Electoral Dysfunction

Beth’s at the Conservative party conference – talking to the shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins.    She says that Kemi Badenoch has shown resilience and character in her first year as party leader- but it’s taken time to find confidence and her 11 months of ‘listening’ and ‘absorbing’ has come with ‘political knocks’.    She acknowledges that she is sorry about the Tory proposal to leave...

When the Prime Minister said Reform’s migration policy was ‘racist’ - was that a mistake? It dominated the Labour Party conference in Liverpool this week, where Beth asked Keir Starmer about his comments... and pulled him up on Donald Trump’s remarks about Sadiq Khan.    So with the May elections starting to loom in the minds of politicians, how worried are Labour that they are going to lose out t...

Health Secretary Wes Streeting didn't want to get moved to the Home Office in the recent reshuffle - and he planned how to get out of it if the job was offered.  Beth asks also asks him about future strike action by doctors.  He's clear in his warning to members of the BMA: "The NHS is hanging by a thread, don’t pull it."  The interview was recorded at Labour Party conference.    Remember, you can...

Donald Trump gave his two cents on what women should be doing whilst pregnant this week... and Nigel Farage followed suit with his view back here.     So how damaging are their comments? And why do men think they know best about women’s bodies?    Later - is Andy Burnham plotting a move on Downing Street? He claims Labour MPs are asking him to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the leadership of the p...

Starmer and Trump meet at Chequers and the world's eyes are on them. So why did Trump say he doesn't know Peter Mandelson? The UK's former ambassador to Washington who was sacked last week? And what did Trump mean when he said that Putin had "let him down"?   To match the occasion - a special episode of Electoral Dysfunction and Trump100, a Sky News podcast mashup. Beth Rigby, Harriet Harman and R...

Peter Mandelson is sacked as the UK's ambassador to the US - his former cabinet colleague, Harriet, says it's shameful that he didn't resign. It's all after new revelations over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Ruth isn't impressed either and wonders why Keir Starmer was defending him at PMQs. Donald Trump arrives in London for his state visit next week. Given questions about Epstein always ra...

A long list of women all want to be Labour’s next deputy leader - Lucy Powell, Emily Thornberry, Bridget Phillipson, Alison McGovern, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Paula Barker have all thrown their names into the mix.   Beth, Ruth and Harriet look at their prospects and reveal what sort of deputy Keir Starmer would prefer – as well as who the left of Labour would prefer is rooting for. Does the next depu...

Beth, Harriet and Ruth reassemble after Angela Rayner’s resignation prompts one of the biggest cabinet reshuffles in years. She admitted she didn’t pay enough stamp duty on the purchase of a new home and, after an ethics investigation, quit as deputy prime minister and housing secretary. David Lammy takes the deputy role with a move to justice secretary. Keir Starmer’s had two resets in a week – c...

Was the deputy prime minister trying to evade and dodge tax? Is she a 'hypocrite'? Or was she simply doing what she thought was the right thing?    Beth takes Ruth and Harriet behind the scenes of her interview with Angela Rayner this week as they ask whether she will survive in government, or if she will have to resign.    It all emerged after Rayner admitted she didn't pay enough tax on her home...

In an exclusive interview, the Deputy Prime Minister admits she considered resigning after discovering she didn’t pay enough stamp duty on her second home.      After weeks of speculation in the papers, Angela Rayner reveals what really happened – she tells Beth she got inaccurate expert advice and was unable to speak out before due to confidential clauses in place to protect her son, who she is o...

In their final summer Q&A, Beth, Ruth, and Harriet dig into why politics feels permanently stuck in panic mode.     Why does it feel like there's an election imminent when the prime minister isn't required to call one for four years? What's fuelling the chaos? And is the media to blame?     Plus, your questions on whether Reform defections are actually a problem for the Tory party, what happen...

Can Britain afford both welfare and warfare? Beth takes us inside the row that could define Sir Keir Starmer's premiership. From that huge Commons rebellion over welfare cuts to the looming pressure on defence spending, how can the government look after Britain at home, whilst holding the line abroad? For this special episode, Beth speaks to the former chancellor Jeremy Hunt and ex-Labour welfare...

Nigel Farage's Reform won more than 40% of seats at May's council elections. The Conservatives lost control of 16 English councils and won 20% of seats - one of the lowest proportions in the past two decades.      How do the Tories make sure they keep right-wing voters at future elections?      Beth talks to shadow chancellor, and former work and pensions secretary, Mel Stride on this episode abou...

Jeremy Corbyn's back - with Zarah Sultana and a new party. But is it a real threat to Labour, or just political theatre?      This week Beth, Ruth and Harriet answer your questions on whether Corbyn's comeback could fracture the left and hand seats to the Tories and Reform.     What does it mean for Starmer? Could the Green Party seize the moment? And is this a political headache - or just a red h...

Anneliese Dodds sits down with Beth Rigby for her first long-form interview since stepping down from Labour's front bench. Reflecting on the party's first year in power, the former International Development Minister and Women and Equalities Minister reveals what happened the moment she decided to resign from Sir Keir Starmer's government - and the "uncomfortable" days she spent in the run up to te...

Summer is here and the government is worrying about riots on the streets. In their final episode of this political term, Beth, Ruth and Harriet unpack No 10's briefing this week that Angela Rayner has warned about the risk of civil unrest, almost a year on from the murders in Southport that sparked a summer of violent protests. So what is the government's strategy?  And what's really going on in t...

Who knew what about the Afghan data leak? And could anyone in parliament have done more to help scrutinise the government at the time of the superinjunction? Harriet thinks so.      So in this episode, Beth, Ruth, and Harriet talk about the massive breach, the secret court hearings, and the constitutional chaos it’s unleashed.       Plus - the fallout from the latest Labour rebellion. Four MPs hav...

There's a new plan for deterring migrants from crossing the channel and coming to the UK - but will it actually work?  This week, Beth, Ruth and Harriet have a deep dive into one of the most divisive and defining political issues of our time: migration.  In the week France's President Emmanuel Macron has been hobnobbing with the great and the good on his state visit to the UK, he's also agreed a n...

Could Reform UK get their first taste of government next year? They're the biggest party for Welsh voters, according to exclusive polling from More in Common ahead of the Senedd elections next year.    But what does this mean for Labour? The party was founded in Wales and since devolution in 1999, they've run the government there. Are they now scared of Reform?    So in this extra episode of Elect...

Happy 1st anniversary, Keir Starmer.  He wanted to be talking about what he sees as Labour’s achievements after 12 months in goverment and his 10-year plan for the NHS.     But, after another dramatic policy U-turn and the sight of his own chancellor crying at PMQs, when he kept his support for her slightly vague, Beth Rigby, Harriet Harman and Ruth Davidson discuss if his start in office has been...

It sounds like concessions are being offered to the dozens of Labour MPs who had threatened to rebel over the government’s planned welfare cuts.  On this episode, Beth, Ruth, and Harriet went over the possible options for the Prime Minister. They also talk about what Keir Starmer needs to learn from the chaos of the past few days.   Plus, is President Trump the "daddy" in his handling of the Israe...

Days after Keir Starmer told Beth that a US strike on Iran wasn’t imminent, Trump ordered US bunker busters to bomb Iran’s nuclear facilities.     But the UK’s position on the attacks are unclear. The focus is not on what the Prime Minister is saying – but what he isn’t saying. After a brief interview, it’s clear Keir Starmer isn’t willing to either endorse the strikes, or criticise President Trum...

Is Donald Trump about to join Israel in attacks on Iran, and will he ask Keir Starmer to help him out? If he does - would it even be legal? A lot has happened since Beth, Ruth and Harriet last got together, with further significant developments expected before a big NATO summit next week - a gathering we don't even know if the US president will turn up to. So how did we get to the point where we'r...

A landmark bill is due to be voted on in the House of Commons next week that could decriminalise abortion for women in England and Wales.     Currently, any woman who has had an abortion after 24 weeks - without two doctors signing it off - could be jailed under a Victorian law. So why has it taken until 2025 for this vote? And who are the women whose stories have led to a potential change in the...

As Rachel Reeves prepares for next week’s spending review, Beth explains why it could be a defining moment for the government and the chancellor is faced with difficult choices.  Harriet talks about the two-child benefit cap and whether the government can afford to scrap it.   And as Sir Keir Starmer puts the country on a war footing, Sky's defence correspondent Deborah Haynes joins Beth, Ruth and...