Harriet Harman

This week is a special episode of the podcast where we are looking back on some of our favourite pieces from the magazine over the past year and revisiting some of the conversations we had around them. First up: the Starmer supremacyLet’s start with undoubtedly the biggest news of the year: Starmer’s supermajority and the first Labour government in 14 years. In April, we spoke to Katy Balls and Harriet Harman about just what a supermajority could mean for Keir Starmer. Listening back, it’s an incredibly interesting discussion to revisit. The aim of Katy’s piece was to communicate the internal problems that could arise from such a sweeping victory and, crucially, how Starmer might manage a historic cohort of backbenchers.

The most recent 'mother of the house', Harriet Harman has been an MP for 42 years. She has served in a number of cabinet positions, under six Labour leaders, both during government and opposition. She was also deputy leader of the Labour Party for 8 years. In some ways, her story is emblematic of how women's roles in society have changed: challenging familial stereotypes, dealing with sexual harassment, and as a trailblazing politician. On this episode, Katy Balls talks to Harriet about the influence of her family, why she got into politics, and why Labour hasn't had a female leader yet. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.