The New Statesman.

Labour hit its lowest ever poll rating last week, coming forth at just 17%.

Westminster is full of chatter about a leadership coup at the hands of Wes Streeting,

and Labour MPs and government aides alike are dismayed by Keir Stammer's leadership and the state of number 10. Has the Prime Minister reached the point of no return? I'm Anousa Kellean and this is the New Statesman podcast and joining me today is our new political editor Alvaree. Welcome back. Hello. Hello. It's been a while. I know. It's so nice to be back with you. Yeah. So how long ago were you last here? Three years? I think it was about three years. I was just commenting the cushions are new. Because I was only in this studio for about a month, I think, before I left. Yeah. So really the last time we were properly recording together was in the broom cupboard. Oh, the broom cupboard. Those

were the days. Great times. Oh, in our bedrooms, actually, over the pandemic as well. I have very, very

strong memories of my terrible Wi-Fi. And you and Stephen patiently waiting. Yeah, just logging into

Zancaster. Yeah. Yeah. A weird time. People still talk to me about sort of the new Sakess and podcasts getting them through lockdown.

Yeah, me too. A lot of listeners sort of forged the relationship at that point, which is really nice.

We're glad to bring that relationship back. Hello again.

Yeah, upholstering you with new cushions to commemorate the moment. So last time you were here, actually,

and you wrote this in your excellent cover story, which is going to be on the shelves this week

in the New Statesman. The last time you were here, it was during the dying days of Boris Johnson's

government. And I think every week, because we recorded weekly back then, now we're daily.

Just to warn you. So we would discuss every week, I mean, because we recorded weekly back then. Now we're daily. Just to warn you.

Yeah.

So we would discuss every week the mood among MPs darkening, you know, over his premiership, how everything was going wrong.

And actually in your cover story, you draw a parallel between that atmosphere that you remember then and the conversations that you're having with people now

about Kirstama's leadership. So can you tell our listeners and our viewers about those parallels?

I know. I mean, even when I was writing the cover, I listened to one of our old episodes, one of

the last ones that you and Stephen and I did, and we were talking about how Boris Johnson had

managed to stagger on until recess, because we had been talking about how Boris Johnson had managed to stagger on until recess because we had been talking

about how Boris Johnson seemed doomed and in crisis for maybe five or six months.

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