Government in summer: who feels the heat?

2025-08-07

What is it really like to govern in summer? Who is in charge when ministers leave Westminster? And what happens when, as it so often does, the summer isn’t all that quiet? The Inside Briefing podcast team have headed into the vaults to dig out a special episode from 2021 featuring Sky’s Sam Coates, former (and future) minister Jacqui Smith, journalist Steve Richards and former No10 adviser Kate Fall. So join us we return to a time when Boris Johnson was prime minister, Keir Starmer was barely a yea...

What is it really like to govern in summer? Who is in charge when ministers leave Westminster? And what happens when, as it so often does, the summer isn’t all that quiet?

The Inside Briefing podcast team have headed into the vaults to dig out a special episode from 2021 featuring Sky’s Sam Coates, former (and future) minister Jacqui Smith, journalist Steve Richards and former No10 adviser Kate Fall.

So join us we return to a time when Boris Johnson was prime minister, Keir Starmer was barely a year into his tenure as leader of the opposition, and Nigel Farage was a few months into his recently announced retirement from politics and busy making Cameo messages.

Presented by Hannah White and Alex Thomas.

Original podcast recording by PodmastersUpdated edits by Candice McKenzie

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