Daily Politics from the New Statesman

Were the strikes on Iran illegal? What's next for the controversial courts bill? Are Labour leaders aware of the existential crisis within their party?On this week's episode of The Exchange, we speak with Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice, David Lammy.To listen more episodes of The Exchange find us on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube.

Angry about the lack of support for his war in Iran, Donald Trump stated that he didn’t need any help from the UK, despite using British airbases for strikes. In an angry social media rant, he also called Keir Starmer a “loser” and “no Winston Churchill”.Just a day later, the two leaders had a call to discuss military cooperation. Can relations be repaired? And is Westminster telling us the whole story?Anoosh Chakelian is joined by US Correspondent Freddie Hayward.

Despite Dubai’s proximity to Iran, is it safer than Sadiq Khan’s London? Do young people have a different perspective on class? And could the corgi be banned?Will and Anoosh round up their picks of news stories from the week.

On Tuesday 10 March, MPs will debate the Courts and Tribunals Bill, in what could be the biggest shakeup of the justice system since the 1970s.To tackle the Crown Court backlog of over 80,000 cases, the government has put forward proposals to radically reform which cases are heard where, including restricting the right to a trial by jury in all but the most serious cases.Sarah Sackman, Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services, speaks to Rachel Cunliffe to discuss the legislation and its potential impact on British justice.

Labour is losing the voters it used to count on, a new study reveals.In the aftermath of the Green Party’s triumph in the Gorton and Denton by-election, and with local elections in London councils and other major cities coming up, Labour is losing the left progressive voters it could once rely on having “nowhere else to go”.Now, the biggest study ever of these voters – shared exclusively with the New Statesman – reveals the true risk to Labour’s future of leaving them behind.This work, done by surveying 10,000 voters and a randomised control trial style approach, has found out who the so-called progressive defectors are, why they’re deserting Labour, and what impact this could have on Labour’s electoral prospects.Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Steve Akehurst of Persuasion UK who co-authored this report with 38 Degrees.

Yesterday, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered her spring statement - an economic update - to the commons.With the news completely dominated by conflict in the Middle East, you would be forgiven for not noticing. In fact, many have deduced that this was exactly what the government were hoping for.Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Will Dunn to discuss.

Yesterday afternoon in the Commons, Keir Starmer took a stance against Trump's attacks on Iran. The US President has expressed his dissatisfaction with the Prime Minister.Is a rift developing? Should the UK be pivoting away from the US and towards Europe? And should talk of the "special relationship" be banned from the government's parlance?Oli Dugmore is joined by journalist, author, and ex-Foreign Office special adviser Ben Judah to discuss.

While the US bombs Iran, the Kremlin will see immediate advantages for Russia.Vladimir Putin expressed “deep condolences” to the people of Iran over the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by US and Israeli forces.The Russian president – currently leading his own brutal and illegal war in Ukraine – condemned what he called Khamenei’s “assassination” as a “cynical violation of all norms of human morality and international law”.Russia and Iran are long-term “strategic partners”. They signed a new treaty in January last year.But while Putin offers consoling words to Iran, the Kremlin will undoubtedly have eyes on the potential benefits to them of a US-Israel war on Russia’s ally.So, is Trump’s war in Iran playing into Russia’s hands?