08/11/2025
The Week in Westminster
BBC
4.0 • 258 Ratings
🗓️ 8 November 2025
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sunday Times political editor Caroline Wheeler reports on the latest developments at Westminster.
Following a political row about mistaken prisoner releases, Caroline speaks to former Conservative Justice Secretary, Sir Robert Buckland, and Labour MP Chris Murray, a member of the Home Affairs Committee.
The chair of the Lords economic affairs committee, Stewart Wood, and Reform MP, Danny Kruger, discuss the Chancellor's speech in which she appeared to lay the ground for the government to break its manifesto tax promises.
Why do parties have manifestos? And what are the implications of ditching them? Dr Cath Haddon of the Institute for Government explains.
And does Zohran Mamdani's victory in the New York mayoral election hold any lessons for left-wing politicians in Britain? Green Party Leader, Zack Polanski, and Observer political editor, Rachel Sylvester, debate the significance of Mamdani's win.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Caroline Wheeler of the Sunday Times with The Week in Westminster. |
| 0:11.5 | Will she or won't she? That was the big question on everyone's lips this week after the |
| 0:17.8 | Chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered a speech where she refused to rule out manifesto-breaking tax rises. |
| 0:23.6 | But the speculation about the Chancellor's forthcoming budget was eclipsed by political drama from a more unusual source, Deputy Prime Minister's Questions. |
| 0:33.6 | With Kirstam away in Brazil for the COP Climate Summit, it was David Lamy, Deputy PM and Justice Secretary, who took questions in the Commons on Wednesday. |
| 0:45.0 | Opposite him was James Cartledge, the Shadow Defence Secretary, who, to the surprise of those in the chamber, chose to focus on the issue of inmates accidentally released from prison. |
| 0:56.1 | Just weeks after the recapture of the Epping Migrant Sex Offender, |
| 1:00.0 | who himself was accidentally released from jail, |
| 1:02.8 | Mr Cartledge asked the Deputy PM five times in a row |
| 1:06.1 | whether any other asylum seeker offenders had been inadvertently released. |
| 1:17.1 | Mr. Speaker, he's the Justice Secretary. He's responsible for the justice system. |
| 1:25.1 | He needs to take responsibility and I'm asking him a straight question. And I'm going to repeat it once more for the avoidance of doubts, because he didn't |
| 1:28.0 | answer it twice. He's here to answer questions. Can he reassure the House that since |
| 1:35.9 | Kibati was released, no other asylum-seeking offender has been accidentally let out of prison? |
| 1:42.5 | It's a clear question. Can he give an answer? |
| 1:44.6 | Deputy Prime Minister. |
| 1:45.5 | Get a grip man. |
| 1:46.7 | I know I'm the Justice Secretary. |
| 1:48.4 | That's why I'm at the dispatch box, also as Deputy Prime Minister. |
| 1:51.6 | We know that. |
| 1:53.0 | And increasingly rattled David Lammy repeatedly dodged the question. |
| 1:57.2 | But minutes later, it was revealed that another foreign prisoner was indeed on the run, |
... |
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