OppositionCast

It’s Budget Day, and like every other political podcast, we bring you a special edition with reaction and comment. But was the budget special enough? Nigel and Sarah question whether the measures outlined by John Healey matched up to the bold rhetoric in the Prime Minister’s conference speech just last month. We also consider Kemi Badenoch’s attack on Andy Burnham at PMQs for seeking to re-open th...

The Party Conference season ends with Kemi Badenoch's speech to the Conservative gathering in Birmingham, where she took aim not only at Labour but also at Reform UK, ruling out any move to "unite the right" and condemning Nigel Farage's party. Meanwhile, Green Party leader Zack Polanski has had a bad week, losing the Holborn and St Pancras by-election to Labour, and facing a storm of criticism ov...

Conference season continues with the Greens assembling in Brighton - but will anyone be there? With the Holborn and St Pancras by-election looming next week, some activists have been advised by the party to stay away and keep campaigning to get their leader Zack Polanski elected to parliament. Will their efforts be in vain? We also look at a nightmare interview for the Green's deputy leader, who w...

As the political conference season continues, the Lib Dems have been by the seaside in Brighton, with Ed Davey getting serious to tell them they are in "the fight of their lives." Nigel was in the hall for the speech - but was anyone outside watching? We also discuss the latest polls, with Reform and the Conservatives now neck and neck, and vying for second place to Labour. Plus, what does the mee...

When is a protest legitimate, and when does it cross the line into unreasonable or unlawful behaviour? In this week's episode Nigel and Sarah discuss the rough treatment of hecklers at the Reform UK conference, and look back at interruptions to previous leaders' conference speeches. They also consider the masked gangs who took to the streets in Dover and Portsmouth this week, and whether norms of...

Parliament returns from its summer break, and OppositionCast returns to bring you news of a Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, as Leader of the Opposition Kemi Badenoch refreshes her top team, with both her Shadow Chancellor and Shadow Foreign Secretary departing for the backbenches, and new faces being brought forward. Meanwhile, Sir James Cleverley is seeking to win the Conservative Party's nomination to...

As the UK sees yet another Prime Ministerial handover, Nigel and Sarah discuss the choreography of the departure and arrival rituals, with reflections on previous such occasions. They also consider whether those sacked from the Cabinet by Andy Burnham will become trouble-makers on the backbenches, and take a moment to reflect on the kind words expressed between the Leader of the Opposition and Kei...

As all eyes at Westminster turn to the imminent coronation of Andy Burnham as Labour leader, OppositionCast, appropriately, looks across the chamber to the opposition party and looks at the history of Conservative leadership elections. Nigel speaks to Lee David Evans, John Ramsden Fellow at the Mile End Institute, about his new book "Coronations and Defenestrations: Choosing (and losing) Tory lead...

Once again Nigel Farage has put himself at the centre of a political drama with his announcement, amid growing questions about his finances, that he is quitting as an MP to fight a by-election to regain his seat. He is pitching it as "establishment versus the people", but could this be a populist stunt too far? With the main parties refusing to stand candidates, his main rival looks to be veteran...

With the Labour leadership contest heading towards more of a coronation than a challenge, Nigel and Sarah turn their attention to asking whether Kemi Badenoch's pugnacious performances at Prime Minister's Questions in recent weeks are justified, and delve into the archives to compare her with previous leaders facing an outgoing PM. We also consider whether Nigel Farage's refusal to answer question...

Exactly ten years on from David Cameron's resignation in the wake of the Brexit vote in 2016, Keir Starmer has just become the sixth prime minister in just ten years to make a resignation statement- only one of whom had been defeated at a General Election. In this episode we discuss how Andy Burnham is already being treated as Prime Minister in waiting, rumours that he is planning to relocate some...

It's the morning after the Makerfield by-election and Andy Burnham's emphatic victory over Reform UK which will see the 'King of the North' march south to Westminster to challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour leadership. Sarah and a slightly sleep-deprived Nigel discuss the result and what happens next. We also consider a historic victory for the Conservatives in the Aberdeen South by-election, and...

With just ten days to go before what we are obliged to call "the most important by-election in modern political history", Nigel and Sarah consider the lessons which Labour's Andy Burnham and Reform's Robert Kenyon might take from political history, with a look back at the Greenwich by-election of 1987. We also discuss Andy Burnham's stumbling answer to questions about the government's fiscal rules...

The local elections were only two weeks ago, but the time since has seen a dramatic aftermath, with pressure on the Prime Minister to set out a timetable for his departure, resignations from government, and the expectation of a looming Labour leadership election. Nigel and Sarah discuss the turmoil in politics, the prospects for Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and other possible candidates, and ask wh...

It's the morning after the weekend before - with the final results of elections across the UK now declared and the analysis and fallout now beginning. The outcome has turned the UK's political map into something of a patchwork of different colours as the reshaping of the British party system continues. In Scotland the SNP remain in control, but with Reform UK and Labour vying to be the official op...

The King's speech to both houses of the United States congress this week has been hailed on both sides of the Atlantic as a triumph, and it was also a masterclass in gentle opposition, pointedly rebuking Donald Trump at several points, to enthusiastic applause in the chamber. Nigel and Sarah discuss its significance, and also look ahead to next week's elections, and the importance in politics of b...

In one of Keir Starmer's most difficult weeks as Prime Minister (since the last one), he has faced a barrage of questioning over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as Britain's Ambassador to the US, after revelations about the peer's security vetting process. In the wake of the renewed row, Nigel and Sarah discuss how opposition MPs have sought to find a "killer question", and what that actually m...

As the English local elections enter the last month of campaigning, with nominations closed and candidates chosen, is the big story now a fight between Reform UK and the Greens for control of Town Halls? Nigel and Sarah review the campaign launches of both parties and consider whether local or national politics will determine the results, as well as asking: how well vetted are these new candidates...

With an important set of elections coming up across the UK in May, Nigel and Sarah have reactivated the OppositionCast election war-room to preview the battles ahead. In London, the Conservatives and Labour will be looking to hang onto or recapture Councils they have traditionally run, but are facing an unprecedented challenge from Reform UK and the Green Party. Meanwhile the SNP will be looking t...

It's CHRISTMAS! (well, nearly...). As we approach the end of 2025, Nigel and Sarah present a bumper edition of the podcast, looking back at a dramatic year in the politics of opposition in the UK. Who were the winners and losers, and what might next year have in store? Presented by Nigel Fletcher and Sarah Southern Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies Theme Music by Tom Hector

It's the moment we've all been waiting for - the longest party conference season in recent memory finally comes to an end with the "Your Party" conference in Liverpool last weekend. And it was a dramatic one - Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's rocky relationship took another turn as Sultana boycotted the opening day of the conference over what she called a "witchhunt" against her supporters. Nigel...

It's Budget Day - but is there anything left that hasn't already been leaked? With Nigel soaking up the atmosphere around Westminster and Sarah cheering on the latest farmers' protest, we discuss how the Budget speech went, and whether it is enough to quell opposition on the Labour benches. We also review Kemi Badenoch's response in the chamber, in which she introduced another breakfast cereal ref...

Only a week to go until we (finally!) hear what is in the Budget, after weeks of speculation and even U-turns on announcements not yet made. Nigel and Sarah have been counting down the days to Budget Eve, and discuss this week's PMQs and renewed disquiet on the Labour backbenches. Plus, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage go head-to-head with a battle of the press conferences. We also look at the state...

The government looks to have scored an own-goal this week, after sources in Number 10 briefed against the Health Secretary, claiming he is plotting to bring down the Prime Minister. It prompted a furious response from Wes Streeting, to whom Keir Starmer has been forced to apologise. There are now calls for Starmer's Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney to be fired, and Labour MPs are more unhappy than...

This week, as the Conservatives put out a Traitors-themed video calling for Rachel Reeves to resign if she puts up taxes, Nigel and Sarah discuss what lessons the TV show has for our politics. We also look back to 1967, when the Labour Chancellor James Callaghan resigned after breaking a promise not to devalue the pound. We also review David Lammy's performance standing in for Keir Starmer at Prim...