Is Starmer finally getting to grips with being PM?

Radical with Amol Rajan

BBC

Society & Culture

4.5 • 919 Ratings

🗓️ 13 March 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Voters seem to be giving Keir Starmer a bit of credit for the role he has been playing on the world stage, so is it a sign that the prime minister is getting better at politics?

Former Labour cabinet minister Lord Blunkett tells Amol what he makes of the prime minister’s recent performance, why he thinks the government is right to cut the welfare budget and what lessons it could learn from Alastair Campbell about spin (2:15).

Amol also talks to Anna Foster after it was announced that she will be joining Today as one of its main presenters (36:22).

To get Amol and Nick's take on the biggest stories and insights from behind the scenes at the UK's most influential radio news programme make sure you hit subscribe on BBC Sounds. That way you’ll get an alert every time they release a new episode.

GET IN TOUCH: * Send us a message or a voice note via WhatsApp to +44 330 123 4346 * Email today@bbc.co.uk

The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson who are both presenters of BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. Amol was the BBC’s media editor for six years and is the former editor of the Independent, he’s also the current presenter of University Challenge. Nick has presented the Today programme since 2015, he was the BBC’s political editor for ten years before that and also previously worked as ITV’s political editor.

This episode was made by Lewis Vickers with Izzy Rowley and Grace Reeve. Digital production was by Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Jonny Baker. The editor is Louisa Lewis. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths.

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:04.7	Hello, it's a mole in the Today Podcast studio,
0:07.0	feeling somewhat lonely because Nick is off on his travels,
0:09.8	which you can keep up to date with on Instagram,
0:12.5	where he's being very, very productive.
0:14.6	But we're going to talk about politics.
0:16.1	Nick will be back, no doubt, listening to this,
0:17.8	on his beach somewhere in India.
0:20.0	We're going to talk about Kirstama and how he's getting on, because after on his beach somewhere in India, we're going to talk about
0:21.0	Keir Stama and how he's getting on, because after a difficult few months in power, voters
0:25.3	seem to be giving Keir Starrma, Sir Keir, a bit of credit for the role that he's been playing
0:30.0	on the world stage, bridging the gap between President Trump and Ukraine's European allies.
0:35.9	According to UGov, his intense round of diplomacy has seen him
0:40.0	rewarded with his highest poll ratings in six months, albeit from an alarmingly low point for a
0:45.7	relatively new prime minister. But is his performance on the world stage a sign that Kirstama is
0:51.4	getting better at politics? And can he capitalise on that
0:54.8	at home, where many more very difficult decisions are looming? As we head towards the spring
1:00.6	statement, the government is looking to make big savings from areas like the welfare budget,
1:04.9	which it says it's going to cut despite very strong and indeed growing opposition from Labour MPs.
1:11.6	Ministers have also got their sights on streamlining the civil service.
1:14.7	That's going to encounter a few objections, not just from civil servants.
1:18.4	And I'm going to be speaking to someone who's really been at the centre of politics in this country for decades
	...

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