Podlitical

Did parties at Downing Street last year breach Covid-19 rules? BBC political correspondent Chris Mason joins the team to discuss, as the Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced an inquiry after a video emerged of government staff joking about a "cheese and wine" party which took place on December 18th last year. Government spokesperson Allegra Stratton, who appeared in the leaked footage, has resigned, and now other Downing Street parties during that period are being investigated. Will this latest row blow over or is the scandal here to stay?

An in-depth conversation with former Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman. She shares the mood inside the cabinet during the first months of the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2020, her regrets over care homes, and the difficult decisions made on restrictions over Christmas. Freeman also discusses the ongoing public inquiry into safety at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, and a second independence referendum in 2023.

Have problems and pressure been growing for Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon this week? From flip-flops on vaccine passports to speeches mentioning Peppa Pig, the team discusses leadership. They chat through the differences and similarities on the situation the Prime Minister and First Minister find themselves in, and analyse BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg's interview with Nicola Sturgeon, including indyref2 and the handling of the pandemic. Why is there speculation over the political longevity of these two leaders, and is there any merit to it?

Listen to the full interview by BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg speaking to the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on the speculation about her future, a second Independence Referendum, and the handling of Covid-19 in Scotland.

There’s been weeks of political pressure on No10 over the Owen Paterson row.

Climate journalist Shreya Jai joins the team to talk COP26 from an outside perspective. How does Glasgow's climate change conference look to the rest of the World? The team discuss the political roles played by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, as well as the importance of not just the pledges made by big polluters such as the US, China, EU, and India, but the ways in which we could enforce these promises.

Roddy Dunlop QC is a lawyer and Head of the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland. He talks to Lucy and Phil about Covid-19 restrictions including mask mandates, vaccine passports, the knock on effects of lockdown and the politicisation of the legal profession in the press.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled the budget, but can he balance the UK's fiscal needs? From cutting Air Passenger Duty to criticism over a lack of climate-friendly policies ahead of COP26, the team are joined by Mairi Spowage, Director of the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde, to chat through what the budget means for devolved nations, the Government's "Levelling Up" agenda, and the pounds in people's pockets.

Last Friday, Conservative MP Sir David Amess was killed in his constituency. It’s been five years since the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox and SNP MP Carol Monaghan is another MP who has suffered online abuse including death threats. While in-person attacks are rare, politicians continue to endure sustained abuse online. So what’s driving this abuse and what can be done to combat it?

It was one of the country's worst public health failures say MPs. Thousands of lives were lost following the UK’s failure to do more to stop Covid spreading, according to the report published earlier this week. The 150-page document, Coronavirus:Lessons learned to date looked at the response to the pandemic predominantly in England.