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Politics Unpacked

Reform Team, Assemble

Politics Unpacked

Anna Covell

News, Politics, News & Politics

4.11.4K Ratings

🗓️ 17 February 2026

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The Reform UK 'shadow cabinet' has assembled. Nigel Farage has appointed Robert Jenrick, Suella Braverman and Zia Yusuf to key roles - but will voters be convinced that the party is truly a government-in-waiting?


Hugo Rifkind unpacks the politics of the day with Libby Purves and James Marriott.


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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello, hello, I'm Hugo Rifkin, and now we're going to be unpacking the politics of the day

0:09.9

for whether reform can convince voters it's a government in waiting to Keir Stalmers' 14th or perhaps 15th U-turn.

0:16.8

And we'll ask the question as well, why would anybody want to go to university anymore?

0:20.9

We'll also have a rant about how influences are ruining restaurants. And joining me are the last two people. I'd expect to Instagram their dinners. And they are Libby Purvis. Hello, Libby. I could have an Instagram dinner if I wanted. Why can't I? What did you have for dinner last night? And what would it look like in a photo? I didn't have any because I was at the theatre

0:38.7

Well that would have been bleak

0:40.7

It's just an empty plate What did you have for dinner last night and what would it look like in a photo? I didn't have any because I was at the theatre.

0:39.3

Well, that would have been bleak. It's just an empty plate. And also James Marriott. Hello, James. Hello. I mean, you couldn't Instagram your dinner because you don't do social media. You'd have to take an actual Polaroid and then post it to someone. Exactly. and none of the dinners that I have ever cooked

0:53.1

are remotely Instagrammable

0:55.0

unfortunately. Might they be anti-insagrammable?

0:57.7

Might they be anti-insagrammable? Might they be so bad that they could go

0:59.5

viral? They sort of could be. I have cooked some pretty disgusting stuff in my time. Most disgusting?

1:05.9

I once managed to cook a dinner for my girlfriend. I can't remember what exactly was in it, but it was basically entirely white or beige. It was sort of cauliflower, yogurt. It was really gross. I'd sort of, I always get sucked into the idea that I can be creative and create my own dinners that are following a recipe, which I can, but the results are never good. See, it's so often because we're, you know, we're speaking now sort of not that long before

1:28.3

lunchtime.

1:28.9

Whenever food comes up on this show, I find myself feeling terribly hungry. Not this time. Let's crack on. Let's talk about some politics. Let's begin with reform. As we speak, Nigel Farage is currently unveiling what he's calling his shadow cabinet. It's, of course, not really the shadow cabinet, as reform is not the official opposition.

1:44.6

But it does give us an idea of what reform government could or would look like.

1:49.1

We'll bring you the key updates as we have them, but he began by making this statement.

1:53.4

There are three things really that we're looking for when it comes to appointing people to

1:57.6

positions to speak officially on behalf of the party. One is the youthful energy and enthusiasm that reformers who've never been in government before

2:06.9

have.

2:07.9

The second thing we're looking for is genuine experience because people at Richard Tyson

2:13.0

myself, we know we've not been in number 10, we've never been on the front line, we need

2:17.2

people who've been there and who know how it works, or perhaps more accurately, how and why it doesn't work.

...

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