Joe Bedell-Brill

This week the politics shows were focused on the economy, as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt prepares to make his autumn statement next Wednesday. Hunt has signalled he may deliver tax cuts, and has said ‘everything is on the table’. Laura Kuenssberg pointed out that the tax burden is the highest it has ever been, despite the

The Home Secretary Suella Braverman caused controversy this week when she wrote an apparently unauthorised article for the Times accusing the police of bias ahead of Armistice Day and the planned pro-Palestine rally. That march went ahead despite the wishes of some members of parliament. The police had to deal with violence from what was

As the conflict in Gaza continues, there is increasing division over the crisis here in the UK. Keir Starmer continues to resist those in his party calling a ceasefire; Home Secretary Suella Braverman has labelled pro-Palestine rallies as ‘hate marches’; and Jewish columnist Lord Finkelstein told Trevor Phillips that he wonders whether it is safe

‘Where do we want to be when we die?’ The Israeli ground invasion has reportedly begun, as Israel repeated its order for civilians to head to the south of Gaza. Colonel Era Goren said Israel are planning to ‘increase dramatically the amount of assistance’ coming in from Egypt. But many people in Gaza cannot move

‘We are not responsible for Gaza’ On Saturday the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza opened for the first time to allow a small convoy of aid trucks to pass through. Victoria Derbyshire asked former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett if more aid would be allowed in. Bennett said that the Israeli government was allowing

‘The hardest day Israelis have ever experienced in their lifetimes’ The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu has declared Israel is at war, after Hamas launched attacks on an unprecedented scale. It is the biggest escalation in the conflict since the Yom Kippur war 50 years ago, and Israel has already launched retaliatory strikes in

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg this morning, as the Conservative party conference gets underway in Manchester. With polls currently predicting an election defeat for the Tories, Sunak was noticeably combative in his interview, insisting that he would do what he ‘believes is right’ for the country. When Kuenssberg accused him of

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly: We must be careful when listening to the voices of the ‘powerless’ Comedian Russell Brand has been accused of rape, sexual assault and emotional abuse. Brand denies the allegations against him and said his relationships have all been consensual. The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg asked Cleverly if he thought there were ‘wider

Justice Secretary: ‘The relevant security protocols were in place’ The escape of Daniel Khalife from HMP Wandsworth this week has shone a spotlight on the government’s prison record. Over 60 per cent of prisons in the UK are overcrowded, and there are severe staff shortages. Justice Secretary Alex Chalk told Laura Kuenssberg that the relevant

‘This is the government’s mess, and it’s for them to sort it out’ In an interview with Laura Kuenssberg this morning, Keir Starmer was keen to emphasise Labour’s commitment to change and reform. When Kuenssberg pressed him on a few specific issues however, he deflected the questions, saying they were the current government’s problem. He

The papers were heavily focused today on the allegations that a BBC presenter paid a 17-year-old for sexually explicit photos. The mother of the victim has claimed that the presenter stayed on air for weeks after the complaint was made. The shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves told Sophy Ridge on Sky that this scandal goes beyond

Shapps – ‘the world has moved on’ from Boris Johnson Boris Johnson’s explosive resignation letter has produced further turmoil in the Conservative party this week, with allies supporting his claims that the privileges committee was part of a ‘witch- hunt’ against him. The Secretary for Energy Security Grant Shapps is clearly not part of that

Russian ambassador – We haven’t ‘started yet to act very seriously’ In an extraordinary interview with Laura Kuenssberg, the Russian ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin repeatedly deflected questions about Russian war crimes, instead suggesting Ukraine posed a threat to Russia. He said Russia had the power to massively escalate the conflict, and claimed it was

Rishi Sunak has a difficult decision on his hands: what to do about his Home Secretary? Suella Braverman is reported to have asked civil servants to organise special treatment for her after she was caught speeding. She has since paid the fine. But the PM – who is in Japan at the G7 summit –

‘Managed decline’, or ‘steely determination’? The fallout from the Conservatives’ disastrous local election results continued this week, with the inaugural conference of the rebellious Conservative Democratic Organisation. During the conference, former home secretary Priti Patel accused Rishi Sunak of presiding over the ‘managed decline’ of the Tory party. Energy Secretary Grant Shapps was determined to

Lucy Frazer – ‘Rishi’s only been the prime minister for six months’ This week the fallout from the local election results mingled with news of the coronation. Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer spoke to Laura Kuenssberg about the Conservatives’ disastrous results, claiming her party just needed to deliver on their promises. But Kuenssberg questioned whether they

This week both parties have been attempting to manage expectations ahead of the imminent local elections. The Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper has been reiterating the worst-case prediction that the Conservatives could lose up to 1000 seats. But Keir Starmer told Sophy Ridge he thought the Conservatives should be making ‘significant gains’, given

Is Dominic Raab a bully? Dominic Raab resigned as Deputy Prime Minister this week, after an investigation into bullying upheld some of the allegations against him. He didn’t go quietly however, claiming some ‘activist civil servants’ had been trying to block reforms they did not like. His successor, Oliver Dowden, told Sophy Ridge he had