Irish Times Inside Politics

Political commentator with The Guardian Rafael Behr returns to the podcast to talk about the UK general election. By Friday we will know if the widely-expected Tory implosion and Labour majority have materialised. But what comes next? Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/news...

Washington correspondent Keith Duggan joins this week's wrap to discuss what could turn out to be one of the year's most consequential political developments: US president Joe Biden's disastrous performance at Thursday's debate with former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump. In a debate format that accentuated Biden's weaknesses, he handed the momentum to his rival and prompted intens...

Hugh Linehan is joined by Irish Times columnist Gerard Howlin and political editor Pat Leahy to discuss the appointment of Jack Chambers as Minister of Finance and other political news. Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sign up for Denis Staunton's Global Briefing newsletter here: irishtimes.com/newsletters/global-briefing/ Hosted on Acast. See aca...

Pat Leahy is joined by Harry McGee and Cormac McQuinn to look back at the week in politics: The latest in the race to succeed Eamon Ryan as Green party leader. What is behind Micheal Martin's decision to name Jack Chambers deputy leader of Fianna Fail? Industrial action at Aer Lingus means holidaymakers face a summer of discontent. Will it bounce back on the Government? Plus the panel pick their f...

First we focus on political upheaval following the announcement that Eamon Ryan is stepping down as leader of the Greens. Political correspondent Cormac McQuinn provides updates on the frontrunners to succeed him, including Minister for Children Roderic O'Gorman and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine Pippa Hackett. Then we turn to Northern Ireland, where voters...

Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Harry McGee to look back at the week in politics. With our recent obsession on the local and European elections winding down, today we take a look at the week's Dáil debates and at the "guillotining through" of the huge piece of legislation that is the Planning Bill into its final stage. The panel also discuss whether Dáil vacancies arising as a result of TD...

With some European seats still to be filled but the overall picture of these elections now fairly clear, Pat Leahy joins Hugh for a final episode of Election Daily to answer some outstanding questions. How did small parties including the Greens, the Social Democrats and Labour do in the end? And with counts dragging on, is it too easy for unserious candidates to get on the European ballot? Would y...

Citizens of the EU used their votes in last week's elections to maintain centre-right control of the European Parliament, while shifting the overall makeup of the legislature a little further to the right. Brussels correspondent Jack Power joins Hugh to explore how the EU parliament has just changed, whether the new right will be able to form a voting bloc, and what the new Parliament means for EU...

Hugh Linehan is joined by Jennifer Bray and Cormac McQuinn on day four of the count. Only a handful of seats remain unfilled in the local elections with Fianna Fáil slightly ahead of Fine Gael for the majority of seats.  Sinn Féin now has 100 seats which is an improvement on its disastrous 2019 election, however Jennifer Bray has reported on the growing unease within the party over Mary Lou M...

Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn to discuss the latest developments: It is day three of the local and European election count and seats in all four MEP constituencies are still in play. In Dublin, much will depend on where votes from soon-to-be-eliminated candidates end up. Will Independent Ireland's Niall Boylan be able to capitalise, or will Sinn Féin's Lynn Boylan fare bet...

As the count continues on this busy election weekend, it is delight for Taoiseach Simon Harris and Fine Gael as the local election picture becomes clearer, but the final results, particularly in the European contest, won’t be known for several more days. The Taoiseach had a pep in his step as he entered the count centre at the RDS today. Speaking to Inside Politics podcast host Hugh Linehan, he ex...

It is Saturday afternoon of a busy election weekend and while it is still far too early to draw conclusions about many aspects of the local and European contests, some trends are beginning to emerge. One of those trends is that Sinn Féin’s recent drop in opinion polls is being confirmed at the ballot box, the party’s support at these elections lower now than six months ago. Meanwhile the Coalition...

As voters go to the polls, Hugh Linehan, Pat Leahy, and Jack Horgan-Jones make some final predictions about how the weekend will play out. Which European candidates should be safe in their constituencies, and who is at risk of being sucked into a days-long transfer battle to seize a third, fourth or fifth seat? Would you like to receive daily insights into world events delivered to your inbox? Sig...

Hugh Linehan is joined by Jennifer Bray and Sarah Burns to discuss Thursday on the campaign trail: With polling day almost upon us, some running in the European elections have been engaging in a ‘war of words’, with members of Fine Gael and the Green Party butting heads on the campaign trail. Is all this ‘clawing at each other’ simply a final bid for cut through before votes are cast, or a taste o...

Hugh Linehan is joined by Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy to discuss Wednesday on the campaign trail: Independent candidates are “wolves in sheep’s clothing”,  warned People Before Profit at a campaign event today . What does that mean, and why are the small parties so worried about the impact of this rag-tag category of opponent on election day? The Nitrates Derogation is something that matters...

The run-in to Friday's local, European and Limerick mayoral elections is now underway and so is the daily elections podcast from The Irish Times. Hugh Linehan is joined by Jack Horgan-Jones and Harry McGee to look at the stories from the campaign trail: As Aontú launches its campaign, party leader Peader Toibin is bullish about the party's prospects in local elections. More polls showing disappoin...

Hugh is joined by Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn to look back on the week in politics: The conviction of former US president Donald Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to an alleged hush money payment to Stormy Daniels is unprecedented in American political history. But will it make any difference on election day? More evidence emerged this week that Ireland is failing to meet...

Hugh Linehan is joined by Harry McGee, Cormac McQuinn and Jennifer Bray who, after weeks travelling the highways and byways of Ireland in the company of hopeful local and European election candidates, are here to answer questions about what is happening on the ground. Do rural voters really blame the Greens for everything? Are Sinn Féin really struggling? Will the migration issue really help candi...

Hugh Linehan is joined by Pat Leahy and Cormac McQuinn to discuss the week in politics:   ·     Rishi Sunak’s decision on Wednesday to announce a snap election for July 4th, four months earlier than predicted, caught everyone off guard. Will it prove to be a gamble worth taking?   ·     Cormac was present at Fianna Fáil’s European electio...

It's been a busy 24 hours on the domestic political scene, with the leaking of a report that is highly critical of Government housing policy and the news that Ireland is to recognise Palestine as a state. Political Editor Pat Leahy is here to analyse the significance of these developments. After that, Jack Power reports from Brussels where a slate of newly-elected far-right and nationalist MEPs ar...

The upcoming US election will see a presidential rematch for the first time since Eisenhower and Stevenson in 1956. That contest is between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the two most unpopular candidates in living memory. But who is likely to prevail once the votes are finally counted? In a special live event last week, Head of Polling at Ipsos US, Cliff Young, joined Hugh Linehan to dig into some o...

Hugh Linehan is joined by Cormac McQuinn and Jennifer Bray to discuss the week in politics:   ·     The last fortnight has seen several incidents of councillors being verbally and physically attacked while out canvassing for the forthcoming local elections. A disturbing trend that hasn’t been a feature of previous elections. ·     The panel di...

The latest Irish Times/Ipsos B&A opinion poll shows Sinn Féin support has slumped again while there has been a recovery for Fine Gael. The poll also shows that Micheál Martin is the most popular party leader, while support for independents remains at a high level. But what lies behind these trends? Hugh was joined by Cliff Young from Ipsos as well as podcast regulars Pat Leahy and Jennife...

Disinformation is a concern in the run-up to the local and European elections. And the combination of new AI technology and complex social media networks make it easier than ever to spread misleading information to a global audience. But who polices disinformation, and is the term sometimes misused or abused for political ends? To debate this, Hugh talks to Eileen Culloty of DCU, Freddie Sayers, e...

Hugh is joined by Harry McGee and Jennifer Bray to discuss the week in politics: This week saw a rare and notable victory for student politics at Trinity College Dublin, where protestors secured a victory in their campaign for the college to divest from companies linked to Israel. Meanwhile the Government’s moves towards recognising Palestinian statehood are still underway. The asylum seeker accom...