The Briefing Room

The election was supposed to be a disaster for Jeremy Corbyn - but wasn't. How did Labour turn around its fortunes?Despite coming second and falling 64 seats short of an overall majority, the Labour party increased its share of the vote by nearly ten per cent. Meanwhile, the Conservatives are in crisis and the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister is now being seriously contemplated by people who described him as un-electable just eight weeks ago. David Aaronovitch speaks to leading experts in political history, psephology (the study of elections) and media analysis to understand who voted Labour and why. They explore the influence of changing voter demographics, party leadership, Brexit and social media and asks whether we should view Labour's performance as a success or a failure?

There's a compelling story unfolding in Washington. Last week, President Trump fired the director of the FBI, James Comey. It was a contentious move: Comey was investigating ties between Donald Trump's election campaign and Russia. Some are now asking whether the President's job could be at risk.On this week's Briefing Room, David Aaronovitch unpicks the relationship between Trump and the FBI, and asks where the investigation goes from here. If Trump is determined to make the investigation disappear, could he?With the help of a former FBI Special Agent and expert on national security law and a veteran watcher of Capitol Hill, David Aaronovitch steps into the Briefing Room to make sense of the Trump affair.Guests: Paul Wood, BBC World Affairs Correspondent Asha Rangappa, former FBI Special Agent and current Associate Dean at Yale Law School. Niall Stanage, Associate Editor of the American political newspaper, The Hill.Producer: Neal Razzell Research: Sarah Shebbeare.

David Aaronovitch presents the need-to-know facts on where taxes come from and how they're spent.This edition is a politician-free zone, with non-partisan analysis on how we pay for the UK and the prospects for public services in the future.CONTRIBUTORS:Emily Andrews, senior researcher at the Institute for GovernmentHelen Miller, associate director, Institute for Fiscal StudiesBen Page, director, IPSOS-MoriProducer: Neal Razzell Research: Sarah Shebbeare.

For the first time in over half a century, two insurgents, Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, have broken through France's traditional two party system. This week, voters will decide between two utterly different visions of France, Europe and the world. But how did France get here? What do we need to know about its state, its economy and its changing people? David Aaronovitch steps into the Briefing Room for an anatomy of France. Contributors:Jonathan Fenby: Author of The History of Modern France and Director of European Political Analysis at the TSL research company.Catherine Guilyardi: Journalist for Radio France. Jacques Reland: Senior Research Fellow at the Global Policy Institute at London Metropolitan University. Producer: Xavier Zapata

The US and North Korea have been flexing their military muscles in recent weeks, testing and deploying new missiles. President Trump has said North Korea is "a big big problem" that he will deal with "strongly". This week he took the extraordinary step of briefing the entire US Senate on American options to deal with the North's nuclear programme, as American troops conducted live-fire exercises near the North Korean border. Senators said the briefing was "sobering". Here, David Aaronovich gets his own briefing, from one of America's top former diplomats in the region and from experts in Beijing and Seoul.CONTRIBUTORS:Daniel Russel: President Obama's Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, now Diplomat-in-Residence at the Asia Society Policy InstituteYanmei Xie: Chinese foreign policy analyst, formerly with the International Crisis Group, now with Gavekal Dragonomics.Jenny Lee: Opened the first western news bureau in North Korea, now with the Wilson Centre in SeoulProducer: Neal Razzell Research: Sarah Shebbeare

What are the political tribes which divide British voters today and how will June's general election shape Britain?Britain voted last year on the question of the EU - and following Theresa May's surprise announcement, we vote again on who should take us out. The nature of the result could define British political life for decades to come - so how will voters decide? And what might the impact of the campaign be on Britain's future outside the European Union?David Aaronovitch speaks to political experts to assess the upcoming campaign and its potential to shape the country Britain becomes. CONTRIBUTORSLord Peter Hennessy, Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary University of LondonPeter Kellner, political commentator and veteran pollsterRosie Campbell, Professor of Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London David Runciman, Professor of Politics, University of Cambridge and host of the Talking Politics podcast Producer: China Collins.

What does Turkey's referendum mean for the UK's foreign policy?The UK has long seen Turkey as a bastion of stability in the Middle East: a Muslim-majority democracy, a NATO member and ally against so-called Islamic State; a physical and ideological bridge between east and west; and a fascinating and pleasant place to take our families on holiday.That stability is increasingly in doubt. A series of bloody terror attacks has made many holidaymakers think twice about Turkey. More fundamentally, Turks are in the midst of a bitter referendum campaign that could change how they're ruled. On the face of it, they should be united about Sunday's constitutional referendum. Most agree the current constitution, drafted by on the orders of the military following a coup in 1980, needs change. Yet the two sides have literally been throwing punches. Leading campaigners have been physically attacked; there's been a brawl in parliament. The Yes camp, led by the government, has painted its opponents as terrorists. The No camp say it's a power grab by the increasingly authoritarian president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. "The wrong choices have the potential to deliver catastrophe well beyond Turkey's borders," a UK parliamentary report found recently. "Turkey's democracy and democratic culture are under severe pressure."In this edition, David Aaronovich hears from:Chris Morris, the BBC's long-time Turkey watcherZiya Meral, Resident Fellow, the Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict ResearchFirdevs Robinson, Turkish journalist and broadcasterGulnur Aybet, senior advisor to President ErdoganProducer: Neal Razzell.

What are the changes needed now to ensure the NHS is sustainable in the future?The NHS is facing one of the biggest crises in its history. With an ageing population, the increasing cost of drugs and treatments, and lack of funding for social care, the service is under more pressure than ever and the cracks are already starting to show. So will the system be able to cope in future as the UK's population gets older - and can the NHS survive?David Aaronovitch hears from expert witnesses including Dame Julie Moore, Chief Executive of University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust and John Appleby, Chief Economist at the Nuffield Trust. Producer: China Collins.

The government says the housing market is broken and that it's holding the country back. As prices have risen, fewer people are able to get on the housing ladder, and more are now renting privately later into their lives. Many argue we're not building enough new homes. But is that the only problem? David Aaronovitch speaks to a panel of experts to find out and travels to Bristol to see what effect the housing crisis is having on the way people live there. Contributors:Dame Kate Barker, economist and author of a government review on housing supply Lindsay Judge, Senior Research and Policy Analyst at the Resolution FoundationEmma Maier, Editor, Inside Housing Councillor Paul Smith, Labour cabinet member for homes, Bristol City CouncilProducer: Phil Kemp Researcher: Sam Bright Editor: Innes Bowen.

What will happen if the Islamic State loses its state?The so-called Islamic State is rapidly losing territory, money and fighters in both Iraq and Syria. Iraqi government troops, supported by US and British special forces, have launched an offensive to take back the city of Mosul and an assault on the group's de facto capital city - Raqqa in Syria - is expected by the end of the year. Can the group continue to attract jihadi fighters from around the world and inspire attacks in its name, or will it be permanently weakened by the loss of its 'caliphate'? If so, could other terrorist organisations benefit from the vacuum it leaves behind? David Aaronovitch speaks to a range of experts and asks - can Islamic State be defeated and if so, what happens next?Guests include: Columb Strack, Senior Analyst, Middle East & North Africa at IHS Consulting Charlie Winter, Senior Research Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR)Hassan Hassan, Senior Fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy and co-author of ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror Dr Elisabeth Kendall, Senior Research Fellow in Arabic at the University of Oxford Clint Watts, Robert A. Fox Fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute's Program on the Middle East and former FBI Special AgentProducer: China Collins Research: Serena Tarling.