As 2025 turns into 2026, the NAO team look at the critical May elections and beyond. What will the impact be if Labour gets wiped out in Scotland, Wales and local government? And will the fragmentation of the party system lead to parties on the left and ri

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the end of an eventful year in politics, the team takes on questions from our NAO listeners. Everything from who would make the best 'once and future' PM to whether we are burying the mistakes born of recent turbulent times. Plus: do we get really cross with each other?

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Reform’s Danny Kruger set out his plans to modernise the civil service while the current government is supposed to be carrying out its own reforms. But nothing is happening. Virtually every government identifies a need to improve the civil service and then backs away from significant change. Why? Plus, are Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham getting ready to challenge Keir Starmer next year?

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first of our festive specials Not Another One is live at the Centre for Social Justice for a review of the year. Why is Sir Keir Starmer vulnerable already? Will Reform or the Tories be the main alternative to Labour at the election? Is this the end of two party politics? Plus brilliant questions from the audience.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With news of Reform UK's record £9m donation, our weekend episode finds the team reunited to explore whether money from individuals or organisations implies something in return. Should Britain opt for state funding of political parties? Or is going back to mass membership a better approach and a predictor of success?

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since the Budget the main question in the media and from some of the government’s political opponents has been did Rachel Reeves deliberately mislead? But is the Chancellor’s integrity the right target for her many opponents? Is the substance of the Budget getting less attention than it deserves from supporters and opponents? Plus, is this the end of juries and Your Party?

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After all that drama, did the government get away with the Budget? Was Kemi Badenoch’s attack on the Chancellor a criticism too far or a justified direct hit? The NAO team agree that the UK’s lack of growth is the cause of disillusionment with mainstream parties, but how should we secure higher growth? Has the Budget made that even harder? And which party benefits from the emergence of the old dividing line - investment in public services against tax cuts?

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Rachel Reeves prepares for the most talked about budget in decades we discuss a galaxy of previous chancellors often facing epic challenges. Standby for portraits of Healey, Howe, Lamont, Brown and Osborne, and of course the team’s latest reflections of Reeves as she prepares for this Wednesday.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Via a brief pre-Budget detour, the team debates the Home Secretary's major new policy. Will it work? Is it hardline for one set of critics and not tough enough for the rest? Stop the boats was a slogan that sunk the previous government. Will the substance or the positioning be more dangerous to this one?

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

High drama has dominated as the Chancellor signals a huge u-turn on Budget tax plans, while briefings designed to shore up Keir Starmer backfired on Number 10 in spectacular fashion. In this weekend's episode the team focus on dysfunction, paranoia and rivalry at the very top. How much trouble is the government in?

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the Director General and BBC head of news fired in the wake of a scandal over President Trump and bias, our team ask whether the Beeb is doomed. Or is this yet another confected media row? And how is journalism changing? Plus - what is the latest on Starmer and the looming Budget?

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An early morning speech from the chancellor to pledge fiscal stability and flag tax rises, while the main challenger for Downing Street overturns his party's fiscal platform. The team discuss the fix Rachel Reeves is in and whether Nigel Farage is now choosing to play by the rules of mainstream politics. Plus: Dick Cheney's role as Veep.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In such different ways, the story of Andrew Windsor's downfall and the chancellor's local rental embarrassment reveal how we regard and treat crimes and misdemeanours by the British establishment. In this weekend episode, the team find they have a clash of interpretations on both stories - and on the role of the media.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the latest episode our team discuss three pressing issues, including the state of the civil service and government concern that the machine is not fit for purpose. Plus, the OBR. Has the government put too much faith in the pronouncements of the Office for Budget Responsibility? Is this approach crippling British policymaking? And Tim, Steve and Iain assess the quality of today’s MPs. Has there been a decline and if so why?

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Labour and the Conservatives together secured only 13 per cent of the vote in the Caerphilly by-election. In what had been a Labour stronghold for a century the governing party was crushed. Does the Plaid Cymru win, with Reform in second place, point to a wider political earthquake?

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Not Another One team discuss the challenges facing the royal family, the Rachel Reeves situation and Britain's troubled relationship with the world's second biggest economy - China.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the two main parties shedding support can "ecopopulism" on the left mimic Reform's surge on the right? Our team are all here for this weekend edition pondering Zack Polanski's leadership and the potential threat to other parties.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the extraordinary events in the Middle East, our team discuss the prospects for an enduring peace. Are there too many contradictions in the President’s plan? Or might reconstruction make enough of a difference to guarantee a long term peaceful resolution? Plus our team consider the role of Tony Blair.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the end of the party conference season, our team ask why the Tory and Labour leaders have emerged stronger from the last few weeks. And across the parties what are the wider lessons to draw from the conference season? Plus, the team discuss the looming budget.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Tim joining from Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Iain and Miranda discuss some of his surprising insights from milling around with former Tory colleagues. Plus, disappointment for one of Reform's flagship new councils.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.