217 | Trump vs Iran: Is it for Real?

in

David and Helen talk to Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor at the Economist, about the fallout from the killing of Soleimani and the future of American power.  Is Trump a madman or is he a realist (or is he neither)?  What sort of threat does Iran pose to American interests in the region and the wider world?  And what has all this got to do with oil and climate change?  Plus, in the week Trump's impeachment trial gets underway, we ask who or what can limit the power of the presidency.

156 | Brexit Lessons

in

We try to draw some wider lessons from the nightmare that the Brexit process has now become.  What have we learned about the relationship between parliament and the executive?  Is there any way that the Article 50 process could have worked?  And what conclusions will other countries reach about how hard it is to leave the EU?  Plus we talk about the recent report from the Hansard Society indicating that the British public is more open than ever to the idea of a 'strong leader'.  With Helen Thompson and Kenneth Armstrong.

153 | Moment of Truth?

in

As parliament finally gets the chance to indicate its Brexit preferences - if it has any - we discuss the real choices now facing MPs and government.  What is the sequence of events that would actually prevent a no-deal Brexit?  Can the Withdrawal Agreement be separated from the Political Declaration?  And if it can, will MPs eventually have to vote for it?  Plus we ask how long we can avoid another general election and we discuss whether Theresa May's survival to this point tells us more about her resilience or about the dysfunctionality of British politics.  With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton, and Catherine Barnard, Professor of EU Law.

115 | Taming Trump

in

We talk with Bronwen Maddox, Director of the Institute for Government and former Washington bureau chief of the Times, about the latest revelations from inside Trumpworld.  With claims that the resistance has spread to the government, we ask whether it is ethical for administration officials to resist the elected president.  Is this about Trump's personality or his policies?  What precedent might be being set?  And are Obama's interventions in the mid-term elections helping?  Recorded at the Institute for Government with Helen Thompson.