Newscast

Today, we start the first of six Old Newscasts looking at the story of 30 years of British Politics through six votes. We start in 1997, when the Prime Minister John Major called an election, hoping to extend 18 years of Conservative rule, and beat Labour’s Tony Blair . To help us, we have two BBC legends who were there at the time. Jeremy Vine was the BBC's political reporter and Kirsty Wark was...

Today, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has officially opened up the doors to Number 10 North which he has described as the ‘best day of my life’. Adam is joined by Lucy Fisher - Whitehall editor at the Financial Times and Patrick Maguire Chief Political Commentator at the Times, and they discuss how No 10 North is shaping up and whether it will be more than just a gimmick. Plus, they look back at Andy...

Today, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced ‘no prisoners will be let out’ under early release scheme until he has conducted an ‘urgent review’. The announcement comes after the widow of PC Andrew Harper described the possible early release of prisoners as ‘deplorable’, following reports that two of his killers could be freed early. Adam is joined by Dominic Casciani, home and legal correspondent...

Today, Andy Burnham has announced the return of the £2 bus fare cap in most of England - taking effect from January 2027. Bus fares had initially been capped at £2 in 2023 by the Conservatives, and was later increased to £3 by Keir Starmer. Andy Burnham has reversed the Starmer policy, but how will it be funded? And, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, one of the first and most senior Labour polit...

Today, on the first full day of his premiership Prime Minister Andy Burnham has laid out plans for scrapping VAT on household electricity bills and has claimed he wants a ‘cost of living government’. Burnham said he would scrap VAT on household electricity bills in October, saving a typical household about £45 a year. This will be paid for by scrapping Keir Starmer's digital ID scheme, No 10 says,...

Today, in this extra helping of Newscast, we look at Andy Burnham’s cabinet - who's been called up and who's been sacked - as he assembles his team on his first day as prime minister. Amongst the announcements, Adam and Chris discuss the surprise appointment of John Healey as chancellor – as well as Shabana Mahmood keeping her role at the Home Office and Ed Miliband moving to foreign secretary. Yo...

Today, Andy Burnham has officially become Prime Minister, after meeting with King Charles this morning. In a speech outside Downing Street, Andy Burnham pledged to end rough sleeping and offer cost of living support as well as a new political and economic model. He promised to soon set out a ten year plan for the country and said politicians needed to be better. Adam is in Downing Street with Chri...

Today we look at what Number 10 has in store for Andy Burnham ahead of his first day as prime minister with two insiders who’ve been there with former prime ministers. Lord Stewart Wood was an advisor to Gordon Brown and Lucia Hodgson was Boris Johnson’s deputy dire of communications. They explain what the first day is like, what they expect from the new PM, and the unexpected quirks of the job. W...

Today we look at how Andy Burnham is preparing for government on the weekend before he’s due to move into Number 10. He’s still to make decisions around his cabinet public, but we reveal how he’s actually keeping a lot of Starmer’s staff. Laura, Paddy and Hennry Zeffman discuss his plans for oil and gas after the BBC is told he’s planning to announce new drilling off the coast of Scotland and ask,...

Today, Andy Burnham is set to become Prime Minister - but who is he? And, how did he get here? Adam and Chris are joined by special correspondent Judith Moritz and Burnham’s close friend Steve Rotheram, Liverpool City Region Mayor, to look back at his life and career. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on m...

Today, Adam is joined by legendary broadcaster Andrew Marr, who is one of the very few people to have interviewed Andy Burnham before he goes into number 10. As Burnham prepares to take the reins of government, some things remain unclear about what he will do when he gets there. Who will be in his cabinet? And how will he tackle the economic challenges that faced Keir Starmer’s premiership? You ca...

Today, Keir Starmer delivered his final performance at Prime Ministers’ Questions before his time as PM officially draws to a close on Monday. Adam, Alex and Chris unpack what his last exchanges with MPs tells us about the end of his premiership. Plus, the team look ahead to the handover of power and what we know, and what we don’t, about Andy Burnham’s plans for his new top team. You can now list...

Today, the Covid inquiry has found that the lives of NHS staff and patients were put at risk in the pandemic because of a lack of adequate PPE. The inquiry’s chair, Baroness Hallett described “vast” waste, with almost £10 billion of taxpayers money wasted in the scramble to buy more. Health reporter and Coronavirus Newscast alumnus, Jim Reed joins Adam to look at how things went so wrong. Plus, Pr...

Today, counter terrorism police are now leading the investigation into Ann Widdecombe’s death. A 28-year-old man who was arrested on suspicion of murder has been re-arrested on suspicion of commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. The investigation was previously being handled by Devon and Cornwall police who had previously said there was "nothing to suggest" the murder was pol...

Today, after speaking to Rachel Reeves in what’s likely to be her final interview as chancellor, Laura speaks to Paddy about what we might get from the new administration. Andy Burnham has talked about “room within [the Labour] manifesto for movement on tax." What does that mean in practice? We’ve got some clues from Labour insiders. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want t...

Rachel Reeves has given Laura what is likely to be her last interview as chancellor. She looks back on two years in her dream job, reflects on what she feels she got right, and is pushed on what she got wrong. This is the full interview as a bonus in your Newscast feed. A regular episode with Laura and Paddy is on the way later.

​​Today, Laura and Paddy look at what we know and don’t know about the murder of Ann Widdecombe. ​​ ​​A murder investigation was launched after the Reform politician was found on Thursday. ​​ ​​We also hear tributes and reaction to her death. ​​ ​​And, Laura’s been talking to Rachel Reeves in what could be her last interview as chancellor. ​​ ​​We discuss whether it was a pitch to keep her job, or...

Today, Adam and Alex take a deep dive into Andy Burnham’s plan to move power out of Westminster and Whitehall and distribute it across the UK. There has been little detail announced about Burnham’s plans to rewire the state but it’s clear that it’s top of his to do list. Adam and Alex are joined by Ant Breach, director of policy and research at the Centre for Cities to explore what devolution in E...

Today, Andy Burnham's Labour leadership bid has been backed by 322 Labour MPs. If no one else enters the contest, as expected, Burnham will be declared Labour leader next week before taking office as prime minister on 20 July. Burnham is currently just one short of securing 323 nominations, which is when it is mathematically impossible for a rival to reach the 81-MP threshold needed to run against...

Today, the US and Iran have been exchanging strikes after hostiles were renewed in the Strait of Hormuz overnight. Over 80 sites in Iran were targeted by the US, prompting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard to target US military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait. Donald Trump, speaking at the NATO summit in Türkiye, says he thinks the US-Iran ceasefire is ‘over’, and threatened to hit Iran 'hard again toni...

Today Nigel Farage resigns as an MP, triggering a by-election in Clacton which he says he plans to stand in. He is currently facing an ongoing parliamentary standards investigation into whether he should have declared a £5 million gift he received from the cryptocurrency billionaire Christopher Harborne. Making the announcement in a statement streamed online, Farage said that he had done “nothing...

Today, did President Trump step in to make sure the USA’s star striker could play in tonight’s world cup game? Folarin Balogun, was sent off in the last game and should have served a suspension for the last-16 match against Belgium. But World Cup organisers Fifa, opted not to enforce an immediate sanction on the 25-year-old, meaning the co-hosts' leading goalscorer will be available to play. The B...

Today we look at a story from the Sunday Times that details benefits that Nigel Farage received from a convicted fraudster George Cottrell, including staff, security and housing. Reform says its party leader has broken no rules by failing to declare the support given to him before he became an MP. The journalist who led the team behind the story and host of the podcast, Posh George: the criminal b...

Henry is in to talk about his interview with the outgoing prime minister Sir Keir Starmer. What was it like in the room, what was he really saying to Andy Burnham, and has he come to terms with losing his job? The three of them discuss all that and let you in behind the scenes on the first interview Starmer has done since the announcement that’s he will resign. You can now listen to Newscast on a...

Keir Starmer has given his first interview since stepping down to Henry Zeffman. In it, he speaks about the "intensely personal decision” which was taken “ultimately” when he went to Chequers with his wife and children. Here's the full interview. We're recording the normal Saturday episode with Laura, Paddy and Henry and that will be in the feed as normal later today.