Morgan McSweeney Resigns

Right after we published our last episode the news that Morgan McSweeney had quit as the Prime Minister Keir Starmer's chief of staff broke.

So Paddy and political correspondent Joe Pike got back in the studio and got Laura up on the phone to chat through why he says he’s gone, who he is, what a chief of staff does, and who could replace him.

We also look at what it means for the prime minister, and why cabinet member Pat McFadden didn’t even see this coming.

Laura, Paddy, and political correspondent Joe Pike look at the arguments for and against those suggestions.

You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers.

You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord

Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480.

New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd

Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC.

The presenters were Laura Kuenssberg and Paddy O’Connell. It was made by Chris Flynn with Kris Jalowiecki. The technical producer was Frank McWeeny. The weekend series producer is Chris Flynn. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.