As Parliament returns from recess, the latest files related to Peter Mandelson's appointment as UK ambassador to the US are due to be released today. How bad could they be for Labour? Tim Shipman joins James Heale to discuss – has the self-styled 'Prince of Darkness' proven to be more a ghost of Christmas past for the government?

Plus: Mandelson isn't the only ghost haunting British politics today. Tim and James discuss the ghost of Christmas present, the scandal facing the SNP. Former party treasurer – and husband to Nicola Sturgeon – Peter Murrell pled guilty to charges of embezzlement, prompting the former First Minister to deliver a teary interview to the BBC at the weekend. How believable did they find Sturgeon? And, with two by-elections on the horizon, what consequences could there be for the SNP?

Finally: the boys discuss the latest poll showing Trade Union support ebbing away from Labour towards Reform. So – continuing the Dickensian metaphor (sorry) – could this be Labour's very own ghost of Christmas future?

Produced by Megan McElroy and Patrick Gibbons.

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