Westminster Insider POLITICO Europe

After the Tories' drubbing in the local elections and the many, many rumors about efforts to unseat Rishi Sunak, Aggie Chambre talks us through how to prepare a secret Conservative leadership campaign.
Former No. 10 head of political comms Adam Jones takes us inside Liz Truss's "fizz with Liz" soirees, explains why she took *that* picture in the tank, and says his former boss got "punch drunk" on love from Tory members. 
Former adviser Lucia Hodgson, who ran Andrea Leadsom's 2019 leadership bid, explains the years of work they put into that campaign, and reveals why you need to know everything you can about your opponents. 
Aggie speaks to former Tory contender Michael Heseltine about what he did and did not do before his infamous run in 1990 — about his regrets, supporters and missteps. 
And former Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries claims it’s nigh on impossible to get any work done in government when everyone is so obsessed with who the next leader of the Conservative Party will be.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first episode of season 14, host Aggie Chambre tells the inside story of how POLITICO broke the Westminster honey trap story, and goes in search of who is really responsible.
She hears from most of the key characters involved in the scandal that rocked SW1. 
Two victims tell Aggie about their messages and one of them explains what happened when he organized a meeting with the catfisher. 
POLITICO's own Dan Bloom reveals for the first time that he received a message from the mysterious catfisher and talks through his part in breaking the story. 
The BBC's Henry Zeffman describes what it was like to be targeted and why he initially smelled a rat. 
The Times’ Aubrey Allegretti gives behind the scenes details of his initial phone call with William Wragg, when the MP admitted some involvement in the scandal.
And Ciaran Martin, former CEO of the National Cyber Security Centre, explains how the scandal shed "a lot of light on the vulnerabilities of our political system."

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host Sascha O'Sullivan delves into the secrets of the polling industry and asks — if the polls were wrong before, could they be wrong again?
David Cameron's former pollster Andrew Cooper tells Sascha how the Conservatives upstaged the polling industry in 2015 and pulled an unexpected election victory out of the bag.
Labour polling stalwart Stan Greenberg, who has run the numbers for Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela and Ed Miliband, explains what the other side of the 2015 campaign was like.
Tom Lubbock of JL Partners and Josh Williams of Labour Together explain why voter archetypes — from "Mondeo Man" to "Stevenage Woman" — are so beloved by the media ... and how they're actually useful for politicians seeking to win elections. Sascha also tags along to a series of focus groups — including with More in Common's Luke Tryl — to see how they really work.
And the New Statesman's associate political editor, Rachel Cunliffe, and pollster Scarlett Maguire explain how communicating polling can be twisted or over-egged — and why we really should be talking about more than just the top line. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Aggie Chambre looks at the art of the leak and asks — why do people do it, and what happens when your political secrets are exposed?
Former Deputy Prime Minister Damian Green talks about helping to leak Home Office secrets when Labour was in charge.
Aggie hears from journalist and author Isabel Oakeshott about her controversial decision to leak Matt Hancock’s Covid WhatsApps — and why she had to adopt a disguise during the process.
POLITICO’s Jack Blanchard and Jeremy Corbyn’s former spinner James Schneider tell Aggie about the infamous 2017 Labour manifesto leak and the consequences for the party’s campaign.
And Times political editor Steven Swinford, recipient of a hefty chunk of Westminster’s secrets, talks us through how he got leaked information about the second Covid lockdown and government decisions around Huawei. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New host Sascha O'Sullivan explores Westminster's obsession with all things Australia — and considers the lessons British politics might learn from down under.
From the U.K. Tory party's succession of Aussie campaign chiefs to the varying attempts to deploy Australian-style immigration policies, Westminster has held an enduring fascination with its rougher political cousins down under. 
Sascha speaks to former Australian Prime Minister John Howard, who has long enjoyed links with the U.K. Tory party and who was the first premier to vow to "stop the boats."
Rohan Watt, a Queensland native who worked in Liz Truss's No. 10 Downing Street, explains how Australian advisers have long been surfing the coattails of legendary campaign guru Lynton Crosby, and how their blunt style of communication has made them mainstays in British politics. 
Australian-British journalist Latika Bourke considers the brutal campaign tactics sometimes deployed down under, while foreign policy expert Sophia Gaston explains how the recently-signed AUKUS security pact will reinforce relations between the two countries.
Comms guru John McTernan, who worked for both Tony Blair in Downing Street and Australian PM Julia Gillard in Canberra, explains why Australia can offer a helpful election playbook for British politicos to follow — but why Westminster should be wary of stealing their ideas wholesale. 
And Labour's Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson tells how she recently undertook a fact-finding trip to Australia to gather advice on childcare policy from the Aussie Labor Party — as well as tips on how to help U.K. Labour win an election. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By now, surely everyone in Westminster knows how to get ready for government — but have enough considered how to prepare for opposition?
In this week's episode, host Aggie Chambre tackles the conundrum of how to prepare for the one job in politics no one wants. 
She speaks to former opposition leader Neil Kinnock about his time in charge, including the advice his children gave Tony Blair's kids. 
Conservative peer George Young, who has been around since 1974, talks about all the times his party has gone from government to opposition. 
Tories Robert Buckland and Charles Walker consider what their fellow MPs are thinking about life after polling day as they teeter on the edge of opposition.
Labour MP Diana Johnson, who has spent the last 14 years on the opposition benches, explains how best to make an impact while you're out of government. 
Academic Nigel Fletcher runs through the history of the formalization of opposition — dating all the way back to 1937. 
And Cath Haddon from the Institute for Government tells Aggie the hardest thing about going from government to opposition. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.