Share Sounds presented by Sarah Lowther related to Politics

Why has House of Commons speaker John Bercow has said he's "strongly opposed" to Donald Trump addressing Westminster Hall? And what might this mean for UK-US relations? John Rentoul, chief political commentator at The Independent, joined Share Radio's Sarah Lowther to discuss the latest in UK politics.

2016 will always be remembered as the year of Brexit, even though formal negotiations to navigate our way out of the bloc are yet to begin, and doubts are still being raised about the date of March 31st 2017, when Article 50 is due to be triggered. But 2016 was the year when the vote that would change the course of British history was announced, carried out and revealed. Share Radio's Joe Aldridge has been looking into how one of the greatest political debates of our time played out.

All of Tuesday mornings newspapers lead with pictures from the scene in Berlin after the fatal incident, which killed at least 12 people and wounded around 50. Just hours before the Berlin lorry crash, Russia's top diplomat in Turkey was shot dead by an off-duty policeman at an art gallery in Ankara. To offer more on these stories, and to look at the political implications, Josh Lowe of Newsweek joined Share Radio Breakfast.

The Russian Ambassador to Turkey was shot in the back and killed by an off-duty police officer, as he gave a speech at an Ankara art gallery on Monday. It came on the same day of the deadly attacks at a Christmas market in Berlin. For more on the incidents and its potential impact on political and economic relations, Professor Tim Evans, Professor of Business and Political Economy at Middlesex University London, joined Share Radio Breakfast.

The Scottish government is to publish its proposals for Scotland's future relationship with the EU after Brexit, in a paper titled "Scotland's place in Europe". Theresa May has promised to listen to the governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland before taking an agreed UK-wide negotiation position to Brussels for formal talks, due to begin by the end of March. To look ahead to the publishing of the paper, our man in Scotland, Maurice Smith, joined Share Radio Breakfast.

There is widespread concern after British Airways and the Post Office joined Southern Rail in striking over the Christmas period. According to the latest figures by the Office for National Statistics, 281,000 days were lost to strike action up until the end of October 2016, which is over 100,000 more days than the same time last year. Share Radio’s Matt Cox investigated this new era of strike action with industrial action expert Professor Chris Rowley, Visiting Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford, and Professor Emeritus at Cass Business School.

Dan Hodges, Political commentator at the Mail on Sunday, joined Share Radio Breakfast to give his weekly politics round-up. He looked over the situation in Syria and gave his take on the ASLEF and RMT union strike affecting Southern rail services. Finally, we discussed the latest that the News industry is worth £5.3 billion to the economy.

The Taiwanese government had the diplomatic spotlights turned on it when Donald Trump accepted a phone call from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen upon his ascension to President-Elect of the US - the first conversation between the two nations at this level in decades. But others were less pleased - namely the Chinese Government. Alongside other anti-China sentiments expressed by Trump, this conversation with President Ing-wen marks a new faux-pas. Share Radio's Matt Cox spoke to Dr Steve Tsang, Director of the SOAS China Institute, and expert in governance, foreign, and security policies of China and Taiwan.

Jack Sommers of The Huffington Post joined Share Radio Breakfast to give his weekly politics round-up. Chancellor Philip Hammond has called for transitional arrangements to “smooth” Britain’s exit from the EU. What did Jack make of this, and is there the possibility of a cabinet split? Jack also discusses the political implications of the Southern Rail strikes, and gives his take on the events in Aleppo.

Dan Hodges, Political commentator at the Mail on Sunday, joined Share Radio Breakfast to give his weekly politics round-up. Dan gives a timetable for Brexit, and looks at how the Supreme Court case will affect proceedings.