Electoral Dysfunction

• 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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• Southport murders – was there a ‘cover-up’?

  As Axel Rudakubana is sentenced for the murder of three young girls and the attempted murder of 10 more people last year, Electoral Dysfunction reflects on how the prime minister has handled claims that authorities covered up how much they knew about the killer in the days and weeks after.Beth discusses how Sir Keir Starmer answered her questions about those claims. Harriet calls for the public inquiry into the failings to be completed quickly and Ruth agrees with the PM about changing the legal definition of terrorism.Later in the podcast – how will Donald Trump impact UK politics?Email us at [email protected], post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.        

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• Welcome to Trump World: How everything is changing

  After "going dark" for most of the week, Beth pops up in Poland to talk world politics with Ruth and Harriet. Top security, a slow train and Russian drones are all part of the inside story of the prime minister's visit to Ukraine.Beth explores why UK solidarity with Ukraine could mean British boots on the ground.And overshadowing everything is president-elect Trump. He is already leaving his mark on the world. Trump claimed his impending inauguration piled on the pressure to get the Gaza ceasefire deal through.Ruth, Harriet and Beth work out how the UK needs to manage its role in "Trump World". And in Ukraine, Beth finds out if the Trump era could leave the country feeling betrayed.Email us at [email protected], post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

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