A new weekly podcast promises insider analysis of how political decisions are really made.
In The Room launches this Friday, hosted by Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson, who previously worked together at the centre of government.
Part of the The Independent Podcast Network and produced with Next Chapter Studios, the show will publish every Friday, unpacking the week’s biggest political stories and explaining the process behind them.
Helen, a former Deputy Cabinet Secretary, and Cleo, a former Deputy Chief of Staff to Boris Johnson, say their dynamic comes from having “actually been in the room together behind the scenes of government and the state”.
During the final years of Theresa May’s administration and at Boris Johnson’s morning meetings, the pair worked closely despite their different roles as senior civil servant and political adviser.
The podcast will draw on their experiences between 2018 and 2021, including moments they suggest are not always fully reflected in political memoirs.
Helen’s career includes work on London 2012, overseeing the Cabinet Secretariat and dealing with the aftermath of the Leveson Inquiry.
Cleo worked on the Vote Leave campaign, the 2017 and 2019 general elections, and Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.
With the Labour government facing challenges ahead of the May elections, the podcast will explore how major decisions are taken and why they sometimes unravel.
Helen said: “Government is a lot talked about but little understood. We hope to go some way to fixing that without boring everyone to tears.”
Cleo added: “We’re hoping our experiences help explain what’s really going on. Although, you have been warned: ignorance, as they say, is bliss.”
Olivia Foster, Co-Executive Producer at Independent Studio, described the show as “fresh, funny and insightful”, while Carrie Rose of Next Chapter Studios said the team were proud to partner with The Independent. Geordie Greig, Editor-in-Chief of The Independent, said the hosts bring “signature wit, bite and razor-sharp insight”.
