The Briefing Room

The British Foreign Secretary has warned of the danger of Iran and the United States stumbling into a war by accident. And the signs are ominous: the US accelerated the deployment of an aircraft carrier and B52 bombers to the Persian Gulf and all non-essential staff are being withdrawn from the US Embassy in Baghdad. US National Security Adviser John Bolton said any attack by Iran on America or it...

With measles infections on the rise in the UK, should vaccinations be made compulsory? Measles is an ‘entirely preventable’ disease, says the UN – and for a while the UK and other developed countries had prevented it. But during the first three months of this year, the World Health Organisation reported 112,000 cases of measles. Over the same time last year it was 28,000 In the UK we once again ha...

Prescriptions for opioid painkillers have increased by 60 per cent in the UK during the last decade, and the number of codeine-related deaths in England and Wales has more than doubled. The government is now planning to put prominent warnings about the dangers of addiction on the packaging of opioid medicines, to protect people from 'the darker side of painkillers' - as Secretary of State for Heal...

Is religious intolerance on the rise, and if so, what is behind it? In Sri Lanka this week, people claiming to be acting out of religious belief killed more than 350 people, mostly of a different faith – in this case Christians. Religious intolerance is a theme which has surfaced in the news with some frequency in recent years – be it the persecution of the Rohingya in Myanmar, the Yazidis in Iraq...

The investigation has taken nearly two years, cost tens of millions of dollars, and led to dozens of criminal charges. Now, a redacted version of Robert Mueller’s report into whether Russia interfered in the 2016 US Presidential election is going to be delivered to Congress. This week David Aaronovitch and his guests in the Briefing Room examine what’s in the report, and what does it all mean - es...

David Aaronovich examines the likely lasting impact of the UK's decision to quit the European Union - not on Britain but on mainland Europe. The European Union is struggling to reconcile competing views of the economy, of national identity and of ideology. As populist political parties play an increasing role in the governance of member states, some expert Euro-watchers give their views of the div...

As the Brexit negotiations rumble on Britain appears more divided than ever. This week David Aaronovitch and his guests ask how deep is that division and what it would take to unify the country? Contributors: Professor Sara Hobolt, London School of Economics Professor Sir John Curtice, University of Strathclyde Margaret MacMillan, emeritus Professor of International History at Oxford University De...

With the route of the UK’s departure from the European Union still unclear, this week David Aaronovitch looks at Britain’s place in the world and assesses what lies ahead in the next stage of negotiations with the EU. Joining David in the Briefing Room are: Ngaire Woods, Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford University, Sam Lowe, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Ref...

The boss of Chinese telecoms giant, Huawei, says his company would never spy on behalf of the Chinese state. But some experts think it would be a mistake for Britain to involve the company in the development of the 5G network. What's the relationship between Huawei and the government in Beijing, is the company a reliable partner and what should Britain do? David Aaronovitch is joined by: Dr Linda...

The Conservative chairman of the Education Select Committee called GCSEs 'pointless' and said they should be abolished. David Aaronovitch asks if it is time for the exam system in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to be completely overhauled. GUESTS Sandra Leaton Gray Associate Professor in Education at University College London’s Institute of Education Laura McInerney, former editor of Schools...

The Japanese car maker Nissan has announced its next generation of SUVs will be made, not in Sunderland as planned, but in Japan. Jaguar Land Rover has announced big losses and Honda has announced job cuts at its plant in Swindon. David Aaronovitch and guest discuss why the car industry is facing such uncertain times and if it will ever recover. Guests: Professor David Bailey, Aston Business Schoo...

New figures show a slight decline in people sleeping rough in England. But since 2010 the trend has been upwards. Why? And what can be done about it? David Aaronovitch talks to guests about the drivers that lead people to sleep rough, and how the UK is dealing with the problem now. GUESTS Risha Lancaster - Co-Founder of Coffee4Craig in Manchester and a volunteer at a night shelter Michael Buchanan...

What is at stake for Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic in terms of security, the economy and the politics, as Britain prepares to leave the EU. David Aaronovitch and guests discuss. GUESTS Peter Taylor - BBC journalist who has covered Northern Ireland for nearly five decades. John Campbell - BBC Northern Ireland’s Economics & Business Editor Dr Katy Hayward - Political Sociologist at Que...

There is little or no consensus in Westminster about what kind of Brexit, if any, MPs want. The government's plan was defeated by a whopping 232 votes. And Labour's vote of confidence in the government was then defeated. Brexit has stretched the British parliamentary system to its limits. David Aaronovitch and guests examine Britain's constitutional crisis and ask if the current political system i...

Work and Pensions Secretary, Amber Rudd, this week announced that the next stage of the Universal Credit roll-out is to be scaled back amid concerns about the controversial new benefits system. So what were the origins of the Universal Credit policy and can its flaws be fixed? CONTRIBUTORS Roy Sainsbury - Professor of Social Policy at the University of York Baroness Philippa Stroud - former govern...

In October, the IPCC, the UN body that reports on climate change, issued a stark warning. It said that if the world wanted to avoid catastrophic environmental damage, we needed to reduce carbon emissions by almost half in the next 12 years. So what needs to be done now if that target is to be reached? What's the position in China, the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide? And how important is...

Theresa May has been back in Brussels to attend a meeting of EU leaders, a day after surviving a leadership challenge at home. Her mission: to try to extract some form of concession from the other 27 EU member states that might persuade MPs in Westminster to support the withdrawal agreement the UK has concluded with the EU. Few commentators give her much chance of success. It still seems likely th...

In France a wave of protests has brought the country to a standstill in recent weeks. The original cause of the anger - the government's plan to raise the rate of tax on diesel - has now disappeared. President Macron responded this week to the mood in the country by withdrawing the tax, due to be introduced next year. The question now is whether that will temper the anger of the Gilets Jaunes, the...

Theresa May is urging her MPs to accept the deal she has struck with Brussels on the UK's withdrawal from the EU. The trouble is that few in Westminster believe this is a vote she can win and Brussels has said no further negotiations are possible. With the vote due on December the 11th the Prime Minister has less than two weeks to get MPs to change their minds. If Parliament does reject the deal,...

Is Brazil embracing a more conservative political future? In the wake of economic crisis, corruption scandals and rising levels of violent crime, Brazilians are shunning the left wing politicians who have run the country for the last two decades in favour of a right wing outsider: Jair Bolsonaro. In the first round of Brazil's presidential election, Bolsonaro won 46 per cent of the vote and appear...

Air pollution is creating big problems. Scientists say it is a leading cause of climate change, which will be the subject of a major report to be released next week by the IPCC, a UN body that is studying the issue. Another problem is damage to health. Scientists believe that air pollution harms the quality of our lives, and shortens them too. So how bad is the air in the UK? And what can be done...

At its annual conference in Liverpool this week, the Labour party set out plans to nationalise a large range of industries that previous governments had sold off. The industries it wants to bring back into public ownership include water, rail, energy and the Royal Mail. But how would Labour’s ideas work? And what would the process be for implementing them? David Aaronovitch and his guests discuss....

How could a new referendum on Britain's relationship with Europe work? As pressure mounts on Theresa May to seal an agreement on Brexit, there are growing calls for a further referendum on the issue. From across the political spectrum, MPs, trade unions and campaigners are demanding another vote on the terms of the deal, or lack of one. In the Briefing Room, David Aaronovitch examines the mechanic...

The Tories are split, Labour is split and some people think it just can’t go on. Once more there is serious talk about the formation of a new political party. This has been tried before and recent history seems to say that the odds of success are not good. But what about now? Have the prospects changed? What might a new party look like this time? And what chance of success would it have? CONTRIBUT...

November's midterm elections in the US are the first chance for voters across the country to pass judgement on President Trump's administration since the 2016 election. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs and a third of the Senate. If the Democrats win control of the House, they would not only be in a position to halt President's Trump's legislative agenda; they would al...