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cover art for Perks, Or Part Of The Job?

Politics Unpacked

Perks, Or Part Of The Job?

Are Keir Starmer's freebies a legitimate part of his job? With Hugo away, Matthew Parris and Manveen Rana join Lara Spirit to unpack the politics of the day, including Sue Gray's pay packet and Reform's challenge to the Conservatives.

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  • Is Working From Home Working?

    32:43|
    Columnists Alice Thomson and Robert Crampton join Hugo Rifkind to discuss the divisive Scottish independence referendum, 10 years on.  Plus: Do ministers want civil servants to go back to work, are self service checkouts terrible, and should Brits do away with pints?
  • Has Britain Lost Its Regional Identity?

    31:48|
    Hugo Rifkind is back to unpack the politics of the day, and all the other news, with the brightest minds from the Times and the Sunday Times.Today he's joined by James Marriott and Libby Purves to discuss the extent to which BBC should have noticed the Huw Edwards case, whether Britain has lost its respect for regional identity and the decline of Anglo-Saxon names. Plus, Judge Libby is back to rule on some of the biggest questions of ethics and morality in public life. 
  • Should The Starmers Buy Their Own Clothes?

    35:55|
    Columnists Hadley Freeman and Patrick Maguire join Hugo Rifkind to discuss Keir Starmer's breach of parliamentary rules in failing to declare that clothes were bought for his wife by a Labour donor.Plus, is Ed Davey ambitious, what can the government learn from Italy, and why has Hadley stopped writing for the Jewish Chronicle?
  • PFI 2.0, Salmond vs Sturgeon, and Gove's Return?

    32:57|
    It's Friday, so Ed Vaizey is back to unpack the politics of the day with Trevor Phillips and Miranda Green.Could Labour plug the financial black hole with the return of PFI, why is there still no love lost between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, and what did people make of Trevor's suggestion that Keir Starmer should send for Michael Gove? And why hasn't Miranda been given an honour?
  • Does Starmer Have It In For Pensioners?

    27:52|
    Hugo Rifkind is here to unpack the politics of the day, and plenty of other news, with the brightest minds from the Times and the Sunday Times.Today he's joined by Manveen Rana and Patrick Kidd to discuss taking benefits away from pensioners, pausing free speech protections on campus, and whether human touch can ever be replicated by a machine.
  • PMQs: Starmer Sticks To The Script

    42:06|
    Hugo Rifkind is unpacking the action from Prime Minister's Questions, joined by Sunday Times chief political commentator Tim Shipman and comedian Ria Lina.As Rishi Sunak surprises everyone by still being leader of the opposition, Nigel Farage gets booed and Keir Starmer seems reluctant to leave his script.
  • Is Britain In A Sickness Crisis?

    33:49|
    Hugo Rifkind is back to unpack the politics of the day, and all the other news, with the brightest minds from the Times and the Sunday Times.Today he's joined by James Marriott and Libby Purves to discuss why so many people are going straight from university to long-term sickness, whether ID cards could tackle illegal immigration, and 'Judge Libby' delivers her verdict on some of the ethical dilemmas of the day.
  • Is Labour Really Risking A Brain Drain?

    34:14|
    Hugo Rifkind is here to unpack the politics of the day, and plenty of other news, with the brightest minds from the Times and the Sunday Times.Today he's joined by Hadley Freeman and Patrick Maguire to discuss threats from the wealthy to flee the UK, Dominic Cummings' threat to start a new political party, and what we can tell about society from the rape case that has stunned France.