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Woman's Hour

Women in Burnham's cabinet, hysteroscopy and pain relief, author Danielle Giles

Woman's Hour

BBC

Society & Culture

4.13K Ratings

🗓️ 21 July 2026

⏱️ 59 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We look at the women in Andy Burnham's government. Three out of four of the great offices of state are now occupied by men, but there are lots of female MPs joining - and re-joining - the top table. Clare McDonnell talks to broadcaster and former Labour advisor Baroness Ayesha Hazarika and Bloomberg's UK political commentator Rosa Prince.

Could using conscious sedation transform the experience of hysteroscopy? Around 70,000 women undergo this womb procedure every year, but campaigners say many are still left in severe pain with too few options for pain relief. Clare McDonnell hears from Dawn Lord who says her hysteroscopy left her traumatised, and from Irina Stankeviciute, a hysteroscopy nurse who has helped pioneer a new conscious sedation service aimed at giving women more choice and control.

The Commonwealth Games begin on Thursday in Glasgow. Which female athletes we should be keeping our eyes on, and what we can look forward to in this year's competition? BBC Sport Journalist Matt Henry gives his picks, and Clare is also joined by wheelchair racer Melanie Woods who will be competing.

Gentle Things is a novel set in 1660s London, as the city reels from the impact of the Great Fire and the Plague. Writer Danielle Giles joins Clare to discuss why the world of 17th century apothecaries, who created medicinal cures from herbs, spices and sometimes from human body parts, was the perfect setting for a Gothic novel.

Transcript

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0:00.0

BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts.

0:07.0

If you like listening to BBC podcasts, she felt a crackle of energy, then you might also enjoy a good audio book.

0:13.1

The game's afoot.

0:14.1

Whether it's for your commute or your holiday, I listen to some terrible Spanish radio.

0:18.5

There are loads on BBC sounds.

0:20.7

From contemporary gems to much love classics.

0:23.3

Mr. Darcy soon drew the attention of the room.

0:26.4

All packed with personality.

0:28.2

With narrators like Julie Andrews, Hugh Bonneville and Andrew Scott.

0:31.6

What kind of a name is that?

0:33.3

Just search audiobooks on BBC sounds.

0:36.1

Hello, this is Claire Macdonnell and you're listening to the Woman's Hour podcast.

0:40.4

Hello and welcome to Woman's Hour.

0:42.9

Well, we have a new Prime Minister and a new cabinet with a 50-50 split of men and women in it.

0:50.3

But fewer women in the top offices of state.

0:54.4

Chancellor of the Exchequer and Foreign Secretary were positioned occupied by women,

0:59.7

and now John Healy and Ed Miliband take up those roles.

1:04.0

So what does this backslide in women in the top jobs at the heart of government

1:08.1

mean for the prioritisation of issues that matter to women.

1:11.9

Well, we're going to talk this through shortly, but I would love to hear from you this morning.

1:16.0

Andy Burnham has pitched himself as the People's PM.

1:19.5

He's touring the country this summer to hear directly from you.

...

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