A more competitive, unpredictable era of politicspublished at 10:48 British Summer Time

10:48 BST

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

Both Wes Streeting for Labour and Kemi Badenoch for the Conservatives were making similar arguments on this morning’s show.

Like a student nearing the end of an exam, they were pleading: “give us more time.”

Streeting said people need to realise the country is facing a “range of crises” that couldn’t be turned around in the nine months since the general election.

Badenoch said her party was “down but not out” and would take the “slow and steady way” back.

The problem for both her and the government is they may not have the extra time they want.

This era of multi-party politics is more competitive, more unpredictable, and previously loyal voters are more willing to change sides.

This morning’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg was packed with guests from the five main political parties in England, following this week’s local elections.

Here are some of the key points from the programme:

• Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf says his party’s results in the local elections will be among the most important in British history; he says they will use every tool available to limit immigration
• Challenged on her party’s popularity, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch replies that “protest is in the air”, adding that the Tories are “down, but we are not out”
• Health Secretary Wes Streeting asks the public to give Labour more time, and urges public sector workers debating pay and possible strikes to judge the party on their record
• Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey says his party achieved strong results across the country, and urges people to combat Reform’s politics
• The Green Party have also made big strides across the country, co-leader Adrian Ramsay says, adding that Reform’s success is not built on strong foundations

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This week's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg has now finished.

Stay with us as we bring you a round-up of the key points, reactions and analysis on what the guests said.

Jeff Goldblum starred in the film version of Wicked, which was released last year. He played the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, where he bagged a musical number of his own - let's just say you could call him a sentimental man.

He's been speaking to Laura, ahead of the release of the sequel - Wicked: For Good - being released this November.

On the film's popularity, Kuenssberg asks Goldblum: “Do you think it’s partly because there are lessons for how the world is now?”

He replies: “There are certainly themes in it of misuse of power - the friendship between these women and them finding their heart and their power, and just the wild-hearted joy of it. It is a delightful tonic to times of shadowy confusion of one kind or another.”

“What do you mean by shadowy confusion?” Laura clarifies.

“Oh well, the outer world as it exhibits itself and develops politically and culturally, that can be… dark and confused morally.”

Goldblum also talks about his new jazz album Still Blooming, which includes songs with his Wicked co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

In an interlude away from politics, Laura Kuenssberg has also spoken to Jeff Goldblum.

He'll be chatting with Laura about music and acting, especially his role as the Wizard - cast alongside Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande - in last year's hit film Wicked.

We're now hearing from Green co-leader Adrian Ramsay, who is speaking from Norwich.

He says the party made big strides forward across the country.

Speaking about Reform UK's success in the local elections, he says Reform has done well but its success is not built on strong foundations.

It remains to be seen whether they will be willing to put in "hard yards", he adds.

Laura then asks him why the party wasn't able to capitalise on public unhappiness in the way Reform and the Lib Dems have.

He says this is a time when the Green Party is growing and criticises Labour for removing the winter fuel allowance.

Harry Farley
Political correspondent

It sounds as if Reform UK are planning legal cases against the government in their newly controlled councils.

Zia Yusuf talked about judicial reviews, injunctions and planning rules to try to block migrant hotels.

We could be looking at some tricky (and expensive) court cases if they go ahead with that.

Laura asks Davey if he takes any inspiration from Farage, as she says the Reform leader has previously said he’d taken inspiration from the Lib Dems.

Davey laughs and says he “clearly doesn’t share our values and I don’t share his”.

He says many people across the country will be worried now that Reform control some councils, especially about what Farage says on climate change, special education needs and other issues.

Davey urges people to try to combat Reform’s politics.

Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey is now speaking from Dorset.

After the local election, Davey said the Lib Dems have taken the title of "party of Middle England" from the Conservatives.

Laura asks if the party is focusing too much on this and leaving out the rest of the country.

Davey says he believes middle England is England, and adds his party got strong results across the country.

He calls it a massive step forward for the party and says their community-focused politics is making an impact.

Laura says there’s an important debate happening about public sector pay, and asks Streeting if strikes are a real possibility.

Streeting urges union members to “wait and see” the pay offer first.

He says he understands some of the arguments, especially those from more junior members of the NHS workforce.

The health secretary says Labour have resolved previous NHS strikes, adding: “judge us on our record here”.

• Why might public sector workers go on strike again? Find out more here

Laura says that after 10 months in office, Labour aren’t exactly new anymore.

She asks Streeting if there’s anything he thinks the party should have done differently.

He says he thinks honesty is the best policy, adding that the party knew the country was facing challenges when they came in.

He says things were worse than they feared in some cases, and adds that people should give them time.

Labour’s Wes Streeting is up next.

Laura asks if Labour is prepared to admit that voters just don’t like what they’ve done so far in office.

Streeting says there’s no doubt some things the party has done haven’t gone down well with voters, but adds the reason for their decisions is that the public wouldn’t thank them if they’d left the NHS “rotting”.

He says people might not be “feeling the change yet”, but Laura challenges him, saying people are feeling the difference – including businesses having to pay more national insurance.

Streeting replies that people want to see results.

“You don’t turn around a country with the breadth and depth of crisis we inherited in nine months.”

He asks the public to give them a bit more time.

Laura asks Badenoch what Reform party leader Nigel Farage got right.

Badenoch says he's expressing the frustration that people are feeling, but that's not her job – her job is to come up with solutions.

Badenoch says the party will be honest with people about how it will fix the country.

Easy announcements and solutions are not a plan, she says.

"This is not about winning elections, it's about fixing our country."

Laura tells the Tory leader that the party's popularity has dropped even more since she took charge.

Badenoch replies that "protest is in the air" and points out she was not leading the previous government.

She adds that the Conservatives are "down, but we are not out".

Kemi Badenoch is up next.

Laura asks about the local election results – how can she be sure this rejection of her party isn't permanent?

Badenoch replies that no party has come back from the kind of defeat the Tories suffered earlier after just one term.

Laura follows up, asking if it's complacent to say it's going to take time and will be tricky.

Badenoch says we live in politically volatile times, but her party will take the slow and steady approach.

Laura also asks if it's feasible that Nigel Farage could be the next prime minister.

"Anything is feasible," she says, before adding: "but my job is to make sure that he does not become prime minister because he does not have the answers to the problems the country is facing."

Laura asks about comments from Reform UK members, including leader Nigel Farage, that the party will reject migrants in areas they now control.

Yusuf says the party are "realistic" that the levers of power at the local level "pale in comparison to the levers of power in Westminster".

He says Reform UK will use every tool available to them to limit immigration, such as judicial reviews, injunctions and planning laws.

Laura then asks Yusuf about Reform's new mayor Andrea Jenkyns' earlier comments about migrants possibly being housed in tents.

Yusuf replies: "That's what France does, do you think that's unreasonable?"

Laura asks Yusuf how much money he think he'll save by cutting waste, as well as diversity and inclusion policies.

He starts by saying he thinks the local election results will be seen as among the most important in British history.

He adds that people want potholes fixed, taxes not to go up, and bins collected on time at a local level.

On diversity and inclusion policies, Yusuf says he believes all hiring should be "colour-blind" and that the "best person" should get the job.

The show kicks off with the interview with Zia Yusuf, chairman of Reform UK.

The entrepreneur took on the role a week after last year’s general election, replacing Richard Tice, who became the party’s deputy leader.

Yusuf didn’t stand as a candidate in the general election, but he donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the party and appeared at campaign events.

He made an estimated £31 million in 2023 after selling his luxury concierge app, Velocity Black.

He’s a second-generation immigrant. His parents came from Sri Lanka to Britain in the 1980s, where they worked for the NHS.

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg is now under way.

As a quick reminder, she’ll be joined by guests from five political parties:

• Labour: Wes Streeting, health secretary
• Conservatives: Kemi Badenoch, leader
• The Liberal Democrats: Ed Davey, leader
• The Green Party: Adrian Ramsay, co-leader
• Reform UK: Zia Yusuf, chairman

You can follow along with the programme by clicking Watch Live at the top of this page, and our team of writers will be providing regular text updates.

Stick with us.