Women have turned away from the Conservative Party over the past few decades, who since 2010 have been more likely to vote for Labour. The Conservatives’ failure to support women – who are bearing the brunt of the cost-of-living crisis – has not helped things. Anoosh Chakelian, Zoë Grünewald and Rachel Wearmouth discuss why the Tories have failed to win over female voters, the rise of newly politicised mums, and how gender equality has been weaponised to fuel the culture ...
Mar 09, 2023•22 min
Childcare in the UK is among the most expensive among the countries of the OECD. The lack of affordable and accessible childcare is costing the nation £27bn a year – equivalent to 1 per cent of GDP – according to report by Centre for Progressive Policy. In this bonus episode of the New Statesman podcast, brought to you by the Spotlight team, Alona Ferber, editor of the Spotlight policy section and supplement, speaks to Stella Creasy. The Labour MP for Walthamsto...
Mar 08, 2023•34 min
A new report from economics think tank the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP) reveals the UK is losing 1 per cent of GDP through a lack of suitable childcare. Rachel Cunliffe, Alona Ferber and Zoë Grünewald discuss the cost of Britain’s broken childcare system as the pressure increases for action. We hear from Labour MP Stella Creasy, who with shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson wants to make childcare a dividing line in the next election. The team discuss what Labour’s ch...
Mar 06, 2023•32 min
Rishi Sunak has agreed a deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol. He has hailed this as a “new chapter” in relations, but will he reap the rewards ? Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Rachel Wearmouth discuss the “Windsor framework”, as the deal is known, and what the DUP and hardline Tory Brexiteers will do now . They also debate whether Labour will be forced to drop its “Make Brexit Work” slogan. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks what is behind Keir Sta...
Mar 02, 2023•20 min
Anoosh Chakelian and Zoë Grünewald are joined by two parliamentary researchers to delve into the working conditions, power imbalances and abuses that take place within Westminster. Jenny Symmons and Holly Brazier Tope are senior researchers for Labour MPs and representatives of parliamentary staff for the GMB union. They open up about the problems at their workplace, ranging from diseased drinking water, fires and asbestos to bullying, outrageous assignments and sexual misconduc...
Feb 27, 2023•34 min
For a hot moment Kate Forbes was favourite to replace Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister. But revealing her socially conservative views in a series of interviews, including being against equal marriage, gender self-identification and sex outside of marriage, has dismayed her supporters and jeopardised her campaign. Anoosh Chakelian and Ben Walker discuss the SNP’s socially liberal base and the parallels between Forbes and Tim Farron, who resigned as Li...
Feb 23, 2023•34 min
Widespread use of autonomous cars is on the horizon. Self-driving vehicles are already out on our roads. And autonomy will change our relationship with our vehicles. But what will the new immersive world inside a vehicle be like? In the third episode of a three-part special series partnered with Wejo, the smart mobility tech company, a panel of expert guests discuss how legislation and policy are enabling self-driving vehicles – and how AVs will change our lives. Will our children do thei...
Feb 22, 2023•22 min
With the criminal justice system under immense strain, from huge case backlogs to crumbling court buildings and staff shortages, Labour has seized the opportunity to attack the Tories’ record on crime. In a speech on Thursday 16 February the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, declared that “only Labour is the party of law and order”. Rachel Cunliffe, Freddie Hayward and Rachel Wearmouth discuss Keir Starmer’s strategy , evoking Tony Blair, and whether this could be the deciding i...
Feb 20, 2023•17 min
After surprising the country by announcing her resignation as First Minister and SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon leaves a vacuum in UK politics. The New Statesman ’s Scotland editor, Chris Deerin , joins the podcast to discuss what's behind her decision and what it means for the Union, independence and the prospects of Scottish opposition parties. Then in You Ask Us, we try to work out who could replace her. Subscribers can get an ad free version of the NS Podcast on the N...
Feb 16, 2023•32 min
Ahead of the publication of his new book, Life in the Balance: A Doctor’s Stories of Intensive Care , Dr Jim Down speaks to Anoosh Chakelian about the struggles the NHS is facing, why privitisation isn’t the answer, and the toll the job is taking on the mental health of many doctors. Jim’s book is published on 23 February. Subscribe to the Morning Call newsletter Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 13, 2023•22 min
Rishi Sunak is struggling to restore order over a divided and unruly Conservative party. His latest attempt, this week, takes the form of a cabinet reshuffle and a restructuring of Whitehall that created four new government departments. Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth and Freddie Hayward break down the main changes and talk about what this disruptive and expensive move tells us about Sunak’s grip on his party. They also discuss the appointment of the controversial “red wall rott...
Feb 09, 2023•18 min
Last week the government faced multiple defeats in the House of Lords on its wide-ranging Public Order Bill, which have peers warned would have a chilling effect on the right to protest. As the government continues to try to push its legislation through, Jodie Beck, head of policy and campaigns at the human rights organisation Liberty, talks to Rachel Cunliffe about why this bill is so controversial, how it will criminalise perfectly normal acts, and whether anything can be done to stop the assa...
Feb 06, 2023•27 min
Rishi Sunak is marking 100 days in office just after Britain was hit by the biggest day of industrial action in a decade and the IMF predicted that the UK will be the only major economy to shrink in 2023. With the Tory party engulfed in sleaze and sackings, Sunak is feeling the pressure. Andrew Marr joins Anoosh Chakelian and Freddie Hayward to discuss whether the Prime Minister is simply too inexperienced to weather this perfect storm, the clamour for tax cuts amo...
Feb 02, 2023•21 min
After a series of by-election victories, could the Lib Dem election machine be powering the party back to its late 90s levels of popularity? Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Ben Walker look at the party’s recent performance, how it is preparing to fight an upcoming election and why Brexit has changed the kinds of seats it is fighting for. Listen to our special on the Green Party . If you have a question for the podcast team go to Newstatesman.com/youaskus Subscribe to Mo...
Jan 30, 2023•20 min
Rishi Sunak promised to draw a line under the scandalous Boris Johnson era when he became Prime Minister, but Tory sleaze seems here to stay. He is facing serious questions over the integrity of his party after a succession of allegations against senior figures. Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Will Dunn, the New Statesman’s business editor, try to figure out what's going – from Boris Johnson’s loan allegedly facilitated by the BBC chairman Richard Sharp and his million-pound donatio...
Jan 26, 2023•30 min
With the crisis in the health service growing, the New Statesman ’s medical editor Phil Whitaker speaks to Rachel Cunliffe about his prescription for fixing it. They discuss how the system is currently broken, why the Health Secretary Steve Barclay and the shadow health secretary Wes Streeting could benefit from spending time on the front line with GPs, and how to get back to a system in which the private insurance sector panics about not being needed. Subscribe to Morn...
Jan 24, 2023•27 min
A special podcast from Spotlight, the New Statesman’s policy supplement - The New Statesman podcast will return tomorrow. In 2020, the UK announced the end of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. At the time, Boris Johnson’s government pledged £1.8bn to support greater uptake of zero emission vehicles, including £1.3bn to rollout more chargepoints for electric vehicles nationwide. Since then, the country has seen the biggest year-on-year growth in electric car registration for years...
Jan 23, 2023•22 min
Rishi Sunak’s government has decided to block legislation to simplify gender recognition passed by the Scottish Parliament using a mechanism that’s being described as the “nuclear option”. The decision has precipitated a constitutional crisis, with Nicola Sturgeon calling the decision a “full-frontal attack” on devolution. Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Rachel Wearmouth discuss how a debate over policy has turned into one over Scotland’s power to govern itself. The team also covers claims...
Jan 19, 2023•21 min
Will Dunn, the New Statesman ’s business editor, is joined by the journalist and former political adviser Duncan Weldon to discuss how Britain is facing a decline like never before. They talk about the country’s long history of economic woe and what we can learn from it, why we are feeling the current crisis more acutely than our neighbours, and if this calls for big ideas or – as Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng attempted in their disastrous mini-Budget – suffers from them. If you’ve go...
Jan 16, 2023•23 min
After the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition met across the despatch box for the first time in 2023, Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the New Statesman 's Political Editor Andrew Marr and Freddie Hayward to analyse whether Rishi Sunak can start turning his polling figures around. They discuss Sunak’s answers about his use of private healthcare and Labour’s potentially costly plans for the NHS. Then in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question on how Labour is responding to th...
Jan 12, 2023•18 min
In a devolution special for the New Statesman Podcast, we take a look at how the NHS crisis - and other political problems - are playing out in Scotland and Wales. Our Scotland editor, Chris Deerin, returns to the podcast to speak to Anoosh Chakelian about his own experience in a Scottish hospital, and how problems with the service are affecting the SNP. Then Anoosh is joined by the co-host of the Hireath Welsh politics podcast Matthew Hexter to analyse the impact on Wales, and how its La...
Jan 09, 2023•39 min
Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer welcomed in 2023 with speeches setting out their priorities for the year and beyond. Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Rachel Cunliffe discuss Sunak’s five pledges and why he appears more Blue Peter presenter than prime minister. They also analyse Starmer’s embrace of a Brexit slogan with his promise to help voters “take back control” of their communities, why he is pitching to a new squeezed middle, and his reluctance to talk about big spending. Then in Yo...
Jan 05, 2023•30 min
Half of Britain (51 per cent) wants the voting system to change, according to the British Social Attitudes survey, while only 44 per cent want to retain the current system. Most Labour supporters are in favour and this year the Labour Party conference voted for a manifesto commitment to proportional representation for general elections. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by special guest Jess Garland, director of policy and research at the Electoral Reform Society, to talk all things voter reform...
Jan 02, 2023•16 min
In a special episode of the New Statesman Podcast , Harry Lambert joins Anoosh Chakelian to look back at the year in politics. They cast their minds back to the three prime ministers, two monarchs, one controversial beer and korma, and the collapse of more “walls” than you can shake a comedy Lib Dem prop at. You can submit a question for You Ask Us at newstatesman.com/youaskus , and sign up for the Morning Call politics newsletter at newstatesman.com/politics/...
Dec 29, 2022•55 min
In the very near future, your car will use data from your mobile device to help you navigate and stay safe. But vehicles already generate useful data. In the first episode of a three-part special partnered series with Wejo , the smart mobility tech company, a panel of expert guests discuss how connected vehicle data is already changing the world. Real-time data, information generated by vehicles driving around towns and cities as we speak, is already being used to help ease traffic congestion, h...
Dec 28, 2022•20 min
A special Boxing Day episode hosted by Rachel Cunliffe, looking back at the best (and worst) of the year in culture. She is joined by Tom Gatti, the New Statesman ’s executive editor for culture, Kate Mossman, senior writer, and Rachel Cooke, our regular TV critic, to talk about their picks across TV, music, books, and film. In music, they discuss the high-art cabaret of Christine and the Queens’ Redcar and Kate’s nerve-wracking interview with Nick Cave about his...
Dec 26, 2022•46 min
It’s been an unprecedented week of strike action involving both nurses and ambulance workers – and the government still refuses to negotiate with NHS unions over pay. Anoosh Chakelian and Zoë Grünewald, the New Statesman ’s political reporter, are joined by Dr Emma Runswick, a mental health doctor and deputy chair of council for the British Medical Association (BMA), a doctors’ trade union. They discuss the poor pay and conditions that have led to strike action and why junior doctors might...
Dec 22, 2022•36 min
In a special festive edition of the New Statesman Podcast , NS columnist Jonn Elledge speaks to Rachel Cunliffe about the highs and lows of the year, how Love Actually messed up our politicians, and why residents of a town in Sweden spend every Christmas trying to burn a wooden goat. If you have a question for You Ask Us, go to newstatesman.com/youaskus You can find Jonn Elledge’s books Conspiracy and The Compendium ...
Dec 19, 2022•30 min
Nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland went on strike today for the first time in their history. With the UK facing “winter lockdown” following the latest wave of strikes and with inflation still high, Rishi Sunak’s government is under pressure. Labour leader Keir Starmer has described the nurses' strike as a “badge of shame for this government” , while the Prime Minister has unveiled his plan to crack down on migrants claiming asylum in Britain. Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel...
Dec 15, 2022•36 min
After figures showed record net migration to the UK in 2022, is immigration still a toxic political issue? Freddie Hayward talks to Sunder Katwala, director of the think tank British Future, about how public attitudes to immigration have changed, the impact of Brexit, and why the Conservatives may not get much electoral benefit from discussing the topic. If you’ve got a question for You Ask Us, go to newstatesman.com/youaskus Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informati...
Dec 12, 2022•22 min
