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Radio 4's weekly assessment of developments at Westminster
From The Week in Westminster at 2024-11-30 11:02:00
Sonia Sodha of The Observer assesses the latest developments at Westminster.
Following the debate and vote on the Assisted Dying Bill in the House of Commons, Sonia speaks to two MPs with opposing views. Labour MP Anna Dixon voted against the Bill. She has a background in health and social care policy, and specifically in ageing. Former Conservative Cabinet Minister Kit Malthouse is a long-standing proponent of legalising assisted dying.
To explain what happens next with the Assisted Dying Bill Sonia is joined by Dr Hannah White, the Director of the independent think tank The Institute for Government.
To discuss the continued fallout from last month's Budget, Sonia is joined by Labour MP Liam Byrne, who chairs the Business and Trade Select Committee and Karan Bilimoria, a businessman and crossbench peer who is also a recent President of the Confederation of British Industry.
And ahead of the broadcast of the television series which follows the home life of former Conservative Cabinet Minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg and his family, Sonia brings together Times and Spectator magazine columnist Matthew Parris, and Observer columnist Gaby Hinsliff, to discuss the pros and cons of politicians appearing on reality TV.
From The Week in Westminster at 2024-11-23 11:00:00
To discuss the increasingly fraught state of world affairs, Jack speaks to Sir David Liddington, who was deputy to Prime Minister Theresa May, and now chairs the defence and security think tank RUSI and the Labour MP and chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Emily Thornberry.
As thousands of farmers attend a rally in Westminster to protest against last month's budget, Jack speaks to Labour MP, Jeevan Sandher, who sits on the Treasury Select Committee and the former Conservative MP and environment minister Rebecca Pow, who comes from a long line of farmers in Somerset.
Children's rights campaigner and crossbench peer, Beeban Kidron discusses whether social media should be banned for under-16s.
And to reflect on the life of John Prescott, who died this week, Jack speaks to two people who knew him well from his years in government, the associate editor of the Mirror, Kevin Maguire, and a former minister and chief whip in Tony Blair’s government, Hilary Armstrong, who now sits in the House of Lords.
From The Week in Westminster at 2024-11-16 11:00:00
Caroline Wheeler of The Sunday Times assesses the latest developments at Westminster.
Following the publication of the assisted dying bill, Caroline speaks to one of its supporters, the Labour MP and former surgeon, Peter Prinsley, and the palliative care expert and long-time campaigner against assisted dying, Baroness Ilora Finlay.
To discuss what the election of Donald Trump means for the war in Ukraine, Caroline brings together the former Conservative Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps, and Nato's former Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General Sir John McColl.
Dale Vince, founder of the green energy company Ecotricity and one of Labour's biggest donors, discusses the COP29 summit in Azerbaijan and the UK's drive for net zero.
And, as Donald Trump appoints Elon Musk to look at ways to cut trillions from US government spending, Caroline asks if the UK could benefit from a similar endeavour with Labour MP, and chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Meg Hillier, and the former Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs, Mark Littlewood.
From The Week in Westminster at 2024-11-09 11:30:00
Ben Riley Smith of The Daily Telegraph looks back on the week in Westminster.
In the week of the election of Donald Trump as the next US President, Ben discusses the implications of the result with Stewart Woods, Labour peer and former adviser to Gordon Brown and Sir Liam Fox, the former Conservative Defence Secretary - and International Trade Secretary during Donald Trump's first presidency.
To discuss the impact of the changes to inheritance tax on farms Ben is joined by Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Dyke and the Deputy Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Helen Miller.
The former Universities Minister and Conservative peer, Jo Johnson, discusses the government's announcement, earlier this week, that tuition fees for students in England would rise next year.
And, as the new Conservative party leader, Kemi Badenoch, faced Sir Keir Starmer for the first time at Prime Minister's Questions, Quentin Letts, political sketchwriter for the Daily Mail and Jessica Elgot, Deputy Political Editor of the Guardian give us their verdict.
From The Week in Westminster at 2024-11-02 11:49:00
Radio 4's weekly assessment of developments at Westminster
From The Week in Westminster at 2024-10-26 11:15:00
Jack Blanchard of Politico analyses the latest developments at Westminster.
He speaks to former Labour Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, for his take on the Commonwealth summit and calls from some leaders for the UK to start meaningful dialogue on slavery reparations.
As the Government launches a major consultation on reforming the NHS, Jack brings together two MPs with experience of working in the health service: Labour's Paulette Hamilton and Conservative Luke Evans.
The former Conservative Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk, and London's Independent Commissioner for Victims, Claire Waxman, discuss the government's sentencing policy review.
And, after the Trump campaign accuses the UK Labour Party of "interference" in the US election, Jack is joined by spokeswoman for Republicans Overseas UK, Sarah Elliott, and Keir Starmer's former political director, Luke Sullivan.
From The Week in Westminster at 2024-10-19 11:30:00
Pippa Crerar, political editor of the Guardian, is joined by a range of guests.
To look ahead to the Budget on 30 October, she speaks to Labour MP and parliamentary aide to the Cabinet Office Torsten Bell and the shadow housing minister Baroness JoJo Penn.
With the foreign secretary David Lammy heading to China this week, Labour peer, Helena Kennedy, who co-chairs the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China and the former Conservative MP Richard Graham, who, until recently, chaired the all-party parliamentary group on China assess UK-China relations.
Former cabinet minister and Conservative MP, Sir Gavin Williamson MP explains why he wants to remove all 26 bishops from the House of Lords.
And to discuss how the Taylor Swift row has been handled, Pippa spoke to Tom Baldwin, a former Labour party communications director and biographer of Keir Starmer and Katie Perrior, the founder of the public relations firm iNHouse.
From The Week in Westminster at 2024-10-12 11:30:00
George Parker of the Financial Times analyses the week's political developments at Westminster.
In the week of Sir Keir Starmer's 100 days in Number Ten, the former deputy chief of staff to David Cameron, Baroness Kate Fall, and Tony Blair's former director of political operations, John McTernan, discuss the political fallout of the resignation of the Prime Minister's chief of staff, Sue Gray.
To discuss the forthcoming budget George is joined by former Treasury minister and crossbecnh peer, Lord O'Neill and the Head of Bloomberg Economics, Stephanie Flanders.
Following his retirement from the House of Lords, the Labour politician and founding member of the Social Democratic Party, Lord Owen, discusses his life in politics. Two former Conservative MPs, David Gauke and Miriam Cates discuss the latest in the Conservative leadership contest.
From The Week in Westminster at 2024-09-14 11:30:00
George Parker of the Financial Times analyses the week's political developments at Westminster.
Following the Prime Minister's visit to Washington, the former UK Ambassador to the US, Lord Darroch, and Sir Keir Starmer's former director of strategy, Deborah Mattinson, assess the global security situation and what impact the US election will have on Western foreign policy.
To discuss the state of the NHS following a damning report from former minister Lord Darzi, George is joined by former Labour Health Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, and former Conservative Chair of the Health Select Committee Steve Brine.
Professor Richard Davies of the LSE, presenter of a new radio documentary about the Port Talbot steel works, explains what this week's government announcement about the plant means for the future of steel-making in Britain.
And, as the Spending Review gets underway, George brings together two former Treasury ministers, Danny Alexander and David Gauke, to lift the lid on how departments can wring money out of the exchequer.
From The Week in Westminster at 2024-09-07 11:30:00
Caroline Wheeler of the Sunday Times is joined by a range of guests.
To analyse Labour's first few weeks in government, she speaks to Labour MP Rosie Duffield and the former shadow cabinet minister Jonathan Ashworth, who now heads up the Labour Together think tank.
Two former Conservative leadership contenders, Sir David Davis and Dame Andrea Leadsom discuss the Tory leadership contest.
A leading authority on disaster recovery, Professor Lucy Easthope looks at the long awaited report into Grenfell and what lessons should be learnt.
And, two new MPs, Labour's Jonathan Hinder and Lib Dem Marie Goldman, discuss what it's like to make a maiden speech.