The Drama Keir, I Love It
Politics Unpacked
Anna Covell
4.1 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 10 February 2026
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
After a political whirlwind caused by the Mandelson scandal came close to ending Sir Keir Starmer's premiership, some of his supporters claim the media is addicted to drama - do they have a point?
Hugo unpacks the politics of the day with Libby Purves and James Marriott.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, I'm Hugo Rifkin, and now we're going to be unpacking the politics of the day |
| 0:09.6 | from where the government's psychodrama is really the media's fault |
| 0:12.4 | to the banal philosophising of the world's business elite in the Epstein files |
| 0:16.3 | and also high-calorie sandwiches and sexy, Wuthering Heights. |
| 0:19.9 | We'll get Judge Libby's views on all of that. |
| 0:21.6 | Speaking of which, hello, Libby Purvis. |
| 0:23.6 | Hello. |
| 0:24.4 | How are you? |
| 0:25.5 | Oh, all right. |
| 0:26.1 | It's cold here. |
| 0:27.0 | Is it? |
| 0:27.4 | It's quite cold here, but I'm safely indoors. |
| 0:30.2 | I recommend going indoors, Libby. |
| 0:31.7 | It might help. |
| 0:32.6 | And we're also joined by the brooding Heathcliff of the Times. |
| 0:35.5 | James Marriott. Hello. Good morning. |
| 0:55.5 | Well, you're saying that in a particularly brooding way. I'm saying that in a slightly sleep-deprived feeling way. I feel simultaneously very tired, but also weirdly wide. I was just saying to the producers I've had four cups of coffee and two cups of tea this morning. Why were you up so late? Were you living wild in a wild James Marriott way? In the final stages of book writing. |
| 0:56.0 | Right. My head is stages of book writing. |
| 1:29.3 | Oh, right. So my head is spinning with book edits. Well, this promises to be a rewarding half hour then. I was hoping you'd say you'd been up all night talking about Dostoevsky or something, but no. I wish. I wish. Maybe tonight. Let's talk some politics. Kirste Starmer met with his cabinet this morning after ministers rallied around him after facing calls for his resignation. It's been a bruising couple of days for sure. He's lost two of his key advisors and the support of the Scottish Labour leader, Anna Sawa. But is it all our fault? The likes of Alastaira Campbell, former number 10 director of communications turned podcaster and also Tom Baldwin, kistama's biographer think the media or the problem i'll read you a bit of what alister campbell posted on x he says |
| 1:33.5 | one of the big problems with our politics is that we have a media media including and even especially |
| 1:37.8 | in westminster that treats politics largely as a soap opera and he goes on to some extent |
| 1:43.2 | what do you reckon j, is it our fault? |
... |
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