The Rundown by PoliticsHome

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Our weekly podcast from PoliticsHome discussing all the ups and downs in Westminster. Please subscribe and share - and keep up with all the latest news on PoliticsHome.com. Got a question for the team? news@politicshome.com.

  1. 5d ago

    Does a Burnham PM mean PR's time has come?

    As Westminster watchers try to work out what Andy Burnham’s ‘Manchesterism’ agenda might mean for the country if he wins the Makerfield by-election and becomes Prime Minister, this week host Alain Tolhurst looks at what it might mean for our democracy, given his strongly and long-held views about electoral reform. So to discuss whether PR’s time might have finally come under a Burnham premiership, or whether it will be lost along the wayside once more, are the Labour MP Alex Sobel, a veteran supporter for ditching first past the post for general elections, as well as Olly Glover, the Lib Dem MP for Didcot and Wantage, whose party has long campaigned for reform. Alongside them are Emma Harrison, CEO of the campaign group Make Votes Matter, and Darren Hughes, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced and edited by Ewan Cameron and Lulu Goad for Podot

    37 min

  2. May 22

    Could the UK rejoin the EU?

    With the idea of rejoining the European Union suddenly back on the agenda after Andy Burnham's selection for the Makerfield by-election and the positioning ahead of potential Labour leadership contest, this week we’re looking at whether 10 years on from the referendum, could Brexit ever be reversed?  Would there ever be the political will, the public backing or the practical ability, for Britain to once again be a part of the EU, and would stirring up a maelstrom that seemed finally settled, blow up our politics irreparably? Later in the episode host Alain Tolhurst speaks to Professor Anand Menon, director of the think tank UK in a Changing Europe, along with the former Conservative minister Steve Baker, who now writes the Fighting for a Better Future substack, about how serious the idea of rejoining is. But first the Labour MP Stella Creasy, chair of the Labour Movement for Europe, spoke to Alain about how the party should approach the UK’s future relationship with the EU. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced and edited by Ewan Cameron and Lulu Goad for Podot

    33 min

  3. May 15

    Starmer on the brink after May 7 mauling

    NB: This episode was recorded *before* Wes Streeting resigned and Josh Simons stood aside for Andy Burnham After crushing defeats across the UK last week for Keir Starmer, dozens of Labour MPs have called for him to announce he will not lead the party into the next election, and to set out a timetable to go as Prime Minister. But despite several ministerial resignations he has remained resolute that no contest has been triggered and he will remain in post, and fight any challenger who gets the nominations to stand against him. To discuss what has brought us here, and where Labour - and therefore the country - goes next, host Alain Tolhurst is joined by Calder Valley MP Josh Fenton-Glynn, one of those calling for an ‘orderly transition’ to another leader, alongside Steve Akehurst, director of research firm Persuasion UK, as well as Sienna Rodgers, deputy editor of The House magazine, and  Ryan Wain, senior director at the Tony Blair Institute. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

    44 min

  4. May 6

    What to look out for at the local elections

    As voters nationwide prepare to go to the polls for a highly anticipated set of local elections, this week we have a special episode giving you a guide to the key results, when to expect them, how to interpret them, and what might happen next. With around 5,000 council seats in England up for grabs on 7 May, along with six mayoralties, every seat at Holyrood and in the newly expanded Senedd, the Labour Party is braced for an extremely painful evening, which will likely put renewed pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer's leadership over the weekend. At the same time, the Conservatives' electoral woes are expected to continue, in what would be a reminder of the work leader Kemi Badenoch has to do to repair the party's brand following its heavy general election defeat in 2024. Meanwhile, signs point to the UK's insurgent smaller parties, Nigel Farage's Reform UK and Zack Polanski's Greens, winning many hundreds of seats across the country, while there are also expected to be gains for Liberal Democrats and independent candidates, further demonstrating Britain's shift to multi-party politics. To discuss all of that and more, host Alain Tolhurst, is joined by Luke Tryl, UK Director at think tank More in Common, along with Dr Hannah Bunting, Senior Lecturer at Exeter University and co-director of The Elections Centre, alongside PoliticsHome's editor Adam Payne and The House magazine's deputy editor Sienna Rodgers. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

    41 min

  5. May 1

    A Tory revival or one final nail on May 7?

    With Parliament prorogued Westminster is in full campaigning mode a week out from the May 7 elections, and while the conversation largely centres around potential massive Labour losses across the UK and Reform’s continued rise, there is another story going on too; which is that with predictions of another terrible set of results for the Tories, could the party once known as the most successful election-winning machine in the world be sliding fully into irrelevance? To discuss whether Kemi Badenoch can turn the Conservative’s fortunes around, or whether another drubbing at the polls next week further cements Nigel Farage place as the dominant force on the right, host Alain Tolhurst is joined by the Tory MP Jack Rankin, who has been the member for Windsor since 2024. Alongside him is the former Tory Cabinet minister David Gauke, now vice-chair of centrist pressure group Prosper UK, as well as Tali Fraser, assistant editor at the Conservative Home website, and political reporter at PolHome - Matilda Martin. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

    39 min

  6. Apr 24

    Mandelson crisis exposes No10's civil service rift

    As the Mandelson vetting affair rumbles on, the pod takes a look at how damaging the sacking of Olly Robbins and the briefing wars that have followed it are for relations between government and Whitehall. Labour came into power saying they would repair the destruction caused by the Tories to how the civil service operates, but Keir Starmer’s comments about mandarins being too comfortable in the ‘tepid bath of managed decline', along with the sacking of two Cabinet Secretaries, have left that seriously in doubt even before the past week’s problems. To discuss all that host Alain Tolhurst is joined by Lord Robin Butler, a former head of the civil service having served as Cabinet Secretary for a decade, as well as being private secretary to five Prime Ministers. Alongside him are Hannah Keenan, associate director at the Institute for Government, and a former civil servant in the Cabinet Office, as well as Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA, the trade union for senior civil servants, and Suzannah Brecknell, co-editor of PolHome's sister title and Whitehall bible, Civil Service World. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

    37 min

  7. Apr 17

    Is this Andy Burnham's moment?

    CONTENT WARNING: This episode does include a small amount of language unsuitable for children This week, as campaigning ahead of the May elections began in earnest, the rare sight of Keir Starmer, Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner all together in one room was spotted at a primary school in greater Manchester as they celebrated the launch of Labour’s new breakfast clubs. But despite the public show of unity, behind the scenes the jostling by the Prime Minister’s rivals to replace him continues, so to discuss whether the Greater Manchester mayor and so-called ‘king of the north’ will make it back down to Westminster, or whether Starmer will be able to hold off the threat to his leadership from Burnham et al if results next month are as bad as feared, host Alain Tolhurst is joined by two colleagues; Sienna Rodgers, deputy editor of The House magazine, and Tom Scotson, political reporter at PolHome, who have who have both written about Andy Burnham this week. And alongside them are the MP Karl Turner, who last month lost the Labour whip after becoming an all-too frequent critic of Keir Starmer for the party’s liking, in particular on the government's policy to scrap some jury trials, as well as Jane Green, Professor at Nuffield College at Oxford University, and a member of the leadership team of the British Election Study. To sign up for our newsletters click hereRead Tom's piece here, and Sienna's here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

    40 min

  8. Apr 10

    How do ministers reform public services?

    This week's episode looks at public service reform, how important ministerial leadership is in driving Whitehall transformation, and what this government can learn from those who successfully executed their vision. Joining host Alain Tolhurst to discuss why driving change is often so difficult is Dr Rebecca McKee, senior researcher at the Institute for Government, and lead author of a new paper on the role of ministers in public sector reform, along with Charlotte Pickles, chief executive at the Re:State think tank and a former special adviser to Iain Duncan Smith at the Department for Work and Pensions, and Baroness Simone Finn, Conservative peer and a former Downing Street deputy chief of staff, as well as the founder and co-chair of Francis Maude Associates, having worked as a special adviser in the Cabinet Office during the coalition government. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

    35 min
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Our weekly podcast from PoliticsHome discussing all the ups and downs in Westminster. Please subscribe and share - and keep up with all the latest news on PoliticsHome.com. Got a question for the team? news@politicshome.com.

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