Daily Politics from the New Statesman

Economic growth in the UK is stagnating. Can a radical reshaping of private and public sector roles in core cities help unlock productivity and prosperity in Britain?  The latest in our Spotlight on Policy series welcomes the Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, the CEO of Leeds City Council, Tom Riordan, and PwC’s Public Sector expert Katie Johnston, to explore the role cities can play in boosting Britain’s productivity. This episode is sponsored by PwC.Download the Good Growth for Cities report here: https://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/government-public-sector/good-growth.htmlView the PWC productivity tracker: https://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/insights/productivity-tracker/regional.htmlFind out more about the UK Urban Futures Commission: https://www.thersa.org/projects/uk-urban-futures-commission  LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're bringing you this episode from Manchester where this year's Conservative Party conference is taking place. Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor, is joined by political correspondent Freddie Hayward, and deputy political editor Rachel Wearmouth to discuss the speculation around the scrapping of HS2 Manchester, as well as Liz Truss's popularity at the conference a year on from her chaotic leadership.Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For today’s Audio Long Read we’re bringing you one from our archives, which is suddenly extremely prescient. This week GB News is in the spotlight once again, this time for broadcasting misogynist comments made by Laurence Fox about a female journalist, Ava Evans. The channel has suspended Fox, along with host Dan Wootton, and has apologised for broadcasting the comments. But this is the latest in a long line of incidents in which GB News has pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable in broadcast journalism. In 2022 we published Stuart McGurk’s investigation into the origins of the right-wing news channel, speaking to insiders working in the founding team including senior journalists, editorial and production staff, and the chief executive himself. Stuart’s article, which is both alarming and hilarious, sheds light on the tumultuous origins of GB News and provides context for its current battle to be taken seriously.This article was originally published online on the New Statesman in April 2022; you can read the text version here. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, you might also like Cancel culture comes to GB News, by Clive Martin.LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Home Secretary made a speech this week in Washington to a right-wing US think tank called the American Enterprise Institute. She made a number eye-catching statements, including “a misguided dogma of multiculturalism” has proven “toxic” for Europe, and the pace of migrant arrivals posed an “existential threat” to the West.Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor and host of the New Statesman podcast, is joined in the studio by Zoë Grünewald, policy and politics correspondent, and Freddie Hayward, political correspondent. Together they analyse what was behind Suella Braverman's speech, before discussing what happened at the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth earlier this week.Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Conservatives have been in power for more than 13 years under five different prime ministers. We have experienced Cameroon austerity, Mayite statism, Johnsonite populism, and Trussite libertarianism. But who now wields the greatest influence among the Tories and on the British right?George Eaton, senior editor, joins the podcast to discuss the publication of the New Statesman's inaugural Right Power List – a guide to the 50 most influential people in conservative politics.This podcast is hosted by Anoosh Chakelilan, Britain editor at the New Statesman.Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Where does the concept of IQ fetishism originate? And why has it resurfaced in contemporary discussions, particularly within the tech-right movement? Join historian Quinn Slobodian as he discusses how IQ-based hierarchies have influenced societal perceptions and policies and the potential societal consequences and divisions resulting from the prevalence of such thinking.The host for this episode is senior editor for China and global affairs, at the New Statesman.You can read Quinn Slobodian's full piece The rise of the new tech right here.Download the New Statesman app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our weekly Saturday Read emailhttps://saturdayread.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At the time of writing, the crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried is due to stand trial on 3 October 2023. He stands accused of fraud and money-laundering on an epic scale through his currency exchange FTX. Did he gamble with other people’s money in a bid to do the maximum good? In this week’s long read, the New Statesman’s associate editor Sophie McBain examines the relationship between Bankman-Fried and the Oxford-based effective altruism (EA) movement. The billionaire was a close associate and supporter of William MacAskill, the Scottish moral philosopher who many consider EA’s leader. It was MacAskill who had persuaded him – and many other young graduates – to earn more, in order to give more. But how much money was enough – and what should they spend it on? Was EA just “a dumb game we woke Westerners play”, as Bankman-Fried told one journalist? In conversations with EA members past and present, McBain hears how the movement was altered by its enormous wealth. As the trial of its biggest sponsor approaches, will effective altruism survive – or be swallowed by its more cynical Silicon Valley devotees? Written and read by Sophie McBain. This article originally appeared in the 22-28 September 2023 edition of the New Statesman; you can read the text version here. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, you might also like Big Tech and the quest for eternal youth, by Jenny Kleeman.LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With both the UK and US elections coming into view, the team consider what's happening with Labour's foreign policy agenda and how the relationship between a Labour government and a Trump government could play out. And another question from a listener casts a look back to the appointment of Jeremy Hunt as Chancellor. Had Sunak not been required to keep Hunt in place in the aftermath of Truss, who might he have chosen to be Chancellor? Would Sunak's preferred brand of economics differ from what Hunt is providing?Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth, and Freddie Hayward, answer listener questions.Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This Wednesday Rishi Sunak gave a speech rolling back on the government’s Net Zero pledges, pushing back the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035, scrapping plans to force landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of their homes, watering down the gas boiler phaseout (aiming for 80% rather than 100% by 2035), and ruling out plans for a seemingly unbeknownst meat tax.Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Andrew Marr and Freddie Hayward to discuss where these plans have come from, what they mean for the Conservatives and Labour, and how they will divide public opinion.Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Liz Truss thought she had two years to save the economy, but her mini-budget caused it all to blow up in less than two months. We're now a year on from her chaotic 49 day premiership, but there are groups of economists and politicians who think her free-market growth strategy was right and it's only a matter of time before it makes a comeback.Read The Trussites are plotting their comeback: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/conservatives/2023/09/the-trussites-are-plotting-their-comebackDownload the New Statesman app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our weekly Saturday Read emailhttps://saturdayread.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fifty years after Salvador Allende was ousted, might his greatest legacy be his battle with the emerging tech giants?On 1 August 1973, a seemingly mundane diplomatic summit took place in Lima, Peru. But there was nothing mundane about its revolutionary agenda. The attendees – diplomats from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru – aspired to create a more just technological world order, one that might have prevented the future dominance of Silicon Valley. As the Chilean foreign minister lamented even then: “500 multinational corporations control 90 per cent of the world’s productive technology”. Could a new international institution - a tech equivalent of the IMF - ensure that developing countries had access to all the benefits of technological progress? Six weeks later, Salvador Allende’s government was toppled, paving the way for General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship of Chile. In this week’s audio long read, the author and podcaster Evgeny Morozov considers Allende’s legacy. Often viewed as a tragic but hapless figure, his government in fact oversaw a number of radical and utopian initiatives - many of them to do with technology. Might Chile under Allende have evolved into the South Korea or Taiwan of South America?Read by Catharine Hughes and written by Evgeny Morozov, who hosts The Santiago Boys: the Tech World that Might Have Been podcast series. This article was originally published on newstateman.com on 9 September 2023; you can read the text version here. If you enjoyed listening to this episode, you might also enjoy Would climate change have been worse without capitalism?Download the New Statesman app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our weekly Saturday Read emailhttps://saturdayread.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since being recently surpassed by India, Britain has the world's sixth largest economy. But, one listener asks, how do we square this position with the reality of our crumbling services? And on the subject of government funding, another listener asks: will Birmingham City Council's financial crisis will make Labour more weary of devolving power to local authorities?Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth, and Freddie Hayward, answer listener questions.Read more from Anoosh on Thurrock Council's bankruptcy and the West Country's disappearing bus routesSubmit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The deputy labour leader and “trade union favourite” delivered a speech full of promises at the TUC. Now she has to deliver.Reaffirming Labour’s commitment to the New Deal for Working people, Rayner shored up support among the unions as Labour approaches the next election. But, as Rachel Wearmouth tells Anoosh Chakelian and Freddie Hayward, Rayner’s “one of us” status could spell problems for a future Labour government if they fall short.Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The UK is one of the largest producers of household electronic waste in the world. In 2022 we threw away nearly 24 kilos of things like plugs, mobile phones and computer hardware per person.   The volume of e-waste produced world-wide is predicted to increase from more than 61 million metric tons this year to nearly 75 million in 2030 – and the vast majority of this will go into landfill.   In this special episode, Becky Slack from the New Statesman's Spotlight team meets Michael Wyatt, director of Google ChromeOS EMEA, and Justin Sutton-Parker, CEO of research group Px3, to discuss what businesses and other organisations can do to play their part in reducing the scourge of e-waste, and more broadly how IT can drive sustainability.  --This episode is sponsored by Google ChromeOS. Trial ChromeOS Flex for yourself on an old PC or Mac for free. Download ChromeOS Flex onto a USB via the ChromeOS website.--The New Statesman Spotlight team reports on policy for those who shape it and the businesses it affects. Read their policy reporting at https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlightLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rishi Sunak earned almost £5m in the past three years, yet this was only taxed at a rate of 22%. Britain's tax system is broken, focusing on income rather than wealth, and it seems like no one plans on doing anything about this. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has explicitly stated that should Labour come into power, a wealth tax will not be introduced. In this episode, staff writer Harry Lambert sets out how Labour could raise £28billion by adopting a wealth tax, and how this could help narrow the gap between Asset Britain and Austerity Britain.Read Britain’s great tax con here: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/economy/2023/08/britains-great-tax-conDownload the New Statesman app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our weekly Saturday Read emailhttps://saturdayread.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the extreme heat of summer 2024, which saw children stretchered out of their exams, Britain’s prime minister calls a press conference in Westminster Hall. He has one eye on life after office (skiing in Aspen, a big gig in Silicon Valley), but before he leaves, he wants to unveil something truly ground-breaking: a large language model that has been trained by the best minds to solve the climate crisis. In this satirical work of speculative fiction, the New Statesman’s business editor Will Dunn explores the government’s love affair with Big Tech, fast-forwarding to the dying days of a Conservative government. Climate protestors have been cleared from the roads - but the tarmac is melting and people want answers. Could an advanced AI called Tom provide the prime minister’s moonshot moment?Written and read by Will Dunn. You can read the text version at newstatesman.com If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Edward Docx reading Boris Johnson: the death of a clown. Download the New Statesman app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our weekly Saturday Read emailhttps://saturdayread.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We inhabit an economy too small to deliver the social goods British people expect, and now Britain is cracking. From the concrete crises affecting schools across the country, to crumbling policies and leadership on both the right and left, Andrew Marr reflects on the state of the nation and its place in the world.Andrew Marr, political editor of the New Statesman, is joined by Freddie Hayward and Rachel Cunliffe.Crumbling Britain:https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/crumbling-britain Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Angela Rayner up, Lisa Nandy down - what’s motivated the moves in Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet reshuffle this week and what does this tell us about the direction of the Labour party if they get into power?Freddie Hayward, Zoë Grünewald, and Rachel Cunliffe, answer listener questions.Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can liberalism survive the horrors of our modern world?Will Lloyd is joined by John Gray political philosopher and author of The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism. They discuss how Thomas Hobbes seminal work Leviathan can be reinterpreted in the 21st century, particularly in the contexts of Russia, China, and the liberal West.Read more of John Gray's work here: https://www.newstatesman.com/author/john-gray Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the summer of 1924, a highly regarded painter falls – or is he pushed? – into the canal while celebrating his exhibition at the Venice Biennale. Two young women are heard running away into the night.In this dazzling new coming-of-age story first published in the New Statesman’s summer issue, the award-winning novelist Jonathan Coe explores the relationship between artist and muse, female friendship and male cruelty.Written by Jonathan Coe and read by Tom Gatti.If you enjoyed this episode, you may also enjoy Then Later, His Ghost: a short story by Sarah Hall.LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rory Stewart, Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell: a listener writes in to ask why centrist politicians align themselves with one party over another?But before the team dissects the evolution of centrist politicians, they turn an imminent matter. Has the recent turmoil and churn, with multiple prime ministers in quick succession, given the UK an appetite for frequent change? And could this truncate a Labour governments time in office?Rachel Cunliffe, Freddie Hayward, and Zoë Grünewald answer listener questions.Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“History will not remember you kindly” Nadine Dorries’ wrote this weekend in her resignation letter to Rishi Sunak. But this is not the only departure which has been looming over the Conservatives for the past few weeks. This morning former defence secretary Ben Wallace handed in his resignation and was swiftly replaced by Grant Shapps, who stepped into his fifth job this year.Rachel Cunliffe, Freddie Hayward, and Zoë Grünewald discuss the implications of the reshuffle for both Labour and the Tories, and whether history will, in fact, remember Rishi Sunak - and Nadine Dorries - kindly.Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For those who leave the ultra-conservative Christian sect, separation comes at great personal cost. The New Statesman’s assistant editor Pippa Bailey had always been curious about the Plymouth Brethren, ever since discovering that her maternal grandparents had left the group in the 1960s. What might her life have been like if they stayed? Who were the cousins separated by a doctrine of isolation from non-Brethren ‘worldlies’? In this week’s deeply reported and moving magazine cover story, Pippa tells the story of the breakaway group, from its origins in 1820s Ireland to its modern-day incarnation as a global church and effective lobbyist. She speaks to former members, many of whom mourn the loss of family and friends to an organisation they consider repressive. It’s a fascinating journey, even if, as Pippa writes, her  grandmother has no interest in resurfacing the past: “After all, she says, it’s all part of the Lord’s plan, and He does not test us more than we can bear.” This article originally appeared in the 25-31 August issue of the New Statesman; you can read the text version here. Written and read by Pippa Bailey. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy How to build a language: inside the Oxford English Dictionary, by Pippa Bailey, or our reported feature by Stuart McGurk, A year inside GB news.LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Conservatives seem intent on fighting the next election on "culture wars" issues. A listener asks, would a Labour government put an end to all that?Also, how does the government control its media messaging? Is there a shadowy office pulling the strings and controlling what journalists report? We look at the concept of "the grid".Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Cunliffe and Freddie Hayward answer listener questions.Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

GCSE and A Level results are out, and the proportion of top grades have dipped since the pandemic years. It's an opportunity for the government and the opposition to talk about their ambitions for education. Are they both failing to do so?Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Cunliffe and Freddie Hayward discuss the Tory education record, from Michael Gove’s reforming agenda to unprecedented churn at the top of the Department for Education. And, they ask, what would Labour do differently?Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After spending several days reporting in Pokrovsk, a small city in eastern Ukraine and the recent target of two missile strikes, Katie Stallard describes the devastating impact of Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine’s civilians.“The first strike hit just as people were making dinner, coming home from a long day at work. The first strike hit and the emergency services responded. Then, 37 minutes later, the second strike hit. So it seemed to have been deliberately timed to hit the rescue workers.”Our foreign editor, Megan Gibson, is joined by Katie Stallard, speaking from Warsaw, to discuss Russia’s assault on the next generation, what Putin is aiming for, and why Ukrainians will not give up.Read the full article here: https://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/ukraine/2023/08/russias-war-future-generations-children-ukraineSubmit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the rush to war in 1914 had been averted? What if the Berlin Crisis of 1961 had led to nuclear war? What if the liberal revolution of 1848 had been successful? A new exhibition in Berlin considers a series of momentous what-ifs, an intriguing addition to the canon of counterfactual history. In this week’s long read, the New Statesman’s contributing writer Jeremy Cliffe assesses the value of such rival realities, as explored in fiction and, increasingly, on social media platforms and alt-fic online communities. In contemporary British politics, the tumult of the past decade has inspired a new cottage industry of counterfactual histories.  Often derided as pure speculation, Cliffe makes the case for their usefulness and, from his home in Berlin, reflects on the city’s many ghosts. “History is about facts,” he writes. “But those facts include intentions, imagined futures and visions that shape actual events even when – much more often than not – they never come to pass.”Written by Jeremy Cliffe and read by Chris Stone.This article originally appeared in the 28 July-17 August summer issue of the New Statesman. You can read the text version here.If you enjoyed listening to this episode, you might also enjoy Thomas Mann, German identity and the romantic allure of Russia, by Jeremy Cliffe.Listen to all our Audio Long Reads herehttps://podfollow.com/audio-long-reads-new-statesmanDownload the New Statesman app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our weekly Saturday Read emailhttps://saturdayread.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Various MPs, including Nadine Dorries, have been accused of not doing their jobs. Should there be a standard of work all MPs must meet? Anoosh and Freddie tackle a listener’s question.Also – much has been said about the similarities and differences between Tony Blair and Keir Starmer, but what about John Major and Rishi Sunak?Submit a question: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Would Labour be radical in office?Freddie Hayward spoke to party insiders to find out – he joins Anoosh Chakelian to talk about how Labour can make meaningful policy changes in an age of cynicism and poor public finances.Read the full article here: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2023/08/labours-caution-could-turn-to-radicalism-in-officeSubmit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two visions for how Britain can increase productivity and boost growth.Freddie Hayward interviews shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson and Conservative MP Bim Afolami on how Labour and the Conservatives propose to boost growth and prepare Britain for the future.This conversation was recorded live at the New Statesman’s Politics Live conference on June 27 2023. Book your tickets for next year's event: https://nsmg.live/event/ns-politics-live/Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The novelist Ali Smith first came across the work of Simone de Beauvoir in an Inverness bookshop, aged 18 or 19, and was instantly compelled by her “tough, troubling” prose. In this week’s long read, Smith reflects on De Beauvoir’s 1964 memoir A Very Easy Death, a slight, visceral book about her estranged mother’s death. What happens when an existentialist, bound ethically to a thinking life, confronts the end of life and thought? Why does a writer who prides herself on uncompromising truth tell her mother she is not dying of cancer, when she is?Smith blends the personal and the political in an essay that grapples with De Beauvoir’s power to disturb and provoke, sixty years on. Written by Ali Smith and read by Anna Leszkiewicz. This article originally appeared in the 28 July-17 August 2023 New Statesman summer issue. You can read the text version here.If you enjoyed listening to this episode, you might also enjoy Karl Ove Knausgaard: a personal manifesto on the art of fiction.Listen to all our Audio Long Reads herehttps://podfollow.com/audio-long-reads-new-statesmanDownload the New Statesman app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our weekly Saturday Read emailhttps://saturdayread.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Labour’s dominance in the polls draws obvious comparisons with 1997-era New Labour. But is it fair to compare Keir Starmer with Tony Blair – and what should the current Labour leader learn from his predecessor? Anoosh and Freddie tackle a listener’s question.Also – how do we incentivise voter turn out? One listener has a novel idea. Could it work?Submit a question: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The first residents have boarded the Bibby Stockholm barge moored off the coast of Dorset. Anoosh Chakelian visited Portland to meet locals and asylum seekers, and joins Freddie Hayward in the studio to reveal what she discovered.They also discuss why leaving the European Court of Human Rights is no deterrent for people seeking asylum in the UK, and how Brexit may have actually made it harder for Rishi Sunak's conservatives to "Stop The Boats".Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An internet hoax conceived on a fringe message board grew into an online conspiracy theory so far-reaching that it sparked the January 6 attack on the US capitol. Now Qanon has gone global, what are the consequences for politics and society?Rachel Cunliffe is joined by James Ball, journalist and author of The Other Pandemic: How QAnon Contaminated the World. They discuss the most recent indictment against former US president, Donald Trump, and how his actions were informed by the viral internet conspiracy group known as Qanon.They examine how the QAnon movement spread across mainstream social media platforms and mutated into something bigger and more dangerous: encompassing anti-vaxxers, Covid deniers, incels, and those who believe they must save children from LGBT "groomers". How did governments and big tech companies allow a conspiracy theory to get so big it threatened American democracy? And now this "digital virus" is out there, what can be done to combat it?Read more about the chaos and confusion of Donald Trump on trial: https://www.newstatesman.com/world/americas/north-america/us/2023/08/chaos-confusion-donald-trump-on-trialSubmit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is one question the environmental journalist and author George Monbiot is asked more than any other: how do you cope? When your job is to report on the climate crisis, where do you find hope? Monbiot’s answer is a very personal one: he goes sea kayaking – alone, often far off the coast, with (if he’s lucky) a pod of dolphins or a flock of shearwaters for company.In this evocative essay from the New Statesman’s summer 2023 issue, Monbiot explores the sea off the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, his former home in Cardigan Bay, and his new home in South Devon – a coastline “featuring cliffs and rocky coves, clefts and chasms, reefs and skerries, sandy and shingle beaches and several estuaries”. He relives the dangers and joys of battling the waves in a very small boat, most recently with an underwater camera fixed to the hull. There is no permanent escape from ecological distress, he writes, from the warming seas and the waste pumped into them, “but for hours at a time, I lose myself”.Written by George Monbiot and read by Chris Stone.This article originally appeared in the 28 July-17 August 2023 New Statesman summer issue. You can read the text version here.https://www.newstatesman.com/environment/2023/07/escpaing-climate-sea-kayaking-george-monbiotListen to all our Audio Long Reads herehttps://podfollow.com/audio-long-reads-new-statesmanIf you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy Rebecca Solnit on hope, despair and climate action.https://www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/audio-long-reads/2022/10/rebecca-solnit-on-hope-despair-and-climate-actionDownload the New Statesman app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our weekly Saturday Read emailhttps://saturdayread.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Ben Walker answer listener questions.There have been multiple attempts to launch credible new political parties in recent years, but very few have taken hold. Why? A listener, quite possibly the youngest fan of the New Statesman Podcast, asks what it would take for a new party to gain ground in Parliament.And Greater Manchester Police face allegations of sexual assault and cover up. Andy Burnham, as mayor and police commissioner, has ordered a review – but our questioner asks how he has avoided scrutiny for the force's failings.Submit a question: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Yet another by-election could provide a key opportunity for Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour to regain lost seats in Scotland.The former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier has been recalled by her Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituents, triggering a by-election. Ben Walker and Freddie Hayward join Anoosh Chakelian on the New Statesman podcast to discuss what the latest polls reveal about voting intention in the seat – formerly a Labour stronghold – and whether this might be the beginning of a Labour resurgence in Scotland.Submit a question: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Labour won Westminster Council from the Conservatives in 2022, they made history.Now in power for the first time ever, the Labour council leadership is faced with the challenge and opportunity of running one of the UK’s richest councils – inheriting what council leader Adam Hug calls “mediocre” and “wasteful” Conservative policies.In this revealing interview, Anoosh Chakelian and Harry Lambert go behind the scenes of local government to ask the Westminster Council leader how he hopes to address the housing crisis, what Labour nationally should be doing about planning, development and free school meals, and why Oxford Street still won't be pedestrianised.This interview was recorded on 29th June 2023.Submit a question: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Conservative Private Members Committee, informally known as the 1922 Committee (or the ’22), is the Tory confessional, its trade union and backbenchers’ common room. If that makes it sound chaotic (and it sometimes is) it is also the assassination bureau that felled Margaret Thatcher, and, more recently, three prime ministers in four years: Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Will it come for Rishi Sunak before the next election?In this week’s richly detailed and highly entertaining long read, magazine writer Tanya Gold reports on the secretive committee’s inner workings, hearing from decision-makers past and present about what happens when a leader loses the party’s confidence. “The ’22 can be turgid for months, even years,” she writes. “But people talk about Committee Room 14 during a leadership crisis as they might about seeing Bruce Springsteen, or a riot.” And over the next 18 months, they could be busy.Written by Tanya Gold and read by Rachel Cunliffe. This article originally appeared in the 21-27 July 2023 edition of the New Statesman, and you can read the text version here. If you enjoyed this episode, you might also enjoy The making of Prince William by Tanya Gold.Download the New Statesman app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our weekly Saturday Read emailhttps://saturdayread.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anoosh Chakelian and Freddie Hayward answer your questions. After a routing in 2015, the Liberal Democrats have languished as a minor player in the Commons while the SNP have enjoyed the advantages of being the third largest party in parliament. Their positions could reverse at the next election. Our listener asks how politics would change if the Lib Dems became the third largest party.  Liz Truss’ premiership proved disastrous for the Conservatives – but did it scar Labour too? Anoosh and Freddie explore the long tail of the Truss debacle and its impact on both sides of the house.Submit a question: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keir Starmer has faced criticism for appearing to water down some key environmental policies, particularly in light of Labour's narrow defeat in the Uxbridge and South Ruislip by-election. But is that criticism fair?Anoosh Chakelian and Freddie Hayward discuss how perceived opposition to the Net Zero agenda and schemes like London's Ulez have impacted the green policies of both Labour and the Conservatives, and how this is being viewed by voters.Submit a question: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shadowy forces, deep state actors in the pay of nefarious oligarchs... or an important part of the political ecosystem?Rachel Cunliffe meets senior figures from three think tanks from across the political spectrum to find out how think tanks work, how they are funded, and the role they play in creating public policy.Guests:Robert Colvile, director of the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS)Carys Roberts, executive director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR)Matthew Lawrence, founder and director of Common WealthSubmit a question: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Saudi cinemas reopened in 2018, for the first time in 35 years, they screened the Marvel movie Black Panther. Many saw parallels between the kingdom and the fictional world of Wakanda, as crown prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled ambitious plans for modernisation and an economy that would diversify away from oil, investing in futuristic projects such as Neom, a half-trillion-dollar city.Saudi Arabia has since sought to position itself as a global investment powerhouse, focusing on tourism, sports sponsorships, financial services, green hydrogen production, and the electric vehicle industry. Long dependant on oil, can the kingdom transform itself into a major global force in a post-carbon future?In this week’s long read and magazine cover story, New Statesman contributing writer Quinn Slobodian explores the consequences of Saudi dominance on international politics, the climate crisis and our technological future. Written by Quinn Slobodian and read by Chris Stone.Listen to more: The Spanish election reveals the future of Europe, by Jeremy Cliffe: https://pod.fo/e/18c885Download the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our weekly Saturday Read emailhttps://saturdayread.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a terrible night of results for Rishi Sunak in rural England, Labour faltered in outer London.Rachel Cunliffe, Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth and Ben Walker analyse the results of the by-elections in Somerton and Frome, Selby and Ainsty, and Boris Johnson’s old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.Submit a question: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keir Starmer says he’ll keep the two-child cap on benefits. Is this a knee-jerk reaction to public opinion, or an attempt at “fiscal discipline”? The New Statesman Podcast team answer your questions. The Labour leader has risked the anger of his own MPs by apparently reneging on a previous commitment to reverse limits on child benefit introduced by George Osborne under austerity. Angela Rayner has called the cap “barbaric”, and Starmer himself has previously said Labour would reverse it. So what’s prompted this about-turn? Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth, Rachel Cunliffe and Will Dunn answer a listener’s question. They also discuss what the government can – or should – do to force banks to pass rising interest rates onto savers. Should the banks be nationalised?Submit a question to You Ask Us here: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsSubscribers can listen ad-free via the New Statesman app. Download it now:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week with our special podcast offer: https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to receive our daily politics email, Morning Call: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stephen Flynn, Westminster leader of the SNP, speaks to Zoë Grünewald at the New Statesman's Politics Live conference.They discuss the SNP’s ambitions for Scottish independence in the light of Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation, arrest and subsequent release, and how a Labour government under Keir Starmer might relate to the SNP over issues including Brexit in remain-voting Scotland.This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the New Statesman's Politics Live conference on 27th June 2023. To pre-register for next year’s conference visit nsmg.liveSubscribers can listen ad-free via the New Statesman app. Download it now:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week with our special podcast offer: https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to receive our daily politics email, Morning Call: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since 2018, prime minister Pedro Sánchez has led a surprisingly durable and impactful Spanish government, implementing progressive policies such as improved rights for abortion, transgender people and migrants. His coalition government has repositioned Spain as a European “pivot” state, a bridge between north and south, east and west. Its economy is predicted to grow faster than that of Germany, France and Italy.But will any of this be enough to keep Sanchez in power after the 23 July general election? He faces significant challenges from the conservative People's Party, as well as new alliances on the left – an increasingly fragmented political environment that mirrors trends seen across Europe, as identity politics, the climate crisis, and demographic shifts reshape many once stable two-party systems. In this wide-ranging essay, New Statesman contributing writer Jeremy Cliffe reflects on what Spain and its election tells us about the future of Europe. By 2030, he writes, “politics in many states will be defined by the normalised collapse of the cordon sanitaire between mainstream conservatism and the far right. It will be a landscape in which the left can only win by forging broad and canny coalitions.” If Silvio Berlusconi’s divisive authoritarianism presaged our present moment, Sanchez and his battles could point the way to our European future. Written by Jeremy Cliffe and read by Chris Stone. This article originally appeared in the 14-20 July issue of the New Statesman. You can read the text version here.If you enjoyed listening to this episode, you may also like A brief history of “woke”: how one word fuelled the culture wars.Subscribers can listen ad-free via the New Statesman app. Download it now:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week with our special podcast offer: https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to receive The Saturday Read - our weekly email highlighting the best writing from the New Statesman and around the web: https://saturdayread.substack.com/ LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Conservatives are on track to lose the next election. Who would lead them in opposition?Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth and Zoë Grünewald answer a listener question on the senior Conservatives who currently look most likely to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader.They also address whether Keir Starmer will survive as leader of the Labour party until the next election, if unhappy Labour MPs will stick with him – and what the risks to his leadership might be.Read Zoë’s interview with David Blunkett: “Labour needs to be radical, but not scary” https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics-interview/2023/07/david-blunkett-interview-labour-radical-not-scarySubscribers can listen ad-free via the New Statesman app. Download it now:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week with our special podcast offer: https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to receive our daily politics email, Morning Call: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keir Starmer has finished announcing Labour’s five missions. Are they enough to get Labour into government? Vocational education, social mobility, and breaking the “class ceiling” – Labour’s final "mission" was designed to represent the party’s core values. Keir Starmer's mission-based approach is supposed to give us an insight into how a Labour government might lead the country.Anoosh Chakelian, host of the New Statesman podcast, Zoë Grünewald, political reporter for the New Statesman, and Rachel Wearmouth, deputy political editor of the New Statesman, discuss Labour’s five missions and whether they will be enough to win the next election - and chat through reshuffle rumours.These podcast are made possible by New Statesman subscribers. Not a subscriber yet? Get access to all our content online, including ad-free podcast episodes, from just £1 per week. Subscribe here: https://www.newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to receive our daily politics email, Morning Call: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this wide-ranging interview with Rachel Wearmouth, Keir Starmer discusses the “really damaged economy” Labour will inherit if they win the next election – and attacks Rishi Sunak for being “out of touch” with ordinary people.Speaking in front of a live audience at the New Statesman politics live conference on 27 June 2023, Starmer said a Labour government would have to “go at pace” to rebuild public services, but refused to commit to recommended public sector pay rises.He also addressed claims that he is planning to create hundreds of new Labour peers, acknowledging an “imbalance” in the House of Lords.Pre-register for next year’s Politics Live conference here: https://nsmg.live/event/ns-politics-live/Sign up for the New Statesman’s daily politics email, Morning Call, here: https://morningcall.substack.com/Subscribe to the New Statesman from just £1 a week: www.newstatesman.com/podcastofferLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.