POLITICO’s weekly political series lifts the curtain on how Westminster really works, offering in-depth insight into the political issues which typically only get broad-brush treatment in the wider media.

Keir Starmer's authority is under question following a humiliating series of U-turns and a restless parliamentary Labour Party. In this Westminster Insider interview, host Anne McElvoy talks to Maurice Glasman, the Labour peer, who’s seen as the godfather of "Blue Labour" and an influential voice within the Labour movement — with connections to the Trump administration in the U.S.

Glasman argues that Starmer has six months to make "significant changes" to his government following the debacle over the government's welfare bill. They discuss the broader challenges confronting Labour after one year in office, the position of Chancellor Rachel Reeves and whether the prime minister can regain the confidence of his rebellious parliamentary party.
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Westminster Insider

Can Keir Starmer survive the next 6 months?

Even as Keir Starmer faces the threat of all-out rebellion over his welfare bill, Westminster can feel the summer recess approaching. So six months into the year and with the anniversary of Labour's electoral victory approaching, host Sascha O'Sullivan enrols a host of experts to give their view on the government's progress on the 'milestones' set out by the Prime Minister last year.

Harry Quilter-Pinner, director of the IPPR and Charlotte Pickles, director of Re:State think tank (formerly called Reform) talk Sascha through each of the milestones – from the economy to energy security – and gives Keir Starmer and his cabinet a grade for each.  The pollster Scarlett Maguire, founder of Merlin strategies, provides key insights into how voters view the government's record to date.

Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor at the New Statesman, and James Heale, deputy political editor of The Spectator, gives Sascha an assessment of the trials and tribulations on the opposition benches – from the Conservatives battles with Reform to the Greens' leadership election.
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Westminster's half-term score card

This week on Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker takes a pint-fueled tour through some of Westminster's best-known watering holes in his bid to find out what makes the best political boozer.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage explains why the Westminster Arms is his favorite pub and why his longtime friend, Gerry Dolan, its former landlord, is behind the pub's popularity.

Dolan himself recounts how lager-loving politicians would race over the road to vote at the sound of the division bell, before haring back to finish their drinks, and remembers how each of the different parties under his roof would occupy various corners of his pub like tribes. 

Celia McSwaine, a former special adviser to ex-Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, illuminates the role of the Two Chairmen as the Treasury's designated post-Budget pub and recounts how the drinks were flowing in the immediate hours after the fateful mini-budget, before any economic meltdown had struck.

Pub enthusiast James Potts, a Labour councillor in Islington and author of "What's in a London pub name?" regales Patrick with the exotic history of the Two Chairmen from the secrecy of its top room, the site of much political plotting over the years. 

Andy McSmith, former Chief Political Correspondent at The Observer, joins Patrick at the Red Lion in the heart of Westminster, recounting his pivotal role in breaking the infamous story that Gordon Brown's former spin doctor Charlie Whelan had told Tony Blair that the U.K. would not be joining the Euro, from just outside the pub.

Former Education and Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan returns to The Blue Boar, a discreet pub she says she hasn't been back inside since she found out there that the UK was to leave the European Union.

Labour insider Sienna Rodgers, Deputy Editor of parliamentary magazine The House, meets Patrick in The Clarence, and offers her top tips on where to find Labour MPs and special advisers nowadays. 

And finally Patrick visits the famous Marquis of Granby pub, where journalist and Reform supporter Tim Montgomerie and Nigel Farage's former press secretary Gawain Towler describe how the 'MOG', as it's known, is Westminster's consummate rebel pub, ideal for plotting a political insurgency during the long days of opposition.
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An SW1 pub crawl: What makes the perfect political pub?

In the midst of spending reviews, rows of migration and fights about water bosses' bonuses, everyone could do with a laugh. So this week on Westminster Insider, host Sascha O'Sullivan speaks to a coterie of comedians and satirists in SW1 to find out: what's the point of political satire?

Legendary co-creator of Yes, Minister Jonathan Lynn explains how a show designed to make people have a laugh at the expense of some pompous civil servants defined how we now see "the blob".  

Sketch-writers Madeline Grant and John Crace give us a peek into their lives of following every twist and turn of parliament. And former Tory MP Michael Fabricant explains what it's like to be the subject of these sharp penned journalists. 

Sascha also speaks to Rosie Holt, who shot to comedic fame for mimicking cabinet ministers on the broadcast round in the pandemic. And Andrew Hunter Murray, author, BBC podcaster and Private Eye writer, explains when satire is it's most dangerous for politicians – and powerful for comedians. 

And Lib Dem leader Ed Davey explains why he tried to use humour and comedy to make people pay attention.


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Westminster Insider by POLITICO

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