Political Thinking with Nick Robinson

The former Defence Secretary opens up about the impact of high-pressure government jobs on family relations and tells the behind-the-scenes story of the lead-up to the Ukraine War and his take on the ?poison? in British politics.

Nick Robinson sits down with the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, to discuss multiculturalism, transgender rights and challenging the UK government on its asylum policies.

Nick Robinson sits down with the Levelling Up Secretary for an in-depth conversation about what lies behind his drive for reform, having first joined the cabinet 13 years ago. They also reflect on community tensions in the UK as a result of war in the Middle East, what the Home Secretary has said about protests, and what Nadine Dorries has written about him

Producer: Daniel Kraemer

Labour's campaign chief talks to Nick Robinson about how to deal with divisions with in the party, communities and families on events in the middle east. And how has he become the "great survivor" of the party, from working as Tony Blair's backroom fixer in the 90s to running Labour's election campaign?

The Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology talks to Nick Robinson about the UK's AI summit and how the world can balance protection against AI's dangers and harnessing it for good.

Producer: Daniel Kraemer

Poland's former foreign minister talks to Nick Robinson about his journey from rebelling against communist rule as a child, living in exile in the UK, being a leading diplomat, and his party on the brink of returning to power after 8 years

The Schools Minister tells Nick Robinson how his single-minded curriculum reform has kept him in his job for 10 of the last 13 years, and how his sexuality might have limited his career prospects

Producer: Daniel Kraemer

The co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, now behind the scenes in Just Stop Oil, challenges Nick Robinson to emotionally engage with the reality of climate change and take a stand against global inaction

The Leader of the Opposition sets out his vision for getting Labour back into government

Producer: Daniel Kraemer

The Liberal Democrat leader talks to Nick Robinson about caring for his disabled son, the value of coalitions in politics and why the prime minister's net zero strategy 'hands the future to China'

Producer: Daniel Kraemer

Nick Robinson talks to former prime minister Theresa May about why she wants to call out abuses of power, what went wrong after Brexit and growing up as a vicar's daughter.

Producer: Daniel Kraemer

Nick Robinson talks to the boss of the TUC ahead of hosting his first Congress in his hometown of Liverpool, what it was like working with ministers during Covid and why we need a national conversation on tax

Nick Robinson has a conversation with, not an interrogation of, the people who shape our political thinking about what shaped theirs.

The Science minister talks to Nick Robinson about how his troubled childhood instilled conservative values from a young age and the challenge of dealing with buccaneering tech billionaires

Lord Daniel Finkelstein talks to Nick Robinson about what it is like preparing Conservative leaders for PMQs and how having two refugee parents shaped his politics of 'moderation'

Baroness Louise Casey has become one of the most influencial non-politicians in the UK. She tells Nick Robinson why it all started with a passion for homelessness and what might be next on her list.

How does a politician with the reading age of an 8-year-old operate as a Shadow Cabinet member?

The former Undertones frontman tells Nick how his youth in Derry during the Troubles led him to becoming one of the most prominent environmental campaigners in Britain today.

The SNP's Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, on what he will demand in the event of a hung Parliament, and how living with a disability shaped his politics.

Penny Mordaunt reveals the secret to holding that sword throughout the Coronation, whether she?s planning another tilt at the Conservative leadership and being PM, and why culture wars may not be such a good idea for her party.

In the week the government introduced tough, controversial new rules on stopping illegal immigrants entering the UK, Nick Robinson talks to the home secretary, Suella Braverman, about her father's journey to Britain while fleeing persecution in Kenya, how her mum's admiration for Margaret Thatcher introduced her to the Conservative Party and how she, as the wife of a Jewish man, feels when people compare her policies with those of 1930s Germany.

Nick Robinson talks to the Conservative Party's deputy chairman, Lee Anderson, about following his father's lead in becoming a miner, how he went from admiring Tony Benn and Arthur Scargill to being deputy chairman of the Conservatives and whether his new job is forcing him to be more diplomatic when talking about issues such as migration and poverty.

Nick Robinson talks to the housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa about his own experience of poor social housing and his father's death, how he harnessed the power of social media to become a powerful voice in Westminster and whether he fancies a go at elected politics himself.

Nick Robinson talks to the shadow justice secretary, Steve Reed, about why the collapse of a factory that employed most of his family led to him joining the Labour Party, how being mugged at knifepoint helped inform his new approach to antisocial behaviour and why he thinks the parentsof young offenders should be sent to mandatory parenting classes.

Nick Robinson talks to the influential lobbyist and new chair of Stonewall, Iain Anderson, about how the case of Isla Bryson has brought gender politics to the top of the news agenda and how he thinks the heat can be taken out of the debate. Anderson, a lifelong Conservative who founded the lobbying firm Cicero and ran Ken Clarke's leadership campaigns, talks candidly about why he's now moving away from his political roots.

Nick Robinson talks to the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, Mary Bousted, about how her headteacher father inspired a passion for education, why she quit her job as an English teacher and whether, in a week of widespread teacher strikes, she can see the current crisis coming to an end anytime soon.

Nick Robinson talks to the director general of the Confederation of British Industry, Tony Danker. They discuss what it was like to grow up in a Jewish family in Belfast during 'The Troubles', why he chose to join the Treasury three weeks after Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008 and how his calls for post-Brexit Britain's economy to grow more led to ministers accusing him of talking the country down.

The leader of the Unite union gives a frank and engaging interview to Nick Robinson. She defends the new wave of strikes by ambulance workers, sets out how under her leadership Unite is 'following the money' to target bad employers and explains why Keir Starmer's Labour party is a 'bad tribute act' to Tony Blair and reveals she was threatened by former colleagues when she began an investigation into 'potential criminality' within the union. She tells stories from her early life, including how she led a walkout of silver service restaurant staff aged just 17 in a protest over pay.

A bonus episode, as Nick tells the extraordinary inside story of how Liz Truss gambled her premiership on a dramatic challenge to decades of orthodoxy.

Nick Robinson talks to Labour's shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, about her mum standing up to the people that burgled their house, her grandad's love of books sparking her passion for education and how she ended up as an extra on Byker Grove.

Nick Robinson talks to the chief executive of Citizens Advice, Clare Moriarty, about her and her family's long history with the civil service, how she coped with having cancer while running the Brexit department and what more the government needs to do to help people suffering in the cost of living crisis.

Nick Robinson talks to the Green Party's co-leader, Carla Denyer, about discovering grassroots campaigns at sixth form, declaring Europe's first climate emergency and why she chooses to wear both a red and white poppy.

Nick Robinson talks to the new education secretary, Gillian Keegan, about leaving school at 16 to work in a car factory, the time Derek Hatton bought her a glass of champagne and why sometimes cabinet ministers should just admit it when they don't know something.

Nick Robinson talks to Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner, about how her own experience of poverty has shaped her views on the cost of living crisis, her relationship with Labour's leader Keir Starmer and whether working class politicians need to shout louder about their roots.

Nick Robinson revisits his interview with the new prime minister, Rishi Sunak, from late 2019. The then-chief secretary to the treasury discussed working in his mother?s pharmacy, why he chose to vote Leave and his knowledge of The Force

Nick Robinson talks to Conservative peer David Frost, the former chief Brexit negotiator, about Boris Johnson's potential return as Prime Minister, the downfall of Liz Truss and how he went from foreign office diplomat to Brexit architect

Nick Robinson talks to Lisa Nandy, the shadow levelling up secretary, about preparing for government, the political lessons she's learned from football and whether she disagrees with Keir Starmer's stance on strikes.

Nick Robinson talks to Paul Johnson, the director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, about attacks from the left and right on so-called economic orthodoxy, how to stay impartial during moments of political turbulence and what his self-proclaimed nerdy teenage self would make of his career now.

Nick Robinson talks to the new education secretary, Kit Malthouse, about growing up in Liverpool, battling Labour students at university and his priorities for education in England.

Nick Robinson talks to former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn about how he became a socialist, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and whether he'll be allowed to stand again as a Labour candidate.

Nick Robinson talks to Christopher Steele, the author of the 'Trump-Russia dossier'. They discuss his time as an intelligence officer in the Soviet Union, how he became an overnight public figure and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Nick Robinson talks to Christopher Steele, the author of the the 'Trump-Russia dossier'. They discuss his time as an intelligence officer in the Soviet Union, how he became an overnight public figure and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Nick Robinson has a conversation with, not an interrogation of, the people who shape our political thinking about what shaped theirs.

Nick Robinson revisits his interview with the new prime minister, Liz Truss, from July 2018. The then-chief secretary to the treasury discusses her transition from Lib Dem to Conservative, her plans for a low-tax, small state UK and comparisons with Mrs Thatcher.

Nick Robinson revisits his interview with Rishi Sunak from November 2019. The then-chief secretary to the treasury discusses working in his mother?s pharmacy, why he chose to vote Leave and his knowledge of The Force

Nick Robinson revisits his interview with Liz Truss from December 2021. The foreign secretary discusses facing down Russia on the global stage, the way we view British history and comparisons with Mrs Thatcher

With Boris Johnson having resigned as Conservative leader, Nick Robinson takes a look through the Political Thinking archives, to see what has shaped the thinking of the men and women hoping to become the UK?s next prime minister

Nick Robinson talks to the shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, about loneliness, belonging and Britain's place in the world

Nick Robinson talks to the journalist and founder of Money Saving Expert, Martin Lewis, about his love of numbers, the cost of living crisis and his application to become a crossbench peer

Nick Robinson talks to Naomi Long, the leader of the Alliance Party and Northern Ireland's Justice Minister, about growing up during the Troubles, the ongoing implications of Brexit and her decision not to identify as nationalist or unionist