The

The Hello and welcome to rock and roll politics with me Steve Richards, the weekly podcast.

Thank you so much for tuning in wherever you are in the UK and indeed around the rest of

the world. And I know I say this every week, but as ever, we have got so much to cram in

in our time together. So if it's okay with all of you, this is how we're going to structure our time together.

I'll make a few of the assembly notices to sort of keep us all informed of the twists and turns.

And then again, if it's okay with all of you, I want to reflect on two consequences so far from the confidence vote last week. One is the call from a range of

Tory MPs, commentators and indeed cabinet ministers, four in inverted commas, tax cuts. I want to explore those two words so potent in

British politics since the early 1980s, and what it really means. It's repeated as if it is in itself

kind of so obvious, but it's not.

And inevitably, we are going to return briefly to Brexit

because you just can't get away from it.

The Irish question occurs again and again,

because as we've discussed many times on this podcast, there is no

answer to it. And unsurprisingly, the protocol negotiated and proclaimed as a triumph by Lord

Frosty and Boris Johnson is under all sorts of pressure.

So, and with all kinds of consequences.

So I'll be reflecting on those two immediate kind of consequences.

Johnson trying to please his backbenchers.

He has no choice but to try and please them.

They have leverage over him. what pops up, tax cuts. And oh yeah, we're going to take them on over the protocol that we ourselves negotiated. Anyway, I'll be reflecting on those two themes. And then over to you with some as ever, fantastic questions which cast so much light on so many of

the themes whirling around British politics at the moment. But before all of that, thank you

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