Could the UK sleepwalk into Trumpian politics?
Electoral Dysfunction
Sky News
4.4 • 764 Ratings
🗓️ 10 April 2026
⏱️ 32 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The world is reeling, thanks (again) to US President Donald Trump -who started his week by threatening to kill a “whole civilisation”... and is ending it by insulting his NATO allies. It’s left Harriet asking just how Trump got to be so out of control - and how did the checks and balances designed to rein him in fail so spectacularly?
Ruth and Harriet discuss whether Trump’s chaotic leadership style shows that western democracies - including the UK - might be more fragile than we think, and if there’s a chance we could end up with our very own Trump-style leader.
They also ask whether the Government was right to block Kanye West from coming to the UK, and what the row over the decision tells us about antisemitism in this country.
Got a question for the burner phone? WhatsApp 07934 200 444 or email electoraldysfunction@sky.uk.
And if you didn't know, you can also watch Ruth and Harriet on YouTube.
Reform UK was given the opportunity to respond to Harriet Harman’s remarks about Nigel Farage in this episode.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Sky News, the full story first. |
| 0:09.3 | Hello, my name's Deborah Haynes. |
| 0:11.6 | I'm the security and defence editor at Sky News, and I'm interrupting electoral dysfunction |
| 0:16.3 | to suggest a bit of extra listening for your weekend. |
| 0:19.9 | You might have heard the Defence Secretary John John Healy, talk about Russian submarines trying to spy on the UK. |
| 0:26.0 | He said it was happening whilst everyone was distracted by Iran. |
| 0:29.9 | My podcast series, The War Game, is all about what Russia could do if it attacked the UK and whether we're prepared. |
| 0:37.2 | Moscow has recalled its ambassador to London, |
| 0:39.8 | saying Britain is now considered an unfriendly state. |
| 0:42.9 | With some of the biggest figures in politics and defence, |
| 0:46.1 | we played out what might happen. |
| 0:48.1 | In terms of military vulnerability, |
| 0:50.6 | is London the priority if this was an attack by Russia. |
| 0:55.9 | So have a listen to electoral dysfunction |
| 0:57.7 | and then search the war game on your podcast app. |
| 1:05.3 | If it could happen in the States, |
| 1:07.3 | which is a mature and sophisticated country, |
| 1:09.7 | a Western democracy, could it actually |
| 1:12.5 | happen here? |
| 1:15.6 | It still seems to be getting worse for people, and I don't know how to fix that. I don't know |
| 1:20.5 | how that gets fixed. |
| 1:23.0 | Nobody wants to have the government dictating what artists we hear and impinging on freedom of speech. |
... |
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