Politicians of all stripes will tell you that the slog of breakfast time interviews constitutes the morning ritual from hell.
So this week on Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker speaks to those who’ve spent more time than anyone trying to master the art form that is the “morning round” — and is given an exclusive broadcasting lesson from Scarlett MccGwire, a media trainer currently working with ministers in the Labour government to help them hone their messaging.
Former Tory Cabinet minister Grant Shapps explains the late night prep with his team, who were told to be as rude to him as possible in anticipation of tough interviews with Kay Burley et al.
The inimitable Richard Madeley, presenter of Good Morning Britain, voices his hatred of the so-called “pivot”, a tactic used by politicians to evade questions they don’t want to answer, and recalls throwing a defence secretary off the airwaves after one pivot too many.
Former Labour shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth describes how to overcome questions like “how much is the price of a pint of milk?” and the fear induced by sudden breaking news while on the round.
And Jack Sellers, former No. 10 deputy press secretary under Rishi Sunak, remembers the cabinet ministers who slept in, forgot the geography of the Middle East and how, when it all went wrong on air, it was left to him to try to clean it all up.
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44:41
War and Peace in Europe
With Ukraine and Russia in the throes of attempting to negotiate a ceasefire, Westminster Insider Host Sascha O’Sullivan talks to some of the leading figures on the frontline of the war with Russia.
She speaks to Finnish Minister for Nordic Co-Operation Anders Adlercreutz, who told her Finland has never stopped buying tanks and building bomb shelters, for fear of a Russian invasion, and builds resilience at every level through initiatives like media literacy to protect from ‘hybrid threats’ such as misinformation.
Lithuania Defense Minister Dovilė Šakalienė told Sascha Russia could be ready for a full scale invasion into her country – and NATO territory – in less than a decade. And she said Lithuanian’s were prepared for what this means: “prison, torture and deportation”.
Former NATO director of Planning and Policy Fabrice Pothier explains the risk of NATO losing it’s relevance without the U.S. as a reliable ally, and warns it could undermine any security guarantees put in place in the event of a ceasefire.
Ukrainian journalist at the Spectator Svitlana Morenets reflects on what it’s like covering a war in her own homeland – and where Ukraine’s redlines would be.
Back home in the U.K., Sascha speaks to Denzil Davidson, a former Foreign Office and No10 advisor, about Britain’s willingness to warm up it’s relationship with the E.U. and how the lack of support from U.S. President Donald Trump could open up “a serious opportunity” for British politicians to step up in Europe.
And Arminka Helic, another former Foreign Office advisor, tells Sascha that everyone in the country should stock up on enough basic supplies to last them 72 hours without electricity or water.
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42:43
How to launch a backbench rebellion
With the stench of rebellion hanging around the tearooms of SW1 after ministers announced fresh welfare cuts, this week host Patrick Baker explores the backbench revolts of years past, asking how disobedient MPs really plan and plot against their own parties.
Veteran Tory MP David Davis describes how he and other rebels defeated David Cameron's plans to bomb Syria almost by accident — and offers tips on shutting down confrontational government enforcers, or chief whips.
Christopher Howarth, a secretive member of the European Research Group of Eurosceptic Tory MPs, was instrumental in defeating Theresa May's EU deal during the Brexit wars. He describes countering the cunning tactics of a Downing Street operation desperately trying to quell rebellions, and how he spotted a loophole in Tory rules that led to May's resignation.
POLITICO senior political correspondent Annabelle Dickson has been gauging the mood among angry would-be Labour rebels — and hearing why some are feeling disillusioned with the direction of their party.
One of those certain to rebel in a Commons vote on welfare is the Labour MP for Alloa and Grangemouth in Scotland, Brian Leishman, who explains why he's appalled at the cuts to benefits.
But rebels beware: Tony Blair's former no-nonsense chief whip Hilary Armstrong recalls threatening badly behaved MPs with being sent to work on obscure infrastructure committees unless they toed the line. But she insists the best way to deal with rebels — who Blair called his "little darlings" — is a "softly, softly" approach.
And Blair's former political secretary John McTernan, sets out why he believes the huge new intake of Labour MPs might be more prone to rebellion and says the current rancor poses a bigger question for the party.
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42:34
When politicians fight the law and the law wins
As Mike Amesbury bows out of his career as a Labour MP after being caught on tape assaulting a constituent, this week’s episode of Westminster Insider goes inside politicians’ wrangles with the law.
Host Sascha O’Sullivan finds out if winding up in front of a judge can ever be survivable for a politician — high-profile or not. She talks to former Lib Dem advisor Sean Kemp about how the case of Chris Huhne, climate secretary during the coalition years, triggered a by-election which almost threatened the leadership of Nick Clegg.
Fergus Mutch, former director of communications to the Scottish National Party, recalls being a witness in the trial of his former boss, Alex Salmond, who was eventually acquitted of charges of sexual assault in 2020. Mutch says the Salmond trial and the internal warfare it triggered did huge amounts of damage to the SNP.
And Sascha turns to the sensational hush money trial of Donald Trump in the midst of the 2024 presidential election campaign. She talks to Michael Martins, a former senior advisor to the US embassy in the U.K., and Sarah Elliot, the spokesperson for Republicans overseas about how Trump eventually used the trial to his advantage.
Sascha looks at how Marine Le Pen is using a similar playbook to Trump, with a trial against her helping galvanise her support base.
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40:43
Inside COBRA
Have you ever wondered about COBRA? Not the snake or the yoga pose — but Cabinet Office Briefing Room A, the place at the heart of Whitehall where a highly sensitive, critical government committee meets when a crisis hits the U.K.
This week, host Patrick Baker takes you inside these mysterious meetings to find out how those in charge take crucial decisions — often on matters of life and death.
One of the original architects of COBRA, David Omand, who went on to become director of spy agency GCHQ, explains how the Munich Olympics hostage crisis triggered alarm in the U.K. and highlighted the need to build COBRA.
Lucy Fisher from the Financial Times explains how to access the secret bunker under the Ministry of Defense that would be home to its duplicate in case of nuclear attack.
Tony Blair's former Cabinet Secretary Richard Wilson describes how he convened what was a very busy COBRA on 9/11, a day that exposed the U.K.’s own vulnerabilities and led to rapid changes to the UK's guidebook for handling terror attacks.
In an age of heightened tensions, Susan Scholefield, a former COBRA director, recalls how drills and exercises became more common and how it was her job to make sure the Pope was safe, monitoring his state visit from the U.K.’s version of the Situation Room.
Former Defence Secretary Michael Fallon describes being in COBRA in response to multiple atrocities on U.K. soil in 2017, and recalls how ministers scrambled to work out whether more attacks were on the way. Fallon also reveals the person he wouldn't trust to chair a COBRA meeting (or anything, really).
Katie Perrior, ex-No 10 comms chief under Theresa May, remembers rushing into COBRA after the Westminster Bridge attack amid fears that offices in Parliament might be unsafe.
With the arrival of the pandemic, a crisis of a wholly different order, emergency planner Lucy Easthope sets out some of COBRA's pitfalls. Easthope, who co-founded the After Disaster Network at Durham University, believes too much emphasis is put on state-of-the-art nerve centers rather than simple honesty, in the midst of crises for which ministers are generally not very well prepared.
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POLITICO’s weekly political series lifts the curtain on how Westminster really works, offering in-depth insight into the political issues which typically only get broad-brush treatment in the wider media.
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