The Reaction

As the year draws to a close, we look back at some of the seismic stories shaping the year including how Labour’s landslide victory has turned into a landslide in their polling numbers with dissatisfaction with the government at a lofty 70%, and unhappiness with the PM at a remarkable 61%.   Plus, a hard year for the Royal Family, as King Charles fights his way back to full health. Oasis reforms, Taylor Swift returns, and the country riots.  And, as Sarah’s ex-husband is caught in a clinch with his latest squeeze, we ask what do you think when it comes to PDA, and what makes for a good divorce?  To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce  Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Chelsey Moore Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As farmers descend on London for the second time to protest against Rachel Reeves’s changes to inheritance tax, we speak to a dairy farmer about what the changes might mean for the future of her family and farm. Plus, as Angela Rayner presses ahead with plans to prioritise housebuilding on an area of the green belt bigger than Surrey, we ask what this means for those who already call the countryside home and the future of housebuilding in the UK.  And, as sales of Christmas pudding are on the rise for the first time in more than ten years, we ask what takes pride of place next to the turkey on your table on Christmas Day. And does it include condensed milk? To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction'   Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Chelsey Moore Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East   A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the former MP and Cabinet Minister’s reality TV show – Meet The Rees-Moggs - comes to our screens, the man once memorably described as looking like ‘a haunted Victorian pencil’ sits down for an extended conversation with Sarah Vine and Peter Hitchens to talk about why the Tories lost the election, his desire to return as an MP with Boris Johnson back leading the Party and his thoughts on everything from assisted dying, to horoscopes and why even he resists sock suspenders. To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction'   Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Alex Graham Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East   A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Ireland prepares to go to the polls, we speak to John Lee, Executive Editor of the Irish Daily Mail on the future of government for the country and why the political of arm of the IRA might be am ailing political force in light of his revelatory new podcast: Bomb To Ballot: The History of Sinn Fein. And as Vauxhall and Ford announce job losses and factory closures in the UK, we ask why electric vehicles aren’t driving the demand for new cars, and how that’s impacting the future of the motor industry.  Plus, we ask why are perfume manufacturers looking for animal magnetism to add allure to their best-selling scents? We’ve got a nose for that story… To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction'   Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce  Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Alex Graham Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East   A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thousands of farmers descended on London this week threatening to escalate their protests unless the chancellor meets them for talks over inheritance tax amid growing discontent among rural Labour MPs about government plans. One of those protestors was dairy farmer Kelly Seaton who joins Andrew and Sarah to tell them why she was impelled to take to the streets of Whitehall this week. Official estimates of the decision to strip more than ten million pensioners of the winter fuel payments have concluded it will result in around 50,000 older people in poverty at any time with warnings that the policy could soon lead to more elderly people dying of cold. Prompting Scottish Labour to announce that it would scrap the policy if it won power in Holyrood. So, we ask, why the schism? Why not the whole Labour Party? Plus, to mark its 90th anniversary the British Council has produced a list of 90 words that have defined the decades. They include the invention of terms such as “nylon” in the Thirties and “disc jockey” a decade later, to the rise of Gen Z slang like “rizz” and “edgelord,” you may be surprised to find which word resonates with Andrew and Sarah most… To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce  Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Alex Graham Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After a petition of over 10,000 signatures calling for him to relinquish his role as Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby has finally stepped down from his post after the independent Makin review into John Smyth's abuse of young men was published last week. It concluded that Smyth might have been brought to justice earlier had Mr Welby formally reported it to police after he was installed as archbishop 11 years ago. What happened and why? And as Labour promises to overhaul and rebuild the NHS, health secretary Wes Streeting has announced… football-style league tables of the best and worst performing hospitals in England. Which has as least united health bosses and workers in one way: making them furious at the decision. What can possibly get the NHS back on its feet? Plus, now that Gary Lineker’s jumped ship from the BBC, could it be time for Sarah and Andrew to take over on the MOTD couch and as I’m a Celebrity starts a new season, maybe it’s time Gary thought about taking a turn at the Bushtucker Trials? To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce  Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Alex Graham Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Trump prevails in the US and the Democrats fail to cut through with the American electorate, we cross to Washington to speak to a White House correspondent who’s seen both Democratic and Republican governments rise and fall. She explains what it’s been like on this particular campaign trail.  And talking of parties in turmoil, does the rise of Kemi Badenoch signal a rebirth for the Tory Party as she takes her first turn at the dispatch box for PMQs? Initial reports are promising… Plus, latest figures show that over 20 per cent of children in Year 6 — ages ten and eleven — were obese in 2023-24. But what can be done to stave off a generation of overweight children?  To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce  Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Alex Graham Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

VAT on private schools, duty on rolling tobacco, employers clobbered by increased contributions on small businesses, who is this cruel Labour budget for and why does Sarah think it sounds like it was designed by Harry Potter’s Dolores Umbridge? And we ask why some aspects of the Southport attacker case remained hidden from the public until now and who will be the winners at home and abroad as the Tories pick their new leader and the US goes to the polls? Plus, as Sober October comes to an end for Sarah, we taste test alcohol free wine, and ask why animals are taking up the bottle with a zeal not seen since the likes of Oliver Reed and Keith Moon. To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce  Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Chelsey Moore Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the government releases another 1,100 more prisoners early, as part of its emergency plan to ease overcrowding in jails in England and Wales, Sarah and Andrew ask what impact this latest action might have on the victims of crime who are now seeing those criminals released? And as around 100 members of the Labour Party travel to the US to volunteer for Kamala Harris in battleground states in the final stretch of the campaign, we ask why the government aren’t rallying their troops to get things done closer to home. Plus, who was the real Chris Kaba? Do we need to rethink driving licenses for the older generation? And we’re buying, what are you drinking? To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce  Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Alex Graham Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After it emerged that Labour is set to break yet another manifesto pledge, this time on housing migrants in hotels and that the Home Office is looking for even more hotel spaces to house illegal migrants, Sarah and Andrew ask what happened to the government’s pledge to “end asylum hotels, saving the taxpayer billions of pounds”.  As a Private Member’s Bill to legalise assisted dying is introduced in the House of Commons, and the Archbishop of Canterbury voices his concerns that half of the people in the US state of Oregon – where the practice is legal - who opt for assisted suicide say the fear of becoming a burden is a factor in their decision. We ask could the same thing happen here. Plus, Sarah’s still going sober for October, Andrew, not so much. And Sarah explains why she’s all for the weight loss jab and how it worked (and still works) for her.  To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce  Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Alex Graham Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Florida braces itself for the arrival of what is predicted to be one of the worst hurricanes of the century, President Biden has urged residents of the State to evacuate. As of yesterday morning, nearly six million Floridians were advised to leave their homes before Hurricane Milton landed. This only weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded parts of Tampa Bay. What does it mean, are these weather fronts the new normal? Immigration has fuelled a record rise in the population, even as deaths outstripped births in Britain for the first time in 50 years. A surge in net migration means that there are now over 68 million people living in the UK. The figures put increasing pressure on the government as the numbers are expected to impact on housing, the health and care sector and schools. But what can be done, not least when a huge percentage of 37,000 irregular arrivals came in on small boats? Plus, Sarah’s going sober for October, though, to her surprise, it’s something that might yet last even after October ends. Better sleep, weight loss, less anxiety, but will she put down the drink for good pat Halloween? To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce  Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Alex Graham Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the Middle East edges towards a full-blown war, and Binyamin Netanyahu vows that Iran “will pay” for launching a missile strike on Israel, Sarah and Peter look at the troubled history of the area and ask what next for this corner of the world and could the violence spread further still? The battle to lead dominates on both sounds of the Atlantic as vice presidents in waiting JD Vance and Tim Walz square off in the US. And closer to home, the final four Tory candidates address the faithful at party conference with at least one of the candidates asking if the Tory could just be ‘normal’, please. Plus, Strictly Come Dancing has gone from the darling of Saturday night TV to the subject of an internal BBC inquiry among accusations of harassment and bullying. How did we go from a gentle foxtrot to this farrago? To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens  Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Chelsey Moore Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Israel Strikes, Frockgate - now it's Sausagegate and Sheer Art Attack As defence chiefs ramp up plans for a huge evacuation of British citizens from Lebanon amid fears of an all-out war with Israel, Sarah and Peter look at what’s at stake now for the future of the territory and ask has Benjamin Netanyahu overplayed his hand? He’s gone from Frockgate to Sausageate, but what now for Sir Keir Starmer after a lacklustre Labour Party conference, having his own delegates turn against him over his plans on Winter Fuel, and still being dogged by accusations of cronyism.  Plus, we don’t know art, but we know what we like, or don’t like. And we don’t like the latest Turner Prize collection, though we don’t despise it as much as some art experts who have lambasted the Turner prize as a “rotting corpse” that has lost its power to provoke. Fair point? Let’s find out. To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Chelsey Moore Studio Manager: Sam Chisholm Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah and Andrew look back at this week’s remarkable attack on Hezbollah that resulted in the death of nine people after the simultaneous explosion of thousands of pagers used by the proscribed terror group. And as it’s revealed that PM Keir Starmer has declared more free tickets and gifts than other major party leaders in recent times, with his total now topping £100,000, we ask how much can you possibly spend on a new jacket when some people can’t even afford to put their heating on. Plus, how do we protect our children online, Prince Andrew is back, this time portrayed by Michael Sheen, but can anything match the real drama of that actual Emily Maitlis interview? And Angelina Jolie sold her Churchill original oil for millions, he might have been a great leader, but did he cut it as an artist? To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Chelsey Moore Studio Manager: Sam Chisholm Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In a Reaction special, Peter Hitchens and writer and economist Christopher Snowdon debate the merits for the case brought against and the conviction of serial killer Lucy Letby.  Hitchens has repeatedly called for the case to be re-examined, arguing there are grounds Letby could be the victim of an unsafe conviction, while Snowdon has in the past referred to the voices doubting the veracity of Letby’s guilt, as ‘a gaggle of armchair detectives, armchair pathologists and armchair barristers.’ Over the space of an hour, Snowdon and Hitchens attempt to find some middle ground in a case that has divided and shocked a nation. To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Peter Hitchens & Christopher Snowdon Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Buddy Peace Studio Manager: Sam Chisholm Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah and Andrew look back at the first Harris/Trump debate and ask are Haitian immigrants really feasting on household pets in Ohio? And why did Donald get so upset when asked about the size of his rallies?  And then there were four, as the Tory party conference looms who’s leading the pack and who’s the candidate Sarah would like to see win who might be capable of holding Labour’s feet to the fire? Plus, as the Princess of Wales shares a video to announce her recovery from illness to the world, the Duke Of Sussex drops a very different clip to promote his new show about that most egalitarian of sports: polo. And, much more importantly, why does the latest bronze statue of the Queen ‘not resemble her in any shape or form’? To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Chelsey Moore Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah and Andrew look at the final Grenfell inquiry report: a series of damning indictments, corporate subterfuge and a culture of dishonesty and ask why the community and its people were so let down in their hour of need.  And as Angela Rayner threatens to quash Margaret Thatcher’s Right to Buy policy and Rachel Reeves pushes on with her plan to cut winter fuel payments for thousands of pensioners, we ask will this be the legacy that could be the government’s undoing. Plus, if politicians insist on dancing, then can they do it under cover of darkness and in their own homes, please? And will he, or won’t he? Is the Duke of Sussex finally coming home? Sarah Vine and Andrew Pierce bring their own insight, opinion, and reaction (clue is in the title) to the biggest stories of the week.  To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Chelsey Moore Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah and Andrew pore over Kier Starmer’s less than enlivening speech from the Number 10 garden and ask what now for the UK ties with Germany and mainland Europe as the PM meets with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin and begins to reset relations with Europe post- Brexit. And as the number of places in our men’s prisons falls below one hundred and the number of criminals avoiding prosecution with a simple apology for their offence rises by 40 per cent over the past five years, we ask what kind of reform can wrestle back control of our penal system. Plus, as Sarah snaffles her tickets for the return of Oasis to the UK’s stages next summer, we ask what’s the story? Faded or morning glory… Sarah Vine and Andrew Pierce bring their own insight, opinion, and reaction (clue is in the title) to the biggest stories of the week.  To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction' Presenters: Sarah Vine & Andrew Pierce Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Chelsey Moore Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah and Peter discuss the government’s near impossible goal of deporting 14,000 illegal migrants and foreign criminals by the end of the year, as over a thousand migrants alone crossed the channel in the last seven days, and ask does the UK even have a sustainable border anymore? And as Channel 4 commissions a new documentary on the Lucy Letby case and David Davies MP plans on tabling a parliamentary debate over her conviction, Sarah and Peter ask if we’ve seen justice served. Plus, did the Queen really think Donald Trump rude? And just what did happen when Prince Charles asked to meet Peter Hitchens?   Sarah Vine and Peter Hitchens bring their own insight, opinion and reaction (clue is in the title) to the biggest stories of the week.    To get in touch email Reaction@dailymail.co.uk, you can leave a comment on Spotify or even send us a voice note on WhatsApp - on 07796 657512 start your message with the word 'reaction'   Presenters: Sarah Vine & Peter Hitchens Producer: Philip Wilding Editor: Chelsey Moore Production Manager: Vittoria Cecchini Executive Producer: Jamie East   A Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sarah and Andrew discuss one of their viral clips being taken down by TikTok, in contrast to the apparent lack of regulation on Twitter.  After Algerian boxer Imane Khalif takes legal action against people online who have spoken out against her, they discuss why she has decided to drag it through the courts. The failures in the mental health care system with regard to Valdo Calocane come under the spotlight.   Plus, the latest from Montecito, where Harry and Meghan have parted with yet another chief of staff.    Send your questions to: Reaction@Dailymail.co.uk Send us a voice note via WhatsApp on 07796657512 starting with the word “Reaction” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices