The Rundown by PoliticsHome

Joining host Alain Tolhurst to discuss the ways our democracy is under attack from the continued abuse and intimidation of our politicians are Electoral Commission chief executive Vijay Rangarajan , along with Hannah Phillips , respectful politics policy manager at the Jo Cox Foundation, and the Labour MP John Slinger , vice chair of  new all-party parliamentary group on defending democracy. To si...

Amid another row over whether ministers and their departments should stay on X, this week The Rundown takes a look at the role of social media in this government's communications. After AI tool Grok began creating non-consensual indecent images of women, and even child sexual abuse material, the long-running arguments over whether Downing Street should join the growing ranks of MPs and finally com...

As we enter 2026, The Rundown looks ahead at what is likely to be yet another crucial and turbulent year in British politics, giving the listeners the inside track on what to look out for over the next 12 months, and guiding you through the big stories ahead. To help navigate through all of that, host  Alain Tolhurst  is joined by LBC’s political editor and returning guest Natasha Clark , and alon...

This year’s special Christmas edition of The Rundown podcast comes in the form of a festive quiz, seeing how much our reporters can remember about another mad 12 months in Westminster You can play along at home too, so let us know if you do better than our teams, and there will be a text version of the quiz available online at PoliticsHome.com if you’re looking for a fun way to spend your Boxing D...

As we head towards Christmas and look back at the political year, this week's episode features the author of the most explosive and controversial political book of 2025, Ungovernable , the diaries of the former Chief Whip Simon Hart . Now known as Lord Hart of Tenby having been promoted to the House of Lords, he drew criticism from his own former colleagues after lifting the lid on his time in...

With more leadership speculation swirling around Keir Starmer and claims he is seen as a ‘caretaker Prime Minister’, this week the podcast takes a look at things from the other end of the telescope; asking how do you protect the person in charge if you’re working inside Number 10? What can you do to defend your principal and neutralise any threats they face? Well to answer that three people who wo...

This week Britain’s newest party - Your Party - finally got going in earnest, after a difficult birth to say the least. Over the past few months since its unexpected launch there have been legal threats , accusations of misogyny, boycotts, expulsions, resignations, and at the heart of it all acrimony between its two leading figures; Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, and that’s all before they’d eve...

After another momentous tax-raising fiscal event from Rachel Reeves, this week we’re running the rule over the 2025 Budget, with its further freezes to tax thresholds, the scrapping of the two-child limit on benefits, reforms to savings, pensions and ISAs, as well motoring and property taxes, and a host of cost-of-living measures too. Oh and the fact the whole thing was leaked by the OBR half an h...

As Reform UK continue to top the polls, this week we’re looking at why so many voters are turning away from the two main parties and looking in Nigel Farage’s direction, and what they need to do to convert the curious into an election-winning majority. So PoliticsHome has teamed up once again with the polling and strategy gurus at Thinks Insight , who have conducted focus groups with a host of Lab...

As the Budget finally looms into view, this week the panel takes a look at one of the potential tax reforms suggested to Chancellors year-in, year-out, that could transform the Treasury coffers, but is one that this government, and every previous one stretching back decades, has refused to touch - council tax. While economists and tax experts all agree it is an unfair, outdated and regressive levy...

There is a crisis in higher education, as financial woes threaten the UK’s world-renowned university sector, with dozens of institutions in serious financial difficulties with fears of cuts, closures and collapse. Joining host Alain Tolhurst to discuss what is causing such strain on universities, how it can be solved, and what may happen if it doesn’t, are the former universities minister, Conserv...

With the Autumn Budget looming, this week The Rundown takes a look at one of the key players in shaping the government’s fiscal policy, but one that we know little about.  The forecast on the future health of the British economy delivered to Rachel Reeves by the Office for Budget Responsibility will have more impact on shaping what the Chancellor announces next month than almost anything else, but...

As the storms roll in and all memories of summer recede, for the health service this only means one thing; the start of the annual winter pressures faced by the NHS. After record waits in A&E last year, sharp increases in corridor care and waiting lists spiralling further beyond long-missed targets, this week host Alain Tolhurst looks at what the government is doing to prevent another crisis t...

After the collapse of the Chinese spying case, host Alain Tolhurst looks at the state of the Anglo-Sino relationship, how it has evolved over the years, where UK-China relations are now under this current government, and what should be done to improve them. On the panel are Tony Vaughan , Labour MP for Folkestone and Hythe, and chair of the all-party parliamentary group on China, along with Mark F...

Something a little bit different again this week, as host Alain Tolhurst and the PolHome team head up to Manchester for the Conservative Party’s annual conference, and return with a despatch from the four-day event, finding out what the mood is like among the Tories as they settle into the slog of opposition. Featuring MPs, pollsters and academics, including Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride , Shadow H...

This week's episode is a little different, as listeners are taken deep within Labour’s annual party conference, giving you the inside track on how things unfolded in Liverpool over the past few days, from Andy Burnham's leadership challenge, Cabinet ministers taking on Nigel Farage, as well as the less serious moments such as a charity rugby league game and the infamous Mirror party on the...

This week the focus is on the Liberal Democrats after the party held their annual conference in Bournemouth. Which despite still giving off a celebratory mood at becoming the third-largest party in the Commons last year, was beset by questions over whether Ed Davey’s stunt-based leadership style is wearing a little thin. And a discussion whether they are punching below their weight in the politica...

This week the so-called ‘dark arts’ of politics are being demystified, with a look inside the system known as whipping, where MPs are corralled by fair means or foul into voting with their party’s leadership in Parliament. But in the modern era have things moved more from threats of punishment to pastoral care? And have the days of the 'little black book' filled with politicians misdeeds r...

This week is a look under the bonnet of British politics, and shining a light into the dark corners of how Westminster’s finances operates, and seeing if the endless pledges to close loopholes and tighten regulations after every scandal have actually led to a crackdown on illegal lobbying and undue influence on democracy. Or whether the UK remains vulnerable to illicit wealth, cronyism and financi...

As MPs returned to Westminster after the summer recess, this week we’re looking ahead to a crucial autumn for this government, packed full of potential pitfalls as they hope year two in office is an upgrade from a tricky first 12 months. But after a clunky internal Downing Street reset and distracting revelations about Angela Rayner’s tax affairs, things have not got off to the best start, with a...

This week is the sixth and final episode in our series over Parliament’s summer recess, speaking to experts and looking at how Labour have performed in their first year in office in some of the big policy areas, and the biggest has been saved until last; the economy. Fixing the country’s finances was their number one priority when Keir Starmer came into office last year, promising to kickstart eco...

In the latest episode in a series over Parliament’s summer recess, speaking to experts looking at how Labour have performed in their first year in office, this week the focus is on the world of work, from employment rights, public sector pay, and the government’s relationship with trade unions. Host Alain Tolhurst is joined by Paul Nowak , general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, which repr...

In the fourth episode of a series over Parliament’s summer recess, speaking to experts and looking at how Labour have performed in their first year in office, host Alain Tolhurst is joined by not one but two brilliant guests to discuss probably the single most important policy area outside of the economy for this government; health. Labour has long staked its reputation as being the defenders of t...

The latest in a series over Parliament’s summer recess, looking at how Labour have performed in their first year in office, this episode features Chris Skidmore , the former Conservative MP, who as Minister of State for Energy and Clean Growth, signed the UK's Net Zero pledge into law in 2019. Later asked to chair a review of the government's net-zero strategy, he resigned from the Commons...

In the second episode of a series over Parliament’s summer recess looking at how Labour have performed in their first year in office, this week's guest on The Rundown is Sarah Owen , Labour MP for Luton North and the chair of the Commons select committee on women and equalities. Speaking to host Alain Tolhurst , she discusses how this government is doing on its manifesto commitments to tackle...