Today, Chris is joined by Ailbhe Rea from the New Statesman and Tim Shipman from the Spectator to review the year in politics and hazard a guess at what to expect in 2026.

They discuss a shaky year for Keir Starmer’s leadership, the (almost) welfare rebellion and the rise of the “funky fringe”. Plus what can this year tell us about next years local elections?

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Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Chris Mason. It was made by Anna Harris and Miranda Slade. The social producer was Joe Wilkinson. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.