Episodes

  • Is Keir Starmer bringing back austerity?

    Is Keir Starmer bringing back austerity?
    Mar 14 2025
    Sir Keir Starmer is doubling down on his bid to reduce government waste, but is his plan a fix or just more spending spin? Beth is in Hull after hearing what the Labour leader is promising, including scrapping NHS England to "cut bureaucracy" and bring management of the health service "back into democratic control".

    Alongside Harriet and Ruth, they also discuss Starmer potentially facing down a rebellion from his own MPs over plans to shake up benefits reform and welfare payments.

    The cracks are widening for Reform UK’s internal spat. Beth speaks to Andrea Jenkyns, who left the Tories to join Reform, on the party's latest bust-up, and Ruth and Harriet look at whether the party’s chaos is helping both Labour and the Conservatives.

    Email us at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

    And remember, you can also watch us on YouTube!
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    36 mins
  • Rachel Reeves: "People want to talk me down... I'll prove I can do it"

    Rachel Reeves: "People want to talk me down... I'll prove I can do it"
    Mar 7 2025
    Beth’s been to 11 Downing Street to talk to the Chancellor for Electoral Dysfunction.

    She took some of your questions (and a couple of Electoral Dysfunction mugs) with her.

    Rachel Reeves reflects on her first few months in the job, explains what she thinks of the “Rachel from Accounts” label and shares her own money-saving tip which she tries to do every day when at Downing Street.

    She also hints on what might come in her Spring Statement with some strong words on the need for welfare reform.

    Email us at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

    And remember, you can also watch us on YouTube!
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    1 hr
  • Will a ministerial resignation dent Starmer's post Trump high?

    Will a ministerial resignation dent Starmer's post Trump high?
    Feb 28 2025
    Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has returned from the US after what has been seen by Number 10 as a highly successful meeting with Donald Trump. This week, Beth Rigby, Harriet Harman and Ruth Davidson look at the preparation that went into this visit. Beth reveals how she caught the US president's attention. Plus, what is it like in the Oval Office? And how did Mr Trump react when he got that invitation from the King.

    They also discuss the resignation of development minister Annelise Dodds after the aid budget was cut to boost defence spending and ask whether this will dent Mr Starmer's post-Trump confidence.

    Email us at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

    And remember, you can also watch us on YouTube!
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    35 mins
  • A pact between Farage and Badenoch?

    A pact between Farage and Badenoch?
    Feb 21 2025
    What could a pact between Nigel Farage’s Reform party and Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives look like? Are we about to see the Tory party lurch closer to the right?

    Beth, Ruth and Harriet answer this and more, as they go through your questions – which means we also get the backstory to the iconic Beth Rigby red lipstick.

    And how difficult is being married to an MP? We hear from Ruth’s partner Jen about their lives in the spotlight when Ruth was leader of the Scottish Conservatives.

    Email us at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

    And remember, you can also watch us on YouTube!
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    28 mins
  • Labour WhatsApps: "If you’ve got racist thoughts then you shouldn't be an MP!"

    Labour WhatsApps: "If you’ve got racist thoughts then you shouldn't be an MP!"
    Feb 14 2025
    Do MPs say one thing in public, and another in private? This week, Beth Rigby, Harriet Harman and Ruth Davidson ask what’s been going on with the two MPs suspended from the Labour party over WhatsApps messages containing offensive comments.

    Andrew Gwynne and Oliver Ryan both lost the whip after Sunday newspaper revelations.
    It’s been a difficult week for Harriet – she's worked with Andrew Gwynne for a number of years and says it’s made her question her judgement.

    Also – are we about to see by elections as a result?

    And in the week the assisted dying debate is back in the news, we discuss the repercussions of the plan to scrap the need for High Court approval after Beth speaks to the MP who has campaigned for the changes, Labour’s Kim Leadbeater.

    Email us at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.

    Watch us on Youtube too - new videos every week here.
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    40 mins
  • Is it already over for Kemi Badenoch?

    Is it already over for Kemi Badenoch?
    Feb 7 2025
    This week, Ruth's changed her opinion about Kemi Badenoch – but it isn't any more favourable for the new Tory leader. Ruth had thought she'd get two years in the job – now she's thinking it might be less than 18 months.

    Beth's in a hotel room in Preston after an interview with Keir Starmer. She reflects on how the prime minister can push his domestic message when most people want to talk about Donald Trump.

    And Harriet goes all headmistressy with a warning to new Labour MPs in the "red wall" who've reportedly set up a group to lobby their leader for a tougher stance on migration.
    She says: "We don't want factionalism and all these different tribes. Don't set up these flipping groups."

    You can now watch us on YouTube! Just search for "Electoral Dysfunction".

    Email us at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.
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    38 mins
  • Can Love Island help Rachel Reeves?

    Can Love Island help Rachel Reeves?
    Jan 31 2025
    You can now watch Beth, Ruth and Harriet on YouTube! Just search for "Electoral Dysfunction".

    The chancellor was trying to channel Love Island when she announced her plans for growth this week.

    But are her new ideas actually the "bombshell" her advisers hope they'll be? Can they get everyone's attention?

    And will the strategy be enough for Rachel Reeves to keep all of the cabinet and the Labour Party on side when so many of them have been opposed to the third runway at Heathrow?

    Meanwhile, on the five-year anniversary of Brexit – is Sir Keir Starmer getting closer to Europe?

    Email us at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.
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    39 mins
  • Southport murders – was there a ‘cover-up’?

    Southport murders – was there a ‘cover-up’?
    Jan 24 2025
    As Axel Rudakubana is sentenced for the murder of three young girls and the attempted murder of 10 more people last year, Electoral Dysfunction reflects on how the prime minister has handled claims that authorities covered up how much they knew about the killer in the days and weeks after.

    Beth discusses how Sir Keir Starmer answered her questions about those claims. Harriet calls for the public inquiry into the failings to be completed quickly and Ruth agrees with the PM about changing the legal definition of terrorism.

    Later in the podcast – how will Donald Trump impact UK politics?

    Email us at electoraldysfunction@sky.uk, post on X to @BethRigby, or send a WhatsApp voice note on 07934 200 444.
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    34 mins