The Week in Westminster

Following a week of intense activlty in the international arena - including US action in Venezuela - George discusses the week's events with Labour peer George Robertson, the former Secretary General of NATO, and Sir Simon Fraser, the former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office who now chairs the foreign affairs think tank Chatham House. To discuss the challenges facing graduates seeking jobs after university and the impact of artificial intelligence on future employment, George is joined by Labour MP Lauren Edwards who co-chairs the all-party parliamentary group on Skills, Careers and Employment and Paul Johnson, the former Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and now Provost of The Queen's College Oxford. Recently, there has been debate online anout London: is it one of the best cities in the world or is it a failing city? To discuss this George is joined by Labour MP Rachel Blake who represents the Cities on London and Westminster constituency, and Alex Wilson a Reform UK member of the London Assembly.Lobby journalists report on political events and can ask questions to the prime minister’s official spokesperson – a civil servant. Until this week, that was twice a day but the briefing has now been reduced to one a day. To discuss the pros and cons of this move George is joined by Kate McCann a lobby jounralist and co-presenter of the Times Radio Breakfast show, and Tom Baldwin, a former lobby journalist who later became communications director for the Labour Party.

To discuss the major political stories and developments over the last twelve months, and what lies ahead for 2026, Ben Wright is joined by George Parker, the political editor of the Financial Times, Pippa Crerar, the political editor of the Guardian and Sebastian Payne, columnist and leader writer for The Times.

Radio 4's assessment of developments at Westminster

The Daily Telegraph's political editor, Ben Riley-Smith, analyses the latest developments at Westminster.Following further fallout from Rachel Reeves' Budget, and accusations that she misled the public about the state of the public finances, Ben speaks to two members of the Treasury select committee who have been investigating the issue: Labour MP, Yuan Yang, and Conservative MP, Dame Harriet Baldwin.After the Prime Minister signalled that the government would make a fresh attempt to reform the welfare system, Ben is joined by the Labour chair of the Work and Pensions select committee, Debbie Abrahams, and the former Conservative Work and Pensions Secretary, Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who introduced Universal Credit.Former Labour Home Secretary, Jack Straw, and former Conservative Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk, debate the government's proposals to reduce the number of jury trials.And the state of Anglo-German relations was in focus this week following a state visit by the German President. To discuss this Ben brings together two German-born British politicians: Former Labour MP, Baroness Gisela Stuart, and Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath.

Sonia Sodha takes a look at Chancellor Rachel Reeves' long-awaited Budget with former Treasury Minister and now Shadow Leader of the House, Conservative MP Jesse Norman and Labour MP Jeevun Sandher who until recently served on the Treasury Select Committee. To discuss proposed peace plans for Ukraine, Sonia is joined by Ivanna Klympush Tsintsadze, who chairs the Ukrainian parliament’s committee on integration with the EU.Leaked proposals this week suggest the government is considering limiting trial by jury to only the most serious crimes. To discuss this. Sonia is joined by criminal defence barrister Joanna Hardy-Susskind and Danny Shaw, a former BBC correspondent and former adviser to Yvette Cooper. And, this week, the Education Select Committee launched an inquiry looking into the decline in reading for pleasure by children. To discuss how to keep the joy of reading alive, Sonia is joined by Labour MP Jess Asato, who is on the Committee and children’s author AF Steadman, whose Skandar series has been translated into 46 languages.