Alongside News’ political editor Beth Rigby and Conservative peer Ruth Davidson, the mother of the House and previous acting leader of the party will now serve as the three women who provide the news – along with their opinions – to the public each week.
“I was so excited when Electoral Dysfunction started up, and I’ve been so pleased to see it go from strength to strength,” Ms. Harman said in her debut appearance as a host on today’s podcast, adding that she was “absolutely thrilled” and “really excited” to become a regular feature.
In 1982, Ms. Harman was elected as a Labour MP after years of advocating for greater female representation in both the party and the Commons.
Two years later, she was made a shadow minister, and when Labour won the election in 1997, she assumed a number of positions, one of which was that of the first female minister.
She resigned after the summer election, but when parliament reconvenes next week, she will become a Labour peer and enter the Lords.
“I remember when Gordon Brown… was chancellor, he used to talk about prudence with a purpose—basically, you’d be terribly prudent with the public finances, but here’s the purpose,” she said in the podcast, drawing a comparison between the current prime minister and one of his predecessors.
