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Episode details

Radio 4,13 Jun 2026,28 mins

Available for over a year

Following the bombshell resignation of John Healey as Defence Secretary, Ben speaks to Sir Michael Fallon, a former Conservative Defence Secretary, and Luke Charters, a Labour MP who has campaigned on defence finance issues. After the horrific knife attack in Belfast on Monday, and the street violence that followed, Ben brings together the former First Minister of Northern Ireland, Baroness Foster, and the Labour Chair of the Northern Ireland Select Committee, Tonia Antoniazzi. Could next week's by-election in Makerfield precipitate a change of Prime Minister? And, if so, how tricky is it to change a leader in the middle of a parliament? Ben hears from Professor Philip Cowley of Queen Mary University of London and Cleo Watson, a former senior aide to Boris Johnson. And, as the World Cup gets underway, Ben talks football and politics with two superfans, former Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, and comedian and political interviewer, Matt Forde.

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