Westminster Insider

As Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine continues, Jack Blanchard speaks to diplomats, nuclear experts and historians about how we can best hope to avoid the conflict escalating into full-blown nuclear war. Former Foreign Office head Sir Simon Fraser and former NATO Policy Chief Fabrice Pothier analyse Western policy toward Russia since the end of the Cold War, and explain how they believe the current crisis is likely to play out. The Russian Cold War historian Professor Sergey Radchenko provides some historical context, detailing moments during the 20th Century when tensions between the Soviet Union and the U.S. almost spilled over into direct conflict — and how disaster was ultimately averted. And the Norwegian academic Dr Kristin Ven Bruusgaard, an expert on Russian nuclear strategy, explains the circumstances in which Russian President Vladimir Putin might actually reach for the nuclear button, and how he might yet be deterred from doing so. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Jack Blanchard heads north to Manchester to talk music, football, history and politics with Mayor Andy Burnham. In his favored city centre bar, Burnham — currently the favorite to succeed Keir Starmer as Labour leader — talks about his childhood growing up on the outskirts of the city, and how Manchester's legendary music scene inspired him to Cambridge University. He discusses the highs and the lows of his 20-year career in Westminster, and the struggle he faced even as a senior minister to get the Whitehall machine delivering for the North. He also runs the rule over Starmer's performance as Labour leader so far, and admits his own fears for the future as Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine spirals further and further out of control. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Vladimir Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine plunges Russia's relations with the West into crisis, Jack Blanchard talks to the historian and former U.K. Foreign Secretary David Owen about the turbulent history of the Anglo-Russian relationship.Lord Owen charts the many ups and downs of the 19th and 20th centuries, a period through which Britain and Russia fought side by side in three major wars while also coming close to outright conflict on multiple occasions. He recalls his first visit to Moscow as foreign secretary at the height of the Cold War, and his subsequent run-ins with Presidents Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin while working as an EU diplomat and as a businessman. And he offers a damning verdict on Putin's latest act of aggression, with a chilling warning too of what it might mean for the months ahead. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Jack Blanchard heads to Plymouth to meet Johnny Mercer, the ex-soldier who as a Tory MP has proved one of the government's fiercest critics. They go sight-seeing, take shelter from a winter storm in various pubs and cafes, and even head to the coast for an ill-advised February dip in the sea. Through the course of the day, Johnny discusses his military career, his disenchantment with the Westminster system, and his campaign to improve the lives of Britain's military veterans.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With questions swirling about Boris Johnson's future, Jack Blanchard looks into the murky world of leadership challenges and asks what it's like to topple a prime minister.Former Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull recalls the internal coup which ended his premiership in 2018 — and explains why he'd deposed his own party leader, Tony Abbott, in 2015. Tory backbench rebel Mark Francois and Theresa May's Chief of Staff Gavin Barwell recall the plot which ended her premiership in 2019 and changed the course of Brexit. Margaret Thatcher's Private Secretary Caroline Slocock shares her memories of the plot against Britain's first female leader in 1990, and the atmosphere in Downing Street as it became clear her reign was over. And journalist and author Steve Richards explores other great leadership challenges of recent years, including Gordon Brown's war of attrition against Tony Blair and John Major's epic 1990s battle with the Tory Euroskeptics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Boris Johnson publishes his much-delayed plan to "Level Up" the country, Jack Blanchard explores the long history of the North/South divide in England and the efforts of past governments to narrow the gap.Author and former FT journalist Brian Groom explains how the North/South divide stretches back centuries, and how prime ministers of all parties have been trying to support the North for at least 100 years. Former Deputy PM Michael Heseltine recalls the regeneration schemes he led in the 1980s and 1990s which made him a household name, and the factors he believes made them such a success. John Prescott's former deputy Richard Caborn explains New Labour's radically different approach to the problem, with large public sector bodies set up in 1999 to drive growth in every region. And Nick Clegg's former director of strategy, Polly Mackenzie, sets out why David Cameron's Coalition government tore it all up and started again in 2010. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the "party-gate" controversy rocks Boris Johnson's premiership, Jack Blanchard takes a look at the history and the nature of political scandals.Former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell, who was forced to resign over the so-called "Plebgate" affair in 2012, reveals what it's like to be at the centre of a bruising political controversy, and how he got his life back on track afterwards. Top political journalists Pippa Crerar and Christopher Hope — who helped break the Dominic Cummings and MPs' expenses scandals respectively — explain what it's like to uncover a major political story, and their disbelief at learning how senior political figures are sometimes prepared to act. And the author and ex-Washington Post journalist Michael Dobbs analyzes the greatest political scandal of them all — Watergate — with the help of thousands of hours of newly-released audio tapes of President Richard M. Nixon.Andrew Mitchell's memoir "Beyond a Fringe: Tales from a Reformed Establishment Lackey," and Michael Dobbs' new book "King Richard — Nixon and Watergate: An American Tragedy," are both available now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As another eventful year in U.K. politics draws to a close, Jack Blanchard is joined by 10 special guests to predict the big stories we'll be talking about in 2022.Conservative Home's Editor Paul Goodman considers what the year ahead may have in store for Boris Johnson, while the New Statesman's Political Editor Stephen Bush reads the runes for a newly-emboldened Keir Starmer.Resolution Foundation boss Torsten Bell warns of economic problems looming in the spring of 2022, while FT columnist and author Anjana Ahuja predicts how the next stages of the pandemic will play out. Polling expert Robert Hayward and Irish Times columnist Newton Emerson look ahead to the May local elections in Great Britain and Northern Ireland respectively, while POLITICO journalists Rym Momtaz and Ryan Lizza preview the French presidential election in May and the U.S. mid-terms in November.Finally, Professor Rana Mitter of Oxford University previews the Chinese Communist Party's 20th party congress, while the Guardian's David Conn considers the political storm raging around the 2022 men's football World Cup in Qatar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Hong Kong goes to the polls for a highly controversial election, Jack Blanchard is joined by politicians, historians and diplomats to reflect on 200 years of U.K.-China relations.Tory peer Chris Patten, the last U.K. governor of Hong Kong, explains the optimism he felt when the city was handed back to China in 1997 — and his anger at Beijing's recent clampdown. Pro-Beijing Hong Kong legislator Regina Ip gives the opposing view, claiming China has every right to quash pro-democracy movements if deemed illegal.Professor Rana Mitter of Oxford University and Professor Steve Tsang of SOAS explain the historical forces that have shaped U.K.-China relations since the early 19th century. While former U.K. diplomat Peter Ricketts sets out how British policy toward China has evolved over recent decades, and Commons foreign affairs committee chairman Tom Tugendhat explains why his backbench grouping of Tory MPs has been piling pressure on the U.K. government to take a harder line. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special anniversary episode, Jack Blanchard looks back at the seminal general election of December 2019, with help from experts and insiders from all the main campaign teams.Tory campaign chief Isaac Levido reveals the secrets behind Boris Johnson's slick election-winning machine, including the all-important "Get Brexit Done" slogan. Jeremy Corbyn's policy supremo Andrew Fisher rues the unforced errors and the impossible circumstances which led the Labour Party to its worst defeat in years. The Brexit Party's Gawain Towler and Lib Dem peer Dorothy Thornhill reveal the wildly contrasting fortunes of the minor parties in 2019. And political scientist Professor Rob Ford of Manchester University explains the findings of his team's major new study of the election — and why Boris Johnson's landslide victory could easily have been far bigger. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices