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The Week in Westminster: Daily Summaries Delivered
by BBC Radio 4
Radio 4's weekly assessment of developments at Westminster
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- 2 weeks ago27 min
18/07/2026
Radio 4's assessment of developments at Westminster
- 3 weeks ago28 min
11/07/2026
George reports on the political reaction to Friday's shocking news that police had launched a murder investigation in to Ann Widdecombe's death.Following Sir Keir Starmer's appearance at the Nato summit in Ankara, George is joined by Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy, to reflect on the Prime Minister's record on the global stage.Andy Burnham is set to become Prime Minister without a contest as over 300 hundred Labour MPs this week nominated him for the leadership. To debate whether that is good for the country George is joined by Burnham supporter, Labour MP Emily Darlington, and the former Conservative Deputy Prime Minister, Sir Oliver Dowden.To discuss Nigel Farage's decision to call a by-election in Clacton, George is joined by Reform UK MP, Danny Kruger, and Times columnist, Fraser Nelson.And, ahead of the England Norway World Cup quarter final, George speaks to the Norwegian Ambassador to the UK, Tore Hattrem, and the Conservative Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committe, Dame Caroline Dinenage.
- 4 weeks ago28 min
04/07/2026
Sonia Sodha discusses the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan, which was published this week, with the former Conservative Security minister Tom Tugendhat and the Labour MP and former Royal Marine Fred Thomas.To review Andy Burnham's devolution plans, Sonia speaks to the Labour Mayor of the East Midlands Claire Ward and Greg Clark, a former Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, who was one of the architects of devolution policy when the Conservatives were in government. Following a series of maternity scandals, Baroness Amos published her independent review this week. The Liberal Democrat MP, Layla Moran, who chairs the Health Select Committee and the Labour MP Michelle Welsh, who is the government's national maternity adviser discuss what has gone wrong. And to discuss Brand Burnham, Sonia brought together Rachel Cunliffe, the Associate Political Editor of the New Statesman and Farzana Baduel, the co-founder of Curzon PR and presenter of BBC Radio 4’s ‘When It Hits the Fan’.
- Jun 27, 202627 min
27/06/2026
Radio 4's assessment of developments at Westminster
- Jun 20, 202628 min
20/06/2026
Vicki Young assesses Andy Burnham's Makerfield by-election win, which paves the way for a leadership challenge against Sir Keir Starmer. She is joined by FT political editor, George Parker; New Statesman political editor, Ailbhe Rae; GB News political editor Christopher Hope and Labour peer and broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika.
- Jun 13, 202628 min
13/06/2026
Following the bombshell resignation of John Healey as Defence Secretary, Ben speaks to Sir Michael Fallon, a former Conservative Defence Secretary, and Luke Charters, a Labour MP who has campaigned on defence finance issues.After the horrific knife attack in Belfast on Monday, and the street violence that followed, Ben brings together the former First Minister of Northern Ireland, Baroness Foster, and the Labour Chair of the Northern Ireland Select Committee, Tonia Antoniazzi.Could next week's by-election in Makerfield precipitate a change of Prime Minister? And, if so, how tricky is it to change a leader in the middle of a parliament? Ben hears from Professor Philip Cowley of Queen Mary University of London and Cleo Watson, a former senior aide to Boris Johnson.And, as the World Cup gets underway, Ben talks football and politics with two superfans, former Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, and comedian and political interviewer, Matt Forde.
- Jun 5, 202627 min
06/06/2026
Pippa Crerar discusses the political reaction to the murder of 18-year-old student Henry Nowak, following the release of police bodycam footage. She is joined by Labour peer and human rights campaigner Shami Chakrabarti and Reform UK MP Richard Tice, who is also the party's deputy leader.To discuss the battle of ideas and leadership sparked by former Labour prime minister Tony Blair's recent essay, Pippa is joined by Stewart Wood, Labour peer and former adviser to Gordon Brown, and the Conservative peer David Willetts, who is president of think tank the Resolution Foundation. This week, the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullally, led her first debate in the House of Lords on the impact of artificial intelligence on human relationships and society. To discuss this, Pippa is joined by the Lord Bishop of Leicester, Martyn Snow, and crossbench peer Beeban Kidron, who both took part in the debate. This year marks the centenary of the 1926 general strike. Pippa discusses the impact and legacy of the strike with Labour peer and former general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, John Monks, and journalist and author Anne Perkins, who wrote a book about the strike, A Very British Strike.
- May 23, 202628 min
23/05/2026
As Andy Burnham is confirmed as the Labour candidate for the Makerfield by-election, George Parker asks whether this signals the start of a long goodbye for Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. He brings together Labour MP, Miatta Fahnbulleh, who resigned as an Energy minister earlier this month, and Jonathan Ashworth, formerly a member of Keir Starmer's Shadow Cabinet.The question of whether Britain should one day rejoin the EU has reared up once again in this shadow Labour leadership contest. To discuss that George speaks to the EU's former ambassador to the UK, Joao Vale de Almeida.Following the Government's confirmation that HS2 could eventually cost over £100bn and may not open until 2039, George turns to Labour MP Ruth Cadbury, who chairs the Transport Select Committee, and Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the Conservative chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.And, is Kemi Badenoch doing a good job as Conservative leader? George speaks to Lee Cain, former Number Ten Director of Communications to Boris Johnson, and Times columnist, Seb Payne.
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