The State of It

The State of It

The Times

Real reporting from the coalface of British politics.


Join The Times and The Sunday Times’s political heavyweights Patrick Maguire, Steven Swinford, Gabriel Pogrund and Caroline Wheeler and as they dig deep into the latest tea room tip offs, reveal insider conversations and bring analysis, authority and insight.


No party loyalty. No spin. Not hosted by some old politicians. Taking you into the real business of politics, from those who live it daily.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Categories: News & Politics

Listen to the last episode:

Listen to what Labour ministers and MPs are saying about their colleagues in a week of chaos in Westminster.

The prime minister thought it was all over for him this weekend, but a scrambled rearguard action has left him looking stronger than he has for some time. But to survive, Keir Starmer may now have no choice but to move leftwards. And there's much worse to come when the Mandelson files are released.

Meanwhile, has Wes Streeting missed his moment to challenge the prime minister?


Steven Swinford, political editor, The Times

Patrick Maguire, chief political commentator, The Times

Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall editor, The Sunday Times


Producer: Euan Dawtrey

Executive producer: Molly Guinness


Picture credit: Getty Images

Audio credit: Sky News


Email us: thestateofit@thetimes.co.uk

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous episodes

  • 1354 - Wes Streeting bottles it and Labour's left grabs the steering wheel 
    Tue, 10 Feb 2026 - 0h
  • 1353 - Bonus episode: Epstein tried to befriend me 
    Wed, 04 Feb 2026 - 0h
  • 1352 - How the Mandelson scandal threatens Starmer 
    Tue, 03 Feb 2026 - 0h
  • 1351 - Bonus episode: Flying to China with the PM 
    Wed, 28 Jan 2026 - 0h
  • 1350 - Lose this by-election and all hell breaks loose 
    Tue, 27 Jan 2026 - 0h
Show more episodes

More UK news & politics podcasts

More international news & politics podcasts

Choose podcast genre