News,·17 Jun 2026,·32 mins

Available for over a year

Today, Keir Starmer returns home from the G7 with a warning to Andy Burnham not to rush into triggering a leadership contest if he wins in Makerfield tomorrow. In an interview with Chris, the Prime Minister said that a leadership contest would be bad for the country but reaffirmed his intention to fight any challenges to his leadership. Tomorrow’s by-election in Makerfield still stands in the way of any move Burnham could make to trigger a by-election. Alex is there on the ground and brings us the latest from Burnham’s competitors, including Robert Kenyon of Reform UK. Adam, Chris and Alex discuss what it all means. A full list of candidates and loads more information about the Makerfield by-election is available here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgrp1z8n4w2o You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://bbc.in/newscastdiscord Get in touch with Newscast by emailing newscast@bbc.co.uk or send us a WhatsApp on +44 0330 123 9480. New episodes released every day. If you're in the UK, for more News and Current Affairs podcasts from the BBC, listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/4guXgXd Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. The presenter was Adam Fleming. It was made by Anna Harris with Bethan Ashmead and Gabriel Purcell-Davies. The social producer was Jem Westgate. The technical producer was Ben Andrews. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.