Whitehall Sources

By Shortbread MediaNews Politics

Whitehall Sources episodes

April 20, 2023 Inside the Good Friday Agreement
Calum is joined by Tom Kelly, who spent nearly a decade in government, first as director of communications at the Northern Ireland Office, and then from 2001 to 2007, as the Prime Minister’s official spokesperson. Tom was there in the build up to the Good Friday Agreement, was there when it was signed and announced, and was there for the aftermath as well. He remembers the people involved, the dedication required, and assesses where the Good Friday Agreement has fallen short.
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42 min
April 13, 2023 Liz Truss's Speechwriter & Ed Miliband's 2015 Election
Calum is joined by Asa Bennett who worked with Liz Truss in various departments including at No 10 Downing Street. He reflects on the 40 or so days that they spent in office, and looks back on his time as a writer for her in other government departments. He tells us about his proudest soundbites from speeches he was involved with. Then, Tom Baldwin joins the podcast. Tom worked with Ed Miliband in the run-up to the 2015 General Election. Tom tells us about his diagnosis of politics today, as well as hypothesising about what the UK might have been like if Ed Miliband had won in 2015.
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56 min
April 06, 2023 How to fix everything that's broken
Sarah Southern, who worked with David Cameron, and Tom Hamilton who worked for 10 years for the Labour party, with Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn, join Calum Macdonald to discuss why everything's broken and how to strategise around fixing it. Peter Murrell, the former SNP Chief Executive was arrested and released pending further investigation; Tory MP Scott Benton offered to table parliamentary questions, leak a confidential policy document and lobby ministers on behalf of gambling industry investors who proposed paying him thousands of pounds a month, an undercover investigation for The Times has found. Strikes are ongoing (one analysis suggests the level of strike action thats underway or pending puts us back to square one in terms of scale), police and fire service racism, misogyny, homophobia; the police are also failing to attend 120 burglaries a day, and our rivers and beaches are filled with literal sewage.
How do politicians strategise around being the person / party to fix everything that’s broken? How can you establish a sense of direction? How do you get the cabinet to sing from the same hymn sheet and present a united front? Sarah and Tom explain, as well as reminiscing about preparing for PMQs, and the most divisive referendum there ever was (on the alternative voting system, obviously).
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38 min
April 03, 2023 The Leisure Centre Local Election
In a bonus episode, Kirsty, Frankie and Calum have a look at the - subtle - launches of the political parties' local election campaigns. Kirsty and Frankie pick out what the elections will be decided upon, and how the messaging might work. What's going to sway your vote at the local elections? Email us: [email protected].
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19 min
March 30, 2023 Momentum (not that one)
Kirsty, Frankie and Calum discuss the concept of political momentum - how do you get it, how do you keep it, and how can the opposition try to wreck it? It's because Rishi Sunak's government is building the perception of forward movement and progress continually. Can they hold onto it? Can the Labour party burst the bubble? Kirsty and Frankie tell us they'll be away from the podcast for a few weeks. We also answer Ruairi's question that he sent into The Correspondence Unit and unpack the role and responsibilities of the Downing Street Chief of Staff. Email us with your questions: [email protected].
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44 min
March 23, 2023 Boris & Brexit... again
This week, our focus is on the passing of part of Rishi Sunak's new Brexit deal. Raoul Ruparel, who worked in the Department for Exiting the EU and was a Special Adviser to Theresa May on Europe, joins us as our SpGu (Special Guest) to discuss what life was like in negotiations and how much of the new Windsor Framework has been built on work from his time in office. The government won support in parliament for part of its new Brexit deal by 515 votes to 29, despite a rebellion from some of its own MPs and a backlash from members of the Democratic Unionist Party. Frankie tells us about her day in parliament - which was the same day that Boris Johnson was in front of the privileges committee who were questioning him over Partygate. And Kirsty joins us to bring us the latest after her 15-year-old son was filmed being pinned to the floor by two "rangers" in a shop. She calls for better regulation of private security enforces after a traumatic 12 hours for her family. Get in touch anytime - we'd love to include your emails in The Correspondence Unit: [email protected].
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53 min
March 16, 2023 Behind the scenes on Budget Day
Calum and Kirsty are joined by James Chapman, who was an adviser to Chancellor George Osborne; and Karim Palant who was an adviser to Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, to take you behind the scenes of budget day. James tells us how the budget is even decided - including one measure that was kept secret from the Cabinet - they only found out about it when it was announced to the Commons. Plus, he discusses leaks that caused headaches for the government. Karim tells us about the room that opposition aides gather in to assemble messages and memos to run to the floor of the Commons chamber for the opposition response to be updated in real time. Kirsty wears her Number 10 hat - telling us that budget day is pretty relaxed for the Prime Minister - and wears her journalist hat to discuss the media briefing immediately after the budget. All of our guests were recorded independently - and every one of them mentioned the infamous pasty tax. Hear what they have to say about how budgets unravel. Email us anytime: [email protected].
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58 min
March 09, 2023 Immigration: Virtue Signalling & Value Signalling
Calum, Kirsty and Frankie discuss the politics and policy of Rishi Sunak's plan to "stop the boats." What's behind the rhetoric, what's behind the policy? Why do the public care so much - are they right to care? Moreover, we assess how this plays into the electoral strategy of both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. Frankie guides us through some of the difficulties in the plan, based on her experience working with people coming to the UK. Plus we're joined by special guest, former Special Adviser Peter Cardwell. Peter is political editor of TalkRadio, former special adviser to four cabinet ministers and author of The Secret Life of Special Advisers. He dissects for us how this issues plays politically and why it's important. Kirsty discusses whether or not the policy will ever have any real world outcome on anything - or whether legal challenges will keep it as grounded as a deportation flight bound for Rwanda. And Gary Lineker gets described as "the right's most useful idiot..."

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56 min
March 02, 2023 Kebabs Akimbo, Lockdown Files & Windsor Wins For Rishi
It's kebabs akimbo as we do a post-match analysis of The British Kebab Awards - the hottest ticket in Westminster where Frankie and Calum spent Tuesday evening seemingly avoiding people like Theresa May who was, apparently there. Then it's onto The Lockdown Files - the WhatsApps of Matt Hancock have been thrust into the public domain by the journalist Isobel Oakeshott - what have we learned, is it in the public interest and what does it tell us about the state of the relationship between the public, the media and politicians. It feels like a modern throuple. Plus, Kirsty - who worked with Theresa May at the time of The Chequers Plan on Brexit - is keen to talk about The Windsor Framework. She explains more about what it means; Frankie dissects how Labour can now approach Brexit as an electoral issue, and Kirsty reckons this sort of win for Rishi Sunak leaves the door ajar for a Conservative general election victory. Have The Lockdown Files proved informative, interesting, thought-provoking or anger inducing to you? Email us: [email protected]
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53 min
February 23, 2023 Keir's on a Mission
We review Sir Keir Starmer’s five “missions” as he’s set them out in the eventuality that he and Labour win the next election. Kirsty takes us to comms school with the essential Buchanan Comms Tips (we also mastermind her slogan for when she runs to be Prime Minister). She analyses where Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are delivering effective communications; where their slogans and pledges fall short and where they differ. Plus we look back at some of the most effective political slogans from history. Frankie dissects how Keir Starmer’s messaging has changed in the last couple of years and whether that should be a cause of concern for voters in the years ahead. Plus, in light of the government’s new plans for immigration, Frankie gives us a deep dive into her work with asylum seekers, and what new plans for a questionnaire for those from some countries will actually mean. We've also got a special announcement and we look ahead to our outing to the Kebab Awards - the full debrief will be on next week's episode. Join us online: whitehallsources.com
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48 min

About Whitehall Sources

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Top advisers to our significant political leaders analyse the successes and failures of today's politics, sharing their experiences of working in Whitehall. Jo Tanner is a political adviser and…