PMQs: Keir Starmer's 'Bag Carrier' Lifts The Lid
Politics Unpacked
Anna Covell
4.4 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 18 June 2025
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It's deputy PMQs this week while the prime minister is away, and we're joined by a special guest. Chris Ward is Keir Starmer's close aide and parliamentary private secretary, known in Westminster as a 'bag carrier'.
He explains what really goes on in the Commons chamber every Wednesday, and helps Hugo Rifkind and Patrick Maguire unpack the exchanges between Angela Rayner and Chris Philp.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | How not to be a political wife, less than one, become one in the first place. |
| 0:05.0 | I'm Sarah Vine. I spent nearly 20 years in the thick of it, an official eavesdropper on the chaos at the top. |
| 0:11.0 | Between raising two kids, building my journalism career and standing by my husband through the political roller coaster, |
| 0:18.0 | I saw it all and lived it all. My story told with honesty, grit, |
| 0:23.1 | and absolutely no sugar coating. How Not to Be a Political Wife by me, Sarah Vine, is out now. |
| 0:32.9 | PMQs unpacked on Times Radio. Unpacking the politics and cutting through the crossfire. |
| 0:39.5 | Yes, we're unpacking PMQs. |
| 0:40.9 | As always, I am joined by the Times as Chief Political correspondent, Patrick McIgoy. |
| 0:45.0 | Comptator, thank you, Hugh. |
| 0:46.2 | I do apologise. |
| 0:47.1 | Chief of little commentator, Patrick McGuire. |
| 0:48.7 | Don't imply any more work than is absolutely necessary. |
| 0:53.0 | It's funny, corresponding seems like unidirectional, whereas commentating is absolutely necessary. Yeah, yeah, exactly. It's funny. |
| 0:54.7 | Corresponding seems like you need directional, whereas commentating is pure broadcast. |
| 0:57.4 | Yeah, you look, I'm always on transmit mode. |
| 0:59.9 | Yes, absolutely. |
| 1:00.8 | Okay, and look, we've got a special guest this week as well. |
| 1:03.0 | It's the Labour MP, Chris Ward. |
| 1:04.1 | Hello, Chris. |
| 1:04.7 | Hello, thanks for having me. |
| 1:05.6 | Thank you for being an MP. You were his speech |
| 1:11.1 | writer, his deputy chief of staff. But now you're an MP, you're his PPS or his parliamentary |
... |
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