In The Room

The Independent / Next Chapter Studios
  • 3.0 (2)
  • Politics

Two former Westminster insiders reveal how politics and power really work.  Ever wondered what goes on behind closed doors at No 10? Or who’s the first person on the phone when a Prime Minister lands themselves in hot water?  Each week former Deputy Cabinet Secretary Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson, former political advisor to Theresa May and Boris Johnson, dissect the week’s biggest news, revealing how decisions get made, why they go wrong, and what should happen next.  In The Room is straight-talking, insider analysis with a dose of humour, every week. This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 1d ago

    Lessons from No 10: When government comms go badly wrong | Lee Cain

    “It's a comms problem” is the diagnosis politicians, pundits and the public often reach for whenever a prime minister flounders. It was arguably Keir Starmer’s biggest undoing. From the beginning, he failed to articulate what kind of prime minister he would be. In the end, nobody really knew what he thought about anything. For today’s guest Lee Cain, Starmer was a “political vacuum” - but believes his successor Andy Burnham is ripe with rhetorical promise. Cain was director of communications in No 10 under Boris Johnson at the height of the Covid pandemic, and before that was a newspaper journalist for many years. He created the idea of the ‘bubble’ - the group of six people you were sanctioned to mingle with during lockdown’s bleakest days. He was also at the sharp end of Johnson’s counterintuitive policy howlers, like instructing the public to avoid pubs, without actually closing them. In this episode, he reveals how these moments unfolded. In this episode of Lessons from No 10, Cain reveals how those moments unfolded. He explains the problem of Whitehall’s comms bloat, revisits the “slow-moving car crash” of the pandemic’s communications failures and offers an insider’s view of Burnham’s “social-first” strategy.  Producer: Sam Durham Executive Producer: Rod Ardehali  Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here. Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on intheroom@independent.co.uk. This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Lessons from No 10: When government comms go badly wrong | Lee Cain

  2. Aug 11

    Count Binface vs Farage: Flakes, Ferraris and the Clacton by-election

    With the Clacton by-election just days away, In The Room welcomes perhaps Nigel Farage’s most unusual opponent: Count Binface. The intergalactic candidate joins Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson to defend his manifesto, from capping 99 Flakes at 99p and building “at least one” affordable home to tackling Britain’s badly positioned hand dryers. He explains why housing and homelessness sit behind some of the jokes, reveals what he’d do with Buckingham Palace and offers Nigel Farage some advice should he lose the election: head straight to the nearest Ferrari showroom. Afterwards, Helen and Cleo look at what is actually happening in Clacton, whether Binface can translate his media momentum into votes, and what the extraordinary contest tells us about Farage, Reform and the state of British politics. Producer: Sam Durham Executive Producer: Rod Ardehali Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here. Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on intheroom@independent.co.uk. This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Count Binface vs Farage: Flakes, Ferraris and the Clacton by-election

  3. Aug 4

    Lessons from No 10: When the world's most powerful CEOs enter Downing Street | Jimmy McLoughlin

    When Apple chief executive Tim Cook visited No 10, he stopped to admire David Bailey’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Jimmy McLoughlin, then Downing Street’s business director, gave him an impromptu tour and discovered along the way that Cook was also a fan of Netflix’s acclaimed royal drama The Crown. Working under Theresa May, McLoughlin’s role was to help ensure that some of the world’s most influential business leaders had a productive relationship with the prime minister. Cook’s fascination with the Queen pointed to something broader: the value of British soft power, and the importance of the relationship between Westminster and the corporate world. In the first episode of Lessons from No 10, McLoughlin joins Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson to discuss what ministers really need to understand about business. Now host of Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future, he argues that politicians do not all need to have run companies themselves – but they do need to understand the people who have. Executive Producer: Rod Ardehali Producer: Sam Durham Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here. Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on intheroom@independent.co.uk. This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Lessons from No 10: When the world's most powerful CEOs enter Downing Street | Jimmy McLoughlin

  4. Jul 31

    Who's winning the summer? Burnham, Badenoch and Farage assessed

    As Andy Burnham's second week in power draws to a close, his rivals are scratching their heads and plotting their summer challenges – with mixed results. Green leader Zack Polanski is facing heat over yet another social media misdemeanour, it’s far from all quiet for Nigel Farage on the Clacton front, and the Liberal Democrats are nowhere to be seen – time for another Ed Davey stunt? Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch is preparing to embark on a summer tour with the highest approval rating of any Tory leader since April 2021. Today, we bring you the ultimate preview of Westminster's summer. During August we'll be having our own summer recess, bringing you a special interview series: Lessons From No.10. Jimmy McLoughlin – the podcast host who landed the first interview with the new PM and a former business director in No.10 – tells us what it's really like meeting the world's most powerful CEOs. Peter Hill – principal private secretary to Theresa May – describes what it's like being up close with Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Angela Merkel. And Lee Cain – who found himself almost running the country when Boris Johnson was hospitalised during Covid – tells us how to hold government communications together in a crisis. As a new prime minister settles in, this series is the ultimate primer for life inside 10 Downing Street. We'll be back from the start of September, when Andy Burnham faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs for the very first time – and the countdown to party conference season begins. Executive Producer: Rod Ardehali Producer: Sam Durham Video Editor: Vali Raza Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here. Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on intheroom@independent.co.uk. This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Who's winning the summer? Burnham, Badenoch and Farage assessed

  5. Jul 28

    Too much Manchester? Andy Burnham's first big interview unpacked

    Andy Burnham finally sat down to face some old school scrutiny this week.  After weeks of winning praise for his social-first approach to communications – Britain's first TikTok Prime Minister? – he finally sat down for a proper grilling with the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg. Today, we unpack his performance. How did he handle the tough questions on Trump and Putin? Is he talking about Manchester a little too much? And beyond the polished messaging, does he sound like a Prime Minister with a convincing plan to govern? Meanwhile, No.10's policy fruit machine spun again with a surprise overhaul of technical education, and Count Binface launched a manifesto that might just be the clearest piece of political communication of the week. Executive Producer: Rod Ardehali Producer: Sam Durham Video Editor: Vali Raza Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here. Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on intheroom@independent.co.uk. This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Too much Manchester? Andy Burnham's first big interview unpacked

  6. Jul 24

    Andy Burnham week one: promises, pitfalls and the prison problem

    Andy Burnham has survived his first week. The former Manchester mayor turned prime minister is now in his spiritual home – No.10 North – after repeatedly calling it the best day of his life. It's been a week of 6am policy drops, wall-to-wall coverage and Burnham firmly at the centre of every story. But Helen and Cleo aren't just here to admire the opening moves. They want to know whether the presidential style is already tipping into hubris, what the prison U-turn actually signals about the government underneath the announcements – and perhaps most importantly of all… why does he keep hugging everybody? Executive Producer: Rod Ardehali Producer: Sam Durham Video Editor: Vali Raza Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here. Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on intheroom@independent.co.uk. This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Andy Burnham week one: promises, pitfalls and the prison problem

  7. Jul 21

    Andy Burnham is Prime Minister. Now what?

    After weeks of speculation, Andy Burnham finally unveiled his first cabinet late on Tuesday, with John Healey the surprise choice as chancellor, Ed Miliband moving to the Foreign Office and Shabana Mahmood remaining as home secretary. Then came his first speech outside Downing Street. Dispensing with the familiar prime ministerial lectern, Burnham promised to end rough sleeping, reviving one of the defining pledges of his time as mayor of Greater Manchester. In the latest episode of In The Room, we pick apart what his appointments tell us about the government he wants to lead, who has emerged with real power, who has been cast aside, and whether the promises he's making now are ones he can actually keep. Executive Producer: Rod Ardehali Producer: Sam Durham Video editor: Jose Luis Ugarte Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here. Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on intheroom@independent.co.uk. This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Andy Burnham is Prime Minister. Now what?

  8. Jul 17

    Inside Andy Burnham’s No 10 takeover

    Andy Burnham has finally been crowned Labour Party leader. Attention turns now to his top team, with home secretary Shabana Mahmood hotly tipped to be named chancellor. Meanwhile, Ed Miliband and Wes Streeting continue to cast a shadow over Burnham’s picks. On Monday, after formalities with the King, Burnham will become the UK’s seventh prime minister in ten years. Today, we tell you what to expect in Monday’s power transition, discuss what his top team might signal, and ask whether Shabana Mahmood will make the best choice as chancellor.  Read more from The Independent: Mr Milburn’s historic NEET review deserves cross-party support Andy Burnham claims he has a plan for change – it’s a shame he still hasn’t told us what it is What Shabana Mahmood as chancellor could mean for your money and taxes Executive Producer: Rod Ardehali Producer: Sam Durham Video editor: Vali Raza Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here. Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on intheroom@independent.co.uk. This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Inside Andy Burnham’s No 10 takeover
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Ratings & Reviews

3
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Two former Westminster insiders reveal how politics and power really work.  Ever wondered what goes on behind closed doors at No 10? Or who’s the first person on the phone when a Prime Minister lands themselves in hot water?  Each week former Deputy Cabinet Secretary Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson, former political advisor to Theresa May and Boris Johnson, dissect the week’s biggest news, revealing how decisions get made, why they go wrong, and what should happen next.  In The Room is straight-talking, insider analysis with a dose of humour, every week. This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    The Independent / Next Chapter Studios
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    37
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Independent
  • Show Website
    In The Room

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