Who is on Laura Kuenssberg today? Line-up announced for BBC Sunday politics show includes Bridget Phillipson, Priti Patel, John Swinney and Rhun ap Iorwerth
Party conference season has ended - and now the weekly grind of politics will resume.
Both Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch won plaudits for their conference speeches, but admittedly only from their corner of the political spectrum.
Opposition seems to be growing to Starmer’s plan to introduce a digital ID, even though earlier in the summer it was found to have a reasonable amount of backing.
And while a ceasefire has been announced between Israel and Hamas - and appears to be holding - protests are continuing in this country by supporters on both sides, with the terror attack at the Manchester synagogue continuing to be a symbol of worry.
On the BBC’s flagship politics show Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg today, the guests include Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney, Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth and actress Joanna Scanlan.
Bridget Phillipson
It’s been revealed today that Phillipson, who has been the Member of Parliament for Houghton and Sunderland South since 2010, has written to vice-chancellors urging them to take “practical and proportionate steps” to protect Jewish students as part of Government efforts to stamp out antisemitism following the Manchester terror attack.
She may well also be quizzed about the ongoing election for position of deputy Labour leader. Phillipson has made the final two, along with former House of Commons leader Lucy Powell. Powell is said to be in front with the backing of 269 constituency Labour parties, compared to Phillipson’s 165. Phillipson is also seen as the government’s candidate, and is more centrist, while Powell is seen as the more left-facing of the two. In this way, the election is almost a referendum on the government - and Starmer - by his own party.
Priti Patel
The shadow foreign secretary, who was Home Secretary from 2019 to 2022 under Boris Johnson, may well be quizzed on the Gaza situation. She has some history in the region as well - as Secretary of State for International Development she resigned after she was found to have held meetings in Israel in August 2017 without telling the Foreign Office or any ambassadors, and then not made it entirely clear what had happened when asked to explain herself.
John Swinney
The First Minister has gone for double or nothing, in a strategy unveiled at the SNP’s conference. He announced that the SNP would push again for Scottish independence. Under the proposals, which passed with substantial support at the in Aberdeen, an SNP majority at next year’s election would be required for another vote.
The last vote was held in September 2014, with the referendum question "Should Scotland be an independent country?" being answered Yes by 1,617,989 people (44.7%) and No by 2,001,926 (55.3%).
Rhun ap Iorwerth
The leader of Plaid Cymru urged Welsh voters to elect his party next year to “stop Reform”. Speaking at the party’s conference in Swansea, he suggested the Welsh Parliament elections next May would be a two-horse race between the parties. There is one member of Reform sitting in the Welsh Parliament after Laura Anne Jones defected from the Conservative Party in July. But recent polling has forecast Plaid and Reform to be the biggest parties in the Senedd next year.
Joanna Scanlan
The actor, who has appeared in dozens of hit TV shows and films - including the politics-skewering The Thick of It - is promoting her new drama Riot Women, about a group of middle-aged women who form a punk band. It’s written by Happy Valley creator Sally Wainwright.