- 34 minutes 50 secondsHow Burnham Risks Being All Things To All People
This week the political masterminds are answering more of your questions.
Does Andy Burnham risk becoming all things to all people, and will that inevitably result in disappointment? What jobs would Sally, Polly and Danny have in No 10 North?
Have former military figures seized the agenda over defence spending, and is Labour worrying enough about a possible Tory revival?
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10 July 2026, 1:51 pm - 20 minutes 27 secondsHow Farage Triggered A By-Election
Nigel Farage has announced his resignation as an MP, saying he will fight a 'people versus the establishment' by-election in Clacton.
Is it a high risk stunt by the Reform UK leader? When have by-elections backfired in the past, and will it make questions about his finances, and his future, go away?
Hugo, Sally, Polly and Danny analyse Farage's gamble.
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7 July 2026, 6:28 pm - 41 minutes 14 secondsHow To Read Burnham's Blueprint For Government
What have we learned so far about Andy Burnham's plan for government? Danny has been reading his book, Head North, and thinks he's proposing a clear left turn when it comes to the economy and public services.
Does Burnham's vision of a more devolved United Kingdom add up to an electoral strategy, or is that actually coming from Morgan McSweeney's playbook?
Plus: We're joined by comedian and host of the How To Win The World Cup podcast Matt Forde to discuss whether success on the football pitch can give a boost at the ballot box.
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2 July 2026, 11:38 am - 42 minutes 49 secondsHow To Pick Your Chancellor And Cabinet
The team bring their years of experience inside Downing Street to the question of how Andy Burnham will construct his cabinet, and who he could pick as chancellor.
After the return of James Purnell as chief of staff, is there a risk of having too many veterans of the Blair and Brown years back in power?
And - Polly sets out her vision for replacing Chequers with a Mar-a-Lago-style resort in Blackpool.
Send your questions, voicenotes and views on Polly's policy to [email protected]
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25 June 2026, 11:29 am - 22 minutes 59 secondsHow Keir Went, And Andy Arrived
Sally and Danny join Hugo for this extra episode to examine the Keir Starmer legacy - if there is one - and ask whether Andy Burnham could be a more consequential leader than the consensus gives him credit for.
And, how will Reform UK attack Burnham - can they make the label 'Captain Flip-flop' stick?
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23 June 2026, 11:11 am - 41 minutes 47 secondsHow The By-Election Result Changes Everything
Andy Burnham has won, and won big in the Makerfield by-election - what happens next in Downing Street and the Labour Party, and what does it all mean for the next general election?
Sally, Polly, Danny and Hugo discuss Keir Starmer's insistence he won't walk away from No 10, the reaction of the cabinet, who will get the top jobs in a Burnham government, and whether Reform UK will need to change strategy.
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19 June 2026, 12:17 pm - 40 minutes 40 secondsHow Will The Days After The By-Election Play Out?
We're only a week away from the Makerfield by-election, when voters could choose the next prime minister.
If Andy Burnham wins, what happens in the hours and days after he arrives in Westminster? Will he seize the moment and try to challenge Keir Starmer immediately, or wait until he has a plan for running the country?
And if he wins, what does it mean for Reform UK's electoral strategy?
We also look at Steve Hilton's journey from David Cameron's modernising adviser to the race to be the next governor of California.
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11 June 2026, 12:07 pm - 40 minutes 38 secondsHow Burnham Is (Or Isn't) Defining Himself
How is Andy Burnham defining his vision for the country as he tries to win the Makerfield by-election?
Sally, Polly, Danny and Hugo discuss whether the (possible) next prime minister can really wind back the clock back 40 years, whether Nigel Farage has taken a risk in his response to the murder of Henry Nowak, and whether Kemi Badenoch can define Labour as the party of welfare.
Send your messages, voicenotes, praise and criticism to [email protected]
A full list of the candidates in the Makerfield by-election is available here.
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4 June 2026, 11:32 am - 43 minutes 29 secondsHow... The Elections Were Won And Lost: Michael Heseltine
Former cabinet minister, former deputy prime minister, big beast of the Tory jungle - Lord Heseltine joins us for our series looking at how the most significant elections of our lifetimes were won, and how they were lost.
He takes us back to the 1983 general election. Margaret Thatcher was fresh from victory in the Falklands, Labour offered voters the 'longest suicide vote in history', and the polls suggested the SDP-Liberal Alliance could break the old two-party system.
If you enjoyed this episode, listen to more in the series:
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28 May 2026, 9:00 am - 40 minutes 54 secondsHow The By-Election Will Be Seismic
The Makerfield by-election is going to be huge - if Andy Burnham wins, Labour will believe it has a route to beating Reform UK at a general election. If Reform wins, then it will clear Nigel Farage's path to power and plunge the government into (further) chaos.
Sally, Polly, Danny (and Hugo) weigh up who is the underdog, whether Wes Streeting will run against Burnham, and whether a victorious Burnham could even think about going to the country.
Also, Danny explains why the best parallel for this contest is probably William Gladstone in 1876.
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21 May 2026, 11:41 am - 40 minutes 2 secondsHow The Labour Leadership Challenge Could Play Out
The struggle for the future of the Labour Party, and the country, has begun, even as Keir Starmer tries to hang on.
The political masterminds look at the potential pitfalls for Wes Streeting, Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham - and discuss whether Labour should give up on its working class roots and try instead to unite liberal Britain.
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