Avsnitt
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When the UK voted to leave the EU, Northern Ireland became one of the most contentious aspects of the Brexit negotiations. The prospect of a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland threatened to undermine the Good Friday agreement, and resurfaced divisions about Irish reunification. Although the Windsor Framework was eventually introduced in 2023, the political and economic uncertainty of the negotiation years has had lasting implications.
Alex Forsyth is joined by John Campbell, BBC Northern Ireland’s Business and Economics Editor, and Katy Hayward, Professor of Political Sociology at Queens’ University, Belfast, to look at how Brexit has shaped Northern Ireland in the decade since the referendum vote.
Presenter: Alex ForsythProducers: Sally AbrahamsEditor: Richard VadonStudio engineer and sound mix: James BeardProduction co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
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The debate on immigration was at the heart of the Brexit referendum, and sparked strong emotions from both Leave and Remain voters. Those who voted for Brexit saw it as an opportunity to ‘take back control’ of the country’s borders and, by implication, lower immigration. But in the years immediately after Brexit, the country saw its highest ever levels of net migration. Did Brexit fail in its promise to voters on immigration? And why does the issue continue to be such a central concern in our politics today?
Alex Forsyth speaks to James Bowes, a data analyst at the University of Warwick, and Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, about how we should assess Brexit’s success in tackling immigration.
Presenter: Alex ForsythProducers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzieEditor: Richard VadonStudio engineer and sound mix: James BeardProduction co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
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During the Brexit referendum, the Leave campaign argued that exiting the EU would allow the UK to sign more lucrative independent trade deals with other nations. Remainers warned that leaving the single market and customs union would increase friction with the EU, our nearest and largest trading partner. What can we say about Brexit's impact on UK trade, five years on from leaving the single market and customs union?
In this episode Alex Forsyth speaks to Sam Lowe, head of Trade and Market Access at Flint Global, and Soumaya Keynes, economics columnist at the Financial Times and co-author of the book “How to Win a Trade War”, about whether the trade off has been worth it.
Presenter: Alex ForsythProducers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzieEditor: Richard VadonStudio engineer and sound mix: James BeardProduction co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
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It is 10 years since the Brexit referendum. In this series Alex Forsyth, a BBC correspondent who’s covered Brexit from both Brussels and Westminster, looks at what impact the decision to leave the EU has had on various aspects of public and political life.
The effect of leaving the EU on the economy has been one of the most contested aspects of Brexit . From dire warnings about multi-billion pound budgetary black holes ahead of the referendum to assertions that the UK would become “Singapore-on-Thames” if freed from the orbit of Brussels, there have been bold - and at times - unfounded claims.
To get a sense of the arguments around the economic consequences of Brexit, Alex Forsyth talks to Julian Jessop, an independent economist and Economics Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs and David Smith, Economics editor at the Sunday Times.
Presenter: Alex ForsythProducers: Ben Carter and Mhairi MacKenzieEditor: Richard VadonStudio engineer and sound mix: James BeardProduction co-ordinator: Tim Fernley
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Steve Baker was a pivotal figure in the Brexit turmoil that engulfed the Conservatives. Becoming an MP in 2010 order to help achieve Britain's severance from the European Union, he came to prominence as chair of an influential group of Eurosceptic rebels who helped bring down the prime ministership of Theresa May.
Having lost his seat in the general election of 2024, the former Royal Air Force engineer talks to James Naughtie about how to organise a rebellion, his Christian faith, the state of the Conservative party and the toll political life took on his mental health.
Producer: Leela Padmanabhan
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Edinburgh-born former lawyer Sir Malcolm Rifkind was first elected as a Conservative MP in 1974. A former Defence and Foreign Secretary, he served continuously as a minister for 18 years under Margaret Thatcher and John Major.
In conversation with James Naughtie, he looks back on his relationship with the 'Iron Lady', meeting Mikhail Gorbachev, the poll tax controversy, Tory Brexit wars and the personal side of political life.
Producer: Leela Padmanabhan
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Elected to parliament in 1987, Diane Abbott was the first black female MP and is known as the 'Mother of the House'. In a conversation with James Naughtie recorded in May 2025, the passionate left-winger reflects on rebellion, her relationship with Jeremy Corbyn, the 2023 controversy that led to her year-long suspension from the Labour party, her experience of sexism and racism and her political longevity.
Producer: Leela Padmanabhan
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James Naughtie talks to former US Secretary of State John Kerry about his life and political career.
At his home in Massachusetts, which he represented in the United States Senate for close to 30 years, Kerry discusses his experiences as a naval officer in Vietnam, how he felt the pull of politics, and what he attempted to achieve. Reflecting on the 2004 presidential election campaign, where he was the Democrat nominee against President George W. Bush, Kerry says it was the first 'fake news election'.
In four years as President Obama's Secretary of State, Kerry travelled more than a million miles around the world, and he discusses his experiences negotiating the Iran Nuclear Deal, the decision not to strike Syria, and his friendship with Benjamin Netanhayu.
And on domestic politics, Kerry has some striking advice for his party after losing the 2024 presidential election.
Producer: Giles Edwards
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David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
To end the series, a counter-factual: what would Britain have been like if, as almost everyone expected, Winston Churchill had won the 1945 general election?
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David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
We can fix a start date on the postwar period, but what about an end date? Are we still living in the postwar period? And, if not, when did we leave it?
Featuring John Bew, Patricia Clavin, Lucy Delap, David Kynaston, David Reynolds and Robert Saunders.
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David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age. What happened to Winston Churchill in the years after the 1945 general election?
Featuring David Reynolds.
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David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
The Clement Attlee government's efforts to renew the nation after 1945 is sometimes referred to as a New Jerusalem. But that reference to William Blake's poem – with its vision of “pleasant pastures” – is also evidence of a certain nostalgia for an idea of Britain – of England – that’s rooted deep in the country’s past. And it gives voice to a central question faced by the Labour government in 1945: how much of Britain’s past were they willing to jettison in order to build Jerusalem in England’s – Britain’s – green and pleasant land.
Featuring David Kynaston and Robert Saunders.
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David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
Voting took place on Thursday 5th July 1945 – eight weeks after VE Day – and when the polls closed there were no overnight counts, no race to be the first to declare. All around the country ballot boxes were sealed, transported to police stations and town hall basements – and locked away until the votes of servicemen and women overseas were shipped back to their constituencies.
The immediate result of the general election, then, was silence: a three-week hiatus. But it was a natural assumption that Winston Churchill, the war hero, would emerge from that hiatus as the winner. Labour leader Clement Attlee certainly thought so. He had no idea what was coming when the ballot boxes were opened.
Featuring David Kynaston and Robert Saunders.
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David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
During the war, Britain had been bailed out by American largesse. Without America’s help, the nation would be on the brink of bankruptcy. No one’s plans for postwar reconstruction could avoid this fact. That meant, during and after the 1945 election, a great deal was going to depend on the attitude of, and to, the Americans.
Featuring John Bew and David Reynolds.
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David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
Both main parties supported the United Nations, but they disagreed about what that meant.
Featuring Patricia Clavin.
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David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
One of the enduring images of 1945 is of Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Josef Stalin sat closely together at the Yalta conference: the three dominant warlords of the age meeting to decide the fate of the world. Five months later, when the Big Three gathered again for another photo call at the end of another conference – this time at Potsdam, near Berlin – everything had changed.
Featuring David Reynolds.
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David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
In January 1940 an organisation called CEMA – the Council for the Encouragement of Music and Art – was founded, initially with money from a charitable trust – money that was soon matched by Treasury funds, at which point, as the economist John Maynard Keynes declared in a broadcast from July 1945, "state patronage of the arts crept in."
Featuring Christopher Frayling.
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David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
The 1945 election was fought and lost over two inter-twined, domestic, concerns: demobilisation and housing. Who would get the troops home quickest -- and who would ensure they had homes to return to?
Featuring historians Lucy Delap, David Kynaston and David Reynolds.
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David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
From different perspectives, both Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee had a long-standing involvement in the question of greater self-government for India. In different ways, for both men it was a defining element of their political lives. And both knew that the issue would have to be confronted when the war was over. And yet India, and questions of Empire more generally, were largely absent from the 1945 election.
Featuring historian Wendy Webster.
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David Runciman tells the story of the 1945 election and the dawn of a new age.
The 1945 general election was one of the biggest shocks in British parliamentary history: a decisive rejection of Winston Churchill and his leadership. The election of Clement Attlee's Labour government in a landslide marked a break with the past and signalled a strong desire on the part of the British people for something new. But it was also a product of Britain's wartime experiences and revealed the many ways in which the country had already changed.
The years that followed -- the postwar years -- would bring about bold and radical reform, the building of a new nation, a 'New Jerusalem'. The Britain of the National Health Service and the welfare state, of nationalised industry and the so-called 'postwar consensus' -- all were ushered into place with this election. This is the Britain that most have us have grown up in and which still shapes an idea of who we think we are.
Winston Churchill’s sometimes florid rhetoric was well suited to the microphone age and his wartime radio broadcasts became a new political art form. His deputy within the wartime coalition government, Clement Attlee, couldn’t hope to match him as a broadcaster – and, usually, he didn’t. Except in the case of their first election broadcasts of 1945 which, in the case of Churchill, might be remembered as his greatest gaffe.
Featuring historian Robert Saunders.
- Visa fler
