About this episode

The episode discusses Nigel Farage's political gamble and Andy Burnham's rise in the Labour party.

Is Nigel Farage regretting his move to trigger a by-election now that his main rival is the novelty candidate Count Binface? What do Reform’s supporters think, and has he blown his chances of broadening support for the party? Host Lucy Fisher is joined by political correspondent Anna Gross, columnist Stephen Bush and political reporter Rachel Rees to discuss the Reform leader’s gamble. Plus Andy Burnham wins overwhelming support to become the next Labour leader, while outgoing Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been talking up his legacy at the Nato summit in Turkey. Follow: Lucy @LOS_Fisher or @ lucyfisher.ft.com ; Stephen @stephenkb and @stephenkb.bsky.social, Rachel @rachel-rees.bsky.social and Anna, @AnnaSophieGross Want more?   Labour MPs queue up to back Andy Burnham as next leader Labour MPs push for permanent ban on crypto political donations Police launch probe into donations to Robert Jenrick’s Tory leadership campaign ‘Nigel can fix it’ — what Clacton voters think of Farage’s gambit A timeline of Nigel Farage’s £5mn gift and his return to politics Nigel Farage ridiculed in parliament as ‘farce’ by-election gets go-ahead US carries out second day of strikes…

People in this episode

Host: Lucy Fisher

Guests: Anna Gross, Stephen Bush, Rachel Rees

Topics covered

• Nigel Farage
• by-election
• political support
• Andy Burnham
• Labour leadership
• political commentary

Keywords

• Nigel Farage
• Andy Burnham
• Labour leadership
• by-election
• political commentary
• Reform party
• Count Binface

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Reform, Labour, Nato

Places: Turkey

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• The Burnham era begins: Mahmood set for chancellor? · July 17, 2026 · 35 min
• Nigel Farage tries to ‘take back control’ · July 7, 2026 · 17 min
• Power to the North: Burnham’s big idea · July 3, 2026 · 43 min
• Live special: Ten years after Brexit · June 25, 2026 · 57 min
• Can anyone challenge Andy Burnham for PM? · June 23, 2026 · 36 min

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