The Briefing Room

‘We will now open a new chapter in our national story, striking free trade deals around the world’ said Boris Johnson in December 2020 after the UK struck a deal with the European Union for relations after Brexit. The government say these new deals will help level up the UK, cut red tape, provide better investment opportunities and open new digital markets. But, nearly three years after leaving the EU, what deals have we negotiated, are they providing the benefits we were promised and what challenges lie ahead?Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: Dharshini David, BBC Global Trade correspondent Sam Lowe, partner at Flint Global, a business advisory service where he runs the trade and market access practice David Henig, Director of the UK Trade Policy Project Peter Foster, Public Policy Editor of the Financial TimesProducers: Ben Carter, Kirsteen Knight and Daniel Gordon Editor: Simon Watts Studio manager: Rod Farquhar Production co-ordinators: Siobhan Reed & Helena Warwick-Cross

The Russians are on the back foot in the war in Ukraine and have just evacuated the occupied Ukrainian city of Kherson. The setbacks for Moscow have led to increasing concern in western capitals about the prospect of President Vladimir Putin using a nuclear weapon. But what are the real chances of Russia moving from nuclear threats to nuclear action. And how might the NATO powers respond?Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College, London. Matthew Kroenig, Professor of Government at Georgetown University and Acting Director, Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security at the Atlantic Council Patricia Lewis, Director of the International Security Programme at Chatham House.Producers: Kirsteen Knight, Daniel Gordon and Simon Watts Editor: Penny Murphy Sound engineer: Neil Churchill Production co-ordinator: Siobhan Reed and Helena Warwick-CrossImage: Russian President Vladimir Putin. Credit: Mikhail Svetlov / Getty Images

The volatility on the financial markets is continuing in the wake of the chancellor's announcement of massive tax cuts last month. The government's current plan is to announce full details of how it will fund those cuts and balance the books on October 31st. One of its options is to rein in public spending - the expenditure that goes on healthcare, schools, welfare, infrastructure and much more,So what is the level of public spending right now, how does it compare historically and what would be the impact on our services and benefits of any cuts? Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: Paul Johnson, Director of the Institute For Fiscal Studies Soumaya Keynes, UK Economics Editor at The Economist Anita Charlesworth, Director of Research at the Health Foundation Gemma Tetlow, Chief Economist at The Institute For GovernmentPHOTO: The chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng (Getty Images)

Since mid-September, women and girls in Iran have been staging demonstrations against the regime. Social media has been full of images of female protestors cutting off their hair and removing their Islamic head-covering in open defiance of the security forces.These protests have their roots in the arrest of a young woman called Mahsa Amini for minor infractions of the Islamic Republic’s dress code and her subsequent death in custody. But there have been several waves of protest since the Iranian Revolution of 1979 - all of which have been successfully repressed. So, this time is it different? Is a regime that’s been in power for decades seriously under threat? Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: Khosro Kalbasi, Iran analyst at BBC Monitoring. Azadeh Moaveni, Journalist and author of Lipstick Jihad. Eskandar Sadeghi, Lecturer in Contemporary Politics and Modern History of the Middle East at Goldsmith's, University of London Ali Ansari, Professor of History at St Andrews University. Sanam Vakil, Deputy Director of the Middle East programme at Chatham House.PHOTO: Demonstrators in the Iraqi region of Kurdistan holding pictures of Mahsa Amini (Getty Images)

The financial markets have been in turmoil since the chancellor, Kwasi Kwarteng, unveiled a big package of economic measures last Friday. Traders responded to the prospect of major tax cuts by selling the pound. The Bank of England then had to intervene to protect the UK's pension system.What exactly is causing the financial instability and what might that mean for the British economy over the next few years?Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: Dharshini David, BBC Economics Correspondent. Toby Nangle, Economics commentator and former asset fund manager. Martin Weale, Professor of Economics at King’s College, London. Chris Giles, Economics Editor of the Financial Times. Stephanie Flanders, Senior Executive Editor for Economics at Bloomberg.Producers: Octavia Woodward, Daniel Gordon and Simon Watts Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill Production Co-ordinators: Siobhan Reed and Helena Warwick-Cross PHOTO: The Bank of England (Getty Images)

This week the new UK government is unveiling its first major package of economic measures. They're aimed at achieving what Prime Minister Liz Truss says is her number one priority: promoting economic growth. Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer has said he shares the same aspiration for Britain.But low growth is an entrenched problem, dating back decades. So why has the UK been performing so badly and what needs to be done to turn us into a high-growth country? Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: Nicholas Crafts, Professor of Economic History at the University of Sussex Business School. Chris Giles, Economics Editor of The Financial Times. Anna Valero, Senior Policy Fellow at the London School of Economics’ Centre for Economic Performance. Paul Johnson, Director of The Institute For Fiscal Studies Duncan Weldon, Broadcaster and Author of “Two Hundred Years of Muddling Through”. Producers: Paul Connolly, Arlene Gregorius and Kirsteen Knight Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Engineer: Neil Churchill Production Co-ordinators: Siobhan Reed and Helena Warwick-Cross

Ukraine's military has retaken thousands of square kilometres of territory near the north-eastern city of Kharkiv. The Russians are said to have retreated in haste and disarray, but they retaliated by shelling a large power plant, causing blackouts in Kharkiv, the country's second biggest city. Is Ukraine's successful counter-offensive a turning point in the war? Could Ukraine win? Experts say Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, won't countenance defeat, and will escalate instead of retreating or suing for peace. Might Putin launch a tactical nuclear strike? Or use mobilisation or conscription for all-out war? Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are:- Vitaliy Shevchenko, Russia editor at BBC Monitoring and co-host of the BBC's Ukrainecast podcast - Michael Clarke, Professor of Defence studies and Specialist Advisor to the Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy - Samantha de Bendern, Associate Fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House - Sir Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies at King's College London - Shashank Joshi, Defence Editor of The EconomistProducers: Paul Connolly, Arlene Gregorius and Kirsteen Knight Editor: Richard Vadon Sound engineer: Neil Churchill Production co-ordinator: Siobhan Reed and Helena Warwick-CrossImage credit: Anton Petrus/Getty Images

Soaring household bills have made energy the number one issue facing the government and consumers in Britain. But in addition to the cost, there may be another problem ahead as winter approaches. Experts are increasingly worried about the supply of both electricity and gas from Europe, and how that might affect the power system here.So how worried should we be about energy shortages? And what can the government do to limit their impact?Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: Kathryn Porter, Energy Analyst at Watt Logic Javier Blas, Energy Columnist at Bloomberg Elisabetta Cornago, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Reform David Sheppard, Energy Editor at the Financial Times Michael Bradshaw, Professor of Global Energy at the University of Warwick.Producers: Paul Connolly, Kirsteen Knight and Simon Watts. Editor: Richard Vadon. Studio Manager: James Beard. Production co-ordinator: Helena Warwick-Cross.PHOTO: An electricity substation in East London (Daniel LEAL / AFP)

The NHS often appears to be in a state of permanent crisis. Recently, there've been headlines about long waiting times for ambulances and the huge backlog for routine surgery. Before that, the Health Service faced a two-year pandemic which may rear its head again this winter.But the NHS also has a big underlying problem. It has tens of thousands of vacancies for doctors, nurses and other medical workers – and that makes all the other pressures on the Health Service even harder to handle.So why does the NHS have a staffing problem? And what can be done to fix it?Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: Annabelle Collins, Senior Correspondent at Health Service Journal Alison Leary, Professor of Healthcare and Workforce Modelling at London South Bank University Suzie Bailey, Director of Leadership and Organisational Development at The Kings Fund Mark Pearson, Deputy Director of Employment, Labour and Social Affairs at the OECD, Nigel Edwards, Chief Executive of the Nuffield TrustProducers: Bob Howard, Kirsteen Knight and Simon Watts. Editor: Tara McDermott. Studio Manager: Rod Farquhar. Production co-ordinator: Siobhan Reed.PHOTO CREDIT: (Getty Images)

Despite recent heavy rainfall, much of England is experiencing drought conditions. Both rivers and reservoirs are running low, and the water companies have told millions to stop using their hosepipes. Scientists warn that the current difficulties are only a glimpse of the much tougher challenges the UK will face in the future because of climate change. They estimate that there's a one-in-four chance of a drought which is so severe that drinking water has to be restricted.Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are: Sir John Armitt, Chairman of the UK's National Infrastructure Commission Dr Heather Smith, Senior Lecturer in Water Governance at Cranfield University Jean Spencer, Director of The Water Industry Forum Sir Dieter Helm, Professor of Economic Policy at Oxford UniversityProducers: Bob Howard, Kirsteen Knight and Simon Watts. Editor: Richard Vadon. Studio Manager: Graham Puddifoot. Production co-ordinators: Siobhan Reed & Helena Warwick-CrossPHOTO CREDIT: A reservoir on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall in August 2022 (Getty Images)