How to replace a Prime Minister and get away with it

About this episode

The episode explores the dynamics of replacing a Prime Minister and the challenges faced by mid-term leaders in the Labour and Conservative parties.

As Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and former health secretary Wes Streeting jostle for influence in the Labour party, host Sascha O'Sullivan looks at what it takes to turn around a party's fortunes mid-term. Former John Major aide Daniel Finkelstein explains how the Conservative Prime Minister managed to win the 1992 elections against the odds and differentiate himself from his predecessor, Margaret Thatcher. Theo Bertram, former Tony Blair and Gordon Brown advisor turned think tank boss, talks Sascha through Brown's fateful decision not to call a snap election after taking over from Blair, and the challenge he faced in gripping the No. 10 machine. The most recent history of mid-term Prime Ministers might prove most instructive for any new Labour Prime Minister, and Rishi Sunak 's former deputy director of policy James Nation takes Sascha inside the effort to reboot his premiership. He tells Sascha Sunak's team found themselves hamstrung by the manifesto commitments promised in 2019, and struggled to keep the party from infighting after taking over from Liz Truss. Sascha discusses the lessons from these mid-term Prime Ministers with former Keir Starmer policy director…

People in this episode

Host: Sascha O'Sullivan

Guests: Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting, Daniel Finkelstein, Theo Bertram, James Nation, Claire Ainsley

Topics covered

• politics
• Labour party
• Conservative party
• mid-term Prime Ministers
• elections
• party influence

Keywords

• Prime Minister
• Labour party
• Conservative party
• elections
• political strategy
• party leadership
• mid-term challenges

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Labour party, Conservative, No. 10, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Keir Starmer, Liz Truss, Margaret Thatcher

More episodes of Westminster Insider

• What's the point of political protests? · June 12, 2026 · 41 min
• The Brexit Referendum: Ten years on · June 5, 2026 · 41 min
• Why the Conservatives are so cheery: inside the Tory reboot · May 29, 2026 · 38 min
• Starmer’s week from hell: Inside the Number 10 bunker · May 15, 2026 · 33 min
• Defense deals and Thomas Tuchel's chances: inside the new Anglo-German bromance · April 17, 2026 · 36 min
• Nick Thomas-Symonds: Don't panic, my EU reset plan will work · April 2, 2026 · 31 min