Political Thinking with Nick Robinson

Political Thinking with Nick Robinson episodes:

• 03.07.2024

  The Emma Little-Pengelly One

  Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister talks to Nick Robinson.

  
• 02.29.2024

  The Nigel Farage 2024 One

  Nigel Farage tells Nick Robinson that "timing is everything" when it comes to deciding whether to return to frontline politics. Fresh off the plane from Florida, Farage talks about what he can learn from - and how he can defend -...

  
• 02.21.2024

  The Mariana Mazzucato One

  One of the world's most influencial progressive economists outlines her pitch to leaders across the world - and Starmer's Labour Party - to focus on ambitious 'missions' that can transform society for the better.

  
• 02.16.2024

  The Emma Runswick One

  The Deputy Chair of the British Medical Association Council talks to Nick Robinson ahead of the latest round of junior doctor strikes. She defends the pay demands set out by doctors, tells the story of a life of activism,...

  
• 02.08.2024

  The Shabana Mahmood One

  The Shadow Justice Secretary and Labour's most senior Muslim MP reflects on Gaza, her faith and campaigning for Rishi Sunak's "geek vote" when they were at university Producer: Daniel Kraemer

  
• 02.07.2024

  Bonus episode: The Michelle O’Neill One - Revisited

  Nick looks back at his 2021 conversation with the new First Minister of Northern Ireland

  
• 02.01.2024

  The Jeremy Hunt Chancellor One

  Nick Robinson sits down with the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt in the dining room of No11 Downing Street. They discuss living nextdoor to the Sunaks, how much headroom he will have at the budget, and who he would invite to his...

  
• 01.25.2024

  The Blair and Hague One

  Sir Tony Blair and Lord William Hague sit down with Nick Robinson to discuss their vision for a new "national purpose". They reflect on facing each other across the dispatch box 25 years ago and how to deal with an...

  
• 01.18.2024

  The Humza Yousaf One

  The First Minister of Scotland sits down with Nick Robinson in Glasgow to reflect on his first ten months in power and how his family is dealing with the ongoing trauma of being caught up in the war in Gaza...

  
• 11.24.2023

  The Ben Wallace 2023 One

  The former Defence Secretary opens up about the impact of high-pressure government jobs on family relations and tells the behind-the-scenes story of the lead-up to the Ukraine War and his take on the “poison” in British politics.

  
• 11.17.2023

  The Kishwer Falkner One

  Nick Robinson sits down with the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, to discuss multiculturalism, transgender rights and challenging the UK government on its asylum policies.

  
• 11.09.2023

  The Michael Gove 2023 One

  Nick Robinson sits down with the Levelling Up Secretary for an in-depth conversation about what lies behind his drive for reform, having first joined the cabinet 13 years ago. They also reflect on community tensions in the UK as a...

  
• 11.03.2023

  The Pat McFadden One

  Labour's campaign chief talks to Nick Robinson about how to deal with divisions with in the party, communities and families on events in the middle east. And how has he become the "great survivor" of the party, from working as...

  
• 10.26.2023

  The Michelle Donelan One

  The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology talks to Nick Robinson about the UK's AI summit and how the world can balance protection against AI's dangers and harnessing it for good. Producer: Daniel Kraemer

  
• 10.21.2023

  The Radek Sikorski One

  Poland's former foreign minister talks to Nick Robinson about his journey from rebelling against communist rule as a child, living in exile in the UK, being a leading diplomat, and his party on the brink of returning to power after...

  
• 10.13.2023

  The Nick Gibb One

  The Schools Minister tells Nick Robinson how his single-minded curriculum reform has kept him in his job for 10 of the last 13 years, and how his sexuality might have limited his career prospects Producer: Daniel Kraemer

  
• 10.05.2023

  The Roger Hallam One

  The co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, now behind the scenes in Just Stop Oil, challenges Nick Robinson to emotionally engage with the reality of climate change and take a stand against global inaction

  
• 09.28.2023

  The Keir Starmer 2023 One

  The Leader of the Opposition sets out his vision for getting Labour back into government Producer: Daniel Kraemer

  
• 09.21.2023

  The Ed Davey Party Leader One

  The Liberal Democrat leader talks to Nick Robinson about caring for his disabled son, the value of coalitions in politics and why the prime minister's net zero strategy 'hands the future to China' Producer: Daniel Kraemer

  
• 09.13.2023

  The Theresa May One

  Nick Robinson talks to former prime minister Theresa May about why she wants to call out abuses of power, what went wrong after Brexit and growing up as a vicar's daughter. Producer: Daniel Kraemer

  
• 09.07.2023

  The Paul Nowak One

  Nick Robinson talks to the boss of the TUC ahead of hosting his first Congress in his hometown of Liverpool, what it was like working with ministers during Covid and why we need a national conversation on tax

  
• 06.29.2023

  The Anas Sarwar One

  Nick Robinson has a conversation with, not an interrogation of, the people who shape our political thinking about what shaped theirs.

  
• 06.23.2023

  The George Freeman One

  The Science minister talks to Nick Robinson about how his troubled childhood instilled conservative values from a young age and the challenge of dealing with buccaneering tech billionaires

  
• 06.17.2023

  The Lord Finkelstein One

  Lord Daniel Finkelstein talks to Nick Robinson about what it is like preparing Conservative leaders for PMQs and how having two refugee parents shaped his politics of 'moderation'

  
• 06.09.2023

  The Louise Casey One

  Baroness Louise Casey has become one of the most influencial non-politicians in the UK. She tells Nick Robinson why it all started with a passion for homelessness and what might be next on her list.

  
• 06.02.2023

  The Peter Kyle One

  How does a politician with the reading age of an 8-year-old operate as a Shadow Cabinet member?

  
• 05.26.2023

  The Feargal Sharkey One

  The former Undertones frontman tells Nick how his youth in Derry during the Troubles led him to becoming one of the most prominent environmental campaigners in Britain today.

  
• 05.18.2023

  The Stephen Flynn One

  The SNP's Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, on what he will demand in the event of a hung Parliament, and how living with a disability shaped his politics.

  
• 05.11.2023

  The Penny Mordaunt One

  Penny Mordaunt reveals the secret to holding that sword throughout the Coronation, whether she’s planning another tilt at the Conservative leadership and being PM, and why culture wars may not be such a good idea for her party.

  
• 03.10.2023

  The Suella Braverman One

  In the week the government introduced tough, controversial new rules on stopping illegal immigrants entering the UK, Nick Robinson talks to the home secretary, Suella Braverman, about her father's journey to Britain while fleeing persecution in Kenya, how her mum's...

  
• 03.03.2023

  The Lee Anderson One

  Nick Robinson talks to the Conservative Party's deputy chairman, Lee Anderson, about following his father's lead in becoming a miner, how he went from admiring Tony Benn and Arthur Scargill to being deputy chairman of the Conservatives and whether his...

  
• 02.24.2023

  The Kwajo Tweneboa One

  Nick Robinson talks to the housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa about his own experience of poor social housing and his father's death, how he harnessed the power of social media to become a powerful voice in Westminster and whether he fancies...

  
• 02.17.2023

  The Steve Reed One

  Nick Robinson talks to the shadow justice secretary, Steve Reed, about why the collapse of a factory that employed most of his family led to him joining the Labour Party, how being mugged at knifepoint helped inform his new approach...

  
• 02.10.2023

  The Iain Anderson One

  Nick Robinson talks to the influential lobbyist and new chair of Stonewall, Iain Anderson, about how the case of Isla Bryson has brought gender politics to the top of the news agenda and how he thinks the heat can be...

  
• 02.03.2023

  The Mary Bousted One

  Nick Robinson talks to the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, Mary Bousted, about how her headteacher father inspired a passion for education, why she quit her job as an English teacher and whether, in a week of...

  
• 01.27.2023

  The Tony Danker One

  Nick Robinson talks to the director general of the Confederation of British Industry, Tony Danker. They discuss what it was like to grow up in a Jewish family in Belfast during 'The Troubles', why he chose to join the Treasury...

  
• 01.20.2023

  The Sharon Graham One

  The leader of the Unite union gives a frank and engaging interview to Nick Robinson. She defends the new wave of strikes by ambulance workers, sets out how under her leadership Unite is 'following the money' to target bad employers...

  
• 12.05.2022

  The Liz Truss's Big Gamble One

  A bonus episode, as Nick tells the extraordinary inside story of how Liz Truss gambled her premiership on a dramatic challenge to decades of orthodoxy.

  
• 11.25.2022

  The Bridget Phillipson One

  Nick Robinson talks to Labour's shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, about her mum standing up to the people that burgled their house, her grandad's love of books sparking her passion for education and how she ended up as an extra...

  
• 11.18.2022

  The Clare Moriarty One

  Nick Robinson talks to the chief executive of Citizens Advice, Clare Moriarty, about her and her family's long history with the civil service, how she coped with having cancer while running the Brexit department and what more the government needs...

  
• 11.11.2022

  The Carla Denyer One

  Nick Robinson talks to the Green Party's co-leader, Carla Denyer, about discovering grassroots campaigns at sixth form, declaring Europe's first climate emergency and why she chooses to wear both a red and white poppy.

  
• 11.04.2022

  The Gillian Keegan One

  Nick Robinson talks to the new education secretary, Gillian Keegan, about leaving school at 16 to work in a car factory, the time Derek Hatton bought her a glass of champagne and why sometimes cabinet ministers should just admit it...

  
• 10.28.2022

  The Angela Rayner Deputy Leader One

  Nick Robinson talks to Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, about how her own experience of poverty has shaped her views on the cost of living crisis, her relationship with Labour's leader Keir Starmer and whether working class politicians need to...

  
• 10.24.2022

  The Rishi Sunak PM One - From the Archives

  Nick Robinson revisits his interview with the new prime minister, Rishi Sunak, from late 2019. The then-chief secretary to the treasury discussed working in his mother’s pharmacy, why he chose to vote Leave and his knowledge of The Force

  
• 10.21.2022

  The David Frost One

  Nick Robinson talks to Conservative peer David Frost, the former chief Brexit negotiator, about Boris Johnson's potential return as Prime Minister, the downfall of Liz Truss and how he went from foreign office diplomat to Brexit architect

  
• 10.14.2022

  The Lisa Nandy Levelling Up One

  Nick Robinson talks to Lisa Nandy, the shadow levelling up secretary, about preparing for government, the political lessons she's learned from football and whether she disagrees with Keir Starmer's stance on strikes.

  
• 10.07.2022

  The Paul Johnson One

  Nick Robinson talks to Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, about attacks from the left and right on so-called economic orthodoxy, how to stay impartial during moments of political turbulence and what his self-proclaimed nerdy teenage...

  
• 09.30.2022

  The Kit Malthouse One

  Nick Robinson talks to the new education secretary, Kit Malthouse, about growing up in Liverpool, battling Labour students at university and his priorities for education in England.

  
• 09.23.2022

  The Jeremy Corbyn One

  Nick Robinson talks to former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn about how he became a socialist, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and whether he'll be allowed to stand again as a Labour candidate.

  
• 09.17.2022

  The Christopher Steele One

  Nick Robinson talks to Christopher Steele, the author of the 'Trump-Russia dossier'. They discuss his time as an intelligence officer in the Soviet Union, how he became an overnight public figure and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.