07/06/2025

George Parker, the political editor of the Financial Times assesses the latest developments at Westminster.

Following the publication of the Strategic Defence Review, George discusses the recommendations made in the Report with its main author, the Labour peer Lord Robertson, who is a former secretary general of NATO and a former Labour defence secretary and with Penny Mordaunt, the former Conservative defence secretary.

Amid mounting concern at Westminster over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, George is joined by Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale and Labour MP Jon Pearce, the chair of Labour Friends of Israel, to discuss the latest.

To discuss the results of the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election in Scotland, George brings together Jamie McGuire, who was a Labour councillor until he defected, a few days ago, to Reform UK and Kezia Dugdale, a former leader of the Scottish Labour Party who is now at the Centre for Public Policy at Glasgow University.

And, finally, ahead of next week's Spending Review, George speaks to crossbench peer, Lord Macpherson, who was the Permanent Secretary at the Treasury and to Conservative peer and former Cabinet Minister Michael Gove, who is the editor of the Spectator magazine.