The Fourcast

The Fourcast episodes:

• 05.16.2024

  Are Labour and Tories in election mode? | The Political Fourcast

  Are Labour and the Conservatives already prepping for the election?  Both Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are certainly behaving like they are. The Labour leader launched his first steps to change Britain, but will that help the party on the...

  
• 05.09.2024

  Has Natalie Elphicke defection actually harmed Labour?

  For the second time in a fortnight, the Conservatives have been dealt a jaw-dropping blow - another MP has defected. This time, it is Dover MP and rightwinger, Natalie Elphicke, who crossed the floor moments before Prime Minister's Questions, to...

  
• 05.03.2024

  Are election results worst of all worlds for Tories?

  The Conservatives are facing their worst local election results in 40 years - and yet it looks like Rishi Sunak may cling on after Ben Houchen secured a victory in the Tees Valley mayoral vote.  But what next for the...

  
• 04.25.2024

  Ukraine Russia war: has the West got it all wrong?

  Rishi Sunak has pledged he'll ramp up Britain's defence budget and announced a £500 million military aid package to Ukraine, in the same week a long-awaited $61billion aid package from the US passed through Congress and the Senate. But what...

  
• 04.18.2024

  Mark Menzies: is UK politics full of scandal?

  This week on The Political Fourcast, another scandal hits the Tories - Mark Menzies MP loses the whip as the Conservative Party investigates claims that he misused campaign funds. He allegedly made a late night call to ask for money...

  
• 04.11.2024

  What impact will war in Gaza have on UK political parties?

  This week on The Political Fourcast - as war rumbles on in Gaza, we discuss how foreign policy affects domestic politics, and how the government’s decisions during the Israel/Gaza conflict could influence the outcome of an upcoming general election. Should...

  
• 03.21.2024

  Will immigration determine the election and Sunak’s future?

  With Rwanda flights unlikely to take off before the summer, if ever, could Rishi Sunak find himself in the departure lounge before any asylum seeker? Discussing planes and plots on this week's episode of The Political Fourcast, we hear from...

  
• 03.07.2024

  Did Tory budget steal Labour policies - and May election rumblings

  Will we have a May General election? Will there be massive Conservative defeat in any Election that we do have this year? And what’s the economy got to do with it?  Here to answer those questions are the Former Chancellor...

  
• 01.29.2024

  Israel-Hamas at war: Israel 'has lost the moral high ground', says NRC Secretary General, Jan Egeland

  In the 110 days since the war started, over 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive on Gaza, prompting the charity Oxfam to describe it as the ‘deadliest conflict of the 21st century’. It follows the October 7 attacks...

  
• 11.29.2023

  Israel-Hamas at war: Palestine’s Ambassador to the UK

  A four day temporary cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas has been extended by two days, and brings a glimmer of relief and hope to Palestinians in Gaza. Momentum from this brings the possibility of even more Israeli hostages and...

  
• 11.13.2023

  Israel-Hamas at war: Israel's Ambassador to the UK

  Pressure on Israel to pause fighting and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza is growing, with leaders around the world including President Biden calling for a multiple day long ceasefire. Meanwhile, negotiations are continuing in Qatar for the release of hostages...

  
• 10.11.2023

  Israel / Gaza conflict: Day 4

  In this episode of The Fourcast, our correspondents are on the ground with the very latest on the war between Israel and Hamas, as Israelis shelter from Hamas rocket fire and Gaza is pounded by the heaviest bombardment in...

  
• 10.10.2023

  Israel / Gaza news special

  As Israel declares a ‘complete siege’ of Gaza, and the death toll in Israel continues to rise, we bring you the latest from the region, with Matt Frei reporting from Jerusalem and Krishnan Guru-Murthy live in London.    In this...

  
• 07.14.2023

  Why Ukraine isn't joining Nato

  At the Nato summit this week, the star attraction was President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. But while he knew he was among friends - and allies were keen to emphasise their continuing support - he came with a clear demand: let...

  
• 07.05.2023

  The Mediterranean migrant crisis: the people drowning as Europe pushes them away

  The story of the sinking of the Titan submersible dominated news headlines. Five people killed underwater. That same week, our international correspondent Paraic O’Brian was also reporting on people drowning at sea.  In a small port in Tunisia, 11 people...

  
• 06.30.2023

  Mutiny in Moscow: why it’s not all over for Vladimir Putin

  This hasn’t been the greatest week for Russia President, Vladimir Putin in two decades of power in the Kremlin. A mutinous band of mercenaries, that he himself created, charged up towards Moscow, denouncing his war in Ukraine and seemingly meeting...

  
• 06.22.2023

  A journey through hell: walking the migrant route through the Darién gap

  The Darién gap is a stretch of land between Colombia and Panama, an unavoidable section of the route from South America to Central America that thousands of migrants a week take, as they travel up to the Mexico / United...

  
• 06.14.2023

  Inside the village divided over asylum seekers

  In March this year, the owner of a hotel in the Leicestershire village of Kegworth signed an exclusive contract with the Home Office to use his hotel to house asylum seekers. But the local community has been starkly divided over...

  
• 05.26.2023

  Thucydides Trap: are America and China destined for war?

  This past week, the G7 - the group of the world’s richest democracies - gathered in Japan to discuss Ukraine, Russia, global affairs, and their increasing concerns about a rising power looking out at them from over the water: China....

  
• 05.19.2023

  When will Ukraine strike-back at Russia?

  For weeks now, the world has been waiting for Ukraine to launch their spring counter offensive against Russia. But how much longer will we wait? Or has it already begun? As the battle for Bakhmut rages on, Ukraine has made...

  
• 05.12.2023

  How fentanyl is becoming the deadliest drug ever

  Fentanyl is killing at least seventy thousand Americans a year. It’s a synthetic drug, it’s up to 50 times more powerful than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. It’s also the biggest cause of death for Americans aged between 18...

  
• 05.05.2023

  King Charles III Coronation: made-up rituals and fake history

  70 years on from the last Coronation, when Britain was still an empire and hardly anyone had a TV - what does Charles the Third’s crowning say about us today and the Britain of the future? We know that the...

  
• 04.14.2023

  Is Africa at the centre of a new cold war?

  The US Vice President Kamala Harris recently went on tour to Tanzania, Ghana and Zambia. But she was not the only US official to visit the African continent recently: First Lady Jill Biden, the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and...

  
• 04.07.2023

  Is this the end of Trump's presidential run?

  Donald Trump has arguably done it all in his 76 years, and as president he’s secured a lot of firsts. But never has he been under arrest. The 45th president of the United States stands accused of falsifying business records...

  
• 04.03.2023

  Could Israel’s crisis lead to civil war?

  In Israel, a constitutional crisis has seen thousands take to the streets, fearing that their rights could be eroded, as the government plans to weaken the powers of the highest court in the land. Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu’s far-right coalition...

  
• 03.31.2023

  Can Rishi Sunak win the next election?

  Rishi Sunak came into Downing Street back in October with a huge mess to clear up after the disaster of Liz Truss and her mini budget. After a week that has seen him secure his own Brexit Deal as, Boris...

  
• 03.24.2023

  Covid three years on: Partygate, WhatsApp, and a Lab Leak?

  Three years ago this week, Boris Johnson announced a national lockdown to curb the spread of Coronavirus. But three years on, Covid and the impact of lockdowns continue to dominate our headlines.  This week, Boris Johnson faced a Commons inquiry...

  
• 03.17.2023

  Gary Lineker row: is the BBC too Left or Right Wing?

  Gary Linker and the BBC have been dominating the headlines after the Match of the Day host was asked to step back from presenting after tweeting out criticism of the government’s language around refugees. But what does this whole row...

  
• 03.10.2023

  UK economy: and are we still facing recession?

  We were told to prepare for a “Winter of Discontent”, of strikes, rising prices, a coming recession with our economy set this year to shrink unlike all the rest. Even Russia was going to fare better than the UK. But...

  
• 03.07.2023

  Is China on the brink of war with the US?

  China wants to be the superpower of the 21st century, but does it want to provoke war or play peacemaker? This week the country announced it was increasing military spending, and its newly installed foreign minister warned that if the...

  
• 03.03.2023

  The Brexit deal explained: the end of years of political mayhem?

  This week, Rishi Sunak agreed a new Brexit deal with the European Union: the Windsor framework.    Seven years after Britain voted in the referendum, is this the end of protocol conversation, trade deals, backstops, and late night votes? Does...

  
• 02.24.2023

  Ukraine war one year on: what's next for Russia

  Today marks one year since Russia began its latest invasion of Ukraine: one year since tanks rolled across the border, one year since missiles struck the capital and beyond, one year since the post Cold War world changed forever. Now, the...

  
• 02.17.2023

  Turkey-Syria quake: fading rescue hopes, shoddy buildings and blocked aid

  On Monday last week, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Turkey and northern Syria. The WHO has called this the "worst natural disaster" in 100 years in its European region, and the death toll has now surpassed 35,000.  But that...

  
• 02.10.2023

  Israeli-Palestinian tensions: a new stage of an old conflict

  2022 was the deadliest year for the Israel-Palestine conflict in nearly two decades, and just a month after Israel’s most conservative, right-wing government was formed - fronted by Benjamin Netanyahu - violence between Palestinians and Israel has flared up once...

  
• 02.03.2023

  Ukraine: how Western tanks will change the war

  Nearly a year after Putin invaded Ukraine, how might Western tanks change this war and should Nato countries go a step further and also supply Kyiv with fighter jets?  Moscow’s aggression has been roundly condemned by the West, but words...

  
• 01.27.2023

  Will the Iran protests lead to regime change?

  Last year, Iran was rocked by some of the biggest protests the country has seen since the foundation of the Islamic Republic - as people were calling not just for women’s rights, but ultimately for regime change.  Yet how realistic...

  
• 01.20.2023

  NHS crisis: how bad is it?

  NHS strikes, hospital waiting times and nurses walking out - it’s a conversation that has stretched back for years: the NHS in crisis. Almost 55,000 people waited more than 12 hours in A&E; last month. And the Royal College of...

  
• 01.13.2023

  Ukraine war, China and Taiwan and beyond: what might happen in 2023

  Last year there was of course one major story that transformed geopolitics - the war in Ukraine.    Putin’s war has had knock-on effects across Europe and the world, so how will this year play out? What could happen to...

  
• 12.23.2022

  2022 review: Ukraine war, strikes and three prime ministers

  This was the year where we saw Putin start a war in Ukraine, a winter of strikes, three prime ministers and two monarchs. To look back at the past year and look a little bit ahead too, we sat down...

  
• 12.16.2022

  Will Harry and Meghan change the monarchy?

  Harry and Meghan’s documentary is now out in full and criticises the relationship between the monarchy and the media, and alleges racism in the treatment of Meghan Markle. In today’s episode we speak to Anna Whitelock, professor of the history...

  
• 12.09.2022

  Ukraine: how winter could change the war

  After 10 months of war, Russian advances and Ukrainian counter-offensives, winter weather has arrived in Ukraine. Russia may have retreated from Kherson in early November but Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over the last month signal a new phase...

  
• 12.02.2022

  China: is this the end of zero-Covid?

  Three years after coronavirus was first detected in China, it remains the only major nation pursuing Zero Covid. So as maskless fans enjoy the World Cup and countries all over the world move on, China remains stuck and the people...

  
• 11.25.2022

  Rishi Sunak: less Trussonomics, same poll numbers

  It’s been one month since Rishi Sunak became prime minister of the United Kingdom and so he’s now just three weeks off lasting longer at Number 10 than Liz Truss did. After the disaster of the mini budget, Sunak has...

  
• 11.18.2022

  What do the US midterms tell us about the future of America and Trump?

  Donald Trump has announced his Presidential run, undeterred by last week’s US midterm elections, where the red wave of Republican victories never came, and many in his only party blamed him for putting up bad candidates and spouting election lies....

  
• 11.11.2022

  What’s next for Xi’s China?

  This week Chinese president Xi Jinping told his military to prepare for war in what he called an increasingly “unstable” security environment.  China just had its 20th party congress, with Xi Jinping securing an unprecedented third term in power. And...

  
• 11.04.2022

  Greta Thunberg interview: is there hope for the future of our planet?

  Has anything really changed since COP26? In the year that Russia invaded Ukraine, triggering a global energy crisis, we’ve also seen the drastic impact climate change is having on our planet: with catastrophic flooding in Pakistan, a megadrought in the...

  
• 10.28.2022

  The Republicans: from Grand Old Party to Trump fan club

  The US midterms are approaching and polls suggest the Republican Party could take control of the House and could even secure the Senate too. But has the party gone from the grand old party of Abraham Lincoln to more like...

  
• 10.21.2022

  Who supports Russia and why?

  Last week, the United Nations General Assembly held a vote to condemn Russia’s illegal annexation of four regions in Ukraine. The resolution was supported by 143 countries but four voted against and 35 abstained. As bombs reigned down on Ukrainian...

  
• 10.14.2022

  Can Liz Truss survive as Prime Minister?

  Liz Truss was always inheriting a difficult job, with a war in Ukraine, a cost of living crisis and a party in need of a fresh start after 12 years in power and the scandals of Boris Johnson.   She’s...

  
• 10.07.2022

  Is Vladimir Putin losing control?

  Russia's Vladimir Putin is obsessed with his legacy. He has compared himself to Peter the Great, the tsar who founded St Petersburg and created the modern Russian empire. That was Putin’s plan but with Ukrainian forces now pushing back and...