{"podcast":{"title":"Afternoon Empire with Ian Collins","slug":"afternoon-empire-with-ian-collins-1131640","podcast_index_feed_id":1131640,"rss_url":"http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheMotherOfAllTalkShowsWithGeorgeGalloway","website_url":"https://play.acast.com/s/georgegallowaytalkshow","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/61ba30901a8cbe04423cf2a7/1762347429181-26447ca5-9c0f-43ba-9713-6f257e59c8c9.jpeg","author":"talkRADIO (matt.davis@talkradio.co.uk)","episode_count":139,"summary":"Every Friday night, the coolest cat in radio gets his claws into the biggest news stories of the week, speaking truth to power and striking a blow for social justice.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/afternoon-empire-with-ian-collins-1131640"},"episode":{"title":"Burnham Rising: Starmer Weakens as Reform Circles Labour","slug":"burnham-rising-starmer-weakens-as-reform-circles-labour","published_at":"2026-05-15T16:28:42+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/afternoon-empire-with-ian-collins-1131640/burnham-rising-starmer-weakens-as-reform-circles-labour","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/afternoon-empire-with-ian-collins-1131640","url":"https://shows.acast.com/georgegallowaytalkshow/episodes/burnham-rising-starmer-weakens-as-reform-circles-labour","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/georgegallowaytalkshow/e/6a0730ff3fd6979bfc76ddc6/media.mp3","summary":"Is Andy Burnham preparing to replace Keir Starmer and could Reform destroy Labour’s plans? With Wes Streeting now backing Andy Burnham’s return to Westminster, speculation is growing that Labour is preparing for life after Keir Starmer. Former Labour adviser Henri Murison and HuffPost UK Political Editor Kevin Schofield discuss the escalating leadership tensions, the Burnham succession rumours, and whether Labour is heading towards a full-scale meltdown. Meanwhile, Reform leader of Elmbridge Council Harrison Allman-Varty reacts after Nigel Farage vowed to “throw everything” at a potential Burnham by-election amid polling suggesting Reform could seize the seat and trigger political chaos for Labour. Plus, Spectator Economics Editor Michael Simmons examines growing concerns over the economy, bond markets and welfare spending, as questions mount over whether Burnham’s politics would spook investors and deepen Britain’s financial problems. Andy Burnham leadership rumours, Starmer crisis, Reform UK surge, welfare overpayments, bond market fears, is Labour losing control of both its party and the country? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Is Andy Burnham preparing to replace Keir Starmer and could Reform destroy Labour’s plans? With Wes Streeting now backing Andy Burnham’s return to Westmin…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2433,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/afternoon-empire-with-ian-collins-1131640/episodes/burnham-rising-starmer-weakens-as-reform-circles-labour/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/afternoon-empire-with-ian-collins-1131640/burnham-rising-starmer-weakens-as-reform-circles-labour.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}