
5 episodes

The Week in Westminster BBC Radio 4
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- Government
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4.1 • 185 Ratings
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Radio 4's weekly assessment of developments at Westminster
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21/05/2022
BBC Political Correspondent Ben Wright is joined by Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake and Labour MP Dame Angela Eagle to discuss the cost of living crisis and partygate. Former Head of the Army and crossbench peer Lord Dannatt analyses whether Ukraine is winning the war with Russia. Looking at the latest on the restoration and renewal of Parliament is Dr Hannah White of The Institute for Government, former Leader of the Commons Dame Andrea Leadsom and non-affiliated peer Lord Austin. And the government's former Chief Brexit negotiator and former Brexit minister, Lord Frost, discusses the Northern Ireland protocol and the current diplomatic tension with the EU.
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14/05/2022
George Parker of the Financial Times is joined by the former chief whip and Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith MP and the Labour leader in the Lords, Angela Smith, who also speaks on Northern Ireland to discuss the Queen's Speech and rising tensions over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland.
The former Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick MP discusses the housing crisis and planning reform.
Should there be a deal between the Liberal Democrats and Labour is debated by Labour MP for Exeter, Ben Bradshaw and Baroness Olly Grender, who runs the Lib Dem communications operation and has advised successive party leaders, including Paddy Ashdown.
And as Chris Mason takes up his new job as BBC political editor, Sky News' political editor Beth Rigby and former ITN political editor John Sergeant look at the shifting demands of such a high profile role. -
07/05/2022
Anne McElvoy analyses the results of the elections for local councils in England, Scotland and Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly with a panel of commentators: Daily Telegraph associate editor, Christopher Hope; the FT's Whitehall editor, Sebastian Payne; and Sonia Sodha - comment editor and columnist for the Observer.
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30/04/2022
Pippa Crerar of the Daily Mirror is joined by the former Leader of the House of Commons, Dame Andrea Leadsom MP, and Pete Wishart MP from the SNP to discuss the role of the independent panel set up to deal with sexism and harrassment in Parliament. Following a speech by the Foreign Secretary Liz Truss about the West's response to the war in Ukraine, the Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy MP and the Conservative MP Alicia Kearns MP debate Britain's place in the world. The Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Cramer discusses efforts to strenghten to protect whistleblowers. With only days to go before local elections in England, Scotland and Wales and elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont, the Conservative peer and polling expert Lord Hayward and Professor Rosie Campbell from Kings College London preview what the results will mean for the parties.
Producer: Peter Snowdon -
23/04/2022
Sebastian Payne of the Financial Times is joined by the chair of the Privileges Committee, Chris Bryant MP and cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg MP to discuss the partygate scandal
The government's plan to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda is debated by former shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott MP and Nick Timothy, who was the chief of staff to Theresa May when she was prime minister and also worked with her in the Home Office.
Conservative peer and former chief of staff to Boris Johnson, Edward Lister and shadow International Development minister Preet Kaur Gill MP assess the Prme Minister's trip to India.
And former Liberal Democrat leader and Lake District MP, Tim Farron discusses how to tackle sewage in Britain's rivers, lakes and seas with Jo Bradley from Stormwater Shepherds, a not-for-profit initiative targeting pollution in water environments.
Customer Reviews
Usually excellent but Chris Hope is a terrible presenter
This is usually a must listen summary of the week. But Today’s presenter (4 July) Chris Hope was very stilted and poor.
An excellent pc
Great for a weekly update on uk Westminster news.
Issue with podcast
Very good series but 9/1/21 episode seems to inadvertently cut short.