Today, we look at the upcoming Holborn and St Pancras by-election, which Green leader Zack Polanski is standing in. We look at how big a gamble a resurgent Labour makes the vote for him, and what happens if he underperforms. Laura and Paddy also discuss the Green conference - happening now - and a row over the party’s position on Israel. And, after diesel prices rose above £2 a litre for first time in the UK, we look at the geopolitical forces at play. You can now listen to Newscast on a smart spe...
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B2 · Upper-intermediate
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- 85% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 176 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
- 131 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
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Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 85% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 176 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
- 131 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
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The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.
harder words (B2+)
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. I'm not a This is your territory but it's been the year of the season of big bioelections. There have been lots of bioelections, lots and lots and lots of bioelections and bioelections
that had big consequences because I'm sad enough to have looked back to see if there have been loads more bioelections in 2026 than there had been in other years. Actually the numbers aren't that different but they've been bioelections of consequence. Yes, because we think of Andy Burnham's trampoline.
We think of Nigel Farage's by-election in Clackton that he called, which he didn't technically have to call. And then we think of Keir Starmer who told the BBC he was staying in Parliament and then, much like David Cameron by the way, went, oh, I'm leaving Parliament, meaning a by-election.
That was the opening. The rest of the episode (31 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.
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