221 | Macron vs Everyone

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We talk to Shahin Vallee, former economics advisor to Emmanuel Macron, about the state of the Macron presidency: from the gilets jaunes to the pensions protests, from dealing with Merkel to facing off with Putin, and from now to the next presidential election in 2022.  Did Macron save the centre of French politics or has he destroyed it?  Can he really be sure he'll beat Le Pen next time?  And what is his plan to rescue the West?  Plus, we discuss what the Griveaux and Mila affairs tell us about the state of French politics.  With Helen Thompson.

165 | Split Down the Middle

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David and Helen catch up with the European election results and the Tory leadership race - there's lots to talk about.  How can the Tories compete with the Brexit Party?  Are the Liberal Democrats a real threat to Labour?  What does it all mean for Ireland?  And for Scotland?   Plus, is the surge in support for Greens across Europe a signal that it's time to take environmental politics seriously?

148 | The Party Splits

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We discuss the challenge posed by the Independent Group and by Tom Watson inside Labour to conventional two party-politics in Britain.  Can the system hold together?  If not, what might replace it?  And where are the new ideas going to come from?  Plus we talk about what the ERG wants on the Tory side: is it simply Boris?  With Helen Thompson and Mike Kenny.

117 | Moneyland

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We talk to Oliver Bullough about his acclaimed new book Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How to Take it Back.  Where is Moneyland?  How did London become its capital?  And will Brexit, or a Corbyn government, or another financial crash change how it operates?  A conversation about tax havens, money-laundering, the politics of corruption and the corruption of politics.  With Jason Sharman, author of The Despot's Guide to Wealth Management, and Helen Thompson.

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62 | Where is the Centre?

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Jeremy Corbyn claims that Labour now represents the political mainstream.  Is that really true?  Where does it leave the Tories?  What can Theresa May do about it?  We trawl the data to try to find the elusive centre ground of British politics.  Plus we ask whether mainstream regional politicians like Ruth Davidson and Sadiq Khan can speak for the whole of the UK.  If they can't, who on earth can?  With Mike Kenny, Professor of Public Policy at Cambridge, and Helen Thompson.
 

41 | The Who, The What, The How

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We recorded this week in the aftermath of the Manchester terror attack, with the election campaign temporarily suspended.  We take a step back to review some of the broad themes of the campaign so far and talk about how the main parties have been presenting themselves and what they are trying to achieve.  We reflect on the importance of leadership style - what makes Theresa May different from Tony Blair? - and we ask why so little of the election has been about Brexit.  With Helen Thompson, Glen Rangwala and Chris Brooke.