As the row over Boris Johnson's flat continues, celebrity interior designer Celia Sawyer says her vision for Downing Street would be "much smarter" than the "chaotic" designs shown in news reports. And Professor Sir John Curtice joins us for an election briefing.  Today's Newscast was made by Editor Dino Sofos, with Cristina Criddle, Maz Ebtehaj, Ben Cooper, Jack Fenwick and Georgia Coan.

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The UK’s flagship daily news podcast from the BBC, Newscast dives into the day’s big stories so you’re never out of your depth.
 
Newscast picks the brains of BBC News experts so you’re ready if someone picks yours, covering the latest developments in politics in Westminster and beyond, what the cost of living means for the money in your pocket and the impact of climate change.
 
Can Rishi Sunak turn the Conservatives fortunes around? Will Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party win the next general election? Newscast will give you all the best insights from BBC News so you’re across all the day’s top stories. 
 
Newscast is hosted by trusted journalists including Adam Fleming, BBC Political Editor Chris Mason, Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. Joined by special guests, including Lyse Doucet, Katya Adler, Marianna Spring, John Simpson and Victoria Derbyshire among others. In this election year, Newscast will track all the developments from Westminster - as well as following all the big developments around the world, from the race to the White House, to the war in Ukraine. Catch Newscast seven-days a week and watch on BBC One at 23:40 on Thursday night or later on BBC iPlayer
 
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Or us #Newscast Newscast is part of the BBC News Podcasts family of podcasts. The team that makes Newscast also makes lots of other podcasts, including The Global Story, The Today Podcast, and of course Americast and Ukrainecast. If you enjoy Newscast (and if you’re reading this then you hopefully do), then we think that you will enjoy some of our other pods too. See links below. The Global Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/w13xtvsd
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News

Today we look at the shock defection of another MP from the Tories to Labour. Keir Starmer welcomed the MP for Dover and Deal Natalie Elphicke to his side of the house at Wednesday’s Prime Minister’s Questions. It’s the second defection from the Conservatives to Labour in the past fortnight after the MP for Central Suffolk and North Ipswich Dan Poulter also crossed the floor. Adam and Chris are reunited for an emergency episode to explain what’s happened and what this means for both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Flynn with Gemma Roper and Sam McLaren. The technical producer was Adrian Bhargava. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

BREAKING Newscast: Conservative Defects! (Again)

Today we look at new online safety rules for under-18s published by the media regulator. Tech firms have been told to hide harmful content from children, or risk being banned for under-18s. BBC Breakfast did a special programme on the story. It’s presenters Jon Kay and Sally Nugent tell Adam and Chris what it was like to speak to parents of children subjected to online harms. Adam and Chris also question Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Michelle Donelan. In statements, Meta and Snapchat said they had extra protections for under-18s, and offered parental tools to control what children can see on their platforms. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC.
 
It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Flynn with Miranda Slade and Sam McLaren. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Can we keep children safe online?

Today we look at the potential ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. On Monday, Hamas agreed to terms put forward by Egyptian and Qatari mediators, but Israel has rejected them, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying they are far from meeting Israel’s “core demands”.  Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Force has taken control of the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing, a vital entry point for aid. Adam is joined by the BBC’s International Editor Jeremy Bowen and Chief International Correspondent Lyse Doucet.
 
And BBC Economics Editor Faisal Islam has been speaking to the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves about Labour’s plan for the economy and how she believes the government is “gaslighting” Britain.
 
You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere
 
Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Gemma Roper and Sam McLaren. The technical producer was Michael Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Could Israel & Hamas agree a ceasefire?

Today we look at the political reaction to the weekend’s local election results. Henry joins Laura and Paddy to analyse as Transport Secretary Mark Harper tells Laura the government's plan "is working". Suella Braverman disagrees. We also hear from the newly re-elected Labour mayor for West Yorkshire, Tracey Brabin, who admits her party lost votes because of its stance on Gaza. And, why does Keir Starmer keep popping up at non-league football grounds? You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn with Josh Jenkins. The technical producer was Phillip Bull. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham

Local Electioncast! The Reaction (part 4…)

Today, we look at a big result in the West Midlands as Labour's Richard Parker beat Conservative Andy Street in a mayoral vote that was too close to call until nearly 9pm. Laura and Paddy give their instant reaction. They also reflect on votes elsewhere, including London, where Labour’s Sadiq Khan was voted in for a third time. Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn with Adam Chowdhury. The technical producer was Ricardo McCarthy. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Farrago & Ball

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