Westminster Hour

Episodes

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  What will the government decide on North Sea drilling? 18.10.2026 49m

  The long-awaited decision on North Sea drilling approaches, should the UK put tariffs on Chinese electric cars, and how can our politicians plan better for the future?
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  11/10/2026 11.10.2026 49m

  Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.
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  Live discussion from the Conservative Party conference 04.10.2026 48m

  Ben Wright is at the Conservative Party conference with Tory deputy leader, Alex Burghart, polling expert Scarlett Maguire and Lucy Fisher - Whitehall editor of the Financial Times. They discuss Kemi Badenoch's blueprint for government and her focus on economic growth - with Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson also joining in down the line. Ben spends time speaking to grassroots party members to assess their morale. And the programme includes a report from the Green Party of England and Wales conference in Brighton - where delegates passed a controversial motion declaring that "Zionism is racism".
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  Analysis from the Labour Party conference in Liverpool 27.09.2026 48m

  Ben Wright broadcasts from the Labour Party conference in Liverpool with guests including the Cabinet minister and Leader of the House of Lords, Angela Smith; Professor of Politics at Liverpool University, Jon Tonge; and Jessica Elgot - deputy political editor of The Guardian. They discuss the Prime Minister's pledge to fix social care and the competing demands on the public purse. Ben reports on the mood among delegates - and with a different perspective, Conservative frontbencher Joy Morrissey also joins the panel down the line. And is it time to reassess the impact of the IMF crisis, fifty years after the dramatic events of September 1976?
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  The PM prepares to meet President Trump, and the Lib Dem Conference 20.09.2026 49m

  Ben Wright is joined by the Labour MP and new Chair of the Justice Select Committee, Catherine Atkinson; Conservative health spokesman Neil Shastri-Hurst; and the Liberal Democrats' foreign affairs spokesperson, Calum Miller. The former diplomat and National Security Adviser, Sir Mark Lyall Grant, joins them to discuss the Prime Minister's trip to the UN General Assembly and expected first meeting with Donald Trump. The panel also consider changes to the way courts operate, intended to speed up rape trials. And Harry Farley speaks to grassroots Lib Dems, attending their annual conference in Brighton, about their ambitions for the party. Lara Spirit - deputy political editor of The Sunday Times - brings additional insight and analysis.