This week on Talking Politics, Tom Bradby and Robert Peston analyse the rumours of a coup to oust Sir Keir Starmer.

In an extraordinary 24 hours, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting is forced to deny on the record that he wants the top job.

And the Prime Minister has had to say he will fight any leadership challenge.

Also, what next for the BBC after the Director General resigns and Donald Trump threatens to sue?

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

Rachel Reeves has, once again, said it without really saying it: Brace yourselves for tax rises.

In an unusual pre-budget speech today, the Chancellor said she would "make the choices necessary” as speculation mounts that she is preparing to raise income tax to help fill a gap in the public finances.

In her first in-depth interview since becoming Labour's deputy leader, Tom and Robert are joined by Lucy Powell to discuss whether the Labour 'brand' could be fatally hurt by this decision - and what it does to public trust in politics. 

She says the government must 'tread carefully' when it comes to issues that threaten to undermine public trust.

They also discuss how Labour can turn the tide on Nigel Farage - and why she believes Labour is 'ceding the agenda' to Reform UK.



Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

In this episode of Talking Politics, Tom Bradby and political editor Robert Peston analyse the Chancellor's dwindling options for her upcoming budget and predict the impact of the decisions she might make.

They discuss how Rachel Reeves will fill that multi-billion-pound hole in the country's finances, whether she will increase income tax despite previous promises not to, and how she can hold onto the country's highest tax bracket.




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Robert is joined by the Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy, who says he wants his children to feel "confident" in the UK and England flags. 

The Deputy PM - and Justice Secretary - claimed the flag was being appropriated by the far-right. He also spoke about a new AI tool being used in the justice system to help transcribe interviews. And he said it was "right" that MPs scrutinise Prince Andrew's living arrangements.

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

Tom Bradby and Robert Peston chat with Lord Simon Case, who has served as right-hand man to both Prince William and four Prime Ministers, as Cabinet Secretary.

They discuss the growing pressure on the government to officially strip Prince Andrew of all his titles, including his Dukedom.

Lord Case also breaks down the threat China poses to the UK and explains why No.10 remains dysfunctional over a year since the general election.

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Dominic Cummings has disclosed in an exclusive interview with ITV News that government data has been stored on infrastructure owned and controlled by Chinese interests.

He told the Talking Politics podcast that he had been warned about the Chinese ownership in “early 2020”, shortly after becoming chief aide to the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson.


UK official sources have confirmed to Peston that Global Switch has provided data and communication services to the government.


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Donald Trump has hailed the Gaza ceasefire as a new dawn but what obstacles still stand in the way of lasting peace in the Middle East?

A diplomatic solution has long been sort but the President has a different approach: money. Will he be able to successfully sell the commercial opportunities of peace in the long term? 

Robert and Tom also weigh up Tony Blair's potential part in the path to peace, given his history in both Northern Ireland and Iraq.

And Robert explains exactly how the government has entered another crisis over the dropped China spy court case.

Got a question for Tom or Robert? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com and we’ll look to answer it in our next Talking Politics Q&A episode.

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

What's the fallout in the Robert Jenrick 'white faces' row? And will Kemi Badenoch's offer to ditch stamp duty win over voters?

In this Talking Politics, Robert Peston joins Tom Bradby from the Conservative's conference in Manchester to give expert analysis minutes after the Tory leader's speech.​ 

Got a question for Tom or Robert? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com and we’ll look to answer it in our next Talking Politics Q&A episode.

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

In this special edition of Talking Politics from the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, ITV News Political Editor Robert Peston sits down with the leader of the opposition, Kemi Badenoch.

They discussed the challenges of anti-semitism and racism in the country, as well as the problems facing the party with the number of councillors deserting to Reform.

The Tory leader criticised the BBC and other media organisations for what she said was ‘inaccurate’ coverage of Israel’s war in Gaza.

And, in response to the controversy surrounding comments made by Robert Jenrick which were seen by many to be ‘racist’, Ms Badenoch defended the shadow justice secretary, saying his words were ‘taken out of context’.

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

For this special edition of Talking Politics, Peston sits down with Sir Keir Starmer for a one-on-one interview right after a well-received speech at the Labour conference, in which he spent much - if not most - of his time taking aim at Nigel Farage.

The Prime Minister claimed the next election will be a battle between Reform and the Labour Party, describing it as "the fight of our times" - and said it would be a "mistake" to ignore the threat Reform posed, dismissing claims he was fueling the fire by making Farage the focus of his attacks.

Peston also asks him - after the many bruising experiences of late - whether he ever thinks about packing it all in and handing the job over to someone else.

All episodes of Talking Politics are also available to watch on the ITV News YouTube channel and ITVX.

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

Can Sir Keir Starmer’s vision for a renewed Britain - littered with attacks on Nigel Farage - help reset the prime minister’s own dire standing with the public?

In this special Talking Politics at Labour’s conference in Liverpool, Robert Peston and Tom Bradby react minutes after the PM’s keynote speech.

And after a poll revealed Starmer is the least popular PM since records began, can the vision for growth he set out to a supportive flag-waving audience of Labour members help restore voter confidence in his government outside the conference hall?

Or could his repeat scripted jibes at the Reform UK leader play into his rival’s hands?

Got a question for Tom or Robert? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com and we’ll look to answer it in our next Talking Politics Q&A episode.

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

In an exclusive interview Talking Politics, actor and campaigner Hugh Grant said he feels let down by the Labour government.

He claims the Prime Minister had promised hacking victims that they would introduce a new law bringing tougher regulations for British newspapers while in opposition.

But Mr Grant says they feel “personally betrayed” by seeing the PM forging close relationships with major publishers.

The Hollywood star, who was the victim of press intrusion himself, has campaigned on behalf of hacking claimants since 2011, as part of the group Hacked Off.

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

The Treasury is expecting £30 billion tax rises in November’s Budget - so how will chancellor Rachel Reeves fund that without breaking her spending rules?

In Talking Politics, Tom Bradby and Robert Peston look at her possible solutions and why the next moves represent a nightmare for the chancellor.

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage claims Reform would save Britain billions cracking down on legal migration by removing the indefinite leave to remain for many who have made Britain home.

And while the controversial immigration policy’s funding plan has been widely questioned - could it add up to another voting win for Reform?

Plus, what does the freedom of speech row that took Jimmy Kimmel off air for a few days tell us about the Trump regime? And how has Robert’s question to the US president captured the imagination of Jon Stewart and the makers of Diaper Diplomacy?

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

In this special interview for Talking Politics and the Peston show, Robert Peston speaks to Sir Ed Davey from the Lib Dem party conference.

The pair discuss the surge in right-wing politics, whether windfall taxes on banks would choke economic growth and why the Lib Dem leader thinks Elon Musk is running a criminal enterprise. 

You can watch the interview on the latest episode of Peston on Monday night and on ITVX thereafter.

Got a question for Robert and Tom? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

Tom Bradby is joined by Political Editor Robert Peston and US Correspondent Dan Rivers from the Prime Minister's country residence Chequers, where he has just survived a press conference alongside the US President. Has Sir Keir Starmer, in spite all of his difficulties on the domestic front, played it perfectly with the world's most powerful man - and as a result, bagged billions upon billions of investment from some of America's top companies?

Plus, Tom and Dan discuss: After his day at Windsor Castle, why is it that Donald Trump seems to love and respect King Charles and the Royal Family so much? 

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

He's already lost his deputy Angela Rayner, the questions are mounting over Peter Mandelson’s disastrous appointment, and now one of Keir Starmer's top aides Paul Ovenden has been forced to quit after an ITV News exclusive revealed his own shocking private messages. 

So how will the PM navigate the deepening leadership crisis without one of his key strategists?

In Talking Politics, Tom Bradby and Robert Peston are joined by our Political Correspondent Shehab Khan, who exposed the PM’s aide's sickening messages about Diane Abbott, to assess the fallout from the story.

Tom and Robert then discuss the looming threat to Starmer's position as he prepares to host Donald Trump's state visit and the emboldening of the far-right movement in the UK and US in the wake of the assassination of pro-Trump activist Charlie Kirk.

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

Should ministers like Angela Rayner get thousands of pounds in severance pay if they resign?

In this Q&A Tom Bradby and Robert Peston answer that audience question and more, including:

• Will Rayner's resignation trigger more investigations into politicians and government officials to see what claims they’re making that they shouldn’t?
• Could Keir Starmer ever take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights?
• How can we have a Deputy PM in David Lammy who openly backs claims for reparations into the billions regarding slavery in the past?
• And after 10 years of social media churning ‘politics’ for entertainment, can it ever now stop being a soap opera?

Got a question for the team? Email talkingpolitics@itv.com

Keir Starmer has sacked Peter Mandelson as Britain's UK ambassador to the US following the release of more damaging emails he sent to Jeffrey Epstein.

In this emergency episode of Talking Politics, Tom Bradby and Robert Peston react to the continued fallout after the bombshell birthday book revelations and assess the damage to the prime minister and the Labour government.

The Jeffrey Epstein birthday book revelations have further implicated Donald Trump and Bill Clinton and forced a grovelling apology from the UK Ambassador to the US’s Peter Mandelson.

In Talking Politics, Robert Peston and Tom Bradby examine why Mandelson’s past letters to the convicted paedophile financier - released now by a US congressional committee - are so catastrophic for Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The duo analyse how Kemi Badenoch used the issue to finally dominate at PMQs, compare Mandelson’s precarious political predicament with Angela Rayner’s recent resignation over unpaid stamp duty and discuss the other biggest headaches facing Starmer heading into Autumn’s Budget, including why tax rises are now inevitable.Got a question for Tom and Robert?

Email talkingpolitics@itv.com and we’ll answer it in our weekly Talking Politics Q&A show

After a momentous day in British politics, Julie Etchingham is joined by Political Editor Robert Peston and Political Correspondent Harry Horton who is at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham.

Angela Rayner finally fell on her sword, triggering a major reshuffle of Starmer's top team. David Lammy is stepping up as his deputy, Yvette Cooper becomes Foreign Secretary, and Shabana Mahmood fills in as Home Secretary. Is that the end of the chaos in Westminster for now - or is it just beginning?

Meanwhile, Harry Horton joins us from Birmingham where Nigel Farage kicked off Reform UK's biggest-ever conference in high spirits. He talks us through some of the familiar faces there, and why party members see it as a watershed moment for their movement.