Westminster Insider

In the wake of Thursday's crunch by-election results, Jack Blanchard considers why Britain always seems to turn against even its most popular prime ministers in the end. The Atlantic's Tom McTague and pollster James Johnson discuss the collapse in Boris Johnson's popularity, and whether it's still possible for him to turn things around. And former Downing Street officials Caroline Slocock, Jon Ash...

This week Jack Blanchard sits down for dinner with former Brexit Secretary David Davis to discuss his 35-year career in politics. Over ribeye steak and too much Malbec in an exclusive Westminster restaurant, Davis muses on the Brexit negotiations which will prove his legacy, and his personal relations with David Cameron, Michel Barnier, Theresa May and other key players of the recent past. Hosted...

Co-host Jack Blanchard speaks to Jon Ashworth, Labour’s pugnacious shadow work and pensions secretary about his extraordinary childhood and his 20-plus years in Parliament. In the week Boris Johnson faced down an attempted Tory coup, Ashworth recalls the tumultuous years he spent working for former PM Gordon Brown as Labour MPs plotted to bring him down. He discusses the frustrating past decade in...

Host Ailbhe Rea takes us on her year-long journey covering the British government’s contentious efforts to find peace and reconciliation within Northern Ireland’s war-torn past. She travels back to her homeland to hear the emotive testimony of the families of some of those murdered during The Troubles, and their anger at Westminster proposals for an effective amnesty for those responsible. But she...

New host Ailbhe Rea explores the quirks and the controversies of the pack of journalists who inhabit Westminster, known universally as 'the lobby.' We take a trip down memory lane with the legendary Andrew Marr, former political editor of the BBC, and tour the 'Burma Road,' the historic corridor in the House of Commons where political reporters have their offices. We hear Alan Rusbridger, the form...

POLITICO’s weekly narrated story, hosted by Ailbhe Rea, lifts the curtain on how Westminster really works, and looks in-depth at political issues which typically only get broad-brush treatment in the wider media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Westminster Insider is back ... with a twist. In this sneak preview, Jack Blanchard meets the new voice of Westminster Insider, Ailbhe Rea. Together, they give you a teaser of what to expect from the new season of the weekly podcast from POLITICO. Subscribe now — and never miss an episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

Jack Blanchard speaks to some of the key U.K. players involved in the passage of the Maastricht Treaty and ponders whether this was the moment which set Britain on the path to Brexit. Former British diplomat John Kerr recalls the epic all-night negotiations in Holland, including a session where he hid under a table to offer secret advice to Prime Minister John Major. Treasury Minister Francis Maud...

As Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine continues, Jack Blanchard speaks to diplomats, nuclear experts and historians about how we can best hope to avoid the conflict escalating into full-blown nuclear war. Former Foreign Office head Sir Simon Fraser and former NATO Policy Chief Fabrice Pothier analyse Western policy toward Russia since the end of the Cold War, and explain how they believe the cur...

This week Jack Blanchard heads north to Manchester to talk music, football, history and politics with Mayor Andy Burnham. In his favored city centre bar, Burnham — currently the favorite to succeed Keir Starmer as Labour leader — talks about his childhood growing up on the outskirts of the city, and how Manchester's legendary music scene inspired him to Cambridge University. He discusses the highs...

As Vladimir Putin's brutal invasion of Ukraine plunges Russia's relations with the West into crisis, Jack Blanchard talks to the historian and former U.K. Foreign Secretary David Owen about the turbulent history of the Anglo-Russian relationship. Lord Owen charts the many ups and downs of the 19th and 20th centuries, a period through which Britain and Russia fought side by side in three major wars...

This week Jack Blanchard heads to Plymouth to meet Johnny Mercer, the ex-soldier who as a Tory MP has proved one of the government's fiercest critics. They go sight-seeing, take shelter from a winter storm in various pubs and cafes, and even head to the coast for an ill-advised February dip in the sea. Through the course of the day, Johnny discusses his military career, his disenchantment with the...

With questions swirling about Boris Johnson's future, Jack Blanchard looks into the murky world of leadership challenges and asks what it's like to topple a prime minister. Former Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull recalls the internal coup which ended his premiership in 2018 — and explains why he'd deposed his own party leader, Tony Abbott, in 2015. Tory backbench rebel Mark Francois and Theresa May's Ch...

As Boris Johnson publishes his much-delayed plan to "Level Up" the country, Jack Blanchard explores the long history of the North/South divide in England and the efforts of past governments to narrow the gap. Author and former FT journalist Brian Groom explains how the North/South divide stretches back centuries, and how prime ministers of all parties have been trying to support the North for at l...

As the "party-gate" controversy rocks Boris Johnson's premiership, Jack Blanchard takes a look at the history and the nature of political scandals. Former Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell, who was forced to resign over the so-called "Plebgate" affair in 2012, reveals what it's like to be at the centre of a bruising political controversy, and how he got his life back on track afterwards. Top political jo...

As another eventful year in U.K. politics draws to a close, Jack Blanchard is joined by 10 special guests to predict the big stories we'll be talking about in 2022. Conservative Home's Editor Paul Goodman considers what the year ahead may have in store for Boris Johnson, while the New Statesman's Political Editor Stephen Bush reads the runes for a newly-emboldened Keir Starmer. Resolution Foundati...

As Hong Kong goes to the polls for a highly controversial election, Jack Blanchard is joined by politicians, historians and diplomats to reflect on 200 years of U.K.-China relations. Tory peer Chris Patten, the last U.K. governor of Hong Kong, explains the optimism he felt when the city was handed back to China in 1997 — and his anger at Beijing's recent clampdown. Pro-Beijing Hong Kong legislator...

In a special anniversary episode, Jack Blanchard looks back at the seminal general election of December 2019, with help from experts and insiders from all the main campaign teams. Tory campaign chief Isaac Levido reveals the secrets behind Boris Johnson's slick election-winning machine, including the all-important "Get Brexit Done" slogan. Jeremy Corbyn's policy supremo Andrew Fisher rues the unfo...

This week Jack Blanchard ventures out of the studio to meet Mayor Sadiq Khan on the streets of south London. Khan takes us back to his old stomping ground of Tooting as he recalls his childhood, one of eight kids in a working-class family of Pakistani origin. Khan visits his old secondary school, where he learned how to study — and how to fight — and then the Islamic Centre where he prays today. T...

Westminster — like much of the world — was caught napping by the deadly new coronavirus which emerged from China in 2019. This week Jack Blanchard speaks to experts from around the world to consider what we can do now to better prepare for the next pandemic, and avoid a similar catastrophe next time round. Professor Julia Gog of Cambridge University explains how different types of virus spread in...

This week Jack explores whether Britain's provincial towns — like the town he grew up in and many places he has lived since — have been "left behind" as the economy has evolved over recent years. Wigan MP and Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy explains why she famously put towns at the heart of her political philosophy, and how she believes places like Wigan can be transformed in the decades to c...

This week Jack picks through the long and turbulent relationship between the government and the BBC, and asks why these two great pillars of British public life can't seem to get along. Veteran BBC Radio 4 presenter and author Edward Stourton and BBC historian Professor Jean Seaton discuss the checkered history of government/BBC relations, from the 1926 General Strike right through to the modern d...

As the COP26 summit continues in Glasgow, Jack Blanchard looks back at the history of climate change, from the dramatic shifts at the end of the Ice Age to the political rows of the modern era. Anthropologist Professor Brian Fagan takes us back to pre-historic, ancient and medieval periods to assess how past human societies coped with a changing climate. In more recent history, Margaret Thatcher's...

As Britain's political parties finish their annual conferences, Jack Blanchard invites a selection of top speechwriters from both sides of the Atlantic to consider what makes a great political speech. Tony Blair's former chief speechwriter, Philip Collins, talks us through the techniques he used when penning Keir Starmer's leader's speech at this year's Labour Party conference. David Cameron's for...

This week Jack Blanchard sits down with Lee Cain, who spent three years at Boris Johnson's side as his spin doctor and closest aide. In his first major interview since leaving Downing Street, Cain recalls Johnson's extraordinary journey from U.K. foreign secretary, to backbench rebel, to all-powerful prime minister with a commanding majority in parliament. Cain reveals Johnson's campaign secrets a...