
Two former Westminster insiders reveal how politics and power really work.
Ever wondered what goes on behind closed doors at No 10? Or who’s the first person on the phone when a Prime Minister lands themselves in hot water?
Each week former Deputy Cabinet Secretary Helen MacNamara and Cleo Watson, former political advisor to Theresa May and Boris Johnson, dissect the week’s biggest news, reveali... more
| Publishes | Twice weekly | Episodes | 45 | Founded | 9 months ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Categories | PoliticsGovernmentNews | |||

France is reeling after a weekend of unrest that escalated dramatically. Hundreds of thousands marched peacefully, but elsewhere shops were looted, cars burned, police attacked and public buildings set alight.
What began with schoolchildren furious ... more
In Andy Burnham’s Makerfield constituency, 65% of voters backed Leave. During the recent by-election campaign, Burnham said he did not want to reopen the old Brexit arguments. Yet in recent weeks, the Prime Minister has made a series of pointed inter... more
Conference season is in full swing - and this week, it unfolded across two very different political stages.
In Birmingham, the Conservatives came to town. As Kemi Badenoch continues to win strong approval ratings - despite the Conservatives struggli... more
In The Room hits Liverpool for Labour Party Conference. Cleo heads into the hall, fringe events, protests and the media pen, talking to delegates, campaigners and lobbyists to get a feel for Andy Burnham’s Labour. Helen takes a different route, movin... more
People also subscribe to these shows.





Excellent to hear both points of views. Both are considered and interesting
I love this podcast about politics from Helen and Cleo. It’s the right combination of insightful analysis alongside personal observations. It’s smart, informative, warm and on occasions funny. I’d highly recommend it to political podcast fans. It’s one of the best!
You can tell from their voices which one was the senior civil servant and which one was the hyped up advisor. It’s the way they go through the scene setting and tactics possible that makes this podcast easy to listen to and insightful.
There have been some interesting discussions on this podcast, but having worked in the civil service for a decade, particularly the discussion around prisons, hmpps and MoJ just emphasised what I’ve seen: the senior civil service is full of people who don’t know what they are talking about or what they’re doing, and have no experience in the real world. That is why this country is in such a mess. These over promoted folk have led us into absolute disaster and are now commentating even more poorl... more
Revisionist history by liberals never seems to amaze me. I seem to remember the raucous trans display on the White House front lawn during the Easter Holliday of 2024 when gender euphoria and transitioning was on national display. Where was the liberal back lash or even a smidgen of political satire then?
The young woman you identified on your pod cast was a member of the Trump administration’s MAHA conservative movement and was merely nodding her head in agreement supporting childhood vacci... more
Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.
How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.
Apple Podcasts | #32 | |
Apple Podcasts | #76 | |
Apple Podcasts | #104 | |
Apple Podcasts | #176 | |
Apple Podcasts | #207 | |
Apple Podcasts | #230 |
Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.
Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.
| Listeners per Episode | |
|---|---|
| Gender Skew | |
| Location | |
| Interests | |
| Professions | |
| Age Range | |
| Household Income | |
| Social Media Reach |
Two former Westminster insiders break down how power really operates behind closed doors. Each episode blends insider anecdotes with practical analysis of how decisions are made in No. 10, how communications are crafted during crises, and the day-to-day realities of governing at the highest levels. Regular topics include leadership dynamics, government messaging, devolution, and the intersection of politics with business and media. A notable strength is the duo's rare lived experience from the heart of Downing Street, which yields candid takes, sharp banter, and actionable context for anyone tracking political strategy, communications, or policy outcomes. The show stands out for its steady, balanced discussions, emphasis on practical mechan... more
Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for In The Room. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to In The Room and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.
Rephonic provides a full set of podcast information for four million podcasts, including the number of listeners. View further listenership figures for In The Room, including podcast download numbers and subscriber numbers, so you can make better decisions about which podcasts to sponsor or be a guest on. You will need to upgrade your account to access this premium data.
Rephonic provides comprehensive predictive audience data for In The Room, including gender skew, age, country, political leaning, income, professions, education level, and interests. You can access these listener demographics by upgrading your account.
To see how many followers or subscribers In The Room has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.
These podcasts share a similar audience with In The Room:
1. Political Currency
2. The State of It
3. Electoral Dysfunction
4. How To Win An Election
5. Politics At Sam and Anne's
In The Room launched 9 months ago and published 45 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.
Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for In The Room from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.
View all the reviews in one place instead of visiting each platform individually and use this information to decide if a show is worth pitching or not.
Rephonic provides full transcripts for episodes of In The Room. Search within each transcript for your keywords, whether they be topics, brands or people, and figure out if it's worth pitching as a guest or sponsor. You can even set-up alerts to get notified when your keywords are mentioned.
Recent guests on In The Room include:
1. Jonathan Black
2. Lee Cain
3. Count Binface
4. Jimmy McLoughlin
5. Robert Jenrick
To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.