Politics Unpacked

Opinion podcast with David Aaronovitch, Lucy Fisher and Phil Collins. --Phil Collins:The anonymous man who said, to the attacker at Leytonstone tube station, “you ain’t no Muslim, bruv” has been hailed as speaking for moderate people of all faiths and none. Quite right too. Yet the statement is, alas, not quite true. We cannot attribute murder to faith but we cannot pretend faith is entirely irrelevant either.David Aaronovitch:Oh what a great brouhaha that Syria vote was. 'Momentous' said the BBC. A fabulous debate everyone agreed, with MPs congratulated - on either side - for weighing the issues and their consciences with almost exquisite aesthetic precision. Well, balls frankly. The decision was the minimum possible response a country like ours could have made. Anything else would have been an admission that, short of responding to being invaded, Britain had put its military out to grass. Lucy Fisher:It's received wisdom that Jeremy Corbyn is unelectable & Labour will tank at the 2020 polls... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip Webster is joined by Fay Schlesinger, Giles Whittell and Anne Ashworth. Fay Schlesinger:After Jeremy Corbyn was elected, he promised a “kinder politics”. Fast forward two months and his allies are vowing revenge on shadow cabinet ministers at odds with him over Syrian airstrikes. Even the most attractive of Corbyn’s traits are turning sour. He must drop the Mr Nice Guy act or compromise over his ideals. He can't keep up the charade of both.Giles Whittell:There is an air of unreality about the Paris climate conference. The challenge is more urgent than ever but India won't stop burning coal, America won't be legally bound by anything and yet somehow delegates are optimist for a breakthrough. It won't happen until someone does for energy what cell phones did for communications - enables the developing world to leapfrog the developed.Anne Ashworth:There's a power grab going in the housing market. Schemes - like the Help to Buy Isa which makes its debut today and the stamp duty changes - are... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip Webster is joined by Stewart Wood and Daniel Finkelstein.Stewart Wood:The Syrian crisis looks set to dominate British politics for the foreseeable future. Issues around the response to terrorism in Europe, dealing with unprecedented migration flows & UK involvement in bringing the Syrian conflict to an end should be the overwhelming priorities for our Government. Given the seriousness and complexity of these issues, David Cameron should seek all-party support for postponing the EU referendum until 2019.Daniel FInkelstein:During the first years of this government, it was argued that we needed to borrow more because we were in a recession. Now we aren't in one it should follow that this is the time to borrow less. We can't continue with a massive structural deficit. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip Webster is joined by Alice Thomson, Roger Boyes and John McTernan. Alice Thomson:Looking at the rows of victims in Paris, they all have glossy hair, white smiles and youth. It used to be the police, establishment, businesses and commuters who were the most vulnerable to terrorism. This is the first time the Facebook generation has been targeted, on a Friday night when they're relaxing at cafes, concerts and matches, how will they respond?Roger Boyes:Our efforts to " contain and degrade" Isis have failed. We are left with two rotten options: accept that Putin now controls Syria's future and mount joint bombing campaigns, using unpalatable Hezbollah and Iranians to do the dirty work on the ground. Or we overcome our fear of using ground troops and confront Isis face to face.John McTernan:To be a credible potential government Labour has to convince voters they can be trusted with national security. In uncertain times that becomes even more critical. Opposing shoot to kill, condemning French... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip Webster is joined by Oliver Kamm, Lucy Fisher and Michael Savage. Oliver Kamm:Jeremy Corbyn has accused the chief of defence staff, Sir Nicholas Houghton, of political bias for intervening on the question of Britain's nuclear deterrent. The claim is absurd - a measure of the frivolity of Corbyn's own stance rather than any extra-constitutional manoeuvring by the armed forces. Every postwar government has supported Britain's nuclear deterrent and our participation in Nato. That is the policy of the Labour party, regardless of Corbyn's own views. Corbyn's parliamentary colleagues know that the voters will never trust a party that is weak on defence - and they should flatly contradict their leader's whims. Lucy Fisher:Britain is facing a crisis of confidence in foreign policy, “sidelined in Syria, ineffective in Ukraine, unwilling in Europe, and inimical towards refugees”. That was the damning verdict of some of the UK’s most senior former diplomats, intelligence officers and academics in a... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip Webster is joined by Rachel Sylvester, Emma Tucker and Philip Collins.Rachel Sylvester:George Osborne is the most intriguing politician of our age. He’s morphed from a short termist partisan tactician to a political strategist with a long term plan. But, as the tax credit fiasco shows, his biggest flaw is that he still lacks empathy - the ability to win people over by persuading them he understands how they feel. If he wants to become Conservative leader and Prime Minister he's got to prove he knows that that politics is about emotions as well power.Emma Tucker:Debate about Britain's relationship with the European Union is about to heat up as David Cameron prepares to outline his desired reform package in a letter to be delivered to Brussels this week. But he faces very tricky manoeuvres. Europe’s leaders don't really want to engage with him until he can reassure them that he will vote for Britain to stay in the EU. But if he does so, the Outers will accuse him of reducing incentives for... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip Webster is joined by Sam Coates, Hugo Rifkind and Patrick Kidd.Sam Coates:George Osborne got the strategy wrong, the tactics wrong, the politics wrong, the communications wrong and the people-handling wrong - all the things the Chancellor is meant to be good at. MPs think his reputation has taken a hit. After riding high over the summer, the Chancellor's reputation was probably due a correction to the mean, but Boris would be unwise to think things have swung that much in his favour. Anyway the tax credit problem is still far from solved - anyone with any ideas should pop them on a postcard to the TreasuryHugo Rifkind:What's up with students? Last week, Germaine Greer cancelled a lecture at Cardiff University, after a petition circulated calling for her to be disinvited, due to her "problematic" views. When I was a student, visiting speakers included people such as the BNP's Nick Griffin and the radical Islamist Omar Bakri. If we could cope with them, how come students today can't cope with... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In his final Opinion podcast, host Tim Montgomerie is joined by Rachel Sylvester, Mathew Parris and Ann Treneman. Matthew Parris:Now that we're having to take seriously the possibility (though not, I think, the likelihood) that Britain may vote to leave the EU, we need to look beyond that possible Leave vote. What happens then? The government will have to begin a lengthy negotiation about the terms of our departure, with (of course) no negotiating cards to play at all. Much - a huge amount - will hang on the terms we are finally able to secure. It's perfectly possible voters who voted in principle to leave will find those terms unacceptable in practice. There will have to be a second referendum.Ann Treneman:What is Jeremy Corbyn playing at? Going on holiday (and to Scotland!) when he should be kissing the Queen's hand and becoming a privy councillor. It seems that we knew he was a republican but, hey, he actually seems to be a republican! Will Corbyn, in his own way, make us grow up as to how we... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Montgomerie presents the Opinion podcast direct from Manchester at The Conservative Party conference:- Daniel Finkelstein and Jenni Russell: The Times- Paul Goodman: Conservativehome.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Montgomerie presents the Opinion podcast direct from Brighton at The Labour Party conference:- Andy Burnham: Shadow Home Secretary - Matthew Parris, Lucy Fisher and Marcus Roberts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.