PMQ's unpacked on Times Radio unpacking the politics and cutting through the crossfire.

And today I'm joined by a familiar voice to you all. Laura Spirit is back from Washington to start a new role as Deputy Politica at the Sunday Times. Hello, Laura. Hi, Hugo. How are you? I'm good. Have you missed Westminster?

You know, I really have. I really have. I went yesterday and I felt very excited to be back. It feels good. It feels good to see lots of familiar faces. Obviously, you were watching PMQs your whole time away. Of course. I would miss a single one. Not least because it's pretty early on in the day as well. It's just how you wake up. Wake up. Exactly. Wake up to Hugo Rifkin, to Patrick McGuire. We're also joined this week by the former Conservative Minister Steve Baker. Hello, Steve.

Hello. Great to be here. Do you miss PMQs? Do you miss being part of the vibe and the buzz? Well, I mean, I do miss the privilege of being able to just walk into the House of Commons at Prime Minister's questions. I mean, actually, it's in, with the benefit of hindsight, you know, what a privilege that is to better just stand there and be there.

But to be honest, usually you can predict what will happen on though. You're going to ask me to predict what we're going to say. Yeah, it's dangerous thing to say. But yeah. Can you not still just walk in? I thought you'd get to keep a pass. No, I'd get a loser's pass, yeah. A lovely orange pass. Yeah, it's the same colour as a visitor's pass.

And what I've discovered is that all the things that you'd really want to yeah, a lovely orange pass. Yeah, it's the same colour as a visitor's pass.

And what I've discovered is that all the things that you'd really want to do, you can't do. So I can't have a cup of tea on the terrace. I can't go into the special balcony above the commons. I have to have an MP sign the papers. So it makes you feel a bit sad. but I will be going into the comments later

for an event using my pass and it is nice.

You were not a stranger to making

your own Prime Minister uncomfortable at PMQs. What advice would you give for Labour backbench rebels? Well, the main thing is to select and maintain the aim that you have. I mean, what are you trying to do? I mean, when I was making Prime Ministers feel uncomfortable, I was trying to achieve very particular purposes.

I never did it in a scattergun way. I don't think anyone could reasonably allege that. So, yeah, select and maintain your aim. And if you're trying to keep a Labour government in power, then you need to support a Prime Minister. If you're trying to get a Prime Minister to change their policy, well, then you've got to decide how far you're going to go. Okay, and look, we do like predictions on this show,

particularly if the predictions that can be proven right or wrong within

frankly seconds after they've been made so i mean i guess i'm interested to know whether kemmy badnach

goes big on the war today whether she tries to sort of you know pre-talliate with the

mandelson emails emails what do you think laura what are you expectingtalliate with the, the Mandelson emails, emails. What do you think,

Laura, what are you expecting? I mean, you could see the Mandelson emails being mentioned, but actually,

I think much more likely we see conversations around the war, questions that try to eke out

answers where there have been perhaps equivocation or prevarication from the Prime Minister.

I think particularly these questions around how the cost of living crisis is coming into view

with regard to the war, particularly around energy, this question of fuel duty, whether or not

they will walk back that planned increase.

So definitely will be keeping my eyes up for that today.

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