Darren jones

Monday

Tim Shipman

Labour’s transfer deadline day

17 min listen

The summer transfer window comes to a close today but, as Parliament also returns from summer recess today, the only team Keir Starmer is focused on is his own in Number Ten. The Prime Minister has decided to reshuffle his advisers, including bringing in Darren Jones MP to Number Ten from the Treasury. Political editor Tim Shipman and James Kirkup, a partner at Apella Advisors and senior fellow at the Social Market Foundation, join economics editor Michael Simmons to go through the moves. Will yet another change in advisers boost Labour’s fortunes? Or are they doomed to relegation? Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.

Wednesday

James Heale

How to do a spending review

21 min listen

Labour’s spending review is expected on the 11th of June, when we will find out which government departments face cuts and which costs have been ringfenced. This can set the tone for politics for months to come as it gives a clue to which priorities matter most – especially in times of fiscal restraint – and which ministers are up, and which are down. But how is a spending review conducted? How does His Majesty’s Treasury balance the negotiations with those competing for its attention? And, following the leaked Angela Rayner memo, do we know which economic arguments are winning out? James Nation, formerly an official at HMT and then in