Politics Unpacked

Spads vs Civil Servants?

Has the relationship between the civil service and politicians and their advisers been permanently damaged? Matt speaks to Lord McDonald, permanent secretary at the Foreign Office until 2020, former civil servant Jill Rutter, and Hugh Bennett, former special adviser to Boris Johnson and Liz Truss.  Plus: Columnists Alice Thomson and Robert Crampton discuss <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/sunak-lines-himself-up-as-the-next-nick-clegg-7jqljkq8m" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rishi Sunak's lack of political energy</a>, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/british-women-top-world-chart-for-binge-drinking-zscb69ml2" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">British women's binge drinking habits</a>, and why politicians are bunking off work more than ever before.  Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.

Hugo Rifkind unpacks the the politics of the day - and the stuff that's even more important - with the brightest brains from the Times and Sunday Times. You can listen to Hugo on DAB, smart speaker or app 10am-1pm Monday to Friday. If you like what you hear, then read more at <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.thetimes.com/</a> Hosted on Acast. See <a href="https://acast.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color:grey;" target="_blank">acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.