Broadcast timeline
Newsnight, followed by Weather
Tuesday 1 September 2026 · 22:30 BST · 35m · 3 stories · 15 annotated moments · 30 of 35 min on news stories (85%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
In his first appearance at the Commons dispatch box as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham told MPs the UK had taken a series of wrong turns since the 1980s, citing centralised and privatised political power, deindustrialisation, austerity, and Brexit as compounding damage and ushering in a decade of low growth. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch responded that he was stuck in the past, while a panel discussed whether his diagnosis was accurate, with some agreeing on long-term scarring and others arguing it ignored recent government decisions and fiscal issues.
Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said Burnham brings a more upbeat and optimistic message and promised the government would make people better off, while acknowledging that growth had not been good enough under the previous Labour government. The programme also examined rising government borrowing costs, with long-term rates at their highest since 1998, and an expert noted this could wipe out half of the fiscal headroom ahead of the next budget, with Bloomberg reporting a potential £12 billion black hole.
Keir Starmer announced he was standing down as an MP on the same day, drawing reactions from Labour figures, including Baroness Chapman who paid tribute but said the public had made a clear decision. Breaking news also emerged that Green Party leader Zac Polanski was almost announcing his intention to stand in the resulting Holborn and St Pancras by-election, calling it a referendum on rip-off Britain.
- 0:09 Story begins PM hosts Macron for Downing Street talks
- 3:48
Contested quote PM hosts Macron for Downing Street talks
And he mentioned Brexit as well, which I think a lot of people will be just really pleased that there's some sort of straightforwardness about all of this. So I think, broadly speaking, yes, he's absolutely right, I'm sure there will be lots to sort of pick apart and say, well, what did he really mean, and what do you think
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 3:48-3:53
- 4:39
Charged quote PM hosts Macron for Downing Street talks
I mean, he's talking about things that are literally nearly half a century ago. I was born in 1978, so a year before Thatcher took power. He's making all of these points to, I think, score political points because he wants to re-litigate the student politics of his youth. It's got no relevance at all to 2026.
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 4:39-4:46
- 4:46
Charged quote PM hosts Macron for Downing Street talks
I was born in 1978, so a year before Thatcher took power. He's making all of these points to, I think, score political points because he wants to re-litigate the student politics of his youth. It's got no relevance at all to 2026. I would say, though, there is, I mean, there is this long sweep of history that we've been living through recently.
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 4:46-4:49
- 17:25
- 17:27
Claim Government borrowing costs reach highest level since 2008
Government borrowing costs have risen to their highest level since 2008, with the 10-year effective interest rate at an 18-year high, amid concerns over oil prices and inflation.
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 17:27-17:35
- 17:43
Charged quote Government borrowing costs reach highest level since 2008
for Andy Burnham's government then? And why is it happening? I mean, this in a sense, I mean, not that the events in the Commons aren't a big deal, but this is a massive, massive deal, what's happening right now. And it's happening to UK debts, but it's happening to US debt, German debt, Japanese bond yields are at the highest levels
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 17:43-17:45
- 18:09
Claim Government borrowing costs reach highest level since 2008
UK borrowing costs are higher than most other G7 nations since the mini budget.
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 18:09-18:16
- 18:09
Claim Government borrowing costs reach highest level since 2008
UK borrowing costs are higher than most other G7 nations since the mini budget.
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 18:09-18:16
- 18:33
Claim Government borrowing costs reach highest level since 2008
Government borrowing costs have risen to their highest level since 2008, with the 10-year effective interest rate at an 18-year high, amid concerns over oil prices and inflation.
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 18:33-18:40
- 18:33
Claim Government borrowing costs reach highest level since 2008
The rise in borrowing costs could create a £12 billion black hole in fiscal headroom.
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 18:33-18:38
- 18:33
Claim Government borrowing costs reach highest level since 2008
The rise in borrowing costs could create a £12 billion black hole in fiscal headroom.
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 18:33-18:38
- 18:41
Claim Government borrowing costs reach highest level since 2008
Government borrowing costs have risen to their highest level since 2008, with the 10-year effective interest rate at an 18-year high, amid concerns over oil prices and inflation.
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 18:41-18:47
- 18:41
Claim Government borrowing costs reach highest level since 2008
The rise in borrowing costs could create a £12 billion black hole in fiscal headroom.
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 18:41-18:47
- 19:27
Contested quote Government borrowing costs reach highest level since 2008
But the UK is part of that. And we are, as this open nation, we are more vulnerable to that than most other countries around the world. And the vulnerability is greater since 2022, since the mini budget, since a lot of people looked at the UK and thought, okay, this is a country where we know how close to the edge it is,
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 19:27-19:31
- 20:49
Charged quote Government borrowing costs reach highest level since 2008
because the markets are not following every little statement or every little decision that's made here in the UK. They did notice that, and it shattered confidence in our political system and our economy. And I think it's gonna take a long time to build back that confidence. And that's a job that all of us
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 20:49-20:53
- 22:15
Charged quote Government borrowing costs reach highest level since 2008
that there was a move to make a field to make of the new prime minister, whatever, that the public isn't gonna take kindly to being taxed more when they're already being taxed until the pips squeak. And there's a debate going on about how much is being paid in benefits, a bill that seemingly Labour is pretending it's cutting,
BBC Two, Newsnight, followed by Weather, 1 September 2026, 22:15-22:18
- 25:46 Story begins Keir Starmer announces he will stand down as MP
- 29:50 ~5 min without annotations
Source: BBC TWO, "Newsnight, followed by Weather", Tuesday 1 September 2026. Transcript excerpts and stills are shown only to support the analysis annotated alongside them. Search-result excerpts are distinct from the editorial annotations — see our copyright basis. The full broadcast is not reproduced.