{"podcast":{"title":"Electoral Dysfunction","slug":"electoral-dysfunction-5200603","podcast_index_feed_id":5200603,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/electoral-dysfunction/","website_url":"https://electoral-dysfunction.captivate.fm","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/5c72556c-dfd6-48b7-9804-403319a510fe/ED-HARRIET.jpg","author":"Sky News","episode_count":199,"summary":"Political powerhouses Beth Rigby, Ruth Davidson and Harriet Harman unite to unravel the spin and explain what’s really going on in Westminster and beyond. Each episode examines who holds influence, what politicians are really saying, and the forces driving decisions behind closed doors. With authoritative insight and candid conversation, they assess who is rising, who is falling, and who is heading for Electoral Dysfunction. For audience questions and comments, message the team on WhatsApp: 07934 200444","last_synced_at":"2026-06-17T06:18:16.981253+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/electoral-dysfunction-5200603"},"episode":{"title":"EXTRA: Why didn’t Starmer ask more questions about Mandelson?","slug":"extra-why-didn-t-starmer-ask-more-questions-about-mandelson","published_at":"2026-04-21T00:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/electoral-dysfunction-5200603/extra-why-didn-t-starmer-ask-more-questions-about-mandelson","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/electoral-dysfunction-5200603","url":"https://electoral-dysfunction.captivate.fm","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/af4e7711-c5b8-4795-a616-dfea6598fc4d.mp3?aw_0_1st.showid=7131ad54-f81b-4ab8-b44c-e56c8cb808cd&aw_0_1st.episodeid=af4e7711-c5b8-4795-a616-dfea6598fc4d","summary":"Keir Starmer says that if he'd known Peter Mandelson had failed his vetting, he would never have appointed him US ambassador. The PM told the MPs that civil servants in the Foreign Office had made a \"deliberate decision\" not to tell him, and that it \"beggars belief\" that he didn’t know. This is a story full of political process, about whether rules were followed. But for many it may just boil down to why the Prime Minister did not ask more questions, especially when it concerned a man who had already resigned twice from government. In this special extra episode Beth Rigby, Ruth Davidson and Harriet Harman give a full debrief on Keir Starmer’s Commons performance. Got a question for the burner phone? WhatsApp 07934 200 444 or email electoraldysfunction@sky.uk And if you didn't know, you can also watch Beth, Ruth and Harriet on YouTube.","meta_description":"Keir Starmer says that if he'd known Peter Mandelson had failed his vetting, he would never have appointed him US ambassador. The PM told the MPs that civ…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1950,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/electoral-dysfunction-5200603/episodes/extra-why-didn-t-starmer-ask-more-questions-about-mandelson/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/electoral-dysfunction-5200603/extra-why-didn-t-starmer-ask-more-questions-about-mandelson.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}