This Is Why

Prime Minister Andy Burnham joked on TikTok that demand from people trying to find out their council tax band crashed the government website. They wanted to know because Chancellor John Healey announced in his budget that households in England in bands A to D will receive a £100 cash payment to help with energy bills. Wales and Scotland said they planned to replicate the measure.

Those bands were based on a property's value in 1991 as the council tax replaced the controversial poll tax. More than 30 years on, despite calls to update property values in the bands, no government has chosen to do it.

Niall talks to Sky's business correspondent Paul Kelso about why it's never been tackled and whether this is the best way to help people with their bills.

Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: [email protected]

The World and This Is Why join forces for a special episode on Israel's election - a contest that could have significant consequences for the Middle East and the wider world.

Niall Paterson is joined live from Israel by Yalda Hakim and Richard Engel, asking why pollsters seem to have got it so wrong, why this might be the world's first AI election, and why Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after 19 years, looks like he might continue to be the most powerful man in the country.

Have you got a question for Niall? Email [email protected]

You can email questions to Richard and Yalda at [email protected]

You can watch our podcasts on the Sky News app and on our YouTube channel here.

Aged eight, Harry Kane risked being written off when he was released by Arsenal. But Kane persisted, and he was taken on by Tottenham Hotspur's academy. He went on to become the club's all-time top scorer, but his goals didn't result in any trophies for Spurs.

His move to Bayern Munich changed that, with the striker having won the Bundesliga twice since moving to Germany. Also, under his captaincy, England achieved their best result at a World Cup since 1966 this summer.

Niall talks to Rob Harris, Sky's sports correspondent, about how Kane, aged 33, became the first English player to win football's top individual prize in 25 years.

Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: [email protected]

People are surviving on plants, have no power and hardly any water in Oleshky, a Ukrainian city occupied by Russia since the first days of the 2022 full-scale invasion.

Ukraine says Russia is using its inhabitants as a human shield to stop Kyiv launching an attack to regain the strategic city.

On Tuesday, a ceasefire organised by Melania Trump and the Pope is due to come into effect, which it's hoped will lead to the evacuation of the remaining residents, most of whom are elderly.

Niall speaks to Sky's chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay who has just been to an area near Oleshky and spoke to people there about how they are surviving.

Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: [email protected]

There's been a rush to buy Sally Rooney's books after she said she can no longer sell them in the UK.

Rooney, known for best-selling novels Normal People and Conversations with Friends, said the decision was made with her publisher over her support for the banned group Palestine Action

A month after the group was proscribed by the UK government as a terrorist organisation, Rooney said she would donate the earnings from her UK work to them.

The Irish author, seen as one of the most important writers of her generation, has been backed by hundreds of writers and public figures who have signed an open letter to the government.

Mhari Aurora speaks to Helen Brown, who writes about culture for the Telegraph, about what is behind Rooney's decision.

PHP. The three little letters few people realised were so vital for most of the websites in the world.

But a vulnerability in a piece of programming virtually all of us had never heard of has affected everyone from small businesses to major governments.

Millions of cyberattacks have followed in the wake of the problem being made public. But the fact is, your personal information – from email addresses to bank details – was already at risk.

AI is increasingly both poacher and gamekeeper – discovering the vulnerability in the first place but also playing a vital role in cybersecurity. So, is it time to rethink our online lives?

Gareth Barlow speaks to Sky’s technology correspondent Rowland Manthorpe.

Have you got a question for the show? Email us: [email protected]

Winter is coming. So, a decision to finally allow drilling at the controversial Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea should be welcome.

Well, not by environmental campaigners – who've accused the government of backtracking on its net zero commitments.

And even supporters of North Sea expansion have admitted opening Jackdaw won’t reduce energy bills, even though it could start helping to supply homes within months.

Why, then, has Andy Burnham invested so much political capital in giving the go-ahead?

Gareth Barlow is joined by Sky’s science and technology editor Tom Clarke and business correspondent Paul Kelso.

Have you got a question for the show? Email us: [email protected]

Europe’s leaders are joining the fight for the Far North – but is it already too late?

The European Union has announced a new security strategy for the Arctic. Yet Russia and China already appear to have a huge advantage in the region.

Moscow is exploring new trade routes through its shadow fleet, and – with Beijing’s help – the race is on to exploit the Arctic’s reserves of rare earth minerals.

Will the UK, US and Canada join Europe’s belated response? Or, as the ice melts, is too late to stop a new cold war from heating up?

Gareth Barlow speaks to Sky’s military analyst, Robert Clark.

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Violent clashes, burning buildings, widespread looting and thousands of arrests. Even for France, the scale of the current protests across the country is extreme.

What started off as student demonstrations, highlighting issues like a lack of staff and equipment in schools, has grown into a much bigger movement – which the government admits it’s struggling to contain.

But France isn’t the only country where the young are protesting. Students in Albania, Italy, Spain and Portugal have also clashed with authorities.

So, what’s caused such a huge disconnect between the state and young people across the continent?

Gareth Barlow speaks to French journalist Catherine Guilyardi, who lives in Paris and witnessed the violence over the weekend.

Have you got a question for the podcast? Email us: [email protected]

Surely, the first rule of being a press secretary is never to be the story. But it took Donald Trump's newest spokesperson just 14 minutes to put herself very much front and centre.

That was how long Katie Zacharia's first - and only - White House briefing lasted. Now, the president has asked her to consider her position less than a week into the job, leaving her little choice but to stand down.

Plucked from a role as a TV talking head, Zacharia had been trusted to replace Karoline Leavitt as the president’s press secretary – responsible for relaying the MAGA message to the media.

But she was quickly embroiled in controversy – not least for appearing to overstate her credentials as a fully qualified lawyer.

Recorded before her departure, Niall Paterson is joined by the chairman of Republicans Overseas UK, Greg Swenson.

Have you got a question for Niall? Email us: [email protected]