Podlitical

It's been a not-so-happy Easter for the Prime Minister as he was fined by the Met police. Over the Westminster and Holyrood recess, the prime minister, the chancellor Rishi Sunak and the PM's wife all received fixed penalty notices for attending a birthday gathering for Boris Johnson in No 10. Now, the pair face calls to resign by opposition parties and several Tory backbenchers. With no further p...

Ahead of Parliamentary recess, the team discuss the row over ferry contracts and Covid. In a bumper week at Holyrood, the debate over the delayed CalMac ferries continues, and the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon pushes back the lifting of face covering restrictions by two weeks in light of rising Covid-19 cases. In Westminster, Partygate is back in the spotlight after the first fines for Downing St...

Does the Chancellor's Spring Statement offer ways to combat the cost of living crisis? As Chancellor Rishi Sunak sets out measures to try and reduce the shock of rising fuel, food, and energy bill prices, the team analyse the statement and what it means for people in Scotland and the UK. What impact will this have on the upcoming local elections, and has the UK Government gone far enough in its pl...

Scotland sees record high Covid infections, but is the virus the threat it once was? As two years pass since the World Health Organisation declared a global pandemic, BBC Scotland’s Health and Social Care Correspondent Lisa Summers joins the team to talk about the latest increase in Covid-19 infections in Scotland, the latest variant, and what it means for public health and the NHS. As other legal...

What can be done to protect people from high energy prices? Sepi Golzari-Munro of The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit and Kevin Keane, BBC Scotland's Environment, Energy & Rural Affairs Correspondent, join Phil and Rajdeep to discuss the current volatile oil and gas markets, and what it means for people in Scotland. Is the solution further North Sea extraction, or could green energy move...

BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson discusses Ukraine, and journalism in warzones. What does it take to report from active conflict, and how do you make sure you're getting accurate information on the ground? Lucy, Nick, and Rajdeep chat to John Simpson about his experiences in Afghanistan and Sarajevo, the parallels between the current invasion of Ukraine and historic wars, and the emotional im...

What is The Gender Recognition Reform Bill currently tabled at Holyrood, and why has the debate around it grown so heated? Lucy and Phil are joined by BBC correspondent Lorna Gordon to discuss the legislation being debated in Scottish Parliament this week. What are the proposed reforms, what does it mean for Trans people and their legal identity, and what do groups for and against the bill have to...

As Russia invades Ukraine, what happens next, and what will the UK and EU Governments do? Podlitical is joined by Ramsay Jones CBE, a former special advisor for the UK Government. As the situation is described as "among the darkest hours of Europe since the Second World War" by EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, the team discuss what it's like to be inside the heart of Government during such...

Who will the cost of living rise hit hardest, and can anything be done to mitigate it? As the Scottish Budget is revealed, Mairi Spowage, Deputy Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde joins the team to look at some of the current global and domestic issues pushing up the price of goods in the UK, and what it means for the pounds in people's pockets. What impa...

Dr Hannah White of The Institute for Government joins the team to discuss political processes and public trust, as the initial report from Sue Gray into parties at Downing Street is released. What happens next, and what does the report mean for Prime Minister Boris Johnson? As a new "Levelling Up" scheme is announced to the backdrop of cost of living rises, and Westminster sees further fiery excha...

The Downing Street parties scandal continues as Westminster waits for Sue Gray's report. When can we expect from the senior civil servant's inquiries into parties held during lockdown, and what might it mean for the premiership of Prime Minister Boris Johnson? As the Metropolitan Police launch a criminal investigation into the events that unfolded in 2020 and 2021, Boris Johnson has promised that...

Accusations of intimidation are made, as the Prime Minister remains under scrutiny. The row over alleged parties held in Downing Street continues, with a Tory MP defecting to Labour ahead of PMQs on Wednesday. With the Government whips now under the spotlight after MP William Wragg accused them of threatening those suspected of plotting against Boris Johnson with the removal of government investme...

What next for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he faces calls to resign? While his cabinet rallies around him, Scottish Conservatives including leader Douglas Ross and some Tory backbenchers have called on the Prime Minister to tender his resignation. After admitting to attending a drinks party during the 2020 lockdown, Boris Johnson has asked for the results of civil servant Sue Gray's inquiry to...

The team look back at and analyse the biggest political stories of the year, from the Salmond Inquiry and the mammoth evidence sessions given by the First Minister and her former mentor Alex Salmond, to the recent pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson as discontent in the Conservative backbenches builds. What had the biggest impact on Scotland and the UK's political landscapes, and what can we...

What does the Omicron variant mean for festive plans across the UK? As further guidance to stop the spread of the new Covid-19 variant is issued, the team discusses the similarities to December 2020, and what makes this year different. This week Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced one of the biggest Conservative rebellions in Westminster over further rules, and the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon an...

Did parties at Downing Street last year breach Covid-19 rules? BBC political correspondent Chris Mason joins the team to discuss, as the Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an inquiry after a video emerged of government staff joking about a "cheese and wine" party which took place on December 18th last year. Government spokesperson Allegra Stratton, who appeared in the leaked footage, has resig...

An in-depth conversation with former Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman. She shares the mood inside the cabinet during the first months of the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020, her regrets over care homes, and the difficult decisions made on restrictions over Christmas. Freeman also discusses the ongoing public inquiry into safety at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, and a second independence...

Have problems and pressure been growing for Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon this week? From flip-flops on vaccine passports to speeches mentioning Peppa Pig, the team discusses leadership. They chat through the differences and similarities on the situation the Prime Minister and First Minister find themselves in, and analyse BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg's interview with Nicola Sturgeon,...

Listen to the full interview by BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg speaking to the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on the speculation about her future, a second Independence Referendum, and the handling of Covid-19 in Scotland.

There’s been weeks of political pressure on No10 over the Owen Paterson row.

Climate journalist Shreya Jai joins the team to talk COP26 from an outside perspective. How does Glasgow's climate change conference look to the rest of the World? The team discuss the political roles played by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, as well as the importance of not just the pledges made by big polluters such as the US, China, EU, and India, but the ways i...

Roddy Dunlop QC is a lawyer and Head of the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland. He talks to Lucy and Phil about Covid-19 restrictions including mask mandates, vaccine passports, the knock on effects of lockdown and the politicisation of the legal profession in the press.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled the budget, but can he balance the UK's fiscal needs? From cutting Air Passenger Duty to criticism over a lack of climate-friendly policies ahead of COP26, the team are joined by Mairi Spowage, Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde, to chat through what the budget means for devolved nations, the Government's "Levelling Up"...

Last Friday, Conservative MP Sir David Amess was killed in his constituency. It’s been five years since the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox and SNP MP Carol Monaghan is another MP who has suffered online abuse including death threats. While in-person attacks are rare, politicians continue to endure sustained abuse online. So what’s driving this abuse and what can be done to combat it?

It was one of the country's worst public health failures say MPs. Thousands of lives were lost following the UK’s failure to do more to stop Covid spreading, according to the report published earlier this week. The 150-page document, Coronavirus:Lessons learned to date looked at the response to the pandemic predominantly in England. The approach, they said, was for the government to try and manage...