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Politics Weekly UK

The Guardian

290 episodes

Guardian columnist John Harris, political editor Pippa Crerar, and policy editor Kiran Stacey analyse the week's politics news

Episodes page 1 of 6

  1. What makes Andy Burnham think Britain can rejoin the EU?

    · 21 min

    Andy Burnham claims revising Brexit would ‘bring people together’. The PM wants to look again at issues such as free movement but rules out joining the euro or Schengen. Would rejoining the EU open old wounds and risk…

  2. “Culture is stagnant, so politics is stuck” – playwright James Graham | Radical Thinking

    · 47 min · Explicit

    Are we doomscrolling our way into a democratic crisis? That’s what the playwright James Graham fears may be happening, as he suggests that our algorithms have led us into ‘a massive crisis of the new’ and are…

  3. Rosebank row: will Labour block the oilfield?

    · 19 min

    The government has given the go-ahead for the Jackdaw gasfield, but that was the easy part. The next big headache is the Rosebank oilfield. The energy secretary, Miatta Fahnbulleh, has indicated she might reject this…

  4. Who is Alan Milburn and will he get young people back to work?

    · 20 min

    As young people take to the streets across the world to protest over living standards, Andy Burnham is hoping the former health secretary Alan Milburn has the answers to prevent similar unrest in Britain. The…

  5. ‘Austerity is inevitably painful’: How Michael Gove justifies his politics | Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty

    · 58 min

    For more than three decades, Michael Gove has been a leading figure in British Conservatism. As a journalist, government minister and now editor of the Tory bible, the Spectator, he has helped shape the right even as…

  6. Is Andy Burnham in hot water over Manchester City?

    · 19 min

    Andy Burnham is being accused of a serious misjudgment over his comments about meetings with Manchester City’s owners. Kiran Stacey discusses the controversy after returning from a trade trip to India with the business…

  7. Was Burnham right to talk about Russian interference in Brexit?

    · 24 min

    Andy Burnham has started an almighty row by claiming that Russia interfered in the 2016 Brexit referendum. He also says he wants the UK to have closer ties to the EU. The row is one of three major headaches for the…

  8. ‘Gaza is a moral tear in the universe’: Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor | Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty

    · 50 min

    Are we really living through ‘end times fascism’? Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor think so. In a new series from the Guardian, the pair speak to Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty in an extended interview. From…

  9. Did the Zionism row lose it for Zack Polanski?

    · 17 min

    Zack Polanski has lost the Holborn and St Pancras byelection to Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali. Despite the Greens increasing their vote share from 2024, Polanski had the cloud of the ‘Zionism is racism’ row hanging over his…

  10. M&S Kemi: can the Tory leader win over core vote?

    · 41 min

    Kemi Badenoch has promised to ditch inheritance tax on family homes if elected as prime minister, leading to criticism that she is prioritising the rich over the poor. Plus, the pollster and UK director of More in…

  11. Why Kemi Badenoch embraces being the leader of the ‘nasty party’

    · 24 min

    Kemi Badenoch is kicking off Conservative party conference with a little bounce in her step and her personal poll ratings improved. But critics will say that as she embraces the nasty party accusations she is at risk…

  12. 'There’s no such thing as democracy': Yanis Varoufakis | Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty

    · 53 min

    Who is really in charge – the people or the markets? In the first episode of Radical Thinking, a new series from the Guardian, senior economics commentator Aditya Chakrabortty speaks to the former Greek finance…

  13. Burnham’s triple lock gamble

    · 14 min

    Andy Burnham has delivered a powerful and emotional speech to the Labour conference. He announced policies on pensions, social care and electoral reform. He said he was willing to talk about the things politicians…

  14. ‘They will bow’: energy secretary challenges Reform and Tories

    · 28 min

    Speaking to Pippa Crerar and Kiran Stacey at the Labour party conference in Liverpool, Miatta Fahnbulleh, the energy secretary, said a mark of her success or failure would be whether she could get bills down and said…

  15. Andy Burnham shows his emotional side

    · 27 min

    Andy Burnham will make his first speech at Labour conference as prime minister on Tuesday. Ahead of that, he has been talking to Pippa Crerar about why he is in the job and what changes he wants to make. Pippa and…

  16. What really happened in the room with Burnham and Trump

    · 27 min

    Pippa Crerar had a front row seat for the PM’s first meeting with Donald Trump. What really happened during that 12-minute press conference? And as the Labour conference kicks off this weekend, she and Kiran Stacey…

  17. Can Andy Burnham pull off the ‘Mamdani effect’ on Donald Trump?

    · 26 min

    The UK prime minister will meet the US president for the first time in New York on Tuesday. With Trump at his weakest in the polls, could this be a perfect moment for Burnham to charm the president and avoid a very…

  18. Tax the middle earners! Will the PM do it?

    · 31 min

    Former Bank of England economist Andy Haldane said the markets regarded this government as ‘a pretty traditional tax and spend socialist government with better TikTok videos’. Harsh criticism or truth? As pressure…

  19. ‘Party for sale’? Reform’s £72m donation causes backlash

    · 24 min

    There’s been a huge backlash against Reform UK after the party received £72m from two crypto billionaires over the weekend. Paul Nowak, the TUC leader, said the money showed democracy was ‘in crisis’. Labour is pushing…

  20. Labour shifts on Israel, but what difference will it make?

    · 28 min

    It has been a huge week for Labour as Ed Miliband shifted the party’s stance on Israel by announcing sanctions on the illegal settlements in the West Bank and describing what is happening as ethnic cleansing. What is…

  21. Is the UK about to see the rise of the far right?

    · 28 min

    Alternative für Deutschland has claimed a historic win in Germany, continuing the pattern of populist far-right parties gaining power across Europe. In the UK, balaclava-clad far-right protesters have marched on Dover,…

  22. Introducing Black Box: The Chatbots

    · 40 min · Bonus · Explicit

    New from the Guardian Investigates team: Across the world, hundreds of people have come to believe they have made extraordinary scientific discoveries with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Others say…

  23. Can Zack Polanski win Keir Starmer’s old seat?

    · 22 min

    The Green party leader, Zack Polanski, has confirmed he will stand in the Holborn and St Pancras byelection, which was triggered when Keir Starmer announced he was quitting as an MP. It’s going to be a tough race to…

  24. Rejoining the EU, Burnham’s donors and the bedroom tax: Politics Weekly answers your questions

    · 20 min

    Will the UK ever rejoin the EU? Who is funding Andy Burnham? And will the bedroom tax be scrapped? In a special episode, Kiran Stacey and Peter Walker answer some of your questions. Help support our independent…

  25. Andy Burnham’s autumn of pain– podcast

    · 27 min

    It’s been a month since Andy Burnham became prime minister. And while polls have shown a ‘Burnham bounce’, the coming months will force the new PM into making some tough – and potentially unpopular – decisions that…

  26. Revisited – Brexit: an oral history

    · 47 min

    Revisited: This year marked 10 years since the UK chose to leave the EU. In a series of interviews with key players from both sides, Kiran Stacey looks back on the Brexit vote that changed the country for ever. Help…

  27. ‘I worry about our daughters’: Bridget Phillipson on online misogyny

    · 33 min

    Racism and misogyny are becoming normalised as a result of rightwing politics and the ‘cesspit’ of social media, says Labour’s Bridget Phillipson. In an extended interview, the minister for women and equalities and new…

  28. Revisited: The Andy Burnham I know – Today in Focus podcast

    · 37 min

    Today in Focus host and former north of England editor Helen Pidd has watched Andy Burnham’s career for years, and here she talks to his friends, colleagues and mentors to find out more about his rise to power. This…

  29. Farage wins Clacton byelection, but was it worth it?

    · 24 min

    Nigel Farage has won the Clacton byelection he triggered by resigning from the seat because he wanted to allow voters to ‘stick two fingers up at the entire establishment’. The Reform UK leader’s political finances…

  30. Revisited: Andy Burnham apologises for Labour’s stance on Gaza – podcast

    · 23 min

    In July, Andy Burnham told the Guardian’s political editor, Pippa Crerar, that Labour ‘didn’t get it right’ on Gaza. He apologised for the party’s slow response in calling for a ceasefire, but stopped short of…

  31. Heatwave Britain: why are politicians so slow to act?

    · 28 min

    As another summer of extreme heat rumbles on, warnings about excess deaths, ageing infrastructure and potential food shortages are growing louder. So how well prepared is the UK to cope, both now and in the years…

  32. What chaos? Farage tries to distract with immigration plans

    · 23 min

    Nigel Farage has promised that Reform UK would call in the navy to tackle small boat Channel crossings. Will this familiar-sounding immigration policy distract from the party’s internal problems? Plus – as we learn…

  33. Will we pay more tax to fund social care?

    · 25 min

    Andy Burnham gave a major speech on Wednesday on his plans for a national care service. He sought cross-party consensus on the issue by speaking to the Tories and Lib Dems. But not Reform UK or the Greens. On Thursday,…

  34. Will Andy Burnham charm Volodymyr Zelenskyy?

    · 23 min

    Andy Burnham’s first overseas visitor will be the Ukrainian prime minister, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a show of the UK’s ‘unwavering support’ for the country. And, as Burnham sets out his ambitious plans for tackling the…

  35. All change please: Burnham rips up the Starmer playbook

    · 20 min

    Andy Burnham’s first week in office has seen him announce a range of measures to help people with the cost of living crisis, and scrap several of Keir Starmer’s big policies. But critics – including former Starmer…

  36. Can Andy Burnham’s cabinet fix Britain?

    · 18 min

    The new prime minister has promised a ‘circuit breaker’ moment for the country, as he becomes the UK’s seventh leader since 2016. But will he be able to make the changes that are desperately needed? Pippa Crerar and…

  37. Mahmood v Miliband: who will Burnham choose for chancellor?

    · 25 min

    Andy Burnham will become prime minister of the UK on Monday. But he has yet to reveal any cabinet picks, and rumours suggest he still hasn’t chosen a chancellor. What do we actually know about his plans for governing?…

  38. Reform UK triggers row over MPs’ safety

    · 23 min

    After Ann Widdecombe’s murder, Reform UK has criticised the Commons speaker, Lindsay Hoyle and suggested its MPs are not given enough security. Pippa Crerar tells Kiran Stacey what Hoyle’s team have been telling her.…

  39. Andy Burnham apologises for Labour’s stance on Gaza

    · 29 min

    Andy Burnham has apologised for Labour’s slow response in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. In an exclusive interview with Pippa Crerar, he says that more pressure should be put on the Israeli government, including a…

  40. Reform UK row: who funds Farage?

    · 26 min

    Nigel Farage claimed he was the victim of an ‘establishment hit job’ after it was revealed he accepted money from his friend, the convicted felon George Cottrell. The parliamentary standards commissioner is currently…

  41. Is Starmer deliberately leaving a mess for Burnham?

    · 28 min

    Keir Starmer has been accused of leaving Andy Burnham with a £4.7bn black hole in defence funding. The government announced on Tuesday the defence investment plan, complete with a £15bn boost – but nearly £5bn would…

  42. Can Andy Burnham’s ‘No 10 North’ change anything?

    · 24 min

    Andy Burnham, the prime minister-in-waiting, has made his first major speech since becoming the MP for Makerfield. Speaking in Manchester, he said the Westminster system was ‘broken’ and that a ‘more of the same’…

  43. Brexit: An Oral History

    · 47 min

    This week marked 10 years since the UK chose to leave the EU. In a series of interviews with key players from both sides, Kiran Stacey looks back on the Brexit vote that changed the country forever. Help support our…

  44. Andy Burnham: who’s really got his ear?

    · 30 min

    As Andy Burnham looks set to go unchallenged in his leadership bid, Labour MPs are now jostling for a position in his cabinet. Who will have his ear, and what does that tell us about his leadership?. Help support our…

  45. Keir Starmer resigns: what now?

    · 35 min

    An emotional Keir Starmer announced his resignation as prime minister and Labour leader on Monday morning, less than two years after he won a huge majority at the general election. The question now is who will replace…

  46. Andy Burnham: our next Prime Minister?

    · 32 min

    Andy Burnham will return to Westminster as an MP, and potential challenger to Keir Starmer, after decisively beating Reform UK to win the Makerfield byelection. Kiran Stacey and Jessica Elgot chat through what happens…

  47. How will the under-16s social media ban work?

    · 29 min

    Keir Starmer has announced his social media ban for under-16s. The proposals are tougher than expected, and include a ban on major apps such as TikTok, Instagram, X, Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook. Plus, the Makerfield…

  48. Can politicians bring calm to Belfast?

    · 33 min

    After nights of violence across Belfast this week, politicians continue to call for calm, but what else can be done to stop the violence spreading? Plus, Jessica Elgot has been to Makerfield and spoken to undecided…

  49. The defence secretary quits with ‘blistering’ criticism of Starmer

    · 12 min

    The defence secretary has resigned over the government’s military spending plans, in another major blow for Keir Starmer. In a scathing letter to the prime minister, John Healey said the long-awaited defence investment…

  50. Zelenskyy: Putin is ‘playing games’ with Trump

    · 26 min

    The Ukrainian president says Vladimir Putin’s days are numbered. As the Russian president’s influence wanes and his war machine crumbles, Volodymyr Zelenskyy says it is important for Europe and the world to stick…

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