Westminster Hour

Radio 4's Sunday night political discussion programme.

Defence spending, a possible social media ban and the Makerfield by-election.

Ben Wright is joined by the Labour chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Dame Emily Thornberry; Conservative peer and former Cabinet minister, Mark Harper; and the founder of the Centre for Social Justice, Tim Montgomerie - a prominent supporter of Reform UK. They discuss funding for defence and look ahead to the Makerfield by-election. Ben also interviews the chief executive of the NSPCC, Chris Sherwood, about a social media ban for under-16s. And Lucy Fisher - Whitehall editor of the Financial Times - brings additional expert insight and analysis on all the topics.

Policing, the impact of AI and Scottish politics.

Ben Wrigth is joined by the Labour backbencher Chris Curtis; Conservative former Science minister, George Freeman; and the polling expert, Scarlett Maguire. They discuss the controversy over policing following the murder of Henry Nowak and how it's been handled by different political parties. They also look ahead to London Tech Week and consider the possible benefits as well as the negative impacts of AI. Ben interview Rohan Silva, a former tech adviser to the Cameron government. The panel are later joined by Kirsty Blackman - chief whip for the SNP at Westminster - to talk about the two forthcoming by-elections on the east coast of Scotland. The Guardian's deputy political editor, Jessica Elgot, brings additional expert analysis.