As the dust settles after the Hartlepool by-election, Jack Blanchard looks back at some of the great by-election contests of recent years — and ponders whether these quintessentially British political battles are always as significant as they seem.

Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney recalls her famous Brexit-fuelled victory over Conservative Zac Goldsmith in Richmond Park in 2016, while Labour campaign chief Andrew Gwynne reveals how he masterminded a difficult win when pundits were predicting a drubbing for then party leader Jeremy Corbyn in a Labour heartland seat. Tory MP Edward Timpson and Labour MP Steve McCabe remember the epic "class war" battle in Crewe & Nantwich in 2008, a by-election which confirmed the Tories were finally on the path back to power. Lib Dem historian Duncan Brack explains his party's reputation as by-election specialists, while veteran political journalist Steve Richards recalls his favorite moments from the campaign trail — including the time SDP founder Roy Jenkins pointed out that his coat was on fire.

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With the Scottish parliament election less than a week away, Jack Blanchard looks back at the history of the Scottish nationalist movement and explains how it shifted from a fringe pursuit to perhaps the majority view in Scotland.

Former First Ministers Alex Salmond and Jack McConnell — who between them ran the Scottish government for more than 13 years — discuss the collapse of Scottish Labour in the mid 2000s and the extraordinary rise of the SNP. Scottish Cabinet Minister Mike Russell explains what first attracted him to the nationalist movement in the 1970s, while independence campaigner and columnist Lesley Riddoch talks about her own conversion to the cause ahead of the 2014 referendum. Historian Dr. Ben Jackson discusses the movement’s early struggles and the development of nationalist thought, while the Daily Record’s Torcuil Crichton analyzes the cultural and global shifts behind the SNP’s march to power.

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Jack speaks to Richard Wilson, Cabinet secretary under Tony Blair, about his years as Whitehall's top official, and his memories of crises including the 9/11 terror attacks. Suzanne Heywood, widow of the legendary Cabinet secretary Jeremy Heywood, reflects on her late husband's long career in government and considers the extent to which unelected officials can end up shaping government policy. The Institute for Government's Catherine Haddon explains the history behind the role of Cabinet secretary and the many different aspects to the job. And we trawl through hours of archive interviews with past Cabinet secretaries to explore how these powerful but mysterious figures at the heart of government guide the ship of state.

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As Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer, finalizes his speech ahead of next week's Budget, Jack Blanchard looks back at the pitfalls and disasters which have plagued Chancellors in years gone by.

Former Treasury aide and official Ed Balls recalls his old boss Gordon Brown's 10p tax band fiasco. Philip Hammond's former media adviser Poppy Trowbridge picks over the 2017 U-turn on national insurance. Former Chancellor George Osborne defends the 2012 pasty tax 'omni-shambles,' while former Tory MP Heidi Allen explains what it's like to lead a Budget rebellion. And Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds delves into the history books to tell the tale of a Labour Chancellor forced to resign over an ill-timed Budget leak.

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Jack Blanchard abandons Westminster for a week and explores the hidden costs of lockdown, by delving into the postbags of two MPs in different parts of the U.K.

Tory MP Robert Halfon explains the struggles families face in his corner of Essex, and warns of rising domestic abuse during lockdown. And one of his constituents explains how abuse victims are repeatedly failed by Britain's secretive family courts system. In Bristol, Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire talks about the impact lockdown has had on the city's legendary nightlife, and the broader arts scene. And nightclub owner Marti Burgess tells of her fears that some of the city's premier cultural nightspots may never return.

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Jack sits down with Britain's top epidemiologist, Professor Neil Ferguson, to discuss how the next few months of the coronavirus pandemic are likely to pan out — and why things went so badly wrong last year.

Professor Neil Ferguson, the man dubbed "Professor Lockdown" explains his "fervent hope" that Britain's astonishing vaccine successes mean life can finally start getting back to something like normal in 2021, but that booster jabs and coronavirus passports may be with us for some time to come. Ferguson also recalls those frantic days in early March 2020 when it became clear Britain had got its initial response so badly wrong. And he discusses the trolls and the conspiracy theorists who attack scientists and deny the virus is even real.

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As Boris Johnson ponders how to woo the newly-elected President Joe Biden, Jack Blanchard looks back at how past prime ministers have tried to charm their counterparts in the White House — with varying degrees of success.

Theresa May's former comms chief Katie Perrior reflects on the thankless task of trying to build a relationship with the erratic Donald Trump. Historians Andrew Roberts and Richard Aldous look back at how Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher successfully charmed Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan respectively. Former U.K. Ambassador to Washington Christopher Meyer reflects on the key role diplomats play in oiling the wheels of a new relationship — and on the love-in between Tony Blair and George W. Bush which ended so disastrously for the British PM. And Gordon Brown's former adviser Stewart Wood mulls over the agonies of a less successful relationship with a stand-offish Barack Obama.

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