Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music * Sky News As the head of MI6 prepares to make her first public speech, is the UK facing a “new age of uncertainty?” Sam and Anne discuss the priorities for Blaise Metreweli – identifying where the perceived threats are coming from and how Britain is being targeted. Before he jets off to Berlin for more Russian-Ukraine peace talks, the prime minister will face the liaison committee as parliament begins to wind down for the year. Plus, Rishi Sunak makes another appearance at the Covid Inquiry.

LONDON — When a job for life beckons, principles have a way of disappearing. Keir Starmer has given 25 close allies an early Christmas present, appointing them to Britain’s unelected House of Lords. They’ll don some ermine, bag a grand title, claim £371 a day just for showing up and swan around the Palace of Westminster for the rest of their lives — or at least until their 80th birthday. The PM’s former Director of Communications Matthew Doyle, Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ ex-Chief of Staff Katie Martin and Iceland Foods Founder Richard Walker are among the lucky Labour-supporting individuals given a spot in Britain’s unelected legislating chamber — all without having to make their case to British voters. The opposition Tories and Lib Dems (no strangers to filling the upper chamber when they were in power) got a paltry three and five spots respectively, while the insurgent Reform UK and Greens missed out completely. Pushing back at the criticism, which comes as Labour vows a host of changes to the upper chamber, a party official said: “⁠The Tories stuffed the House of Lords, creating a serious imbalance that has allowed them to frustrate our plans to make working families better off. “This needs to be corrected to deliver on our mandate from the British people. We will continue to progress our program of reform, which includes removing the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the Lords.” POLITICO runs through five times the party laid into the red benches. 2020: BRING THE HOUSE DOWN Starmer was unapologetically radical during the Labour leadership contest to replace Jeremy Corbyn. He made 10 striking pledges as he courted the party’s left-wing membership. One included a promise to “devolve power, wealth and opportunity” by introducing a federal system which would “abolish the House of Lords and replace it with an elected chamber.” 2022: KEIR THE FIXER The Labour leader still backed Lords abolition for a chunk of his time in opposition — though he knew existing Labour peers might have a view or two about that. Starmer charmed his unelected legislators in November 2022 by praising the “vital role” they played, but insisted he was focused on “restoring trust in politics” after ex-PM Boris Johnson rewarded “lackeys and donors” with peerages. Sound familiar?  “We need to show how we will do things differently. Reforming our second chamber has to be a part of that,” the Labour leader said. 2022: STRONG CONSTITUTION The following month, Labour’s plans got a hard launch. In a dazzling (well, for Starmer) press conference, he promised the “biggest ever transfer of power from Westminster to the British people.” Strong stuff. Starmer got party bigwig and ex-PM Gordon Brown to pen a report backing constitutional change — including the abolition of the House of Lords. Starmer said an unelected chamber was “indefensible” and an elected house would be created “with a strong mission.” A timeframe was not forthcoming. 2023: SLOW AND STEADY Angela Smith has led Labour in the Lords since 2015, but still recognizes reform is needed. The shadow Lords leader insisted Labour wouldn’t flood the chamber with its own people if in power. Angela Smith has led Labour in the Lords since 2015, but still recognizes reform is needed. | Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images  “No. Ain’t gonna happen,” she told the House magazine just months before the general election. “The idea that Keir Starmer is on day one going to have a list of 100 people to put here is cloud cuckoo.”  She said it wasn’t all about winning votes: “I don’t want this to be a numbers game, like ‘yah boo, we’ve got more than you, we’re gonna win, we’re gonna smash this through’. That’s not what the House of Lords does.” She may feel differently now the government suffers defeats on its legislation under her watch. 2024: WRITTEN IN SAND Labour’s election-winning manifesto retreated from the halcyon rebel days of opposition, but it was still punchy. “Reform is long overdue and essential,” it argued, claiming “too many peers do not play a proper role in our democracy.” The manifesto also promised a minimum participation requirement, mandatory retirement age and strengthened processes for removing disgraced members. “We will reform the appointments process to ensure the quality of new appointments and will seek to improve the national and regional balance of the second chamber,” it said. No. 10 insisted Thursday it will progress with House of Lords reform — though … declined to give a timeline.

LONDON — The Council of Europe’s most senior human rights official warned European leaders not to create a “hierarchy of people” as they pursue reforms to migration policy. Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe’s commissioner for human rights, said “middle-of-the-road politicians” are playing into the hands of the populist right. His comments, in an interview with the Guardian newspaper, come after 27 countries in the Council of Europe issued a statement Wednesday setting out how they want the European Convention on Human Rights to be applied by courts, including on familial ties and the risk of degrading treatment. The nations hope to reach a political declaration in spring 2026. O’Flaherty warned against any approach that would downgrade human rights, echoing calls he made in a speech to European ministers Wednesday morning. “The idea that we would create or foster the impression of a hierarchy of people, some more deserving than others, is a very, very worrying one indeed,” he said. He added: “For every inch yielded, there’s going to be another inch demanded,” telling the paper: “Where does it stop? For example, the focus right now is on migrants, in large part. But who is it going to be about next time around?” He also hit out at the “lazy correlation” of migration and crime which he said “doesn’t correspond with reality.” Prime Minister Keir Starmer and fellow center-left Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen wrote in the Guardian Tuesday the best way of “fighting against the forces of hate and division” was showing “mainstream, progressive politics” could deal with the challenge. Britain’s chief interior minister Shabana Mahmood has proposed tougher policies for irregular migrants including a 20 year wait for permanent settlement and assessing refugee status every 30 months.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music * Sky News As UK-EU reconnection talks continue in Brussels and London, are more deals in the offing, what does it mean and when will the public see the difference? Anne has been speaking to the minister for European relations, Nick Thomas-Symonds, to see if any progress has been made and whether Britons can avoid the queues at immigration over the festive period. Back in Westminster, with a week until the Christmas break, there’s plenty of business for the government to get through, but it’s not all plain sailing.

Prime minister’s questions: a shouty, jeery, very occasionally useful advert for British politics. Here’s what you need to know from the latest session in POLITICO’s weekly run-through. What they sparred about: Labour’s internal woes. Tory Leader Kemi Badenoch couldn’t resist using the penultimate PMQs of 2025 to land a punch by bringing up Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s future, as rumors about his political survival continue to swirl. They’re behind you! Badenoch asked the PM why Labour MPs were “describing him as a caretaker prime minister.” That framing wasn’t helped by the influential think tank Labour Together canvassing party members about possible leadership runners and riders. Starmer brushed off that initial attack by claiming his own MPs were “very proud” of the budget and focused on “the single most important issue,” i.e., the cost of living. State of secretaries: The Tory leader said Starmer “has lost control of his party” and Cabinet ministers were “so busy trying to replace him that they have taken their eyes off the ball.” She then worked through contenders often mooted — probing the PM on their records in respective Whitehall departments. Igniting the fires: Badenoch said Energy Secretary Ed Miliband was trying to “recycle himself as leader” despite Starmer’s predecessor but one insisting he didn’t want to become Labour leader again. Then followed a spat about energy bills, though Starmer highlighted Badenoch’s own difficulty, with plenty of ex-Tories jumping ship to Reform UK. The “real question is who’s next,” he joked. Playground banter: “He could power the national grid on all of that hot air,” the Tory leader cried, turning her attention to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson and teacher numbers (Labour promised 6,500). The PM tore into the Conservatives’ record on education, saying “they should be utterly ashamed.” Cop out: “Wrong,” Badenoch dismissively replied, having another go on police numbers (managed, of course, by Home Secretary and darling of the Labour right, Shabana Mahmood). The PM said there would be “3,000 more by the end of March” and Badenoch should “get up and say sorry” for their time in government. “Wrong,” the Tory leader mused again. More in anger than in sorrow: Despite the rapid range of policies, Badenoch tied her criticism together by stating “everything is getting worse” and, quoting the famous Saatchi & Saatchi poster, “Labour isn’t working.” Starmer wasn’t going down without a fight, calling the Tory leader “living proof you can say whatever you like when nobody is listening to anything you have to say.” So much for the season of goodwill … Helpful backbench intervention of the week: York Central MP Rachael Maskell deplored the Tories’ attitude to child poverty and highlighted Labour’s work managing this issue. The PM, breathing a sigh of relief to bag a friendly question from the often Labour rebel, plugged the government’s work with a dig at Badenoch for good measure. Oh, and: Dartford MP Jim Dickson ripped into Reform UK’s governance of Kent County Council, claiming their so-called DOGE unit actually stood for “deluded, overconfident, gormless and embarrassing.” Starmer was more than happy, listing their eventful spell across local government since May and slamming comments by Reform politicians. Totally unscientific scores on the doors: Starmer 5/10. Badenoch 7/10. The endless internal Labour rows about Starmer’s future and the party’s languishing popularity gave the Tory leader a plethora of material. Though not sticking to one topic, Badenoch used possible contenders as a springboard to flag the government’s policy challengers. The PM rightly raised the Tories’ own problems with Reform UK and terrible polling numbers, but struggled to brush off the narrative that his time in No 10 is numbered.

LONDON — Prime Minister Keir Starmer pushed back on Wednesday against Donald Trump’s attack on Europe, after the U.S. President described the continent as inept. When asked about Trump’s comments during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, the PM said Europe was united and strong. The U.S. president told POLITICO in a wide-ranging interview Monday that Europe was a “decaying” group of nations led by “weak” people. He added: “I also think that they want to be so politically correct,” and “I think they don’t know what to do.”  But the prime minister rejected Trump’s criticisms and claimed European nations had robust values worth defending. “What I see is a strong Europe, united behind Ukraine and united behind our longstanding values of freedom and democracy,” Starmer told MPs on Wednesday. “I will always stand up for those values and those freedoms.”  The prime minister hosted Germany, France, and Ukraine’s leaders in Downing Street on Monday for crucial talks on Kyiv’s future, as America tries to formulate a deal palatable to both Russia and Ukraine. But the U.S. National Security Strategy released last week said Europe faces “civilizational erasure,” triggered by excess migration from Muslim-majority and non-European countries. Starmer’s spokesperson on Wednesday also stood up for Labour London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the capital city’s first Muslim mayor, after Trump singled him out for criticism. In the latest back-and-forth of their long-running feud, Trump told POLITICO that Khan was “a horrible mayor” who had made the British capital city a  “different place” from what it once was. “Those comments are wrong. The mayor of London is doing an excellent job in London,” the PM’s spokesperson said. “The prime minister is hugely proud of the mayor of London’s record and proud to call him a colleague and a friend.”  The spokesperson also rejected the U.S. president’s accusation that Khan had been elected “because so many people have come in” as wrong. Khan told POLITICO Tuesday the U.S. president was “obsessed” with him and claimed Americans were “flocking” to live in London, because its liberal values are the “antithesis” of Trump’s.

LONDON — The British government hit back Wednesday after Donald Trump launched his latest broadside at London Mayor Sadiq Khan. The U.S. president told POLITICO in an interview Monday that Khan was “a horrible mayor” who had made the British capital city a  “different place” to what it once was. Trump added of Khan: “He’s an incompetent mayor, but he’s a horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job. London’s a different place. I love London. I love London. And I hate to see it happen.” Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, a member of the U.K. cabinet, pushed backed at those remarks Wednesday, and heaped praise on her fellow Labour politician. “I strongly disagree with those comments,” she told Sky News. “I think Sadiq is doing a really good job and has been at the forefront of providing affordable housing [and] improvements to transport.” Nandy said Khan, London’s first Muslim mayor, had offered a model for the U.K. government to follow nationally. “He’s been one of the people who has set up multi-agency approaches to help young people with knife crime, gang violence that we’re learning from in government,” she said. “So I strongly disagree.” Asked explicitly if Trump’s comments were wrong, Nandy replied: “Yes he is.” In his wide-ranging interview with POLITICO, the U.S. president also claimed Khan — who has won three consecutive terms as mayor of London and has no power to determine national migration policy — had been elected “because so many people have come in. They vote for him now.” Pushed on why Prime Minister Keir Starmer hadn’t explicitly defended Khan from Trump’s attack, Nandy said she knows “the prime minister would disagree with those comments.” She added: “I’m sure that if you asked the prime minister if he was sitting in this studio today, he would say what I’ve said, which is that Sadiq is doing an incredibly good job for London. We’re proud of our mayors.” Khan told POLITICO Tuesday the U.S. president was “obsessed” with him and claimed Americans were “flocking” to live in London, because its liberal values are the “antithesis” of Trump’s. It’s not the first beef between the two politicians.  Trump once called Khan a “stone cold loser” and “very dumb” — after Khan compared Trump to “the fascists of the 20th century.” In 2018, Khan allowed anti-Trump activists to fly a blimp over parliament showing Trump as a crying baby in a diaper during his first state visit.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music * Sky News “Weak” – the word US President Donald Trump used to describe European leaders. But how will it go down here in the UK and across the continent? Anne is in Brussels mopping up reaction from the “decaying” group of nations to that explosive interview from the President as re-connection talks between the UK and EU continues. Elsewhere, Sam speaks to Kemi Badenoch about what success looks like for the Conservatives at the next set of local elections – clue: it may not be winning. Plus, has the ghost of Andy Burnham returned to haunt Keir Starmer with a leadership challenge?

LONDON — The British government pushed back on Tuesday against Donald Trump’s assertion that European nations spend too much time discussing the war in Ukraine without reaching a resolution. The U.S. president told POLITICO’s Dasha Burns in a Monday interview for a special episode of The Conversation that European leaders “talk too much” about the conflict and have failed to help end the war.   “They’re not producing,” Trump said. “We’re talking about Ukraine. They talk but they don’t produce. And the war just keeps going on and on.” POLITICO on Tuesday named Trump the most influential figure shaping European politics in the year ahead, a recognition previously conferred on leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.  Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s spokesperson challenged Trump’s framing of the Ukraine peace negotiations, which have entered a pivotal moment almost four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion. “I would reject that,” the spokesperson said. “You’ve seen the number of countries involved in the Coalition of the Willing discussions. You would also see the work that the U.K. has done in terms of leading the response on sanctions, including against the shadow fleet [carrying embargoed Russian goods].” However, they confirmed that British support for the U.S.-led peace plan for Ukraine remained strong, and welcomed “the significant U.S. efforts to bring about peace to Ukraine, which no one wants more than President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy.” Washington has held separate talks with both Moscow and Kyiv, neither of which has yielded an outcome that satisfies both sides. The spokesperson also pushed back against the U.S. president’s desciption of the continent as a “decaying” group of nations led by “weak” people. “You’ve seen the strong relationship between the prime minister and the president,” they said, noting that the U.S.-U.K. trade deal signed earlier this year was about “securing and protecting and creating jobs.” The spokesperson also referenced the unity of the E3 nations (Britain, Germany and France) in speaking with Zelenskyy at Downing Street on Monday: “We will continue to put our shoulder to the wheel in order to strengthen Ukraine’s position, in order to bring this barbaric war to an end.” Starmer will meet U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Warren Stephens at Downing Street on Tuesday afternoon for a previously scheduled appointment. MIDDLE GROUND Trump also hit out against left-wing London Mayor Sadiq Khan, claiming the city’s first Muslim mayor had only been elected “because so many people have come in. They vote for him now.” Downing Street did not challenge that assertion: “The prime minister has a strong relationship with the U.S. president and a strong relationship with the mayor of London and on both is committed to working together in order to deliver stronger outcomes for the British people.” But the U.S. president’s comments drew some criticism from Labour MPs. “Strength is the ability to work with others and bring them along with you, to listen and to make friends,” argued Emily Thornberry, who chairs Britain’s Foreign Affairs Committee. “It’s not strong to try to push other people around.” A backbench Labour MP, granted anonymity to speak candidly, admitted it was “hard to remain calm when you read Trump when he’s in full flow.” The MP added that the U.K. government should “be absolutely unapologetic and fearless when making our views known.” “It’s clear Trump sees [Russian President Vladimir] Putin as an ally in subduing Europe and we can’t allow that to happen.” A third Labour MP was dismissive of Trump’s stance on European politics: “So he’s allowed to interfere with our politics, but God forbid I do a bit of door-knocking for Kamala Harris.” Esther Webber contributed to this report.

LONDON — U.K. police will investigate allegations Reform UK breached spending rules in last year’s general election campaign. An Essex Police spokesperson said the force is “assessing a report relating to alleged misreported expenditure by a political party in connection with the 2024 general election, following a referral to us by the Met Police.” Reform UK denies breaking electoral law. “These inaccurate claims come from a disgruntled former councillor,” a spokesperson for the party said. That councillor was expelled several months ago, the spokesperson added. The Daily Telegraph newspaper on Sunday reported Richard Everett, a former councilor and previous member of Farage’s campaign team, is behind the report. Farage won his Clacton seat in the 2024 general election with an 8,000-strong majority, finally becoming an MP in the U.K. parliament at his eighth attempt.