The Briefing Room

There's a compelling story unfolding in Washington. Last week, President Trump fired the director of the FBI, James Comey. It was a contentious move: Comey was investigating ties between Donald Trump's election campaign and Russia. Some are now asking whether the President's job could be at risk. On this week's Briefing Room, David Aaronovitch unpicks the relationship between Trump and the FBI, an...

David Aaronovitch presents the need-to-know facts on where taxes come from and how they're spent. This edition is a politician-free zone, with non-partisan analysis on how we pay for the UK and the prospects for public services in the future. CONTRIBUTORS: Emily Andrews, senior researcher at the Institute for Government Helen Miller, associate director, Institute for Fiscal Studies Ben Page, direc...

For the first time in over half a century, two insurgents, Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, have broken through France's traditional two party system. This week, voters will decide between two utterly different visions of France, Europe and the world. But how did France get here? What do we need to know about its state, its economy and its changing people? David Aaronovitch steps into the Briefi...

The US and North Korea have been flexing their military muscles in recent weeks, testing and deploying new missiles. President Trump has said North Korea is "a big big problem" that he will deal with "strongly". This week he took the extraordinary step of briefing the entire US Senate on American options to deal with the North's nuclear programme, as American troops conducted live-fire exercises n...

What are the political tribes which divide British voters today and how will June's general election shape Britain? Britain voted last year on the question of the EU - and following Theresa May's surprise announcement, we vote again on who should take us out. The nature of the result could define British political life for decades to come - so how will voters decide? And what might the impact of t...

What does Turkey's referendum mean for the UK's foreign policy? The UK has long seen Turkey as a bastion of stability in the Middle East: a Muslim-majority democracy, a NATO member and ally against so-called Islamic State; a physical and ideological bridge between east and west; and a fascinating and pleasant place to take our families on holiday. That stability is increasingly in doubt. A series...

What are the changes needed now to ensure the NHS is sustainable in the future? The NHS is facing one of the biggest crises in its history. With an ageing population, the increasing cost of drugs and treatments, and lack of funding for social care, the service is under more pressure than ever and the cracks are already starting to show. So will the system be able to cope in future as the UK's popu...

The government says the housing market is broken and that it's holding the country back. As prices have risen, fewer people are able to get on the housing ladder, and more are now renting privately later into their lives. Many argue we're not building enough new homes. But is that the only problem? David Aaronovitch speaks to a panel of experts to find out and travels to Bristol to see what effect...

What will happen if the Islamic State loses its state? The so-called Islamic State is rapidly losing territory, money and fighters in both Iraq and Syria. Iraqi government troops, supported by US and British special forces, have launched an offensive to take back the city of Mosul and an assault on the group's de facto capital city - Raqqa in Syria - is expected by the end of the year. Can the gro...

Bringing Britain's railways back into public ownership is a popular idea with passengers - but would it really make any improvements to service? Renationalisation of the railways is official Labour party policy. Polls suggest a majority of voters favour it too - and that was the case before the recent problems with Southern Rail. With the help of the Conservative former transport minister Michael...

Can President Trump deliver on his pre-election promise to bring back outsourced manufacturing jobs, and end the 'bad deals' that have outsourced labour to countries like Mexico? This message was particularly powerful in America's Midwest - often referred to as the rust belt - where voters supported him in droves and helped him secure his narrow victory. But how can he deliver on his promise, and...

Will President Trump's plan to put 'America first' make the USA richer? He's promised a raft of radical economic reforms including a huge cut in tax on businesses, an income tax cut, a massive reduction in regulation, and investment in America's infrastructure. His goal is to get America's economy growing at roughly double its current rate. He also wants to create 25 million new jobs, and put 'Ame...

Why did India's prime minister ban the use of the country's most widely used bank notes? On 8 November, the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a stunning announcement. As of midnight that day, all 500 and 1000 rupee notes would no longer be legal tender. The announcement came as a shock not only to the Indian public, but also to businesses, banks and some of Mr Modi's closest advisors. Large...

How did British-Pakistani gangs come to dominate the drugs trade in Yorkshire? Earlier this month, police shot dead 28-year-old Mohammed Yasser Yaqub on a motorway slip road near Huddersfield. Their target was apparently armed and dangerous – a big time drug dealer, allegedly with a record of using violence to get his way. Yasser Yaqub’s death was followed by protests on the streets of Bradford an...

What happened after the buses left eastern Aleppo in December? After four and a half years of siege, the residents of eastern Aleppo were evacuated before Christmas. But the evacuees didn't disappear when they left the city and the Syrian Civil war didn't end with the end of the siege. Abdelkafi, an English teacher from Aleppo, relates his experience of leaving Aleppo by bus with his wife and youn...

Liberalism died in 2016. This bold statement has been made by both right and left wing media in recent months. But what is liberalism - and can such a broad idea really be that vulnerable? Edmund Fawcett, author of Liberalism: The Life of an Idea, charts the rise and rise of liberalism, from Gladstone's social reformers to the economic liberalism of Margaret Thatcher. Sir Oliver Letwin MP played a...

Civil war in Yemen has become a full regional conflict, with global implications - but how did it start in the first place? This week the Disasters Emergency Committee launched a major appeal for aid, with Yemeni children dying of malnutrition following 20 months of war. But what are the causes of Yemen's civil war and who is fighting? Is it correct to describe it as a "proxy war" between Saudi Ar...

What are the policies and political decisions which led to the current crisis in prisons? Prison life isn't meant to be easy but it is supposed to be safe and secure. Drugs, violence, self-harm and suicide are all increasing problems. David Aaronovitch examines what's gone wrong and hears stories from inside the prison system. He explores what over-crowding and under-staffing means for prisoners a...

The Investigatory Powers Act - or Snoopers' Charter to its critics - is a highly controversial new law. On one hand, it clarifies a host of vague laws which were out of date with modern technology - but it also enshrines new powers of digital observation and surveillance, which will be available to the British intelligence services, the police, and a host of government agencies. In this programme,...

An independent review of police investigations into VIP sex abuse has found 43 police failings - but why did the police drop the ball with so many high-profile cases? The Henriques Review looked into the police investigations of public figures, including former Home Secretary Lord Brittan, retired army chief Lord Bramall and Harvey Proctor, a former Conservative MP. Justice Henriques criticises th...

Theresa May has promised new trains, faster broadband and improved infrastructure. Critics accused her of adopting Labour Party politics. But is it left-wing to invest in infrastructure? During the Great Depression, John Maynard Keynes encouraged governments to dig holes until the economy was restored. The explosion of building in 1930s America is often seen as Keynes' words in action - but the Ne...

What does Black Lives Matter stand for in the UK? In the United States it is a protest movement formed in reaction to the killing of black people by police, and now there are BLM chapters in Birmingham, Nottingham, Manchester and London. The British organisation's most high profile action so far has been a blockade of airports and major roads - but what are the key issues driving the Black Lives M...

Illiberal democracy is gaining traction across Europe - a political philosophy which in part draws support from the far right, championing anti-migrant and anti-EU sentiment. Among the most visible illiberal democrats' is Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban who believes in the idea of nation states that govern in the interests of their indigenous populations, unencumbered by concepts like human...

As part of its response to the Brexit vote, the Bank of England will buy an extra £70 billion of bonds and will create new money to do so. The aim is to stimulate the economy and try to meet the government's 2% inflation target. But will it work? The Bank of England began its programme of quantitative easing back in 2009 following the financial crisis. It began buying bonds, mostly government debt...

Why has it been so difficult to find peace in Syria, and what are the complicating factors which are getting in the way of a deal? In early September the US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced a new agreement to reduce hostilities in Syria - the second attempt this year to initiate a ceasefire in a 5 year long civil war which has so far cost around ha...