Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins

Ian Collins examines Donald Trump’s dramatic Greenland deal and what it means for global security and Western power, with Admiral Mike Hewitt , retired US Navy officer, and Alan Mendoza , Reform UK’s Chief Adviser on Global Affairs, breaking down how Washington’s move reshapes NATO, the Arctic, and Britain’s strategic interests. The focus then shifts back to Britain’s migration crisis as Nigel Eva...

Ian Collins asks whether Britain should align itself more closely with the EU or the United States as Donald Trump tells Sir Keir Starmer to “fix” the UK and brands London a global problem. Professor Anand Menon, Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London, examines Trump’s White House intervention, the warning over Greenland, and what it means for Britain’s place b...

Ian Collins unpacks another day of hot topics in the news. He is joined by former headteacher Serge Cefai to discuss Labour’s apparent U-turn on banning under-16s from social media, unpacking whether it should or shouldn't go ahead. Foreign Affairs Analyst Daniel Davis joins Ian to react to Donald Trump’s explosive criticism of the UK over the Chagos Islands and rising tensions around Greenland.&n...

Ian Collins examines the accelerating collapse of the Conservative Party as senior Tory Andrew Rosindell defects to Reform. Andrew Allison, Head of Campaigns at Popular Conservatism, and former Reform UK candidate Mayuran Senthilnathan debate whether the right is undergoing a permanent realignment, as Robert Jenrick warns that too many Conservative MPs would now feel more at home in the Liberal De...

Ian Collins is joined by Dan Hodges, Commentator at the Mail on Sunday , and Matthew Goodwin-Freeman, Conservative Councillor for Hatch End , to unpack the political shockwaves after Robert Jenrick defects to Reform, accusing the Conservatives of having “broken Britain” as Kemi Badenoch moves to contain the fallout. They discuss what Jenrick’s jump says about the future of the Tory party, the grow...

Ian Collins dissects a turbulent day in British politics as claims of democratic backsliding, Tory infighting and culture-war legislation collide. Kevin Schofield, Political Editor at HuffPost UK, breaks down the backlash after four million voters are denied a say with the cancellation of May’s local elections, and what it means for accountability and trust in politics. Maxwell Harrison, Reform UK...

Ian Collins examines another turbulent day in British politics as Sir Keir Starmer performs his 13th U-turn, rowing back on plans for compulsory digital ID cards after a public backlash over civil liberties and immigration control. Social and political commentator James Melville is joined by Alexander Iosad, Director of Government Innovation Policy at the Tony Blair Institute, to debate what the r...

Ian Collins is joined by Jonathan Gullis, former Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party turned Reform defector, alongside Conservative councillor Zak Wagman, to ask whether Reform should actively welcome disillusioned Tories - as fresh rows erupt over defections, peerages and the future shape of the Right following claims Nadhim Zahawi “begged” for a Tory peerage before jumping ship. Former head o...

Ian Collins asks whether the West should intervene in Iran as pressure grows on Keir Starmer to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. Matthew Syed, columnist for The Times and The Sunday Times, examines the case for branding Iran’s Revolutionary Guards terrorists amid mass protests on the streets of London and across the world against the Iranian regime - and what intervention, sanctions...

Join Ian Collins today for a gripping episode covering two major stories. Ian speaks with James Melville about Labour’s controversial digital ID scheme. With ministers ordered to find departmental budget cuts to fund the £1.8 billion rollout, the discussion explores privacy concerns, public backlash, and political tensions in Westminster. Later, Ian talks to Goldie Ghamari about the largest anti-g...

Today on the Ian Collins podcast, a hard-hitting line-up covering politics, public safety, national policy, defence, and health. Rupert Lowe MP joins Ian to discuss the latest Met Police controversy, where officers with serious offences reportedly joined the force after vetting checks were dropped in a rush to meet recruitment targets. They dig into the implications for policing standards and publ...

Today, Ian Collins is joined by Macer Gifford to discuss the war in Ukraine and the agreements being made by Keir Starmer to put more boots on the ground. Former Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Davis then offers military and foreign affairs analysis on the UK and France committing troops under potential peace plans, and growing tensions between Europe and Donald Trump over Greenland. Later on, Edmund Ki...

On today’s Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins, we start with Orla Minihane, who discusses the local and national impact of migration, from the plans to house hundreds of small-boat arrivals at a nearby Army Camp to the council’s CCTV upgrades and the wider fallout from a secret Afghan asylum scheme.  Then Rear Admiral Chris Parry joins the conversation to unpack the international tensions spar...

Over the weekend, Donald Trump ordered a U.S. operation capturing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, sparking global backlash. He's also reviving interest in Greenland, raising questions about U.S. direction. Ian debates if Trump was right, joined by former Trump deputy campaign manager Rick Gates who is in support of Trump’s decision, and U.S. commentator Laurie Laird who discusses the UK fal...

Ian Collins asks whether the Right should unite as fresh polling shows Kemi Badenoch closing in on Nigel Farage, but Reform UK and the Conservatives still failing to outpace a fractured Left. Green Party councillor Martin Abrams and Reform UK board member Gawain Towler debate the case for and against an election pact, as senior Tories openly discuss cooperation and questions grow about whether div...

Kevin O’Sullivan sits in for Ian Collins as the show tackles the growing row over free speech and protest in Britain. Journalist Nicole Lampert joins us to discuss police moves to arrest pro-Palestine demonstrators who chant “globalise the intifada”, and whether the line between public order and political expression is being dangerously redrawn. Later, Talk international editor Isabel Oakeshott re...

Ian Collins examines the mounting pressure on the NHS as junior doctors begin a five-day strike at the same time hospitals are grappling with a sharp winter flu surge. Dr Dean Eggitt, GP and CEO of Doncaster Local Medical Committee, breaks down the impact of industrial action on frontline services, staffing levels and patient safety, amid warnings that elderly patients could be left stranded in ho...

Ian Collins asks whether diversity really is Britain’s strength in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre and the wider debate around multiculturalism and antisemitism. Philip Kiszely, senior fellow at the New Culture Forum, examines whether decades of multicultural policy have failed, while Danny Stone, CEO of the Antisemitism Policy Trust, discusses the surge in antisemitic rhetoric and activism f...

Ian Collins examines the Bondi Beach massacre after gunmen were revealed as a father and son who killed 15 people in an attack described as an act of pure evil at a Jewish festival. Security analyst and international terrorism expert Duncan Gardham breaks down what we know about the attackers, the ideology behind the violence, and the wider terror threat facing Jewish communities. Keith Fraser, fo...

Ian Collins examines whether Britain is sliding back toward pandemic-style measures after Wes Streeting warns the NHS could “collapse” under record flu hospitalisations and looming strikes. Professor Karol Sikora analyses why hospitals are overwhelmed, whether masks or lockdown-style steps could return, and what the government should be doing instead. Richard Kilpatrick from the European Movement...

Ian Collins asks whether ethnicity should play any role in how Britain understands and tackles crime. Former Labour adviser James Matthewson joins us to break down the row after Labour MPs complained about a minister’s comments on race, as the Government prepares a new grooming-gangs inquiry that will explicitly examine the ethnicity and religion of offenders. Social commentator David Shipley asse...

Ian Collins examines Sir Keir Starmer’s call to curb the powers of the European Court of Human Rights as Labour scrambles to get a grip on illegal migration. Liam Deacon, former Brexit Party Head of Press, breaks down the scale of the asylum crisis from spiralling absconding rates to a Home Office that can’t even say how many migrants have vanished. Dr Mike Galsworthy of the European Movement UK j...

Ian Collins asks whether Britain is still a Christian country after a teacher is banned for telling a Muslim pupil that the UK has a Christian heritage. Tim Dieppe, Head of Public Policy at Christian Concern, explains what this case means for free expression, British identity, and whether stating historical fact is now professionally dangerous. David Wooding, Columnist at The Sun, joins Ian in the...

Ian Collins asks whether free speech is being criminalised in Britain after shocking revelations that right-wing individuals are being labelled a “danger to children." Jamie Michael, the man at the centre of the story, joins us to explain how he discovered he’d been placed on an extremist safeguarding list, what it means for ordinary people, and why he believes political speech is now being treate...

Ian Collins delves into the controversy surrounding Nigel Farage’s accusation of BBC hypocrisy, after a presenter questioned Richard Tice MP about claims that Farage made racist and antisemitic remarks during his school days. At a press conference yesterday, Farage condemned the line of questioning as “despicable.” Ian is joined by Robin Aitken, former BBC journa...