Daily Politics from the New Statesman

Jeremy Hunt tells Anoosh Chakelian how he regrets the "silent killer" of social-care cuts made when he was in the cabinet, calls for the "penny to drop" for the current health secretary Sajid Javid on properly funding social care, and warns of electoral woes for the Tories in their southern English "heartlands". He also admits he wouldn't rule out serving as a minister under Boris Johnson. Hunt's book, Zero: Eliminating Unnecessary Deaths in a Post-Pandemic NHS, is available in bookstores nowPodcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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.

UK inflation has reached its highest rate in 40 years, jumping from 7 per cent in March to 9 per cent in the year to April. With inflation hitting the poorest hardest, pressure is growing on the government to reverse its opposition to a windfall tax on energy profits. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the New Statesman's associate business editor Emma Haslett and senior associate editor Rachel Cunliffe to discuss the government’s lack of a plan to address the crisis, including the array of unhelpful “top tips”from ministers on how households can cope with spiralling costs, and to consider what else can be done. Then in You Ask Us, a listener wonders if the Bank of England is being blamed for the government’s mistakes. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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.

While polling revealed exclusively by the New Statesman suggests that voters aren’t divided on so-called culture war issues, the Johnson administration is putting them at the centre of its political project. To understand why the Prime Minister seems intent on winning a war that doesn’t exist, Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Kim Leadbeater, Labour MP for Batley and Spen, who received an MBE last year for services to social cohesion, and Rory Stewart, senior fellow at Yale University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs and a former Conservative MP and leadership rival to Johnson. They discuss why everything is being cast as a culture war and the strategy’s limited success, the real-life consequences of this way of doing politics, and ultimately how we can learn to disagree better.Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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.

Having cast himself as “Mr Rules” in opposition to Boris Johnson, Keir Starmer's reputation hangs in the balance amid allegations of breaking Covid restrictions. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the NS's political editor, Andrew Marr, to discuss Starmer’s future, the mutinous atmosphere in the Labour machine and rumours of runners and riders who could replace him. Then they answer a listener’s question on what Boris Johnson and Liz Truss hope to gain from ripping up the Northern Ireland protocol.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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 renowned satirist and broadcaster Armando Iannucci returns to the New Statesman Podcast to co-host five more special episodes. In these shows Iannucci, explores the parts of British public life that he believes are broken, and he will be joined by guests from both inside and outside Westminster to discuss how politics could be better.In this episode, Iannucci and Anoosh Chakelian examine whether Westminster politics has just become a game to most politicians.  They are joined by special guests James Graham, writer of the political plays This House, Brexit: The Uncivil War and Labour of Love, and Chris Hanretty, a professor at Royal Holloway University who studies pork barrel politics.They discuss whether how the whipping operation in parliament reduces politics to point scoring, how the government is getting more blatant about only distributing money to its own MPs’ seats, and whether blowing the lid on whipping tactics will actually change anything.Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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.

Voters in many areas deserted the Conservatives in last week's local elections, yet this was not a comprehensive victory for Labour. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the New Statesman’s polling expert Ben Walker and political reporter Freddie Hayward to discuss the headline results and whether Labour has achieved the sea change it needs ahead of the next general election. Next, they turn to Northern Ireland and Sinn Féin's historic victory, gaining the most seats (27) in the assembly of any party and the right to appoint the first minister. They discuss the result and what it will mean for the country’s future. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks: is there any upside to Beergate for Keir Starmer?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.

As voting in the local elections begins, Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the New Statesman’s polling expert Ben Walker to discuss key councils to watch and predict the outcome. They talk about the driving forces behind people’s votes, from partygate and rising living costs to potholes, and what the political consequences of the results could be. Then they answer listeners’ questions on the impact the use of the single transferable vote (STV) system will have on the result in Scotland, and Ben’s overnight election liveblogging tips. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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 renowned satirist and broadcaster Armando Iannucci returns to the New Statesman Podcast to co-host five more special episodes. In these shows Iannucci, explores the parts of British public life that he believes are broken, and he will be joined by guests from inside and outside Westminster to discuss how politics could be better.In this episode, Iannucci and Ailbhe Rea examine voter loyalty and whether tribalism has died in favour of a kind of playlist politics. They are joined by special guests John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde and senior research fellow at the National Centre for Social Research, and Shaun Woodward, a former Labour cabinet minister who defected to the party from the Conservatives in 1999 and is now the chair of the Human Dignity Trust, an international LGBT charity.They discuss whether voters now want a more pick-and-mix politics, how important demographics are to how people will vote and what kind of identity politics really does sway voters.Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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 chairs a special episode of the New Statesman Podcast, recorded live at the Cambridge Literary Festival. In recent years, Britain has witnessed the unlawful prorogation of parliament; debacles in the management of public health, education and immigration; and scandals of cronyism, incompetence and sleaze. How has the cultural and political debate become so degraded? Can such failures of leadership be traced back to an unwritten constitution and a political system that rewards ambition over integrity, or should voters, the media and others take the blame for not holding the powerful to account? Is the British electorate the helpless victim of a new breed of brazen post-truth politics? Or do we simply get the leaders we deserve?  Speaking for the motion:David Runciman – a professor of politics at Cambridge University and the author of several books, including How Democracy Ends. Stephen Bush – a political columnist and associate editor at the Financial Times, and the former political editor at the New Statesman.Hannah White – deputy director of the Institute for Government, and author of the recent book Held in Contempt: What’s Wrong with the House of Commons?Speaking against the motion: Billy Bragg – singer-songwriter and activist whose most recent book is The Three Dimensions of Freedom. Dr Rachel Clarke – a NHS palliative care doctor and best-selling author whose books include Dear Life and Breathtaking. Lucy Nethsingha – a British Liberal Democrat politician, member of Cambridgeshire County Council since 2009. She was a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the east of England from 2019 until the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in 2020. She was chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs. Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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 misogyny that many women working in parliament experience has reared its ugly head once more. Anoosh Chakelian, Ailbhe Rea and Harry Lambert discuss the latest revelations of sexual misconduct at Westminster and the personal cost for the women who speak out.The team then discuss Labour’s prospects for the local elections and whether the cost of living, not partygate, could be the key to victory.Then a special You Ask Us to say goodbye to Ailbhe Rea.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] 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 renowned satirist and broadcaster Armando Iannucci returns to the New Statesman Podcast to co-host five more special episodes. In these shows Iannucci, explores the parts of British public life that he believes are broken, and he will be joined by guests from both inside and outside Westminster to discuss how politics could be better.In this episode, Iannucci and Anoosh Chakelian examine what is at the very heart of British politics: the constitution. What is it, is it fit for purpose, and what can be done to change it?They are joined by special guests Meg Russell, professor in British and comparative politics and director of the Constitution Unit at University College London, and Dominic Grieve, the former Conservative MP and attorney general for England and Wales.They discuss Britain’s ramshackle constitution vs a codified system of government, concerns over “democratic backsliding” under Boris Johnson’s government and a lack of parliamentary scrutiny, and the kind of democracy people want.Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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 partygate rumbling on and Boris Johnson referred to the House of Commons’ Committee of Priviliges, Anoosh Chakelian speaks to Hannah White, the deputy director of the Institute for Government.  White is a former civil servant who worked on standards in public life and as a Commons clerk. She explains exactly how the privileges committee works, why the Prime Minister has been allowed to decide his own fate (so far) and what can be done to improve trust in parliament.White’s new book, Held in Contempt: What's Wrong with the House of Commons, is published by Manchester University Press and available in bookshops now. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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.

As MPs debate the fallout from partygate, Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Andrew Marr, political editor, and Freddie Hayward, political reporter, to discuss why Boris Johnson may still be safe as PM and the opinions of Conservatives about their leader.Then in a special section on Northern Ireland, Ailbhe Rea reports from Belfast on what is becoming a very tense Stormont election.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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 legendary writer, satirist and broadcaster Armando Iannucci returns to the New Statesman podcast to co-host five more special episodes. In these shows, Iannucci explores parts of British public life he believes to be broken, and is joined by guests from both inside and outside Westminster to discuss how politics could be better.In this episode, Armando and Anoosh Chakelian examine whether people or politicians make change happen – and ask whether activists are letting the government off the hook.They are joined by special guests Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, a grassroots campaigner raising awareness of the health problems caused by air pollution, and Gary Stevenson, an economist and former interest rate trader who now campaigns about wealth inequality. They discuss single-issue campaigns and how to get your message out there, why no one in Westminster is working class and whether change happens despite politicians, not because of them.Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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.

A devolution special of the New Statesman Podcast looks ahead to the local elections in Scotland and Wales. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Scotland Editor Chris Deerin to discuss Scotland, including Nicola Sturgeon's face mask slip-up, why the real race is for second, and whether Labour can win back Glasgow. Anoosh then talks about the state of play in Wales with political reporter Freddie Hayward – and whether we’ll see the first signs of Labour winning back the so-called Red Wall.Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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 the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021, the Koofi family were among 8,000 Afghans airlifted to safety in the UK, as part of the government’s Operation Warm Welcome. The New Statesman’s Sophie McBain met them in a hotel in the north of England soon afterwards, where they were waiting to be resettled. As the months passed, she followed their new life, as well as that of the hotel staff and its other residents: an uncertain limbo of bureaucracy and confinement. Written and read by Sophie McBain. Subscribe to Audio Long Reads, from the New Statesman here.Read the text version here. It was published on the New Statesman website and in the magazine on 10 December 2021. To receive all our long reads, subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special podcast offer. Just visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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.

Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Carrie Johnson have all received fixed-penalty notices for attending parties in Downing Street during lockdown, but could the Prime Minister now be safer than he was at the height of partygate?Harry Lambert, Senior Correspondent, joins Anoosh Chakelian and Ailbhe Rea to discuss the fines, the downfall of Rishi Sunak and why we won’t know the real mood among MPs until they return to Westminster.Then in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question on whether the plan to send migrants to Rwanda is just a distraction?If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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 legendary writer, satirist and broadcaster Armando Iannucci returns to the New Statesman podcast to co-host five more special episodes. In these shows, Iannucci explores parts of British public life he believes to be broken, and is joined by guests from both inside and outside Westminster to discuss how politics could be better.In this episode, Armando and Ailbhe Rea examine the place we make laws: parliament. Is it an old boys’ club, designed to exclude normal people from being able to make sense of it?They are joined by special guests Anum Qaisar, the SNP’s newest Westminster MP, who won the Airdrie and Shotts by-election in 2021, and Emma Crewe, a professor of anthropology at SOAS who has studied the workings of the House of Commons and House of Lords.They talk about how parliament can be hard to navigate, what’s prevented it from evolving into a modern, 21st-century legislature and why it’s still a tough place for MPs from non-traditional backgrounds.Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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.

As Rishi Sunak comes under investigation by the government’s standards watchdog, Ailbhe Rea and Anoosh Chakelian discuss the fallout from the revelations about the Chancellor and the tax affairs of his wife, Akshata Murty, and why it shows he is still naïve as a politician.Then in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question about how Labour should respond to the story.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for our special offer of just £1 a week for 12 weeks. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.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 Ailbhe Rea are joined by the senior data journalist Ben Walker to mark the launch of State of the Nation, the New Statesman’s new data site for understanding Britain in numbers, maps, words and charts.Ben responds to listeners’ questions on what’s going on in the polls. Do they show an increase for Labour and Keir Starmer’s leadership? How much do Conservative MPs care about Boris Johnson’s popularity? And how has the cost-of-living crisis affected Rishi Sunak and the government’s credibility.Then in You Ask Us, the New Statesman’s political reporter Freddie Hayward joins the show to answer a listener’s question on what government plans to privatise Channel 4 would mean for its news and politics output.If you have a You Ask Us question for the politics team, email [email protected] listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.New Statesman Politics Live is our new, flagship live event, bringing together policymakers from across the political spectrum with panels, debates and a special live recording of the New Statesman podcast. Join us on Tuesday 28th June 2022 in London. Standard rate tickets are £99, or £69.99 for New Statesman subscribers. Book your ticket here: https://nsmg.live/event/ns-politics-live/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.

As the EU and UK debate further sanctions on Russia after evidence of massacres by Russian forces in Bucha, north of Kyiv, Ailbhe Rea speaks to the exiled opposition campaigner Vladimir Ashurkov.They discuss how London got its reputation for hosting the world’s dirty money, why it took so long for the UK to take the threat posed by Vladimir Putin seriously and how Russia uses corruption to undermine world order.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer.New Statesman Politics Live is our new, flagship live event, bringing together policymakers from across the political spectrum with panels, debates and a special live recording of the New Statesman podcast. Join us on Tuesday 28th June 2022 in London. Standard rate tickets are £99, or £69.99 for New Statesman subscribers. Book your ticket here: https://nsmg.live/event/ns-politics-live/ 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.

As the fallout from Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement continues, New Statesman Political Editor Andrew Marr joins Ailbhe Rea to discuss why it was received quite so badly and whether it has ruined the Chancellor’s hopes of becoming prime minister. Then, as partygate returns to the news, they look at whether it is now too late for the Conservative Party to get rid of Boris Johnson. And in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question about whether the MP Jamie Wallis coming out as trans will change the way trans rights is discussed in the UK. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] Podcast listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for 12 weeks for just £1 a week.New Statesman Politics Live is our new, flagship live event, bringing together policymakers from across the political spectrum with panels, debates and a special live recording of the New Statesman podcast. Join us on Tuesday 28th June 2022 in London. Standard rate tickets are £99, or £69.99 for New Statesman subscribers. Book your ticket here: Politics LiveLISTEN 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 special episode of the New Statesman Podcast marks “A Dream of Britain”, the New Statesman’s latest issue. It is guest edited by Michael Sheen and explores class, culture and identity in Britain today.Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the writer and academic Gary Younge, the Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, and the New Statesman editor-in-chief Jason Cowley to discuss why it is so difficult to understand what is meant by “Britishness” today.They discuss British identity in the absence of a formal dream or foundation story, the reawakening of English and Scottish nationalism, and whether the very concept of a national identity is valuable or meaningful today.Further reading:Gary Younge on what it means to be British?Jeremy Deller on his New Statesman cover: “it was important to be positive.”Jason's book, Who are we now? Stories of Modern England.Michael Sheen explores how we are a nation in search of a story.As a sense of British nationhood fades, Jason asks what is England?Tony Blair and Michael Sheen in conversation: “I tried to give Britain a different narrative.”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 Ailbhe Rea discuss Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement as the Office for Budget Responsibility warns the UK is about to face the biggest rise in the cost of living since records began. They discuss why Sunak still wants to be seen as a low-tax Chancellor, whether any of his measures will make a difference and why he seems so averse to using Universal Credit to help the people worst hit by price rises. Then in You Ask Us they tackle Labour’s response and whether the party is nervous about focusing too much on the cost-of-living crisis. If you have a question for You Ask Us email [email protected] listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for 12 weeks for just £1 a week.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.

Ahead of his guest-edited issue of the New Statesman, the actor and campaigner Michael Sheen speaks to Anoosh Chakelian for a special episode of the New Statesman podcast. Titled "A Dream of Britain", the magazine explores what British identity means in 2022. They discuss why he wanted to tackle the idea of our national story, how widening inequality and the British obsession with class limits diversity in the arts, why he thinks Tony Blair and Jeremy Corbyn have more in common than either might like, and what it means to be a "not-for-profit" actor. The special edition of the New Statesman will be on newsstands on Thursday 24 March and podcast listeners can subscribe now for just £12 for 12 weeks at 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.

P&O Ferries caused outrage last week (17 March) when it sacked 800 crew members to replace them with “cheap agency workers from eastern Europe” overnight. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull East, Karl Turner, who has been on King George Dock advocating for local workers who lost their jobs. They discuss the stand-off between the company and workers who refused to leave their ships, working conditions for foreign agency staff who can be paid as little as £1.81 an hour, and why this could lead to another “disaster” at sea. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for 12 weeks for just £1 a week. 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.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been reunited with her family in Britain, having been imprisoned for years in Iran on charges of seeking to overthrow the country’s government, which she has always denied. Her release along with another dual citizen, Anoosheh Ashoori, came after the payment of a long withheld £450m debt owed by the British government to Iran. Ailbhe Rea and Anoosh Chakelian discuss Richard Ratcliffe’s tireless campaign to free his wife, how a deal was finally achieved and why it took so long. Then in You Ask Us a listener asks whether the post-austerity rise in UK borrowing to the highest level since the Second World War is down to the pandemic alone, or other factors.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] 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.

As the government scrabbles its policy together for Ukrainian refugees, the Labour peer and refugee campaigner Alf Dubs tells Anoosh Chakelian that the response has been a "disgrace". He discusses how the government finds itself on the wrong side of public opinion, why Priti Patel is the worst Home Secretary he's worked with, and why he'd like to see a "more robust" approach to welcoming refugees from the Labour leadership. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for 12 weeks for just £1 a week.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 owner of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich, and leading industrialist Oleg Deripaska are among the seven wealthy and influential Russian oligarchs who have been sanctioned by the UK over Russia’s war in Ukraine.Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the New Statesman’s associate editor of business, Emma Haslett, to discuss the UK’s history of welcoming and protecting Russian wealth, why repeated attempts to reform the system have fallen short, and whether the Economic Crime Bill is the answer.Then, in You Ask Us, a listener questions why the UK’s response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis has been so inadequate.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for 12 weeks for just £1 a week.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.

As parliament rushes through the Economic Crime Bill in an attempt to toughen sanctions on Russian oligarchs, investor and anti-corruption campaigner Bill Browder talks to Anoosh Chakelian about the impact of sanctions on Russia. He opens up about whether the UK has gone far enough, the psychology of Russian oligarchs, and why we should boycott McDonald’s. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for 12 weeks for just £1 a week.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.

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters a second week, the New Statesman’s polling expert Ben Walker joins Anoosh Chakelian and Ailbhe Rea to talk about the latest polls.They discuss exclusive polling for the New Statesman published today on Boris Johnson’s approval rating since the war began, as well as public attitudes to the UK government’s stance on Ukrainian refugees and economic sanctionsagainst Russia. Then in You Ask Us, Ben answers a listener’s question on whether we can really know what the Russian people think of the war.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for 12 weeks for just £1 a week.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.

As the UK considers further sanctions on oligarchs linked to Vladimir Putin, Ailbhe Rea speaks to the journalist and author Oliver Bullough about how London became the home for so much Russian money. They talk about the ways in which the huge volumes of money corrupt all parts of public life, the spotlight that the invasion of Ukraine has shone on the problem and whether a meaningful attempt will now be made to tackle it. Oliver’s book, Butler to the World: How Britain Became the Servant of Tycoons, Tax Dodgers, Kleptocrats and Criminals, is published in March by Profile. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for just £1 per week.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.

As Russia invades Ukraine, Boris Johnson has come under fire from allies and critics alike for his feeble attempt to clamp down on Russian wealth in the UK. In an address to the nation this morning (24 February), the Prime Minister vowed that Britain “cannot and will not just look away” ahead of the announcement of further sanctions against Russia later today. Anoosh Chakelian and Ailbhe Rea are joined by Alix Kroeger, the international managing editor at the New Statesman, to discuss what is at stake in Ukraine and the challenge facing the UK government. In You Ask Us, Ailbhe and Anoosh discuss whether the pandemic is over as England scraps all Covid restrictions.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for 12 weeks for just £1 a week.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 New Statesman’s Britain editor Anoosh Chakelian interviews the satirist and broadcaster Andy Zaltzman, the host of Radio 4’s The News Quiz and the podcast The Bugle. Ahead of his Satirist for Hire tour, they talk about the history of political comedy, whether there are some topics too serious to joke about, and if you can really have political balance in comedy.Plus, they discover what Zaltzman and Boris Johnson have in common.You can find out more details about Zaltzman’s live shows and buy tickets at andyzaltzman.co.uk.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for just £1 per week.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 Ailbhe Rea host a special episode to say goodbye to Stephen Bush.   Kir royales are sunk and Stephen takes an audio trip down memory lane, featuring a rendition of “American Pie”, this time about Scottish Labour, as well as his teenage Harry Potter fanfiction and his honest opinion on “Devil with the Devil”.   Then in You Ask Us, former hosts make a special appearance to ask Stephen some questions. 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.

As Theresa May’s final chief of staff, Gavin Barwell knows what it’s like to see a party oust its leader first-hand. He speaks to political correspondent Ailbhe Rea about what it takes to get rid of a leader, where Boris Jonson is going wrong, and whether the Conservatives still feels like his party. Then in a special We ask Stephen, Ailbhe asks the New Statesman's political editor Stephen Bush why Sadiq Khan finally ran out of patience with Cressida Dick. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for just £1 per week.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.

As parliament enters recess, against all the odds Boris Johnson has clung onto his premiership. Anoosh Chakelian, Ailbhe Rea and Stephen Bush discuss the PM's various survival strategies, the ongoing police investigation into parties held in Downing Street and the political calculations of leadership contenders.  Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks what is Jacob Rees-Mogg's plan given his recent loyalty to Johnson. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] 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, Ailbhe Rea and Stephen Bush discuss the latest events in the crisis surrounding Boris Johnson, including the appointment of the MP Steve Barclay and the former GB News presenter Guto Harri to key Downing Street jobs.They explain why the resignation of Munira Mirza from the No 10 Policy Unit was so important and whether the appointments are simply rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic.Then, in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question about why Boris Johnson commissioned the Sue Gray report in the first place.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for 12 weeks for just £1 a week.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 New Statesman’s incoming political editor Andrew Marr makes his New Statesman podcast debut to discuss his cover story on Boris Johnson’s moment of peril with Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor. They talk about what’s gone wrong for Johnson, whether the current crisis is terminal and who could be the next Prime Minister. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for 12 weeks for just £1 a week. 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 a trickle of letters to the 1922 Committee chairman and Labour pivoting to take the Conservative Party to task for low economic growth and an incoming tax rise, could Boris Johnson soon face a vote of no confidence after all?Anoosh Chakelian, Ailbhe Rea and Stephen Bush discuss the Prime Minister’s fate and the catastrophic impact of the forthcoming energy price cap rise.   Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks what will happen if the Northern Irish First Minister Paul Givan resigns. If you have a question for You Ask Us, send an email or voice note to [email protected] 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.

A special episode of the New Statesman podcast recorded immediately after Boris Johnson’s announcement on the published Sue Gray report. A heavily censored version of Sue Gray’s report has finally been published, as 12 of the 16 alleged gatherings at Downing Street are currently being investigated by the Metropolitan Police. Anoosh Chakelian and Stephen Bush discuss the hostility of MPs on all sides to Johnson’s statement in the House of Commons, and what the report’s findings mean for the Prime Minister’s hopes of survival.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.

Ailbhe interviews the Bury South MP Christian Wakeford, who dramatically defected from the Tories to Labour at the height of partygate.  They talk about why he did it, what the reaction has been from friends as well as new colleagues, and how the whips threaten new MPs.  If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] 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.

As Westminster waits for Sue Gray’s report on Downing Street’s lockdown-breaking parties, the Metropolitan police has announced that it will begin an investigation into the alleged incidents.  Stephen Bush, Ailbhe Rea and Anoosh Chakelian discuss Boris Johnson’s confident performance at Prime Minister’s Questions and why the investigation matters. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks whether Keir Starmer can create a guiding political project and rise in the polls without a once-in-a-generation event to define himself against, as was the case with the 2008 financial crash and austerity under David Cameron.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] 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 New Statesman’s Scotland editor Chris Deerin joins Ailbhe Rea and Stephen Bush to discuss the growing rift between the Scottish Conservatives and the national party in Westminster.They talk about how the Scottish Tories have become alienated from the party, whether it could harm them in the local elections in May, and whether they could eventually form a breakaway party.Then in You Ask Us, the team answers a listener's question on the Welsh government’s review into radical federalism.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] 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 senior Conservative MP William Wragg has accused government ministers of intimidating and attempting to blackmail colleagues who they suspect oppose the Prime Minister, adding that the incidents should be reported to the police. While Christian Wakeford’s defection appears to have united Conservative MPs to help Boris Johnson survive another week, the PM is not in the clear yet. Anoosh Chakelian and Ailbhe Rea discuss the extraordinary allegations and the cost of saving your own skin. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks if a change in Conservative leadership would be a disaster for Labour.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] 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.

A special episode of the NS podcast recorded immediately after a dramatic Prime Minister’s Questions. Boris Johnson is facing an escalating leadership crisis over allegations that a string of parties were held across Whitehall during lockdown. Christian Wakeford, the MP for Bury South, defected to Labour just minutes before PMQs, while in an equally dramatic moment David Davis urged him to “in the name of God, go”. These damaging moves come as members of the 2019 intake of Conservative MPs plot to oust the Prime Minister. Anoosh Chakelian, Ailbhe Rea and Stephen Bush discuss what has been dubbed the “pork pie plot” as it unfolds, and what the defection signals for the Labour Party.If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] 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 New Statesman’s polling expert Ben Walker joins Anoosh Chakelian, Ailbhe Rea and Stephen Bush to talk about the latest polls in the aftermath of the No 10 party revelations. They discuss whether this could do long-term damage to the Conservative Party, how soft the labour lead is and why Ben was wrong on North Shropshire. Then in You Ask Us they answer a listener’s question on how well Keir Starmer is doing compared to other opposition leaders If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] 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.

Boris Johnson has been caught red-handed and forced to admit that he attended a party in the Downing Street garden in May 2020, however he claimed that he believed it was a “work event”. Stephen Bush, Anoosh Chakelian and Ailbhe Rea, discuss his chances of survival and the awkward questions this culture of insouciance raises for his potential successors. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks if Labour is right to speak positively about Tony Blair and the New Labour government given Blair’s unpopularity.If you have a question for You Ask Us, send an email or voice note to [email protected] 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.

Welcome to Prime Ministerial. In each episode Jonn Elledge and Stephen Bush will look at the legacy of the previous six prime ministers and ask whether they achieved success on their own terms. This final episode examines Margaret Thatcher’s premiership. The first woman to be prime minister and one of the Conservative Party’s most successful election winners, she was a divisive figure in British politics, and her legacy remains so. Thatcher won three general elections before being deposed by her MPs and replaced by her chancellor John Major, but she leaves a long shadow over the party today. Stephen and Jonn speak to the historian Florence Sutcliffe-Braithwaite, and Thatcher’s former aide, the MP John Whittingdale. Produced by Adrian Bradley and May Robson, with thanks to Caroline Crampton and Nick Hilton.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.

Boris Johnson’s approval rating plummeted at the end of 2021 following a string of Christmas parties at No 10, sleaze scandals and senior resignations – and his troubles continue into 2022.    Anoosh Chakelian and Stephen Bush discuss whether the Prime Minister can survive as energy bills soar, taxes rise in April and pressure mounts on an overwhelmed and underfunded NHS.   Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks what’s behind the Greens’ surge, after they managed to gain more council seats in by-elections this year than any other party, and how successful will they be in the next general election? If you have a question for You Ask Us, send an email or a voice note to [email protected] 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.