As disquiet brews within Labour over cuts to welfare, and a perceived failure to pursue a progressive enough agenda, this week host Alain Tolhurst looks inside the governing party as a host of new caucuses and organised campaign groups have sprung up, and asking - who are the new tribes within Labour Who is behind them, what are their aims, and how dangerous could they be to Keir Starmer’s leadership, as he faces his first major rebellion since winning office with a huge majority last year.

On the panel to explain everything from the Labour Growth Group, the coastals and rural MPs, the Co-Operatives, Christian socialists, Blue Labour and a host of others are three of the finest Labour party Kremlinologists in Westminster; Sienna Rogers, deputy editor of our sister publication The House magazine and a former editor of the LabourList website, as well as Morgan Jones, journalist and another former editor of LabourList, along with Stephen Bush, associate editor of The Financial Times.

• To sign up for our newsletters click here

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

With this month marking 15 years since the signing of the historic Conservative - Liberal Democrat coalition agreement, and given the fractured five-party politics of 2025, what can be learned from five chaotic days in 2010, that led to five years of surprisingly stable government?

To discuss how it all came together, and what stopped it from falling apart, host Alain Tolhurst is joined by one of the people who helped negotiate the historic deal between the Tories and the Lib Dems, along with two members of the House of Lords, who in their past lives were at the heart of that 2010-2015 government, as well as a professor who quite literally wrote the book on the coalition.

David Laws was the Lib Dem MP for Yeovil from 2001 to 2015, and was part of his party’s team that thrashed out an agreement after the general election gave no party a majority to govern, and Baroness Kate Fall, who began working for David Cameron after he became leader, worked as deputy chief of staff inside Number 10 when he entered Downing Street.

Lord Jonny Oates, a Lib Dem peer, was chief of staff for Nick Clegg during his time as deputy Prime Minister, and finally Robert Hazell, Professor of Government and the Constitution at University College London, and the co-author of the book The Politics of Coalition, joins the panel too.

• To sign up for our newsletters click here

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Last week Keir Starmer scrapped NHS England as he signalled the government's aim to fundamentally reshape and rewire how the state operates, so the panel is discussing what this means for civil service staff numbers, what impact this will have on the delivery of public services, and how briefings about a so-called ‘project chainsaw’ have gone down in Whitehall. Joining host Alain Tolhurst is Max Blain, who was the official spokesperson for three Prime Ministers, and is now a director at the global advisory firm Portland, as well as Hannah Keenan, associate director at the think tank the Institute for Government, and Suzannah Brecknell, co-editor at our sister publication and Whitehall bible, CivilServiceWorld.

• To sign up for our newsletters click here
• To view this year's Women in Westminster 100 list click here

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Justine Greening, former Conservative Cabinet minister, Tory MP for Don Valley Nick Fletcher, and Oxford University academic and expert on class in Parliament Albert Ward, join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst to discuss the ‘class ceiling’ in Parliament and how social mobility in politics can be improved.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Barry Gardiner, Labour MP and member of the newly-created Energy Security and Net Zero Committee, Pete Chalkley, director of think tank the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, and Luke Murphy, head of the Environmental Justice Commission at the Institute for Public Policy Research, join PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst to discuss how well the government is getting on with its target of hitting net zero by 2050, as well as Labour’s updated energy plans.

Conservative MP for Stroud Siobhan Baillie, and founder of the liberal conservative think tank Bright Blue Ryan Shorthouse, join PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst and Caitlin Doherty to discuss how the Tories can finally move on from the tumultuous Boris Johnson era as they desperately try to cling to power. 

Amy Leversidge, Assistant General Secretary of civil servants’ union the FDA, Institute for Government senior fellow and former Department for Education advisor Sam Freedman, and Civil Service World deputy editor Beckie Smith join PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst to discuss the latest flare-up of the government’s ongoing war with its own officials in the civil service.

Veteran political journalist Michael Crick, who runs the @tomorrowsmps twitter account, Luke Akehurst, a member of Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee, and Jackson Ng, a former Conservative parliamentary candidate in 2015 and 2017, join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst to discuss the secretive process political parties use to select their candidates who will run to be MPs at the next general election.

Seven months on from Liz Truss’s exit from Downing Street, Tory MP Ranil Jayawardena, who served as Environment Secretary in her Cabinet, Rohan Watt, who wrote her manifesto and worked in her No 10 policy unit, and Dr Catherine Haddon, programme director at the Institute for Government think tank, join PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst to discuss the former Prime Minister’s complicated legacy, and what her role is now.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Bob Seely, Conservative MP for the Isle of Wight, John Myers, co-founder of the London YIMBY housing campaign, Dan Tomlinson, Labour’s parliamentary candidate in Chipping Barnet, PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst discuss the housebuilding crisis that looks set to define debate in the next election.

Conservative MP James Sunderland and deputy editor of ConservativeHome, Henry Hill, join Alain Tolhurst and Caitlin Doherty from PoliticsHome to discuss the fallout from the local elections where the Tories lost over 1,000 councillors and whether Rishi Sunak can turn his party’s fortunes around before next year’s general election.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Marking King Charles's coronation, PoliticsHome explores the relationship between two palaces: Buckingham and Westminster. Downing Street researcher in residence Dr Michelle Clement, History of Parliament research project’s Dr Robin Eagles, UCL Constitution Unit’s Bob Morris, and Kris Hopkins, a former Tory MP who served as Vice Chamberlain of Her Majesty’s Household in the government whips office join PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst. 

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Conservative MP for Mansfield Ben Bradley, director of pollsters JL Partners Scarlett Maguire, and former political communications adviser Laura Dunn join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst to review how Rishi Sunak is getting on with his five pledges for government as he marks six months in the job as Prime Minister.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

After winning five MPs last year and continuing to surge in the polls - are the wheels starting to come off for Reform UK after this week's damaging but wholly predictable internal row involving MP Rupert Lowe and party leader Nigel Farage? Gawain Towler, the party's former director of communications and a long-time spokesman for Nigel Farage, as well as Sophie Stowers, research associate at the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, and Harriet Symonds, commissioning editor at The House magazine, join host Alain Tolhurst to discuss if this is just the usual teething problems for an insurgent party, if it might damage their electoral chances this May, and whether this meme is coming true once again.

• To sign up for our newsletters click here
• To view this year's Women in Westminster 100 list click here

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Health and social care select committee chair and Conservative MP Steve Brine, and Liberal Democrats health spokesperson and deputy leader Daisy Cooper join PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst to discuss the ongoing impact of NHS strikes and how the government must tackle funding woes. 

To discuss the ongoing failure to fix the crumbling Palace of Westminster, Alain Tolhurst from PoliticsHome is joined by Dr Alexandra Meakin, a politics lecturer at the University of Leeds and an expert on the Parliamentary restoration programme, Dr Ruth Fox, director of the research group the Hansard Society, and the Labour MP Mark Tami, a former spokesperson for the Parliamentary Works Sponsor Body.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Citizens Advice head of policy Morgan Wild, Which? head of strategic insight Katie Alpin and Cornwall Insight senior consultant Kate Mulvany join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst to discuss the latest looming energy bill crisis and how it will impact people as the government's support changes.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Scotland has a new first minister, and it could be seismic for UK politics overall. Labour MP Ian Murray, shadow Scottish secretary, renowned pollster Sir John Curtice, professor of politics at Strathclyde University, and the former SNP MP Stephen Gethins join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst to discuss what the election of new SNP leader Humza Yousaf means for Scottish independence and the fortunes of the other major parties north of the border.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Discussing Boris Johnson’s evidence on what he knew about lockdown parties, presented to the Privileges Committee this week, Tory peer and a former deputy mayor under Johnson, Lord Stephen Greenhalgh and the Conservative MP for Buckingham Greg Smith, join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst and Nadine Batchelor-Hunt.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Economic experts including Senior Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies Ben Zaranko, Tory MP and chair of the Treasury Select Committee Harriet Baldwin, Conservative Growth Group MP Kevin Foster and Labour's shadow international trade secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst for a deep dive into Jeremy Hunt's Spring Budget, and whether it can create the growth he promises. 

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Claire Hanna, SDLP MP for Belfast South, and Labour peer Baroness Angela Smith, Shadow Leader in the House of Lords and a party spokesperson on Northern Ireland, join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst and Adam Payne to discuss whether Rishi Sunak’s reform of the Northern Ireland protocol will be enough to break the deadlock and get the power-sharing executive back up and running at Stormont.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Conservative MP Mark Logan, vice-chair of the All-Party-Parliamentary-Group on China, and Chris Cash, director of the China Research Group, join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst and Zoe Crowther to discuss the UK’s relationship with China, and whether the government is getting its policy right towards Beijing on TikTok, investment and foreign policy.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver 

Kate Nicholls, CEO of UK Hospitality, Labour MP Charlotte Nichols and Ellie Hudspith from CAMRA join PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst at The Feathers pub in Westminster to discuss how to save pubs from the “perfect storm” facing the industry post-Covid, and what support they need from the Treasury in next month’s Budget to stop more calling last orders.

Nicky Morgan, Conservative former culture secretary and peer, and Labour’s Lord Wilf Stevenson, a shadow spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport and Dr Michael Veale, Associate Professor of Digital Rights and Regulation at University College London, join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst to discuss the government’s ongoing attempts to use the Online Safety Bill to take on big tech companies and safeguard people on the internet.

As the future of Europe dominates the headlines, Lib Dem defence spokesperson Helen Maguire MP, former Tory ministers James Heappey and Greg Hands, and More in Common’s Luke Tryl join host Adam Payne to discuss a seismic week in world affairs as Prime Minister Keir Starmer tries to bring peace to Ukraine. With the tectonic plates of geopolitics shifting day by day, the Labour government faces major questions like how to deal with Donald Trump, and whether a ’coalition of the willing’ can really protect a peace deal from Russian aggression.

• To sign up for our newsletters click here

Presented by Adam Payne, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

After a string of high-profile scandals over bullying, harassment and corruption in Westminster, Alain Tolhurst from PoliticsHome is joined by Dave Penman, general secretary of the FDA union which represents senior civil servants, as well as Fleur Anderson, Labour MP and their Shadow Paymaster General, and Jon Gerlis from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, to discuss what needs to be done to clean up Parliament and rebuild trust in politics.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Ewan Cameron for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Conservative MP Theresa Villiers, Head of Political and Social Research at polling firm Opinium Adam Drummond and Unite union national lead officer Onay Kasab join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst as the country faces the biggest day of co-ordinated strike action in a decade and Rishi Sunak marks his first 100 days as Prime Minister.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Ewan Cameron for Podot, Edited by Laura Silver

Labour peer and Shadow Cabinet minister Baroness Jenny Chapman and Sir Jonathan Jones KC, the government’s former top lawyer, join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst and Adam Payne to discuss the implications of the government’s controversial plans to scrap thousands of EU laws by the end of 2023.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced for Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Prospect union general secretary Mike Clancy, GMB union national secretary Andy Prendergast and Conservative MP Vicky Ford join PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst to discuss the deep strike deadlock between government and unions, as nurses stage their second wave of walkouts, the ambulance service announce six more strikes, and 100,000 civil servants prepare for a major day of action on 1 February, all over over pay and conditions.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver 

Andrea Leadsom, a former Cabinet minister and government adviser on early years, and Next Gen Tories co-founder Matthew McPherson join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst and Caitlin Doherty to discuss how reforming expensive childcare is shaping up to be a major political bargaining chip and could be the key to the Tories winning back younger voters at the next election.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver.

Will last year's political chaos finally let up? Unlikely. PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst and Adam Payne are joined by The Sun's Natasha Clarke to discuss the hurdles that could lead to Rishi Sunak's undoing, including Labour's tenacious poll lead, the small boast crisis, soaring cost of living, bickering backbenchers and the ever-present ghost of Boris Johnson. 

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver 

PoliticsHome looks back through a wild year in British politics, from a suitcase of booze in Downing Street and porn in the Commons, to three prime ministers after the fall of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss opened the famous No.10 door for Rishi Sunak.

James Heale, diary editor of The Spectator and co-author of Out of the Blue: The Inside Story of the Unexpected Rise and Rapid Fall of Liz Truss, joins PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst, Laura Silver and Eleanor Langford.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver 

2022 brought us three prime ministers in as many months in a chaotic year for the Conservative party. Joining PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst to reflect on the revolving door in Downing Street is Financial Times Whitehall editor Sebastian Payne – author of The Fall of Boris Johnson, The Sun’s political editor Harry Cole – co-author of Out of the Blue: The Inside Story of the Unexpected Rise and Rapid Fall of Liz Truss and The Guardian’s city editor Anna Isaac who broke the story of Rishi Sunak’s wife’s non-dom status.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Former Justice Secretary Robert Buckland joins PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst and Eleanor Langford to discuss Rishi Sunak’s new plan to tackle the asylum seeker backlog, a host of festive strike action, and whether the Conservatives can heal recent damage. 

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Former Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable and The House editor Rosa Prince join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst to discuss what politicians leaving parliament can expect in the real world, and why there's "nothing quite as ex as an ex-MP," according to Cable, after a number of high profile MPs have confirmed they won't stand at the next election. 

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver 

With the Prime Minister in Washington this week the Labour MPs Steve Yemm and Chris Evans, as well as Professor Sam Edwards from Loughborough University, and Lord John Alderdice, Liberal Democrat peer, join host Alain Tolhurst to look at the so-called ‘special relationship’. From its history, to why the close bilateral partnership between the UK and America is so enduring, but why it might now be under threat as Keir Starmer tries to deal with the Donald Trump White House. Elsewhere in the episode Katie Perrior, Downing Street director of communications under Theresa May, also talks about what is was like to deal with the first Trump administration.

• To sign up for our newsletters click here

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Conservative MP and former immigration minister Kevin Foster, Labour’s shadow local government minister Sarah Owen, and Robert Colvile, director of the Centre for Policy Studies think tank and Conservative Party’s 2019 election manifesto co-author, join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst to discuss the latest rows over  Levelling Up, housing and private schools.

Former Cabinet minister David Gauke and Professor Anand Menon, director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst and Caitlin Doherty to discuss the Brexit row that's bubbled back to the surface and forced new prime minister Rishi Sunak to defend the government's approach to leaving the EU to a Tory party that remains massively divided on the issue. 

Labour MP Angela Eagle, the Institute for Government's Olly Bartrum and Onward's Adam Hawksbee join PoliticsHome's Adam Payne to discuss Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt's Autumn Statement, what it will mean for already struggling households, and how it could impact the Conservatives' chances at the next General Election.

Presented by Adam Payne, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Former Cabinet minister Chloe Smith joins Alain Tolhurst and Adam Payne from PoliticsHome to discuss the fallout from Gavin Williamson’s resignation from government over bullying allegations, what is says about new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s political judgement, and a look ahead to next week’s Autumn Statement.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst and Adam Payne, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Labour’s shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock, Tory MP and member of the Home Affairs select committee Tim Loughton, and Lucy Moreton, national officer for the Immigration Services Union join PoliticsHome’s Alain Tolhurst to discuss Home Secretary Suella Braverman's handling of the crisis at Manston asylum centre, and how the Home Office is talking issues around illegal migration.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Ewan Cameron for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Stephen Crabb, a Conservative former cabinet minister joins PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst, Eleanor Langford and Adam Payne to discuss the UK’s third PM this year. Crabb believes “the right outcome has been achieved” with Sunak's appointment and was relieved when Boris Johnson ruled himself out of the leadership race, after telling the former Prime Minister that “the Conservative Party is not going to wear it” if he returned to No.10 after months of scandal. But the chaos of Liz Truss has left Sunak and the Tories with "a political mountain to climb” as he seeks to unify his party at its most fractious.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver. 

Former Downing Street special adviser Jack Sellers and the Institute for Government’s Dr Catherine Haddon join PoliticsHome Political Editor Adam Payne to discuss what happens after the resignation of Liz Truss. How did we get here? And who replaces her?

Presented by Adam Payne, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver and Alan White.

Former Conservative London Mayoral Candidate Shaun Bailey, Co-founder of Conservatives Against Racism For Equality and Black Equity Organisation Trustee Siobhan Aarons, and Co-Chair of Hackney’s Young Futures Commission, Founding member of the Baobab Foundation and Member of the 1987 Caucus Jermain Jackman join PoliticsHome's Seun Matiluko to discuss what it’s like to be Black in today’s Britain for a special Black History Month episode. 

Presented by Seun Matiluko, produced by Ewan Cameron for Podot, edited by Laura Silver.

Lord Frost, Theresa Villiers and Alicia Kearns join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst at Conservative party conference in Birmingham discuss a "damaging" few days for the new prime minster, that saw a breakdown in cabinet discipline, a late-night u-turn over tax and questions over whether she can turn the party's fortunes around ahead of the next election.

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver.

Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Kyle and Shadow Minister for climate change Kerry McCarthy join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst and Caitlin Doherty at Labour Party Conference in Liverpool where leader Keir Starmer made a confident pitch to put Labour into power. The MPs also discuss their karaoke favourites for the after-party, and recall how Ed Balls would skip other people's songs to jump the queue. 

Presented by Alain Tolhurst and Caitlin Doherty, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver. 

This Parliament could finally see further modernisation of the way the Commons operates, with a new committee led by Cabinet minister Lucy Powell setting out plans for meaningful reform in a host of areas, after clamour from new MPs to finally bring how Westminster works into the 21st century. One of the 2024 intake, Labour’s Rachel Blake, joins Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney, her party’s spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, as well as Sophie Church, reporter at our sister publication The House magazine, alongside host Alain Tolhurst discuss if Westminster working will finally get dragged into the 21st century.

• To sign up for our newsletters click here

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Can the new prime minister cut taxes and spend big to curb soaring energy bills and get people through the cost of living crisis this winter? Conservative MP and chair of the treasury select committee Mel Stride and leading economist Paul Johnson from the Institute of Fiscal Studies join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst to discuss how Liz Truss might seek to square this seemingly impossible circle as Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng prepares to lay out his first big spending plans. 

Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

🗳 How is it decided who appears on your ballot paper come election time? Journalists, plus former and prospective parliamentary candidates explain how different political parties go about selecting candidates to be their MP representatives — and what works, and doesn’t work, about the process.

Written by Eleanor Langford, presented by Alain Tolhurst, edited by Laura Silver, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot. 

Explore one of Parliament’s  – if not one of the country’s – most incredible buildings: Westminster Hall. Historians describe the incredible and brutal secrets held within its walls from 1,000 years of British politics, where major figures from Charles I to Barack Obama have made history. MPs describe how it is still used by politicians for their work today.

Hosted by Alain Tolhurst, written by Adam Payne, edited by Laura Silver, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot.