3. Inside Downing Street when war breaks out

A week is a long time in politics. After a crushing by-election defeat last week, the Prime Minister was hoping for a quiet week to recalibrate. Instead, he got a new war. The US and Israel’s joint attack on Iran has set in motion a whole new set of pressures on his government; navigating the ‘Special Relationship’ with the US, confronting the long shadow of Iraq hanging over the Labour Party and keeping the domestic ship afloat.

In this episode, former Deputy Cabinet Secretary Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson, former Special Advisor to Boris Johnson, reveal the reality of Number 10 on a war footing. What’s it like inside COBR meetings? Does the ‘boys club’ mentality take over? And how the hell do you keep the country running?

Timecodes:

00:00 Introduction

01:28 Iran War: recap of the week’s events

04:41 Domestic backdrop: Spring statement

07:01 The strange geography of 10 Downing Street this week

09:45 How to spot the signs of war in Number 10

12:45 History lesson: Gordon Brown’s COBR meetings

16:51 Why Boris Johnson didn’t like COBR meetings

19:40 The ‘Boys Club’ mindset at a time of war

24:03 Party politics during war

26:30 Why the Conservatives haven’t backed Labour

30:15 The importance of a US ambassador

31:50 Bizarre phone calls with POTUS

33:10 Theresa May holding hands with Trump

35:28 What should Starmer do next?

Cover image: PA

Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here.

This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios

Executive Producers: Olivia Foster and Carrie Rose

Producer: Sam Durham

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