Westminster Insider

On May 7, Labour faces losing some of its oldest heartlands. In Wales, the party has dominated elections for 104 years, but is, according to polls, fighting for third or fourth place against powerful forces on the left and right – Plaid Cymru and Reform.

Host Sascha O'Sullivan and POLITICO's political editor Dan Bloom took the train to Newport and drove through South Wales, where the fight is fiercest, to find out how the parties are vying for the top spot in the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament.

They spoke to first minister Eluned Morgan as she launched the Welsh Labour campaign in Newport Market.

And newly-appointed Welsh leader of Reform Dan Thomas explained why the party there differs from the one led by Nigel Farage.

Westminster Insider speaks to Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth about how the party has ditched their message on independence in a bid to scoop up voters on the left disillusioned with Labour.
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The Palace of Westminster towers over the River Thames as a symbol of British democracy. But look a little closer and the building is falling apart. 

From fire risks and asbestos to crumbling stonework and miles of aging wiring, experts warn the U.K. Parliament is becoming an increasingly dangerous place to work for MPs, peers and staff. The Restoration and Renewal Programme has spent years trying to work out how to fix it. But now, the politics of repairing Parliament may be even more complicated than the engineering. 

In this week’s Westminster Insider, Patrick Baker takes a tour of the building’s crumbling infrastructure and hears from the people battling over what to do next.  

Restoration expert Alexandra Meakin sets out the risks of continued delay. Liberal Democrat MP Marie Goldman argues MPs should temporarily move out to allow the work to be done. Conservative MP and Father of the House Edward Leigh dismisses the plans as over-engineered “gold-plating”. And former minister Ed Vaizey wonders whether Parliament should move out altogether. 

Finally, POLITICO’s Ottawa bureau chief Nick Taylor-Vaisey explains how Canada tackled the same problem — and what Westminster might learn.
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The Green Party have won their very first by-election. Westminster Insider Host Sascha O’Sullivan goes inside the Greens’ effort to win the seat, and finds out how the battle for this seat will inform the three-way fights between the Greens, Labour and Reform UK.

She speaks to Hannah Spencer on the election trail – and on the night itself.

And she speaks to the other candidates, Angeliki Stogia for Labour and Matt Goodwin for Reform to find out what worked – and what didn’t.

As Labour licks its wounds, director of the Labour Growth Group Mark McVitie talks Sascha through how the party machine have been thinking about the Greens and what needs to change.

Pollster and director of More in Common Luke Tryl examines what the curious combination of voters can tell us about the future fights Labour will shake out.

And deputy political editor of the Spectator James Heale explains why Reform’s Matt Goodwin didn’t win here in Gorton and Denton.
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Keir Starmer may have survived a political near-death experience last week. But with a perilous by-election looming and punishing May elections on the horizon, few in Westminster think the prime minister is truly in the clear.

With fresh jeopardy ahead, could Starmer become the fifth prime minister in a decade to fall short of a full term?

This week on Westminster Insider, host Patrick Baker asks: why don’t UK prime ministers last anymore?

Political historian and host of the Past, Present, Future podcast David Runciman argues the revolving door at the top reflects a wider global surge in political instability — driven above all by economic turbulence.

Former Downing Street communications directors Katie Perrior, Lee Cain and James Lyons lift the lid on how Britain’s unforgiving 24/7 media machine is grinding down modern premiers.

David Lammy's former adviser Ben Judah and the Institute for Government’s Jill Rutter probe whether the civil service is helping — or hindering — an era of increasingly fragile premierships.

And the author and historian Anthony Seldon says a “massive collapse” in prime ministerial experience means many new arrivals in Downing Street are stepping into the job unprepared for the demands of governing. 
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As Keir Starmer flies to Germany for the Munich Security Conference, Westminster Insider Host Sascha O'Sullivan finds out if the Prime Minister's time abroad has damaged him here at home – and if it has, if it's been worth it. 

Sascha spoke to half a dozen current or former Labour advisors or government insiders about Starmer's approach to foreign policy. With the help of POLITICO Foreign and Defense Correspondent Esther Webber, she pieces together Starmer's legacy on the world stage. 

Olivia O'Sullivan, director of UK in a Changing World at Chatham House, says the Prime Minister has managed to secure "the least worst option" with Donald Trump. 

And Peter Ricketts, former head of the U.K.'s diplomatic service, said the shift towards “a hyper-personalized world” demands Starmer’s presence.

“Unless you are in the room with Donald Trump, you're not influencing him," Ricketts added.
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