Episodit
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Host Jack Blanchard speaks to some of the most powerful Downing Street spin doctors of the past decade — and asks whether they're really as angry as the 'Malcolm Tucker' stereotype suggests.
James Slack, the prime minister's official spokesman between 2017 and 2021, gives a rare insight into the brutal experience of chairing the Downing Street Lobby briefing — going head to head with dozens of hostile political journalists every day.
Lee Cain recalls the "insane" experience trying to spin for a newspaper-obsessed Boris Johnson — during a global pandemic — and explains why the No. 10 director of communications job is too big for any one person.
Another former No. 10 director of comms, Katie Perrior, recalls her own challenges trying to spin for a media-shy Theresa May, and explains why it's so important that communications is given top billing by any prime minister.
And Craig Oliver, who held the No. 10 director of comms job longer than anyone else, recalls the triumphs and the failures of trying to set the media narrative for David Cameron's government.
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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 and member of Tony Blair's government Siôn Simon explains why the classic lobby lunch between journalists and politicians is actually "underlyingly stressful" and Sun on Sunday Political Editor Kate Ferguson tells Sascha how to warm up an MP to get them to spill the beans.
Sascha speaks with Freddie Sayers, CEO of Unherd, which owns the Old Queen Street Cafe — a new favorite haunt of politicos of all stripes. Former political correspondent turned restaurant critic Charlotte Ivers tells Sascha why politicians have terrible taste in food.
And the FT's Henry Mance recalls settling in for a port or three after lunch with Nigel Farage.
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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 headed to the streets outside Howard University, where Kamala Harris no-showed her own election night event, leaving dejected Democrats to begin the unhappy trudge home.
He stumbled upon POLITICO D.C. Playbook writer Eugene Daniels, who was in the room as the mood soured through the night before it was announced there would be no victory speech.
And as Trump's historic win solidified, Emilio found ecstatic MAGA enthusiasts spilling out of their watch event after closing time.
In fitting fashion, he ended the night outside the White House itself, reflecting on the seismic result — and what it means for all of us.
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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 historian David Lough explains how Winston Churchill's biggest budget decision, to rejoin the gold standard in 1925, overshadowed the future PM's ill-fated stint as chancellor — and how Churchill's own precarious finances impacted on his work at the Treasury.
Veteran journalist Andrew Marr discusses the postwar budgets of Labour Chancellor Stafford Cripps and the famous 1980s budgets of Tory grandees Geoffrey Howe and Nigel Lawson, still venerated by Tory MPs to this day.
Carolyn Quinn, BBC journalist and presenter for 36 years, takes Sascha inside the New Labour years — with a little help from Ed Balls — as well as the "omnishambles" George Osborne budget of 2012.
And outgoing Institute for Fiscal Studies boss Paul Johnson explains how the IFS became such a central part of Westminster's budget day tradition — and how his economists work through the night to keep us informed of what the chancellor has planned.
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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 between "being a good leader and a good Christian."
Tory MP and evangelical Christian Danny Kruger shares with Sascha how his religion informs his values as a politician and drives the policies he has helped lobby for with Conservative colleagues.
Sascha speaks to Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, nicknamed "the rev" because of his faith, about how his support for gay marriage legislation in 2012, led to him being "condemned by the local priest three Sundays in a row." And how, he says, he feels the need to make the case for Christian politics on the left as a louder religious voice emerges in Conservative politics.
POLITICO Playbook reporter Bethany Dawson takes Sascha inside the Alliance for Responsible Citizens conference, where British and American politicians openly called for a return to our "Judeo-Christian foundations."
And Bishop Alan Smith of St Albans makes the case for bishops in the House of Lords, while Lib Dem peer Lorely Burt and journalist Tali Fraser argue that Christian traditions still present in parliament can prove alienating for non believers and people of other faiths.
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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 Cameron angry; Theresa May's rage at being betrayed by her own MPs; Boris Johnson's time-wasting tricks and Liz Truss' final words to him before she stepped out of No. 10 Downing Street to resign. And he reflects on an archaic Westminster system by which Tory prime ministers' power ultimately relies upon the size of a pile of secret letters locked in a safe in the parliamentary office of one backbench MP.
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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 dropping out at the 11th hour, recalls the intense pressure on her at the time — and tells Sascha why she really decided to pull out of the race and concede to Theresa May.
Sascha also speaks to the Tories' former deputy leader, Peter Lilley, about his own failed run for the leadership back in 1997, and to former party leader Michael Howard about why Tory members were given more of a say at that time over who should be in charge.
Tory peer Daniel Finkelstein, a former adviser to William Hague, explains how this new role for the membership led to the election of unpopular leaders like Iain Duncan Smith and Liz Truss.
And former campaign chiefs Tim Loughton, who ran Leadsom’s campaign, and James Starkie, who ran Priti Patel’s recent leadership bid, give a behind-the-scenes view of how candidates battle to win Tory MPs over to their side.
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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 Cooper, political pollster and member of Labour Together advisory board, tells Sascha how Josh Simons, former director of the think tank, built on the work of Morgan McSweeney by using deep voter analysis to help Labour HQ.
Sascha speaks to the group's new chief executive, Jonathan Ashworth, about Labour Together's role in shaping the thinking of the new government. He addresses some of the cronyism accusations surrounding the think tank and is quizzed by Sascha on its purpose now Labour is in power.
Henry Newman, former political adviser and author of the Whitehall project, explains the concerns about how Labour Together acted as a middleman for political donations between wealthy individuals and politicians.
Labour "mega-donor" Dale Vince tells Sascha why he gave money to the think tank.
And think tank stalwarts Harry Quilter-Pinner of the Institute of Public Policy Research, Ryan Wain of the Tony Blair Institute and Charlotte Pickles explain how Labour Together fits into the world of the wonks and how different it is from most policy outfits.
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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 Times, touring the country ahead of the 2020 election.
And POLITICO legends Jonathan Martin, Rosa Prince and Eli Stokols consider how political reporting in the U.S. has changed over recent years as the country's politics have transformed dramatically before our eyes.
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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 homes at social rent by 2033, an endeavor that will require strong partnership between the government and the private sector.
POLITICO Studio host David Baker speaks to Francesca Albanese, executive director of policy and social change at Crisis, Rose-Anna Hallam, who is drawing on her experience of growing up in social housing as a student of real estate and planning at Manchester University, and Chris Yau, a director in Lloyds' National Housing Team, about the causes of homelessness, the effect it has on all of us and how we can finally end homelessness in the U.K. for good.
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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 Young tells Emilio about the process of taking British Rail out of public hands and into the private sector — and says he still believes it was the right move for the U.K.'s railways.
Rail boffins Chris Hopkins, Gareth Dennis and Christian Wolmar analyze the Japanese, Swiss and British systems — and weigh up the pros and cons of private verses public.
And the experts also assess Labour Transport Secretary Louise Haigh's prospects for getting the U.K. train network back on track.
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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 own Eli Stokols and Shawn Pogatchnik discuss the looming general elections in the U.S. and Ireland, and how they might impact upon Britain.
And geopolitical analyst Sophia Gaston considers how wider global issues such as the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East could yet blow Starmer off course.
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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 quickly having to get on top of an inbox with thousands of emails from constituents — before she'd even had a chance to hire staff.
As if being a new MP wasn't challenging enough, Sascha talks to Sarah Sackman, the representative for Finchley and Golders Green and newly-minted solicitor general, on how to find your way around parliament with a ministerial red box.
Another fresh face, Andrew Snowden, Conservative MP for Fylde, tells Sascha about being courted by senior Tories as they jostle for the upper hand in the leadership contest.
And new Lib Dem MP Bobby Dean attempts to answer the thorny question of "what's the point of the Liberal Democrats" now they have their highest ever number of seats in parliament.
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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 the “emptiness” and “numbness” that comes with leaving Downing Street, and how he felt “let down” by his old friend.
Speaking agency founder Jeremy Lee, recently retired, is gloriously indiscreet as he regales Aggie with stories of his conversations with ex-prime ministers seeking riches down the years.
Political biographer Anthony Seldon takes Aggie through the history of former prime ministers, and how the role has changed since Winston Churchill’s Champagne-fueled heyday.
Unherd journalist Tom McTague explores Tony Blair’s increasingly powerful Institute for Global Change, while POLITICO’s Annabelle Dickson tells tales of tracking down Boris Johnson in downtown Dallas.
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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 implications for the Labour Party and whether or not the Conservatives could save face.
She went on to the New Statesman party to speak to an elated Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, and Rachel Cunliffe, the New Statesman's associate political editor, as major Tory scalps were claimed by Labour candidates.
And she spoke to Lucia Hodgson, former Conservative Party adviser and partner at Charlesbye, about how it feels to leave No. 10 for the last time — and what it will be like for a generation of Conservatives tasting general election defeat for the very first time.
From the POLITICO election night watch party, Sascha spoke to Playbook author Stefan Boscia and checked in with colleague Bethany Dawson, who was at Clacton-on-Sea as upstart Reform leader Nigel Farage was elected an MP. We also heard behind the scenes as former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn won Islington North as an independent after being booted out out by Starmer.
And, in the final push of the evening, as dawn broke Sascha traveled to the secret Labour victory party, where Starmer addressed the party faithful, newly minted MPs and volunteers.
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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 last 10 days, and warns about the impact of gaffes during the final stretch.
Former Conservative Party staffer Cleo Watson tells Sascha a scandalous story from the last week of the Vote Leave campaign which never made it to the press.
Ben Guerin, one of the advertising masterminds of Boris Johnson's 2019 election victory, relates how parties use attack ads in the last few days. And Craig Oliver, Downing Street Director of Communications for David Cameron, gives us tips for winning the "ground war" by focusing relentlessly on the constituencies which matter the most.
Sascha also speaks to pollster James Johnson who says that in the last week, many candidates can be overcome with a misguided optimism about their prospects — and tells us what happens campaign HQs get their data wrong.
Also, Jeremy Corbyn's former deputy director of communications and strategy Steve Howell takes us inside Labour’s 2017 campaign, while Sean Kemp, former special adviser to Nick Clegg, gives us a run down on Lib Dem targeting tactics in the final week.
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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 sandwich moment, splashed across front pages in the 2015 election campaign, and the photographer who took that iconic picture, Jeremy Selwyn, tells Sascha how it looked from the other side of the lens.
Freelance photographer Hollie Adams describes what a gift Boris Johnson was to Westminster's snappers, and Sascha finds out if the rumors really are true: did the former PM mess up his hair before facing the cameras?
Andy Parsons, the official Downing Street photographer under several PMs, justifies No. 10 keeping a personal snapper on its staff, while Rousseau claims the practice has closed down access to the press. And former U.S. President Barack Obama's personal photographer describes capturing the famous picture of the White House Situation Room as Osama bin Laden was taken out.
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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 selling Reform on the street.
With material spanning months and with help from shunted aside Leader Richard Tice, the party’s only London Assembly member and pollster Alex Wilson and Farage himself, Aggie tells the story of how Farage threw a grenade into the U.K. election, and looks at their electoral chances on July 4.
And she spends an entertaining day with Lee Anderson, the only man to ever be a Reform MP. The former deputy chairman tells her his views on female firefighters and global warming, and admits he’d rather Keir Starmer was PM than Rishi Sunak.
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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.
Stalwart of the New Labour years Patrick Diamond, who wrote manifestos for Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, recalls struggling to pinning ministers down agree on policy, while Torsten Bell, 2015 manifesto author, discusses how to stick to pledges in government.
And Sascha also speaks to Andrew Fisher, writer of the Labour Party’s 2017 and 2019 manifestos, who fesses up to historic mistakes and talks about how the leaking of Jeremy Corbyn’s 2017 plan ended up being a boon rather than a bust.
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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 how to get airtime and why it matters which podium you stand at.
BBC political correspondent Joe Pike reminisces with Aggie about pretending to be politicians in rehearsals, and talks about what candidates do to prepare, including the party leader who hid out in a barn in Kent to undergo a thorough practice.
Former Lib Dem spinner Sean Kemp said he believed the debates in 2010 were "the reason why David Cameron didn't win a majority."
Former Sky News boss John Ryley talks about the campaign he spearheaded to get American-style debates going in the U.K. and explains why he believes they are so important for election campaigns.
But former No. 10 director of Comms Craig Oliver describes the idea that debates have been some great service to democracy as "nonsense."
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