Newscast

Today, we start the first of six Old Newscasts looking at the story of 30 years of British Politics through six votes.
We start in 1997, when the Prime Minister John Major called an election, hoping to extend 18 years of Conservative rule, and beat Labour’s Tony Blair .
To help us, we have two BBC legends who were there at the time. Jeremy Vine was and political reporter and Kirsty Wark was presenting Newsnight.
In this, the first of two 1997 election episodes, we look at the lay of the land in the run up to the vote.
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 presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Anna Harris. The social producer was Joe Wilkinson. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, Prime Minister Andy Burnham has officially opened up the doors to Number 10 North which he has described as the ‘best day of my life’.
Adam is joined by Lucy Fisher - Whitehall editor at the Financial Times and Patrick Maguire Chief Political Commentator at the Times, and they discuss how No 10 North is shaping up and whether it will be more than just a gimmick.
Plus, they look back at Andy Burnham’s announcements in his first week in office and whether it sets a precedent for how he will run Government.
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 presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Rosie Merotra. The social producer was Beth Pritchard. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced ‘no prisoners will be let out’ under early release scheme until he has conducted an ‘urgent review’.
The announcement comes after the widow of PC Andrew Harper described the possible early release of prisoners as ‘deplorable’, following reports that two of his killers could be freed early. Adam is joined by Dominic Casciani, home and legal correspondent, to discuss what this means for the prison system.
Plus, in his third policy announcement in as many days, Andy Burnham announced a 20% cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues in England from April. Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Helen Miller and BBC Business Editor Simon Jack join Adam to discuss how the government plans to fund this cut and how ever-changing taxes affect business owners.
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 presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Rosie Merotra. The social producer was Joe Wilkinson. The technical producer was Phil Bull. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, Andy Burnham has announced the return of the £2 bus fare cap in most of England - taking effect from January 2027.
Bus fares had initially been capped at £2 in 2023 by the Conservatives, and was later increased to £3 by Keir Starmer. Andy Burnham has reversed the Starmer policy, but how will it be funded?
And, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, one of the first and most senior Labour politicians to pubilicly call for Keir Starmer to go, is expected to join Andy Burnham's government. He’ll be joining fellow Starmer dissenters Wes Streeting and John Healey in the cabinet.
Adam is joined by Chris Mason and Henry Zeffman to unpack it all.
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 presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Gray with Rosie Merotra and Shiler Mahmoudi. The social producer was Beth Pritchard. The technical producer was Philip Bull. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, on the first full day of his premiership Prime Minister Andy Burnham has laid out plans for scrapping VAT on household electricity bills and has claimed he wants a ‘cost of living government’.
Burnham said he would scrap VAT on household electricity bills in October, saving a typical household about £45 a year. This will be paid for by scrapping Keir Starmer's digital ID scheme, No 10 says, but ex-minister Darren Jones argues the ID scheme was "unfunded". Adam, Alex and Faisal discuss.
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 presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Rosie Merota and Shiler Mahmoudi. The social producer was Beth Pritchard . The technical producer was Rohan Madison. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.