The Week in Westminster
The Week in Westminster
BBC Radio 4
Radio 4's weekly assessment of developments at Westminster
27/06/2026
Caroline Wheeler discusses the resignation of the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and what this means for the government. She is joined by Labour backbencher and Andy Burnham supporter Clive Lewis and Labour peer Charlie Falconer, who held a number of positions under Tony Blair, and has been a close ally of the Prime Minister.To discuss the tenth anniversary of the Brexit vote, Caroline brings together Labour MP Stella Creasy, who is the chair of the Labour Movement for Europe, and Conservative peer Ross Kempsell, who was special adviser to Boris Johnson during Brexit years. Andy Burnham was not the only new MP being sworn in this week. Caroline spoke to the SNP’s Lara Bird and the Conservative Douglas Lumsden, both of whom won the two recent by-elections in Scotland, about their first week in Westminster as MPs. We will soon have our seventh Prime Minister in ten years. To discuss why, Caroline is joined by Conservative peer and Times columnist Daniel Finkelstein and Caroline Slocock, a former civil servant, who was private secretary to Margaret Thatcher and John Major. She has written a book called: ‘Bad Government: And How To Make It Better'.
Jun 27
27 min
20/06/2026
Vicki Young assesses Andy Burnham's Makerfield by-election win, which paves the way for a leadership challenge against Sir Keir Starmer. She is joined by FT political editor, George Parker; New Statesman political editor, Ailbhe Rae; GB News political editor Christopher Hope and Labour peer and broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika.
Jun 20
28 min
13/06/2026
Following the bombshell resignation of John Healey as Defence Secretary, Ben speaks to Sir Michael Fallon, a former Conservative Defence Secretary, and Luke Charters, a Labour MP who has campaigned on defence finance issues.After the horrific knife attack in Belfast on Monday, and the street violence that followed, Ben brings together the former First Minister of Northern Ireland, Baroness Foster, and the Labour Chair of the Northern Ireland Select Committee, Tonia Antoniazzi.Could next week's by-election in Makerfield precipitate a change of Prime Minister? And, if so, how tricky is it to change a leader in the middle of a parliament? Ben hears from Professor Philip Cowley of Queen Mary University of London and Cleo Watson, a former senior aide to Boris Johnson.And, as the World Cup gets underway, Ben talks football and politics with two superfans, former Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, and comedian and political interviewer, Matt Forde.
Jun 13
28 min