Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins

Annunziata Rees-Mogg joins to discuss the surge in Channel crossings after 545 migrants arrived in a single day, the busiest of the year so far, alongside mounting criticism of the UK’s deal with France and reports that small-boat arrivals are being processed in as little as 30 minutes. Is the government losing control of the border, and what should happen next? On the NHS, former Health Minister...

Joe Twyman (Founder of DeltaPoll) and Tatton Spiller (Founder of Simple Politics) join the show as Westminster faces a mounting political storm around Sir Keir Starmer and the fallout from the Peter Mandelson row. With reports warning of a potential constitutional showdown over the handling of sensitive files linked to the Epstein case, we ask whether this could become the biggest test of Starmer’...

We ask whether anyone can still trust Labour as the fallout from the Peter Mandelson story continues to dominate Westminster. After being released on bail following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct, the pressure on the government is growing - and fresh questions are being raised about transparency and standards in public life. Clark Vasey (Director, Blue Collar Conservatism) and Daniel Bruce...

Today Ian Collins asks Is Britain still a Christian country? After a series of controversies - from churches under threat and debates about religious identity to clashes over free speech on Britain’s streets - is the country changing in ways many people didn’t expect? Missionary Bishop Ceirion Dewar and commentator Fahima Mohamed join the discussion as Reform vows to block churches from being conv...

Ian Collins opens with the extraordinary developments surrounding Prince Andrew, after his arrest over misconduct in public office allegations. Does the latest scandal mark a turning point for the monarchy - or will the institution withstand yet another crisis? Dickie Arbiter, former Press Secretary to the Queen, historian and author, Andrew Lownie, and former Old Bailey judge, Wendy Joseph KC, as...

Ian Collins is back. We begin with the battle for the future of the Right after Rupert Lowe launched a new party, throwing the conservative movement into fresh turmoil. With Reform, Restore and Advance now competing for the same voters, who actually has the momentum - and who will ultimately win the fight on the right? Ian is joined by Mayuran Senthilnathan (former Reform UK candidate), Charlie Do...

Peter Cardwell sits in for Ian Collins, asking the question on everyone’s mind: which party can actually get the cost of living under control? As Keir Starmer insists easing household pressure is his top priority, William Yarwood from the Taxpayers’ Alliance and Reform UK’s economic message are put under the microscope following Robert Jenrick’s pledge to “restore stability” to Britain’s finances....

Peter Cardwell sits in for Ian Collins on the Afternoon Empire. Journalist, Nicole Lampert, expresses her anger, after a video surfaced of a group of pro-Palestine canvassers door-to-door asking locals to boycott Israeli products, accused of engaging in a 'Jew hunt'. Independent Councillor, Hilary Schan, says Labour is "making their own councillors look stupid" after abandoning plans to cance...

Peter Cardwell sits in for Ian Collins on the Afternoon Empire. He speaks with Mark Francois MP about Keir Starmer’s decision to delay local elections and his subsequent U-turn, as well as the ongoing debate surrounding the proposed deal over the Chagos Islands. The discussion then shifts to royal controversy, with Norman Baker examining renewed scrutiny of Princ...

Ian Collins asks a question many parents are now openly debating: should men be banned from working in nurseries? Following shocking revelations about safeguarding failures that created what one report called a “perfect hunting ground” for abusers, social commentator David Shipley argues it’s time for a hard line to protect children - while Tone Langengen from the Tony Blair Institute responds wit...

Ian Collins takes on a government many critics say is rewriting Britain without voters’ consent. As Labour moves to give the vote to 16-year-olds, Joanna Williams, author of How Woke Won, and Darren Hughes, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, clash over whether this is democratic renewal — or a cynical attempt to rig the electorate in Labour’s favour. We then turn to immigration and n...

Ian Collins asks the question many voters are now openly raising: has this government dangerously lost touch with reality? Following a series of shocking crimes, including the jailing of an Afghan migrant for raping a schoolgirl and fresh reports of teenage stabbings in London schools - Ben Habib, leader of Advance UK, and Maria Bowtell, spokeswoman for Restore Britain, discuss whether Britain is...

Ian Collins asks the big question shaking Westminster and beyond: has Britain become ungovernable? As Keir Starmer battles to cling on after a dramatic showdown with rebellious Labour MPs - and ministers move to give the Prime Minister a political stay of execution amid market jitters - Adam Cherry, editorial director at Guido Fawkes , and Lord Peter Lilley, Conservative peer, assess whether Brita...

Ian Collins asks the question dominating Westminster tonight: how long can Keir Starmer hang on? With senior figures including Tim Allan stepping away and the Prime Minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney leaving Downing Street - as Labour MPs openly call for Starmer to resign - Peter Cardwell, former special adviser and author of The Secret Life of Special Advisers, joins Henri Murison, chief...

Ian Collins asks the political question now gripping Westminster: if Keir Starmer went tomorrow, who should replace him? Emma Burnell, editor of Labour List, and Charlie Rowley, political commentator, debate Labour’s leadership future as rumours swirl that Angela Rayner is positioning herself for a possible challenge while pressure mounts on the Prime Minister’s handling of the Mandelson scandal....

Ian Collins asks the central political question dominating Westminster today: should Keir Starmer resign? In a head-to-head debate, Sebastian Salek, Labour councillor for Waltham Forest and commentator, goes up against Benedict Spence, political commentator, as fresh revelations emerge that the Prime Minister knew Peter Mandelson had remained in contact with Jeffrey Epstein sparking fury inside La...

Ian Collins asks whether Britain is facing a crisis of institutional trust - or simply a series of high-profile rogue figures. Rupert Bell, Talk’s Royal Correspondent, and Isabel Oakeshott, International Editor at Talk, examine the deepening Epstein fallout, from Prince Andrew’s sudden removal from Royal Lodge to fresh police assessments of abuse allegations - and the growing pressure on Peter Man...

Ian Collins examines the political and cultural fallout from a rapidly escalating Westminster scandal. Mark Stephens, lawyer, and Baroness Catherine MacLeod of Camusdarach, Labour peer, join the programme to assess what the latest revelations linking Peter Mandelson to Jeffrey Epstein mean for the Labour Party - and whether the allegations, police reviews and questions over conduct threaten Labour...

Ian Collins leads on mounting pressure over migration, public spending and political accountability. Darwin Friend, Research Director at the TaxPayers’ Alliance, joins us to break down new research showing council spending on migrant social care has risen by £83 million in five years - and what that means for already stretched local services. Katy Bourne, Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner and...

Ian Collins examines three disturbing fault lines in modern Britain. We begin with the shocking rise in serious violence by children. Professor James Treadwell and consultant psychiatrist Raj Persaud explore what is driving extreme behaviour in young people from social breakdown and trauma to warning signs missed by institutions and ask whether Britain is failing to confront uncomfortable truths a...

Ian Collins examines mounting questions over Labour’s direction at home and abroad. Political strategist Peter Barnes reacts to growing concern that Keir Starmer is delaying meaningful welfare reform, raising doubts about Labour’s appetite for structural change. Attention then turns to foreign policy, as Chung Ching Kwong, Senior Analyst at the Interparliamentary Alliance on China and Benedict Rog...

Ian Collins asks are we ashamed to be patriotic? As Keir Starmer signals closer alignment with the EU, Lee Rotherham examines whether Brexit is being quietly reversed and what that means for sovereignty and democratic trust. We also look at growing cultural tensions as organised campaigns target national flags in public spaces - and what this says about identity, confidence and cohesion. Major Gen...

Ian Collins is back in the chair. We lead on Suella Braverman’s shock defection to Reform UK and the turmoil it has unleashed on the Right. Sarah Pochin MP (Reform UK, Runcorn & Helsby) and former Tory Cabinet Minister David Gauke debate what her move means for Reform, the Conservatives, and the future of conservative politics. We then look at growing Labour unrest over Keir Starmer’s decision...

Peter Cardwell sits in for Ian Collins. We lead on the shock defection of former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who has quit the Conservatives to join Reform UK, sending fresh tremors through the Right and piling pressure on Kemi Badenoch’s leadership. What does Braverman’s move mean for the future of the Conservative Party - and does it accelerate a wider realignment of the British Right? Rober...

Ian Collins is joined by a heavyweight panel to unpack Labour’s internal power struggles and Britain’s stance on the Middle East. Paul Embery, writer, trade unionist and author of Despised , debates with Kevin Meagher, former Labour adviser, and Liv Ouewhand, local government commentator, as reports suggest Keir Starmer’s allies are manoeuvring to block Andy Burnham’s return to Parliament. Is Labo...