Life in the whips' office

At the local elections, the Conservative Party lost hundreds of councillors and dozens of seats across England, Scotland and Wales, but Kemi Badenoch declared a comeback. So this week, Sascha O'Sullivan goes inside the Conservative Party's hopes for a renewal. She speaks to Shado ...  Show more

As Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and former health secretary Wes Streeting jostle for influence in the Labour party, host Sascha O'Sullivan looks at what it takes to turn around a party's fortunes mid-term. Former John Major aide Daniel Finkelstein explains how the Conser ...  Show more

Martha Kearney uncovers the secrets within the Government files of 1984.Margaret Thatcher's government faced some formidable adversaries. The long-anticipated battle with the National Union of Mineworkers and its leader, Arthur Scargill, finally erupted, dominating the political ...  Show more

Welcome to Prime Ministerial. In each episode Jonn Elledge and Stephen Bush will look at the legacy of the previous six prime ministers and ask whether they achieved success on their own terms. This final episode examines Margaret Thatcher’s premiership. The first woman to be pri ...  Show more

It’s 1982 and ordinary citizens are suffering under Thatcher’s economic policies. One such person is Michael Fagan, who decides to break into Buckingham Palace to ask the Queen to step in and help people like himself. Elizabeth is left feeling more remote from her subjects than e ...  Show more

Michael Heseltine is a politician with a long political memory. He heard Neville Chamberlain declare war on Germany in 1939. He saw Suez unfold. He attended Churchill’s funeral. He’s served Conservative prime minister after Conservative prime minister and became the man who event ...  Show more