Brexit: Deadlock and Compromise, Jenny Downham, Inducing Late Babies

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has so far failed to get Parliament’s backing for his Withdrawal Agreement Bill and he won’t meet the October 31st deadline to leave the EU. MPs have also, so far, declined to back plans for the General Election that he wants. The leaders of two parties, Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP and Jo Swinson of the Lib Dems, presented a plan for an election at the weekend. So, are women politicians brokering a compromise, a way out of the deadlock at Westminster, or is each furthering the interests of their own party? And as the House of Commons prepares to elect a new speaker on Monday, with four female candidates in the running we ask what difference a female speaker could make to our political culture? Jenny Downham writes international bestselling novels including Before I Die and Unbecoming. Her fourth novel, Furious Thing, is about a 15-year-old girl called Lexi. Lexi wants her step-father to accept her, her mother to love her like she used to, and her step-brother to declare his desire to spend the rest of his life with her. She tries to push the fury down but it simmers below the surface waiting to erupt. Why is Lexi so angry? Recent Swedish research into how long pregnant women could be left after their due dates was abandoned last year when six of the babies died. So what is the situation here in the UK? Why do we have steadily increasing induction rates? Are we risk averse or necessarily careful in protecting mother and baby? Jane speaks to Andrew Weeks, Professor of International Maternal Health Care at the University of Liverpool. The untold stories of five of the women of Pre-Raphaelite art whose contribution has been overlooked. Today, Maria Zambaco and her sculpted medallions. Presenter: Jane Garvey

Interviewed guest: Helen Lewis

Interviewed guest: Katy Balls

Interviewed guest: Jenny Downham

Interviewed guest: Professor Andrew Weeks

Interviewed guest: Dr Jan Marsh

Interviewed guest: Dr Alison Smith

Producer: Lucinda Montefiore