Weather, possibly 15 or 16 even. To the north, chilly, the shower is a tad wintry on the tops of the scottish mountains but that milder air will move northwards again as we head towards the end of the week. We are looking at the prospect of some 16 and welcome to scotlands largest town, a stones throw from glasgow. Historically, it was a Labour Stronghold until the partys rout in scotland in 2015, when the snp had a spectacular win here. So with a general election looming, what are the preoccupations and passions of the people of paisley be It Domestic Issues or defence, education and the environment, young and old, rich and poor . Tonight, politicians and people from every major sector are gathered to debate how they, and scotland, are faring 25 years on from the opening of scotlands parliament. Good evening. Applause paisley became an economic powerhouse in the Industrial Revolution, at the forefront of the textile industry, home of the famous paisley pattern, and equally famous radi
And this week the labour leader keir starmer raised him in Prime Ministers questions, demanding to know whether he would rejoin the Conservative Party whilst Behind The Scenes worried tory mps discuss whether he might return to the front line leading the reform party. Nigel farage, welcome back to political thinking. Thank you. You are back where you like being, arent you . The centre of attention. Well, ive always been a bit of a show off. I mean, there is some truth in that. Yeah, its a funny thing, but i think Current Affairs, politics and Current Affairs in the uk today has such a dearth of personalities that i find myself at the centre of debates, whether im trying to or not, i sort of get dragged into things. There are some people listening to the radio or watching the telly now who are saying, why on earth are they talking to nigel farage . Hes not a party leader. Youve not been elected to anything for a very, very long time. Well, thats not quite true, actually. Who cares what
Return to the front line leading the reform party. Nigel farage, welcome back to political thinking. Thank you. You are back where you like being, arent you . The centre of attention. Well, ive always been a bit of a show off. I mean, there is some truth in that. Yeah, its a funny thing, but i think Current Affairs, politics and Current Affairs in the uk today has such a dearth of personalities that i find myself at the centre of debates, whether im trying to or not, i sort of get dragged into things. There are some people listening to the radio or watching the telly now who were saying, why on earth are they talking to nigel farage . Hes not a party leader. Youve not been elected to anything for a very, very long time. Well, thats not quite true, actually. Who cares what he thinks . Well, thats not quite true, actually, is it . Because in may of 2019, you know, i led a party that was been alive forjust less than six weeks, that won an election, a european election, so dramatic that it
Hello and welcome to political thinking, a conversation with rather than an interrogation of someone who shaped our political thinking about what has shaped theirs. My guest today was told that he has a reading age ofjust eight. His dyslexia was so bad he had to return to school to study in his 20s for the exams that he simply couldnt pass when he was there the first time. He is now dr peter kyle, a close ally of keir starmer s and the shadow Northern Ireland secretary, who, if labour comes to power, may find himself having to take a very important decision whether there should be another referendum about the future of the uk. This time it would be about whether Northern Ireland should leave and become reunited with the republic. Peter kyle, welcome to political thinking. Thanks, nick. I say that in the introduction that you have a reading age of eight. Really . And if so, how on earth do you do the job youve got now . Well, ive never known any difference, so i cant describe i cant com
operations in gaza. and british politics after the coming election, what will be the biggest challenge facing the winner? trying to inspire and to take a divided country with you i i think it s really, really difficult. i two years ago, the russian build up on the borders of ukraine was starting. russian officials were assuring the world there d be no invasion. when the absurdly overconfident russian attack began, it was largely beaten off. a lot of people thought ukraine was bound to win. but the russians got better at fighting, and ukraine s supplies of cash and weaponry from america were cut by the republican party. ukraine s counteroffensive failed. there are disputes at the top level of ukrainian politics, and ukraine may now be forced to negotiate with russia or even concede defeat. over the past two years, we ve often turned to vitaly shevchenko of bbc monitoring, who s himself ukrainian. he gave me his assessment of the situation that ukraine is now facing. if we w