Behind every politician is a fixer. For many years Kelvin Blake has been behind the scenes as a key figure in the city’s Labour party, working on key campaigns that have seen Labour secure the lion's share of political power. But what exactly goes on behind the scenes and where next for Labour as the Greens challenge the party’s establishment status? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jun 29, 2023•55 min•Season 10Ep. 11
It's been three years since the Colston statue was toppled, thrusting the Merchant Venturers - the elite club with a history of the worst kind - into the limelight. But for many years prior, Christine Townsend had been on a mission to fight what she sees as discriminatory practises of pupil selection, starting off with Merchant Venturer run schools in Bristol. Now a Green Party councillor, Christine is a thorn in the side of the Mayor and others. But with the Greens poised to win further power i...
Jun 15, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 10Ep. 10
Bristol has long had a reputation as a hotbed of leftie radicals. Most recently, the movement that was built and surged during Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership of the Labour Party. Isaac has been a prominent activist with socialist campaign Momentum and as a co-founder of Bristol Transformed, a festival of radical ideas that will return to Bristol on the weekend of 16th of June. But the scene has attracted fierce criticism from across the party and political spectrum, as out of touch and perhaps a tou...
May 25, 2023•56 min•Season 10Ep. 9
How can a stuffy institution with deep links to British Establishment power play a role in bringing about social justice on Earth, in Bristol and beyond? Neil gets deep into a challenging conversation on the spiritual and political with Phil Nott, an experienced Church of England priest who is on that mission – and has just started a six-month role as the city chaplain at Bristol Cathedral, with a remit of working with the city's diverse communities. Reverend Nott might not conform to the stereo...
May 05, 2023•56 min•Season 10Ep. 8
A large part of raising the early years of the next generation is entrusted to nurseries. But the sector is in a protracted crisis of funding and stability. Childcare costs in the UK are among the most expensive in the world, and direct government support for nurseries has not kept up with increasing needs. Especially in the context of an austerity ravaged nation. So how to do the best for our young ‘uns? Sam Williams is the recently appointed Headteacher of Redcliffe Nursery, set within a diver...
Apr 13, 2023•51 min•Season 10Ep. 7
Nicola Beech has got a big portfolio at City Hall - Strategic Planning, Resilience & Floods, plus representing St George Central. So how does she juggle the complexity with the pressures and controversies of political life? In this episode, Neil and Nicola dig into what it means to try to lead a city, and why it sometimes seems like developers are giving the council the run around. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 30, 2023•54 min•Season 10Ep. 6
While the Robins set their sights on promotion, James Edwards is working off the field to promote opportunities for the community in and around Bristol City FC, with the club’s community arm the Robins Foundation. But with the furore over Gary Lineker’s comments, what is the role of football in community and political life? Listen in with Neil and James as they discuss how the beautiful game can have an impact beyond the agony and ecstasy of Ashton Gate. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy fo...
Mar 16, 2023•45 min•Season 10Ep. 5
Has Bristol’s local politics caught up with how many outsiders see the city: Full of cycling vegetarian activists? The Green Party are now the biggest group on the city council, and Emma Edwards the councillor for Bishopston and Ashley Down is charged with leading them through a tumultuous period as the city gears up to ditch the mayor and move to a committee system. The Greens are no strangers to criticism from the left and right, and from Mayor Marvin Rees. How will a party proud of its record...
Mar 02, 2023•49 min•Season 10Ep. 4
Paul Simmons’ mugshot appeared on the front page of the Bristol Evening Post in 2004. Fast forward through many years in jail, crimes and devastating addiction Paul appeared on the front page in November 2022 for very different reasons. Having served 22 years in 20 prisons over various sentences since 17, the care leaver is now making a name for himself on social media. With daily videos on TikTok ( @pauladdictmentor ), podcast appearances and Youtube videos, Paul was working through his own tra...
Feb 09, 2023•51 min•Season 10Ep. 3
Depending on who you ask, Ketamine conjures up different images and associations. For Dr Ben Sessa, a leading authority and practitioner of psychedelic assisted therapy, it is a powerful aid to helping people suffering from trauma and addiction. Sessa is the co-founder of Awakn, a company leading the burgeoning movement to use powerful drugs for healing with a clinic in Bristol and internationally. Tune in with Neil to explore the science, philosophy and context of this exciting field with a rav...
Jan 26, 2023•52 min•Season 10Ep. 2
From Boris Johnson to Marvin Rees will Martin Booth the editor of Bristol 24/7 become one of a long line of journalists who enter political office? Booth is in the running as an independent in the by-election for Hotwells and Harbourside ward. As editor of a local publication, what are Martin’s motivations and inspirations? Can anyone be really independent, including Bristol 24/7’s owners and shareholders? The area is the site of a major battle over the future of Bristol - the transformation of ...
Jan 12, 2023•58 min•Season 10Ep. 1
Arriving to the UK in 1998 as a refugee from Somalia, Fuad Mahamed soon left behind a career as an engineer to work on his passion: Supporting people who, like himself, had newly arrived to the UK often fleeing war and oppression. Founded in 2008 in St Pauls, Ashley Community Housing (ACH) is a leading organisation on the integration and support of refugees and asylum seekers with offices in Bristol and the West Midlands. But with immigration often at the centre of a fraught political context, h...
Dec 08, 2022•50 min•Season 9Ep. 6
Just Stop Oil protestors have been disrupting business as usual since April 2022. A Daily Mail columnist called them “a deranged criminal eco-terrorist cult”. But who are the people behind the headlines? Neil sits down with Dr Patrick Hart, a local GP who has been putting his career and liberty on the line through direct action protests, including the smashing and spray painting of a petrol station. Dr Hart believes we have run out of time for purely legal ways of pulling the world back from wha...
Nov 24, 2022•49 min•Season 9Ep. 5
Kerry McCarthy, the Labour MP for Bristol East, is the city’s longest serving representative in Westminster. Sometimes described as a ‘Brownite’ having been an ally of the former PM the last time Labour were in power, Kerry is now Shadow Minister for Climate Change. But is the party going far enough to confront the climate crisis? Can the Starmer’s ‘sensible centre ground’ coexist with the Left on key issues of immigration and taxation? How does a vegan, punk music lover get along with Tories in...
Nov 10, 2022•56 min•Season 9Ep. 4
From striking fear into the hearts of opponents with fearsome fast bowls to a gruesome career ending injury forcing retirement at 29, David ‘Syd’ Lawrence is a cricketing icon in Bristol and beyond. But it wasn’t all plain sailing in a sport known for its elitism for a self-described ‘tear-away kid’ of Black Caribbean heritage. Listen in with Neil and Syd as they discuss the trials and tribulations of making it in the game, a move into nightclubs and now his first year as the first Black preside...
Sep 29, 2022•47 min•Season 9Ep. 3
Reach PLC is one of the largest commercial publishers in the UK, which owns household brands like the Mirror and the Daily Star as well as the majority of local titles including Bristol Live, and pulls in millions in revenue. But 1,000 journalists employed by Reach PLC started striking yesterday (Wednesday) after rejecting a 3% pay rise. As reported by the Cable earlier this week , junior staff at Bristol Live are paid under £20,000 while senior staff are on just £25,000. These low salaries are ...
Sep 01, 2022•45 min•Season 9Ep. 2
When does bad behaviour get so serious that a young person should be permanently excluded from the mainstream school system? No More Exclusions , a campaign Lana co-founded, says never. For Lana, doing so is the result of a failed and often racist system. As an educator with decades of experience in Bristol and the region, Lana has a powerful vision that refuses to give up on any child. But what about the other 29 pupils who just want to get on? Neil and Lana chat through the politics and practi...
Aug 25, 2022•58 min•Season 9Ep. 1
Women’s football was banned by the Football Association in 1921. Lasting for 50 years, the grandees of the football establishment deemed the sport “quite unsuitable for females”. Now, teams such as Aimee Palmer’s Bristol City are seeing an explosion in interest and fans. With England’s Lionesses eyeing up victory at the ongoing Euros, Neil and Aimee chat about her difficult journey as a professional player and what needs to happen to dismantle barriers for everyone who wants to play the beautifu...
Jul 14, 2022•37 min•Season 8Ep. 3
Suddenly everyone is talking about trade unions in the struggle over who will bear the brunt of the cost of living crisis. We speak to someone at the forefront of organising a local dispute between workers and employers, part of a wave of workplace unrest taking place across the country. Josh Connor is a local organiser for trade union Unison, and is supporting care workers to take strike action at St Monica’s Trust, the Merchant Venturer-connected care homes in Bristol, in a dispute of jobs, pa...
Jul 07, 2022•55 min•Season 8Ep. 2
Tom Morris says he has an “almost indecent passion” for Bristol Old Vic, the oldest theatre in continuous operation in the English speaking world. But how has the Kings Street institution evolved? Has it changed enough to justify huge amounts of public money and reach all communities with top quality art? Amid some fawning by Neil about Tom’s brother, Chris Morris, they chat about the simmering culture war over arts and the future of Bristol’s theatrical centrepiece. Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...
Jun 30, 2022•55 min•Season 8Ep. 1
Opposition councillors say they have been shut out of scrutinising and making decisions, but Paul Hassan says the mayoral system has provided a focal point of leadership for the city as a whole to come together and solve common problems. Hassan came to Bristol in 1987 and doesn't remember the committee years fondly - and neither does he think May's vote will help address the deeper issues that Bristol is currently facing. Listen to the fourth of our mini-series on Bristol's referendum. Hosted on...
May 04, 2022•47 min•Season 7Ep. 4
Nicola Bowden-Jones was at the heart of Bristol’s Labour Party for years, but is now at odds with the city’s Labour administration in a big way. Having resigned amid a dispute with the mayor, Bowden-Jones is now campaigning to scrap the role altogether on the basis that it is anti-democratic. Some say this is a personal vendetta against Marvin Rees, but Bowden-Jones says for the city to move forward the mayor must be scrapped. Listen to the third of our mini-series on Bristol’s referendum. Hoste...
May 03, 2022•45 min•Season 7Ep. 3
The city’s Labour administration says this referendum is an expensive distraction from the big issues the city faces. But have they brought it upon themselves? Opponents say the referendum is due to failure to engage with opposition councillors and a tendency to handpick who is involved in city governance, including too much influence of business. Ellie King, Labour’s cabinet member for Public Health and Communities says that the current mayoral model has delivered for the city in a way that the...
Apr 28, 2022•44 min•Season 7Ep. 2
The Lib Dem councillor who ‘prides himself on being a thorn in the mayor’s side’ led the vote on securing the referendum on whether to scrap the mayor. Representing Hotwells and Harbourside, Alex Hartley has compared the mayoral system to a post-Soviet oligarchy. Is this ridiculous exaggeration by a party set to gain the most from an insider’s political dispute, or a fair comment on a lack of true democracy in Bristol’s City Hall? Listen in with Neil who unpacks the issue with our first guest in...
Apr 27, 2022•38 min•Season 7Ep. 1
As the slap reverberates around the world we talk all things comedy with Jayde Adams - who went from working in Asda Bedminster to her own Amazon Prime Special. She just starred in a new BBC documentary following her move back to Bristol. Going deep about how the death of her sister made her so driven, are there red lines in comedy, and what it is like coming home. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 13, 2022•55 min•Season 6Ep. 7
The Railway Maritime and Transport trade union are no strangers to controversy, from winning massive pay rises for their members through sustained strike action, to an unapologetically socialist stance and recent accusations of being ‘Putin apologists’. But what role does an “industrially and politically militant union” play today? Neil speaks with RMT regional organiser and Bristolian Brendan Kelly on recent strife on the railways, ferry ports and a take on the war in Ukraine that has stirred u...
Mar 24, 2022•51 min•Season 6Ep. 6
The city's longstanding and self-proclaimed satirical scandal sheet has a reputation for not holding back on attacking local politicians, along with the great and the good for alleged wrongdoing. But what is the story behind the anonymously produced publication? Once nominated for a Paul Foot award, is their approach of journalism mixed with what many see as relentless trolling relevant in a changing media environment? Neil Maggs and a long-standing contributor to The Bristolian hash it out. Hos...
Mar 03, 2022•41 min•Season 6Ep. 5
Nura Aabe as a mother and campaigner in the city's special needs crisis, and being Black and a Conservative. A mother of a son with autism, Nura Aabe has been a central figure in the struggle to secure better special educational needs support in the city - in schools, the council and the Somali community. As a former local candidate for the Conservatives, Neil and Nura also discuss politics and why she has chosen a party historically not representative of migrant communities. Hosted on Acast. Se...
Feb 10, 2022•56 min•Season 6Ep. 4
Dan Norris is Labour's elected Metro-Mayor for WECA, aka the West of England region. Norris is the second in the role, following the Conservative's Tim Bowles and brings experience as a minister in Blair's government. So what are his politics and policies now? And, with some simmering beef with other local leaders, how does he plan to manage the various challenges and conflicts with the aim of getting a better deal for the region? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 03, 2022•58 min•Season 6Ep. 3
The Gasheads have a new CEO. Tom Gorringe joined the club as commercial director in 2017 and says he is determined to drive the club forward and bring everyone along with him as CEO. But the club has some challenges on its hands, on and off the pitch. Including questions over a new stadium, Wael al-Qadi’s ownership and how the Rovers can embrace the modern game while keeping true to traditions. Listen in to Tom’s chat with Neil Maggs about the future for the club and its loyal community of fans....
Jan 29, 2022•1 hr 2 min•Season 6Ep. 2
