14/02/2026
The Week in Westminster
BBC
4.0 • 258 Ratings
🗓️ 14 February 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Caroline Wheeler of The Sunday Times assesses the latest developments at Westminster.
After a week in which the Prime Minister had to fight for his political survival, Caroline speaks to Labour grandee, Alan Johnson, a Cabinet minister in both the Blair and Brown governments, and Peter Hyman, a former strategist for Tony Blair when he was in Number Ten.
In the wake of the scandal around Peter Mandelson, and amid concerns about the slow progress of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, a new cross-party group is calling for 'wholesale' reform of the House of Lords. One of those involved is Carmen Smith of Plaid Cymru, the youngest member of the House of Lords. Lord Young of Acton, a Conservative peer and founder of the Free Speech Union, is concerned that rule changes on stripping peerages could be used to suppress speech.
Ahead of the Government's Schools White Paper, which is likely to include controversial reforms to special educational needs provision, Caroline speaks to Jo Hutchinson of the Education Policy Institute about how the system might be changed.
And, to discuss what it's like inside Number Ten at moments of political crisis, Caroline brings together Guto Harri, former Director of Communications to Boris Johnson, and Luke Sullivan, former political director for Sir Keir Starmer.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is Caroline Wheeler with the week in Westminster. |
| 0:09.3 | Sarkier-Starmer has made it to the half-term recess, but only just. |
| 0:14.4 | After the most difficult week of his premiership, which saw him almost run out of road, |
| 0:18.9 | he has reached the relative calm of a week-long parliamentary break. |
| 0:23.6 | But while the Commons will fall silent for the next seven days, the questions swirling around him will not. |
| 0:30.6 | The crisis began on Sunday with the resignation of Morgan McSweeney, the Prime Minister's closest aid, |
| 0:36.8 | and the architect of his meteoric rise to power. |
| 0:40.1 | That was followed the next day by the resignation of Tim Allen, |
| 0:43.8 | number 10's Director of Communications. |
| 0:46.4 | But the biggest blow came shortly afterwards from Anna Sawa, |
| 0:50.4 | Labour's leader in Scotland, who openly called on Secere to go. |
| 0:54.7 | I am not willing to sacrifice Scotland's NHS, our schools, our communities, our towns, cities, villages and islands |
| 1:02.2 | to a third decade of an SMP government. That's why the distraction needs to end and the leadership |
| 1:10.3 | in Downing Street has to change. |
| 1:13.9 | That bombshell intervention led to fevered speculation that it would be the opening salvo in a |
| 1:19.3 | concerted attempt by senior labour figures to oust the Prime Minister. But after a rollercoast a few |
| 1:25.8 | hours, the Cabinet united behind him and he lived to fight another day. |
| 1:30.9 | Speaking the following afternoon, Sarkir sounded a defiant note. |
| 1:35.2 | I will never walk away from the mandate I was given to change this country. |
| 1:40.4 | I will never walk away from the people that I am charged with fighting for. And I will never walk away from the people that I am charged with fighting for. |
| 1:46.0 | And I will never walk away from the country that I love. |
| 1:49.7 | At the heart of the turmoil lies the controversial appointment of Peter Mandelson |
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