Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, tell the inside story of some of their party's best and worst speeches and some of their own conference memories.Mikey Smith, the Mirror's Whitehall correspondent, discusses the conference "gaffe" — and how he derailed Labour conference when he recorded the party's Deputy Leader Angela Rayner calling the Tories "scum."What's it all for? Why do insiders love it? And does any of it really matter? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Behind the scenes, the late Queen Elizabeth II was the ultimate Westminster Insider. Host Ailbhe Rea and POLITICO's Annabelle Dickson uncover how the Queen received a daily dose of gossip from deep inside the heart of government, and speaks to two of the politicians tasked with sending that private missive to Buckingham Palace: former Conservative whip Anne Milton, and former Cabinet minister Julian Smith.Simon Lewis, a former communications secretary to the Queen and later to Gordon Brown in Downing Street, shares the inside track on the red boxes and the "golden triangle" that kept the Queen intimately informed of what was going on in her government, and Dr Michelle Clement, historian at King's College London and researcher in residence at No. 10, discusses the all-important private audiences between the Queen and her 15 prime ministers.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With days to go until Boris Johnson’s replacement is announced, host Ailbhe Rea considers whether the Conservatives are now on their way out of office — or whether this is just one more clever shape-shift from the most successful political party in the world. She meets Johnson’s cheerleaders and his critics, grassroots members and expert advisers, to discuss how Boris Johnson changed the Tory Party — and what on earth it will do when he’s gone.Ailbhe asks Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary and an early Boris believer, about what makes Boris Johnson a winner. David Gauke, the former justice secretary, and ex-minister Margot James recall being ousted from the party during the Brexit wars of 2019, and unpick how the party has changed. Rachel Wolf, the co-author of the Conservative manifesto from 2019, explains how Boris Johnson consciously went after new voters, while pollster James Johnson discusses the huge challenges ahead. At hustings in Norwich, grassroots Conservative members share their thoughts on where the party goes next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Boris Johnson prepares for his final session of Prime Minister's Questions, Ailbhe Rea takes a look inside the weekly showdown at the heart of British politics.Former PM David Cameron explains what it's really like to stand at the despatch box for a noisy session of PMQs, and reveals how he prepared and strategized for the toughest event of his week.Ayesha Hazarika, a former adviser to Ed Miliband, lifts the lid on the different pressures faced by a leader of the opposition, while Theo Bertram, a former adviser to Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in No. 10, considers why these sessions matter beyond the cut-and-thrust of Westminster.Finally, Quentin Letts, the Times’s sketchwriter extraordinaire, recalls great moments of PMQs from years gone by and pays tribute to a British institution where the human drama of British politics is best explored, and where leaders rise and fall. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices