This week: Keir Starmer’s legacy, Andy Burnham’s next move – and should there be a general election? 

With the Makerfield by-election just days away, Michael Gove is joined by Rachel Johnson to ask whether an Andy Burnham victory would spell the end of Keir Starmer’s premiership. Could Starmer really fight on – or is the Labour party heading for a regicidal ‘bloodbath’? They discuss Starmer’s record in government, whether Labour has become the ‘welfare party’, and if Burnham could offer the party anything more than a political glow-up.

Also on the podcast: Kemi Badenoch’s revival, the threat from Reform, and whether the right is actually ready for a general election.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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This week: the Henry Nowak case, two-tier policing – and what the latest Mandelson files reveal about Labour.

After the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak, Michael and Madeline ask whether the police response exposed something deeply wrong in British policing. Has the fear of being accused of racism distorted the way institutions respond to victims? And does this case reveal a wider crisis of confidence in whether the police can act without fear or favour?

They also discuss the latest revelations from the Mandelson files. What do the messages tell us about Labour’s welfare problem, Pat McFadden’s private frustrations and Wes Streeting’s views inside government? Has Labour become ‘the Benefits Party’ – and are there still secrets buried in the Mandelson files?

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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This week: what makes a great battle? From Waterloo, Trafalgar, the Battle of Britain to Stalingrad, Michael and Maddie discuss what separates a decisive victory from a merely dramatic one, and why great military leaders still matter.

Also on the podcast: after Dominic Cummings claimed the Manchester mayor was not a formidable opponent, Michael reflects on facing Burnham across the despatch box. Can Burnham survive the leap from local hero to national leader?

And finally: do celebrity endorsements actually move the dial? 

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This week: the Peter Murrell scandal and the collapse of the SNP’s moral authority. After Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband and the party’s former chief executive pleaded guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from SNP funds, Michael and Madeline ask what this reveals about the party that dominated Scottish politics for more than a decade. Was this simply one man’s disgrace – or a symptom of a political machine that had grown too powerful, too closed and too complacent?

Also on the podcast: the growing split on the right. As Rupert Lowe’s Restore threatens to divide the Reform vote in the Makerfield by-election, could Andy Burnham be saved by a battle between Nigel Farage and his former allies?

And finally: the rise of the well-worriers. From Zoe and Oura rings to sleep scores, glucose monitors and heart-rate variability, the middle classes are no longer just trying to be healthy – they are trying to measure every flicker of human existence. Is all this self-tracking making us fitter, or just more neurotic?

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Maurice Glasman returns for the second part of his conversation with Michael and Maddie – this time to ask whether the Makerfield by-election could write Labour’s obituary notice.

As Andy Burnham prepares to take on Reform in one of Labour’s old heartlands, Maurice explains why this contest will reveal whether working-class affection for the party still survives. He discusses Nigel Farage’s rise, why Reform has been able to make such deep inroads into Labour territory and whether Burnham can really persuade voters that he speaks for them.

They also discuss the future of the Labour leadership, why Maurice thinks Shabana Mahmood is ‘head and shoulders’ above the other contenders and whether the party can escape what he calls its ‘progressive palsy’. Plus: the Greens, the failures of universities and Maurice’s advice to Kemi Badenoch on how the Conservatives can recover.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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Maurice Glasman, Labour peer and founder of Blue Labour, has spent years warning that Labour has lost touch with the people it was created to represent. In the first of a two-part conversation on Quite right!, he joins Michael and Maddie to explain why he thinks Keir Starmer’s project was never really Labour at all – and why the party’s working-class traditions have been replaced by progressive liberalism.

They discuss Labour’s roots in community, sovereignty and the dignity of work; how Brexit exposed the divide between Labour and liberalism; and whether Starmer’s response to Southport marked a turning point. Maurice also sets out what a genuinely Labour government might have done differently on immigration, welfare, industrial strategy, defence and AI – and why Reform’s rise should not come as a surprise.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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In this week’s Q&A: as Wes Streeting finally breaks cover, which former prime minister would you parachute into No. 10 to save the country? Michael makes the case for Palmerstonian vigour, while Maddie weighs up Lord Salisbury and Pitt the Younger – and asks whether almost any past occupant of Downing Street would be preferable to the current one.

Also this week: is Britain being dragged back towards the EU? After Nick Clegg suggested Britain should rejoin a reformed European Union by 2036, Michael and Maddie ask whether the Brexit question is really settled – and whether Keir Starmer is trying to realign with Brussels by stealth.

Plus: Jilly Cooper and the brilliance of Tory-coded fiction.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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This week: Keir Starmer’s leadership is in crisis. As pressure builds on the Prime Minister, Michael and Madeline ask whether Starmer can survive the rebellion now gathering pace in his own party.

They discuss the runners and riders who could replace him, from Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner to Andy Burnham – and the risks each would pose for Labour. Could Burnham find a safe seat? Would Streeting trigger open warfare with the left? And would a change of leader mean anything beyond a change of name?

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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In this week’s Q&A: how do you mount a Labour leadership coup? As the results of the local elections roll in and speculation builds about Starmer’s future, Michael and Maddie discuss the mechanics of leadership bids, the dangers facing Angela Rayner and Andy Burnham, and why the best advice for Labour’s next leader may be: don’t.

Also this week: has Britain really had enough of experts? Michael revisits his famous Brexit-era line, and whether he stands by it. Is there a difference between expertise, wisdom and technocracy – and does Parliament need debate more than deference?

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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This week: antisemitism in Britain, the government’s response – and where Reform may have gone too far.

After the attack in Golders Green, Michael and Madeline ask whether antisemitism has become a daily reality for Britain’s Jewish community – and whether ministers are willing to confront the Islamist extremism, hard-left apologism and far-right hatred that are feeding it.

They also look ahead to the local elections and ask what a bad night for Labour would mean for Starmer’s leadership. Could losses to the Greens in Labour’s urban heartlands push the party further left? And if MPs do move against Starmer, would any of the likely alternatives be an improvement?

Plus: Reform’s controversial proposal to put migrant detention centres in Green-voting areas. Is this clever political trolling – or have Reform crossed a line?

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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