Reform on the march? Our local elections guide
Political Fix25 Huhti 2025

Reform on the march? Our local elections guide

Ahead of England’s local elections next week, the Political Fix team pick the races to watch and what’s at stake for the main parties, as voters head to the polls to elect 1,600-odd councillors, six mayors and one new MP. Host Lucy Fisher is joined by podcast regulars Miranda Green and Anna Gross, plus the FT’s Northern correspondent Jennifer Williams, to ask whether Reform UK will live up to high expectations, and just how far both Labour and the Tories could fall. They also examine Sir Keir Starmer’s pivot to patriotism and projection of a nostalgic vision of England, as he attempts to see off the threat from Nigel Farage.


Have a question for our panel? Drop us a line at politicalfix@ft.com. Record a voice note with your name and question, and email it to us.


Follow Lucy on Bluesky or X: @lucyfisher.bsky.social, @LOS_Fisher; Anna annasophiegross.bsky.social @AnnaSophieGross, Miranda @greenmirandahere.bsky.social, and Jennifer @JenWilliams_FT @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social


Want more? Free links:


What to watch in the 2025 local elections


Starmer plays up patriotic credentials as local elections loom


Reform UK heads offshore to raise funds from world’s wealthy


Unite divided: British trade union grapples with twin scandals


Sign up here for 30 days free of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award.


Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Lulu Smyth, with help from Georgina Quach. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Original music and mix by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jaksot(573)

Chinese whispers — at home and abroad

Chinese whispers — at home and abroad

Sir Keir Starmer is 5,000 miles away in China, meeting President Xi Jinping to drum up investment and deepen relations, but back on the home front the PM’s leadership looks increasingly beset. Manches...

30 Tammi 36min

When the ‘special relationship’ isn’t so special

When the ‘special relationship’ isn’t so special

From ‘brilliant ally’ to ‘weak and stupid’ within the same paragraph, it’s hard to know how to handle the impulsive outbursts from America’s 47th President. And yet, this is the position in which the ...

23 Tammi 35min

Disloyalty and defection: the Tory-Reform psychodrama

Disloyalty and defection: the Tory-Reform psychodrama

First he was pushed and then he jumped: high drama at Westminster after Kemi Badenoch sacked her rival for the Tory leadership Robert Jenrick - his crime was plotting a defection to Reform UK. Hours l...

16 Tammi 34min

Trump trouble: Starmer's tricky start to 2026

Trump trouble: Starmer's tricky start to 2026

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had wanted to kick off the new year with a strong domestic start, tackling the cost of living crisis head on, in the hopes of improving his dire poll ratings. Instead, ...

9 Tammi 34min

Swamp Notes: Is the US economy really K-shaped?

Swamp Notes: Is the US economy really K-shaped?

Imagine a graph with one line going up over time. Below it, another line does just the opposite. It kind of looks like the letter K. On the FT's Swamp Notes podcast, Claire Jones and Rob Armstrong bre...

2 Tammi 19min

Quizmas special: Political Fix’s 2025 nerd-out!

Quizmas special: Political Fix’s 2025 nerd-out!

Can you name all the Labour frontbenchers who resigned or were sacked during the past year? Why was Peter Mandelson delayed from returning to the UK after being sacked as US ambassador? And who will b...

19 Joulu 202550min

Political Fix Live: Labour’s year in review

Political Fix Live: Labour’s year in review

It’s been another turbulent year in politics. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has faced down rebellions from within his own party, overseen scandals and sackings, and delivered a constant barrage of bad n...

12 Joulu 202538min

Deals, donations and damage limitation

Deals, donations and damage limitation

Sir Keir Starmer started the week with not one but two speeches defending his party’s Budget decisions in the wake of claims that chancellor Rachel Reeves had misled the public and fellow MPs about th...

5 Joulu 202539min

Suosittua kategoriassa Politiikka ja uutiset

aikalisa
rss-ootsa-kuullut-tasta
tervo-halme
ootsa-kuullut-tasta-2
politiikan-puskaradio
viisupodi
et-sa-noin-voi-sanoo-esittaa
otetaan-yhdet
rss-podme-livebox
rss-vaalirankkurit-podcast
rss-asiastudio
the-ulkopolitist
rss-kaikki-uusiksi
rss-tekkipodi
io-techin-tekniikkapodcast
rikosmyytit
rss-mina-ukkola
rss-fingo-podcast
rss-hyvaa-huomenta-bryssel
rss-merja-mahkan-rahat