Politics Unpacked

Special addition: Tim Montgomerie is joined by Phil Collins, Jill Sherman and Phillip Webster after an extraordinary day which has seen an extensive cabinet reshuffle.The panel attempt to answer the following:1. Is this still a reforming govt?2. Has the reshuffle met expectations for women?3. Is the Eurosceptic movement for an election or to last?Subscribe via iTunes: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/did-you-read Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Montgomerie is joined by Rachel Sylvester, Fay Schlesinger and Matthew Syed.Rachel SylvesterDavid Cameron is carrying out a reshuffle for women. How patronising. The truth is the Tories are struggling to get local associations to choose female candidates, and have failed to tackle the off-putting culture of the House of Commons. All the parties need more than tokenism to woo women voters.Fay SchlesingerIn 1961, a new law challenged the so-called sanctity of life and raised fears of a 'slippery slope' and the untimely death of thousands. That law legalised suicide. This week Lords will debate assisted dying, which crosses another line by giving doctors a proactive hand in death. With the right controls, it makes compassionate and practical sense. In an ageing society, governments cannot shirk responsibility for helping people to die well.Matthew SyedThere is a proposal to make “honesty lessons” for new MP’s compulsory. I think this is silly. The problem with trust in politics is much... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Montgomerie is joined by Daniel Finkelstein, Ann Treneman and Patrick Kidd. Daniel Finkelstein: “The recent death of Gerry Conlon and the compensation paid to the wrongly convicted youths accused of raping the Central Park jogger, should remind us of the danger of hysteria and panic to the operation of the justice system. This week as I review the child abuse debate I wonder if we have forgotten this.” Ann Treneman: “Are we seeing the return of Parliament as a power in the land? On Monday, the Home Secretary repeatedly acknowledged the "relentless" campaigns by backbench MPs on the issue of alleged child abuse. But there is also the power of the Europhobes, who have got the government on the run. I would also say that Mr Speaker himself, by simply re-discovering something called the Urgent Questions, has made the Commons much more relevant. People say Parliament isn't what it used to be. Actually, I think it's growing in importance every year.”Patrick Kidd: “The warning is stark: to meet a £30bn... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Tim Montgomerie is joined by Francis Elliott, Matthew Parris and Jenni Russell. DYR? Francis ElliottIf David Cameron really wants the European Commission to be an agent for change and a place where dynamic politicians go to complete a glittering career two of his arguments from the Juncker J'accuse speech last week - then why on earth is he poised to send Andrew Lansley to Brussels?Matthew ParrisNeither my time nor my capacity for enquiry and deliberation are unlimited. So I have decided to have no opinion at all on what those involved should do about the ISIS crisis. We British are not involved. I have no opinion on the future of the US Space Program, either. Jenni RussellThere's been outrage over the revelation that Facebook spent a week manipulating the news its users read to discover whether giving them sad or happy stories affected what they then posted online. The anger is justified. But we are all being manipulated all the time by what we read, see and choose to follow... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip Collins steps in for Tim Montgomerie and is joined by Suzy Jagger, Phil Webster and Patrick Kidd.Suzy JaggerThis month's surprise - and to date, devastatingly successful - assault by Isis on Northern Iraq has led to a new cat's cradle of shifting internAtional alliances. The West has found itself to be a new uncomfortable bedfellow with Tehran. How do we manage these new allegiances? And are we right to blame much of the crisis deepening in the region to President Obama's complete absence of real foreign policy? Philip WebsterCameron has played the Juncker appointment badly, unnecessarily losing Merkel on the way. He can salvage something from the wreckage by facing other leaders down on Thursday and staging an immediate press conference at midnight to tell the world who voted for whom.Patrick KiddShocking in Sao Paulo, humbled in Hamilton and now stumped by Sri Lanka in Leeds, it's been a grim few days for England sports fans. Whatever happened to that glorious summer of 2012 when we... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Montgomerie is joined by Melanie Phillips, Alice Thomson and Roger Alton.Melanie PhillipsPeople say the Iraq debacle has happened because we went in and got rid of strong man Saddam. On the contrary, it's because the US and UK got out of Iraq, allowing Maliki to alienate the Sunnis. Leaving a strong man in place hasn't worked in Syria, and Saddam would have run his own jihadi gangs. This chaos directly threatens the West, as did Saddam, but the main focus should be on the head of the snake, Iran.Alice ThomsonThe real battle in education is not between Dominic Cummings and David Cameron whom he tells Rachel Sylvester and me is like "a sphinx without a riddle" but between Michael Gove and The Blob . The Education Secretary is determined to face down the trendy modernists who want all children making paper mâché puppets and set schools free while promoting academic rigour, he's right. Roger AltonMany people, not always women - are quite happy to say "I don't know anything about football" as if... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Montgomerie is joined by Libby Purves, Daniel Finkelstein and newcomer, Giles Whittell.Libby PurvesAnn Widdecombe complains that it is ‘very difficult” to be an active Christian in Britain today. She says that Militant secularism stops people in workplaces from wearing crosses, saying God bless, or offering to pray for people - and that - quotes “stances of conscience” are prevented by political correctness and equality law. I say - render unto Caesar: and show don’t tell...and that applies to other religions too.Daniel FinkelsteinWhat is the point in Britain having influence if it doesn't use it? And what better cause could there be than trying to prevent Jean Claude Juncker from being President of the European Commission? For both procedural and substantive reasons, Mr Juncker is the wrong President for the Commission and this matters even if you believe that the EU must be only a single market. Giles WhittellI’d like to talk about what Putin does next. Little mentioned in our... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Montgomerie is joined by Matthew Parris, Ann Treneman and David Aaronovitch. Matthew ParrisSpain's King Juan Carlos was respected in the 1980s for his brave refusal to support a coup against democracy. That respect has been squandered: hence (in part) the abdication, but are we smug in pointing this out? The fading of British republicanism in recent decades has been enormously dependent on the growing personal popularity of our Queen. Our real monarchists are probably a minority. The majority are, firstly, Elizabethists. Woe betide our monarchy if we ever got a real stinker on the throne.David AaronovitchThe Newark by-election on Thursday is a genuinely interesting contest. My contention - and polls seem to back it up - is that the Euro elections were a Ukip high point. As Ukip has grown, so the proportion of people alarmed by them has grown too. But the media appreciation of this fact has been slow in developing. If the Tories hold on to Newark with any degree of comfort then the understanding... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Montgomerie is joined by Jenni Russell, Philip Webster and Hugo Rifkind.Jenni gives advice to David Cameron:Cameron needs to become a radical dynamic insurgent, not the calm patrician chairman he is now. He must fight internationally to get companies like Amazon and Google to pay proper tax, change the rules on benefit and housing so recent arrivals can't claim, raise the minimum wage and enforce it, and restrict the right of people from the EU's poorest countries to work here.Phil gives advice to Nigel Farage:Nigel. Having achieved your much vaunted tremor you now need to level with your party and voters. Otherwise a year from now there will be a lot of disillusioned people.Hugo gives advice to Nick Clegg:Nick, your only hope is absolute honesty. Start explaining what you've done in government, why you did it, and what else you'd have liked to do but couldn't. Most of all, start talking about future coalitions. Don't fall into the trap of merely sitting around, wistfully dreaming of what... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Montgomerie is joined by Rachel Sylvester, Philip Webster and Stephan Shakespeare to discuss the following:Is UKIP here to stay as Britain's fourth party?Can Clegg do anything to revive the Lib Dems or is he finished as a political force?How big is Labour's Ed Miliband problem? Tory HQ is unconvinced that Labour's vote drops whenever he appears on TV.How big is the gap now between London and the rest of England?Which of the three big Parties has most reason to panic over the next few days?Subscribe via iTunes: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/did-you-read Subscribe to The Times: www.thetimes.co.uk Follow The Times Opinion pages on Twitter: @TimesOpinion Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.