While Andy Burnham was playing cricket in Antigua, a storm was brewing at the top of the Labour Party.

This week, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood found herself in the spotlight after finally backing down on plans to make many migrant care workers wait up to 15 years for permanent settlement. But the wider reform to Indefinite Leave to Remain remains largely intact.

The Conservatives have wasted no time, claiming the “U-turn” will cost taxpayers billions. Meanwhile, Labour MPs remain split: some say the reforms still go too far, while critics accuse Mahmood of going soft on immigration.

So has she solved Labour’s political problem – or simply created a new one?

Executive producer: Rod Ardehali

Producer: Sam Durham

Video editor: Vali Raza

Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here.

Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on intheroom@independent.co.uk.

This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios.

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

Cheaper gherkins, £100 towards energy bills, higher taxes on banks and billions for defence. John Healey’s first Budget had something for everyone. But was there a main course among the picky bits?

In this Budget special of In The Room, Cleo Watson and Helen MacNamara ask who benefits, who pays and what was conspicuously left off the table. They examine the real value of energy support, Healey’s defence funding turnaround and the OBR’s gloomy growth forecast.

Then they take us inside Whitehall to reveal how a Budget is made – the last-minute negotiations, political theatre and fallout that can take days to emerge.

Healey promised Britain breathing space today and hope for tomorrow. Did he deliver either?

Executive producer: Rod Ardehali

Producer: Sam Durham

Video editor: Adam Hollis

Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here.

Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on intheroom@independent.co.uk.

This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios.

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

France is reeling after a weekend of unrest that escalated dramatically. Hundreds of thousands marched peacefully, but elsewhere shops were looted, cars burned, police attacked and public buildings set alight.

What began with schoolchildren furious about missing teachers, crumbling classrooms and a system they believe is failing them quickly became something much bigger. People of all ages joined demonstrations driven by anger over the cost of living, deteriorating public services and a future that feels increasingly out of reach.

With France approaching a presidential election, the unrest exposes a deeper political crisis. But this is not just a French story. Across Europe, established parties are struggling to retain the confidence of increasingly disillusioned electorates. And Britain has experienced its own moments when public anger has spilled into violence.

Helen MacNamara, who was inside government during the 2011 riots and has attended countless COBR meetings, examines what happens when governments begin to lose control of the streets, and what France's crisis might tell us about the pressures building closer to home.

Executive producer: Rod Ardehali

Producer: Sam Durham

Video editor: Adam Hollis

Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here.

Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on intheroom@independent.co.uk.

This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios.

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