Walescast

James is joined by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance Mark Drakeford to discuss taxes on tourism, budgets, taxing the wealthiest and the most recent Senedd polling. BBC Wales' Political Editor, Gareth Lewis, then joins the pod to dig into the detail of their discussion and also mops up another busy week in Welsh politics.

It's been a year since the UK General Election and James and Fliss look back at what's been a busy year in politics. They also talk about the challenges faced by UK Labour over the past week and the impact on the Welsh Government and Senedd election hopes with the latest U-turn on welfare reform. BBC Wales' Political Editor and Westminster Correspondent join the pod to report back on their very busy week.

Felicity is joined by PA's Political Editor David Hughes and BBC Political Correspondent Teleri Glyn Jones to discuss UK Labour's welfare cuts and whether the rebellion from MP's will result in a climbdown from the Prime Minister. Fliss then speaks to a GP from Powys and a palliative care consultant about why they are for and against the assisted dying bill. Professor Emyr Lewis talks through the constitutional challenges and what happens if the Senedd doesn't support the bill.

Fliss is joined by Australia's former Prime Minister, and the only woman who's held that position, Julia Gillard. Born in Barry, they discuss her sense of Welshness, the sexism and misogyny she experienced in politics and the work she does now for gender equality.

James and Fliss went live from Westminster on Wednesday (11/06/25) to discuss the UK Government's Spending Review, what's in it for Wales and what it means for the relationship between the two Welsh Labour Governments. They discussed the details with the Welsh Secretary of State, Jo Stevens MP and the First Minister, Eluned Morgan MS. They also spoke to a panel of opposition politicians - Plaid Cymru's Ben Lake MP, Welsh Conservative Lord Davies of Gower and Welsh Liberal Democrat David Chadwick MP. BBC Wales' Political Editor Gareth Lewis also joined the pod to discuss his main takeaways.

Money, Money, Money... James and Fliss speak to three Senedd politicians and two political editors about the UK government's upcoming Spending Review. And... following an inquiry by the Welsh Affairs Committee - what are the challenges facing Welsh farmers in 2025?

Where will benefits cuts hit hardest? What's the impact of public sector pay rises in Wales? James and Fliss are joined by Policy in Practice's Sam Fathers, Welsh Labour's Mick Antoniw MS, and Nicky Hughes from the Royal College of Nursing to discuss. And, with the Eisteddfod yr Urdd well underway, James and Fliss also catch up with Welsh Language Commissioner, Efa Gruffudd Jones to talk targets.

James and Fliss discuss Britain's Brexit reset following the UK Government's latest deal with the EU. They are joined by Welsh Conservative James Evans MS and Welsh Labour MS Alun Davies to discuss details of the deal and what it all means for Wales. James then catches up with Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant, about the Welsh Government's new bill to tackle homelessness. And... James and Fliss talk to BBC Wales' Education and Health Correspondents about tackling bad behaviour in schools and the latest NHS waiting time figures.

James and Fliss are joined by Plaid Cymru's Llyr Gruffydd MS and Reform UK's Llyr Powell to discuss immigration and the plans set out by the UK Government. James also speaks to the Climate Change Committee CEO Emma Pinchbeck about Wales' Net Zero targets and what more needs to be done. The podcast then welcomes artist Shani Rhys James, musician and researcher Dr Ani Saunders and author James Hawes who discuss the challenges the arts and culture sector has been facing.

It's one year to go until the 2026 Senedd elections, and Fliss and James are joined by a panel of politicians to discuss the long road ahead. The Welsh Government's Minister for Delivery, Julie James MS; the Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd, Darren Millar MS; and Plaid Cymru's Leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, talk about what's to come. The podcast is then joined by Dr Jac Larner, from Cardiff University's Welsh Governance Centre, to discuss recent polling.

Fliss and James discuss a report from the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) about the issues facing the Welsh NHS and the ''urgent need for a turnaround''. They are joined by one of the report's authors and former GP Professor Sally Lewis and Professor Jon Barry, the Director in Wales for the Royal College of Surgeons. BBC Wales Political Editor Gareth Lewis then joins the pod to reveal comments from the First Minister about Labour party's MPs not standing up for Wales.

Getting more people into work is a key target of the Labour Government in Westminster. Wales has the highest rate of economic inactivity in the UK. The UK Government have recently launched a trailblazer programme with the aim of boosting employment support. Denbighshire, Blaenau Gwent, and Neath Port Talbot have all been chosen as pilot areas. To discuss the causes of economic activity, and how to tackle it, James and Fliss are joined by Public Health Wales' National Director of Health and Wellbeing Professor Jim McManus and Dr Edward Thomas Jones, a Senior Lecturer in Economics at Bangor University. They also speak to Wales' Westminster Correspondent Ewan Murrie about his interview with Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch.

The ONS, whose data is used by the government to help make decisions affecting millions of people in the UK, is under review following criticisms about its data. Fliss and James are joined by Professor of Economics at King's College London, Jonathan Portes who is also chair of the ONS Labour Market Stakeholder Advisory Panel. They also speak to Aled Maclean-Jones a former special advisor to the UK Treasury about the implications faulty data has on policy making decisions.

Fliss and James discuss the Welsh Government's new plans to cut waiting times. The proposed changes are part of a number of ideas looking to improve the NHS in Wales. They are joined by the Welsh NHS Confederation's Director Darren Hughes to talk through the details revealed to health leaders by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care. Professor Angela John then joins the podcast to discuss the launch of her new biography on Philip Burton, the man who helped propel Richard Burton to fame.

James and Fliss look at the Welsh Government plans to bring buses under public control. The proposals would see franchises set up and overseen by Transport for Wales. Joining the podcast to discuss are TfW's CEO James Price and BBC Wales Political Correspondent Daniel Davies. They look at what the plans say, how it will all work and what changes passengers could see.

Felicity Evans and James Williams are joined guests to discuss the pressure Welsh Labour find themselves under following UK Labour's welfare cuts. Cathy Owens, Director of Cavendish Cymru, and BBC Wales' Political Correspondent, Daniel Davies, discuss the past few weeks in politics and the impact the latest developments will have on the First Minister, Welsh Labour and Wales' relationship with Westminster.

Fliss and Owain reflect on the week marking the 5th anniversary of the first covid lockdown. They are joined by BBC Wales' education correspondent Bethan Lewis, Bevan Commission director Dr Helen Howson and Swansea University behavioural scientist and public health researcher Simon Williams. They look at the impact Covid had and continues to have in Wales and the effect it could still have in the future.

Felicity Evans and guest presenter Owain Clarke are joined by the Wales Governance Centre's Guto Ifan to delve into the details of the UK Government's Spring Statement and what the announcements mean for Wales.

Welsh Journalist and the BBC's International Editor Jeremy Bowen has travelled around the world reporting on war and conflicts. His career spans over 40 years and has taken him to some of the world's most dangerous places. He says covering conflict ''leaves a massive mark'' but also finds the ''very best of human nature''. On this week's bonus episode of Walescast, he joins Felicity Evans and Bethan Rhys Roberts to reflect on his remarkable career and the personal toll of reporting in war zones.

Felicity Evans is joined by guest presenter Nick Servini to discuss the details of the UK Government's welfare reforms and what it means for Wales. Along with Steffan Evans from the Bevan Foundation and Edward Davies of the Centre for Social Justice, they consider the decisions have been made and why. They'll also delve into the impact that the Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall's announcement could have on those who currently receive benefits and those who might need them in the future.

James and Fliss speak to Desmond Clifford, the former principle secretary to Mark Drakeford and Carwyn Jones. He also worked as the head of Wales' EU office in Brussels for a number of years. His career with the Welsh Government spans over a decade working behind the scenes as a civil servant. In an exclusive interview with Walescast he lifts the lid on what government looks like behind closed doors.

James and Fliss talk through the Welsh Government's overhaul of ambulance response time targets with BBC Wales' Health Correspondent Jenny Rees. They are also joined by Dr Becks Fisher, director of research and research policy at Nuffield Trust and Desmond Clifford, the former Principal Secretary to the First Minister, to discuss the point of targets and if they actually work.

James talks to former Conservative MP, chief whip and secretary of state for Wales Simon Hart about his new book, Ungovernable. Hart said he wrote the book to ask the question "what went wrong?" between December 2019 and July 2024, when the Conservatives went from an 81-seat majority to a general election "drubbing". On his time as chief whip, Hart's book contains anonymised and shocking stories of MPs in various compromising positions. He also discusses the pandemic and his relationship with the Welsh Government as secretary of state.

James and guest presenter Gemma Dunstan discuss International Women's Day. Johanna Robinson, the Welsh Government's National Adviser on Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence; Monumental Welsh Women's co-founder, Helen Molyneux; and, activist and former MP for Swansea East Sian James, come together to look at what things were like at the beginning of their careers, where we are now and how far we need to go.

James and Fliss digest the UK Government's independent climate advisers report on how the 2050 Net Zero target can be met. They are joined by the Chief Economist for the Climate Change Committee, Dr James Richardson, to dig into the detail of some of the changes they are suggesting. They then speak to Dr Sarah Louisa Birchley in Tokyo about Global Welsh's 'Brain Drain to Brain Gain' report. With around the same number of residents in Wales as the number of Welsh people living outside of Wales, the report hopes to find ways to understand and engage with this global community.

James and guest presenter Bethan Rhys Roberts look into a Senedd report on politicians who deliberately deceive. Members of the Senedd who lie could lose their seats under the Committee's recommendations. Mick Antoniw MS, a member of the Standards of Conduct Committee and formerly the Welsh Government's Counsel General, talks through their proposals. Baroness Fox of Buckley joins the podcast to discuss the issues she has with their ideas of policing lying. Bethan and James are then joined by the Welsh Language Commissioner to discuss a recent YouGov poll which looks at how the public feel about the language.

A Welsh Labour budget deal has been struck. James sits down with BBC Wales' Political Editor and our Education, Health and Business Correspondents to digest the details on today's bonus episode. With a little help from the Liberal Democrats the Budget is set to pass when its voted on by the Senedd in March. The deal, which was worth more than £100m, makes the Welsh Government's Budget possible as they are unable to get anything over the line without at least one opposition politician on side.

Felicity Evans and guest presenter Elliw Gwawr discuss faith and it's role in politics with Canon Aled Edwards, Senedd Member and Patron of Humanists UK Julie Morgan MS and the FT's Whitehall Editor Lucy Fisher. Our Political Editor Gareth Lewis also joins the pod to discuss the quarter of Welsh Labour MS' who have announced they will stand down at the 2026 Senedd elections. That busy schedule is rounded off with a final farewell to Walescast's Producer Andy Fry who is leaving BBC Wales after three decades.

Fliss and James are joined by Meleri Williams, BBC's Swansea Reporter to discuss the Ammanford school stabbings. She was one of the first reporters on location that day and has followed the events through to trial. They are also joined by Owen Evans, Chief Inspector at Estyn, who discusses what can be done to tackle behaviour issues in school and how to stop the most extreme incidents becoming more frequent.

James Williams explores the implications of potentially 400 academic job losses at Cardiff University for both the wider Welsh higher education sector and economy with BBC Wales education correspondent Bethan Lewis, Nick Hillman, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute and Professor Dylan Jones-Evans of the University of South Wales

Felicity Evans and James Williams hear from the chair of the Senedd's standards committee Hannah Blythyn MS about its recommendations for a recall system that would allow voters to evict politicians who have misbehaved from the Welsh Parliament. Fliss and James also quiz her about the circumstances of her sacking from the Welsh Government last year - when the then-First Minister Vaughan Gething said that media leaks of a ministerial group chat during the pandemic came from her mobile phone.

Felicity Evans and James Williams discuss immigration and what the situation is in Wales. They are joined by Professor Sergei Shubin from Swansea University, Ben Brindle from the Centre for Migration and IPSOS' Gideon Skinner to dig into the numbers and details. Timothy Hornyak, a Journalist in Japan, also joins them to discuss how an ageing and declining Japanese population might tackle their growing problem.

Felicity Evans and James Williams discuss NHS winter pressures with BBC Wales health correspondent Owain Clarke. And former transport minister Lee Waters MS reflects on the lessons he learnt from his time in government - experiences that inform his own podcast, Y Pumed Llawr - The Fifth Floor, which is billed as an "insider guide to politics and government in Wales"

Felicity Evans and James Williams break out the Christmas jumpers to look back at the blockbuster political year that was 2024 with the help of the Labour MP for Cardiff West, Alex Barros-Curtis, the Plaid Cymru MP for Caerfyrddin, Ann Davies and the Conservative's shadow Welsh Secretary, Mims Davies MP. What are their takeaways from a year that has seen three First Ministers and two Prime Ministers? And how will they fare in the traditional Walescast Christmas Quiz?

Felicity Evans and James Williams crunch the numbers and dig into the politics of the Welsh Government's draft budget for the next financial year. First they hear from the finance cabinet secretary Mark Drakeford MS before getting the reaction of the new Senedd leader of the Welsh Conservatives Darren Millar MS, Plaid Cymru's leader Rhun ap Iorweth MS and Dr Ed Poole of Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre

Felicity Evans, James Williams and guests digest the resignation of the leader of the Conservatives in the Senedd, Andrew RT Davies. BBC Wales political editor Gareth Lewis explains how events unfolded following a vote of no confidence - that Mr Davies narrowly won - and what happens next. Cardiff University's Dr Jac Larner expands on the findings of the latest Welsh opinion poll - which shows the Conservatives trailing in fourth place behind Labour, Plaid Cymru and Reform - and the challenges that presents to Mr Davies' eventual successor

On 1 December 2021 Labour and Plaid Cymru signed a Co-operation Agreement committing the parties to working together on 46 different policies in the Senedd - ranging from Senedd reform to free school meals for all primary school children. Three years on, James Williams looks back at how the agreement came together and what it achieved with two guests who were at the heart of the negotiations that sealed the deal. David Davies was a special advisor to the then First Minister Mark Drakeford. John Osmond was his Plaid counterpart for Adam Price and has turned his experience of being in the room into a new book, "The Politics of Co-Opposition"

Felicity Evans and Elliw Gwawr are joined by Helen Miller of the Institute of Fiscal Studies to dig deep into the changes to inheritance tax for farmers announced in the Budget and attempt to get a number for how many Welsh farms could be affected. And BBC Wales political correspondent Rhodri Lewis looks back at the Welsh Labour party conference in Llandudno - which saw farmers protesting outside and the FM Eluned Morgan DJing inside

In a bonus episode, James Williams and Felicity Evans conduct an exit interview with Ian Price, the recently retired director of the business organisation CBI Wales, to get his views on the state of the Welsh economy and the Welsh Government's policies to drive growth and job creation

Former special adviser Jack Sellers has had a front row seat for the dramas that have engulfed the Conservative Party at Westminster in recent years. In conversation with James Williams and Felicity Evans he relives his time working for Boris Johnson's Welsh Secretary, Simon Hart and also looks back at his time in Number 10 Downing Street working for Rishi Sunak - including the General Election campaign that saw the party swept from power after 14 years

James Williams explores the potential impact on Wales of a second Trump presidency with economic advisor Eurfyl ap Gwilym and the Electoral Reform Society's campaign to convince local authorities to adopt proportional representation ahead of the next council elections with Jess Blair of ERS Cymru

Felicity Evans and James Williams are joined by BBC Wales political editor Gareth Lewis and Dr Ed Poole of Cardiff University's Wales Governance Centre to unpick what Rachel Reeves' first Budget - with its tax rises and extra spending on public services and capital projects - means for Wales and the Welsh Government budget in December