Electoral Dysfunction

• Will a ministerial resignation dent Starmer's post Trump high?

  Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has returned from the US after what has been seen by Number 10 as a highly successful meeting with Donald Trump.  This week, Beth Rigby, Harriet Harman and Ruth Davidson look at the preparation that went into this visit. Beth reveals how she caught the US president's attention. Plus, what is it like in the Oval Office?  And how did Mr Trump react when he got that invitation from the King.  They also discuss the resignation of development minister Annelise Dodds after the aid budget was cut to boost defence spending and ask  whether this will dent Mr Starmer's post-Trump confidence.    Email us at [email protected], post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.       And remember, you can also watch us on YouTube! 

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• A pact between Farage and Badenoch?

   What could a pact between Nigel Farage’s Reform party and Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives look like? Are we about to see the Tory party lurch closer to the right?     Beth, Ruth and Harriet answer this and more, as they go through your questions – which means we also get the backstory to the iconic Beth Rigby red lipstick.     And how difficult is being married to an MP? We hear from Ruth’s partner Jen about their lives in the spotlight when Ruth was leader of the Scottish Conservatives.    Email us at [email protected], post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.        And remember, you can also watch us on YouTube! 

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• Labour WhatsApps: "If you’ve got racist thoughts then you shouldn't be an MP!"

  Do MPs say one thing in public, and another in private? This week, Beth Rigby, Harriet Harman and Ruth Davidson ask what’s been going on with the two MPs suspended from the Labour party over WhatsApps messages containing offensive comments.  Andrew Gwynne and Oliver Ryan both lost the whip after Sunday newspaper revelations. It’s been a difficult week for Harriet – she's worked with Andrew Gwynne for a number of years and says it’s made her question her judgement.  Also – are we about to see by elections as a result? And in the week the assisted dying debate is back in the news, we discuss the repercussions of the plan to scrap the need for High Court approval after Beth speaks to the MP who has campaigned for the changes, Labour’s Kim Leadbeater. Email us at [email protected], post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.     Watch us on Youtube too - new videos every week here. 

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• Is it already over for Kemi Badenoch?

  This week, Ruth's changed her opinion about Kemi Badenoch – but it isn't any more favourable for the new Tory leader. Ruth had thought she'd get two years in the job – now she's thinking it might be less than 18 months.    Beth's in a hotel room in Preston after an interview with Keir Starmer. She reflects on how the prime minister can push his domestic message when most people want to talk about Donald Trump.    And Harriet goes all headmistressy with a warning to new Labour MPs in the "red wall" who've reportedly set up a group to lobby their leader for a tougher stance on migration.   She says: "We don't want factionalism and all these different tribes. Don't set up these flipping groups." You can now watch us on YouTube! Just search for "Electoral Dysfunction".Email us at [email protected], post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

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• Can Love Island help Rachel Reeves?

  You can now watch Beth, Ruth and Harriet on YouTube! Just search for "Electoral Dysfunction".The chancellor was trying to channel Love Island when she announced her plans for growth this week.But are her new ideas actually the "bombshell" her advisers hope they'll be? Can they get everyone's attention?And will the strategy be enough for Rachel Reeves to keep all of the cabinet and the Labour Party on side when so many of them have been opposed to the third runway at Heathrow?Meanwhile, on the five-year anniversary of Brexit – is Sir Keir Starmer getting closer to Europe?Email us at [email protected], post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.      

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