Reform’s £72m war chest - and how real are AI doomsday warnings?

Reform’s money trail is still dominating the headlines, with two billionaire donors handing the party £72m in just 48 hours. Meanwhile, the Representation of the People Bill is making its way through the Lords. We look at why attempts to curb big money in British politics keep failing, and why Labour’s own position is more complicated than it seems. Across the Irish Sea, President Trump has reignited the debate over the future of the Union, just as the leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland mount a coordinated push for greater self-determination. That leaves Andy Burnham with an awkward question: he’s made devolution central to his premiership, but how far does he really want it to go? And as anxiety over AI moves into the mainstream, we speak to Jonathan Black, who spent two decades at the heart of government, including as Deputy National Security Adviser. He represented Rishi Sunak at the 2023 AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, which brought the US, China and the world’s leading AI companies together for the first global agreement on frontier AI safety. Now a distinguished visiting fellow at Columbia University, he joins us to reveal whether the fears around AI have finally caught up with the technology. Executive producer: Rod Ardehali Producer: Sam Durham Video editor: Vali Raza Find the best clips from the podcast and more from Helen and Cleo on the show's Instagram page here. Email your questions to Helen and Cleo on [email protected]. This podcast is part of The Independent Podcast Network and is produced in association with Next Chapter Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.