The Briefing Room

Agnes Poiriet, L’Express’s UK editor, Victor Mallet, Financial Times journalist and author, and Sophie Pedder, The Economist’s Paris bureau chief, examine France’s mounting turmoil. They discuss protests that spiralled into violence, political paralysis, soaring debt, pension reform, and the growing appeal of the far right. Can any government restore order and economic credibility before a fiscal shock?

Neil Ward, a rural development professor, Nicola Cannon, an agricultural innovation expert, Charlie Ireland, a farming consultant known for advising Clarkson’s Farm, and Tom Lancaster, a land and food policy specialist, explore British farming’s climate future. Hotter summers threaten wheat, barley and strawberries, while new crops may emerge. They discuss irrigation, regenerative farming, pests, ageing farmers, relocation and the need for a national food strategy.

Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent; Elisabeth Kendall, Cambridge Arabist; Baraa Shiban, Yemen analyst; and Nawal Al-Maghafi, BBC investigations correspondent, examine Yemen’s renewed war. They explore Houthi drones and missiles, Iran’s regional network, Saudi Arabia’s military dilemma, and the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait. The discussion connects Yemen’s conflict to global shipping, oil prices, Britain’s role, and the risk of a prolonged escalation.

Erica Frantz, Michigan State political scientist studying authoritarianism and protests. Matthew Cebul, Harvard nonviolent action researcher comparing protest tactics. Nayana Prakash, Cambridge expert on tech, youth mobilisation and India’s ‘cockroach’ protests. They discuss Gen Z’s mass actions worldwide, digital organising on platforms like TikTok and Discord, and the challenges of turning viral mobilisation into lasting political change.

Dr Heather Smith, water governance researcher at Cranfield; Professor Jim Hall, climate and water risk expert from Oxford; Sir John Armitt, infrastructure and public projects engineer. They discuss why England faces a looming 2055 water shortfall. Conversations cover who uses water, reservoir planning and delivery delays, costs and metering, leakage scale, and the roles of desalination and recycling.

Sir Andrew Dilnot, economist who led the 2010 social care commission; Simon Bottery, social care policy lead at The King's Fund; and Thea Stein, Nuffield Trust chief with health system expertise. They map three reform routes: NHS-style free care, caps on costs, or free initial personal care. International comparisons, who gains or loses, and rough funding figures are debated.

Sir Andrew Dilnot, economist behind 2010 care funding proposals. Thea Stein, CEO of the Nuffield Trust, health and social care policy expert. Simon Bottery, senior analyst at The King’s Fund on adult social care. They explore what social care means, who provides and pays for it, how local government allocates funding, where care happens, demographic pressures and why reform has stalled.

Rob Ford, political scientist who studies public opinion; Dominic Casciani, BBC home and legal reporter; Madeleine Sumption, migration policy expert. They explore legal migration trends and why net legal migration has fallen. They debate reliance on overseas labour and which occupations face visa changes. They unpack proposed changes to settlement rules and how public perceptions diverge from migration reality.

Dominic Casciani, BBC Home and Legal Correspondent with frontline reporting on security and smuggling. Madeleine Sumption, Director of the Migration Observatory and migration policy expert. They explore the surge in small boat crossings, smugglers' changing tactics and cross‑channel cooperation with France. They also discuss asylum decision backlogs, housing shifts from hotels to military sites, and practical limits on removals.

Thomas (Tom) Pope, chief economist explaining public finances and fiscal mechanics; Liam Sides, regional economist on spending and local fiscal policy; Jennifer (Jen) Williams, FT Northern correspondent on devolution politics; Tony Travers, LSE expert on local government history. They debate fiscal devolution, tax retention, pooled budgets, capacity building, and whether shifting powers to cities can unlock investment and growth.