Can Labour Recover from Welsh Election Losses? #shorts

In this half-term special episode, Gabriel Pogrund and Patrick Maguire tackle the week’s heavyweight political stories from Westminster. Gabriel lifts the lid on a capital S scoop from his morning's round of WhatsApping, and Patrick explores what Plaid Cymru’s triumph in Caerphilly means for Labour and Reform UK?

Has Keir Starmer really gone woke?

Starmer has privately told ministers he wants all asylum hotels to be closed within a year. But the reason he has not made that a public target is because of how tough that challenge will be. In fact, the only cast-iron pledge he has made is to close all asylum hotels by the next election in 2029. He has said publicly that he wants to “bring that forward” but is nervous about setting a date precisely because he and his aides know how politically risky it is to make unrealistic promises when it comes to immigration.

There are just over 32,000 asylum seekers living in hotels out of a total of 103,000 housed in taxpayer-funded accommodation. That means that more than two thirds of migrants are not in hotels and are instead living in dispersal accommodation, such as large houses, bed-sits and self-contained flats across different local authorities.

The State of It podcast showcases real reporting from the coalface of British politics. Join The Times and The Sunday Times’s political heavyweights Patrick Maguire, Steven Swinford and Caroline Wheeler and as they dig deep into the latest tea room tip offs, reveal insider conversations and bring analysis, authority and insight.

Patrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The Times

Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday Times

Producer: Euan Dawtrey

Executive producer: Molly Guinness

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times.

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