With the cost of debt rising and the pound still falling, just how much damage has the Conservatives’ mini-Budget done to the economy? To unpick what’s going on, Anoosh Chakelian is joined by David Gauke, who was work and pensions secretary and chief secretary to the Treasury under Theresa May, and by the economist and author Duncan Weldon, along with the New Statesman ’s business editor, Will Dunn. They discuss why the markets reacted so badly to the Chancellor’s statement on 23 September, what...
Sep 29, 2022•31 min
Anoosh Chakelian and Freddie Hayward are joined by Ed Miliband, the shadow climate change and net zero secretary and former Labour leader, to discuss Keir Starmer’s speech from the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. They discuss the pledge to create a publicly owned “Great British energy” company to cut bills and the conference slogan “A fairer, greener future”; how the economic turmoil will affect their ability to deliver these promises; and whether Miliband would advise a note of caution to...
Sep 27, 2022•20 min
Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Rachel Wearmouth report from the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. They discuss the remarkably upbeat mood among the party faithful, the headline policy announcements so far, and the alternative vision for the economy set out by the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, as the pound continues to plummet after Liz Truss’s tax-cutting frenzy. Then in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question on the prospects of the party abandoning the first-past-the-post ...
Sep 26, 2022•18 min
Kwasi Kwarteng, the Chancellor, presented a mini-Budget today (23 September) whose centrepiece was the biggest tax cuts in decades in an attempt to stimulate the economy. Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth, Rachel Cunliffe and Emma Haslett take us through the announcements that shocked the House of Commons. They discuss how these ideological policies will disproportionately benefit the rich ; the UK’s precarious financial position as borrowing costs jump; and whether this is a departure fr...
Sep 23, 2022•30 min
The UK has a housing crisis: in the past decade, decent and stable living arrangements have become an impossible dream for many. The New Statesman ’s senior associate editor Rachel Cunliffe speaks to Hashi Mohamed, author of A Home of One’s Own , which draws on his own history of housing insecurity and his professional career as a planning barrister, about how we came to this point and what can be done. They discuss the segregating and alienating effects of housing insecurity, why su...
Sep 20, 2022•30 min
The newly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer, Kwasi Kwarteng, is facing criticism after he sacked Tom Scholar , permanent secretary at the Treasury since 2016, and following reports that he plans to scrap caps on banker bonuses. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Harry Lambert, Freddie Hayward and Rachel Wearmouth to discuss what’s really behind the sacking of the Treasury's most senior civil servant, and Prime Minister Liz Truss’s plans to encourage economic growth ...
Sep 16, 2022•33 min
The ceremonies following the death of the Queen continue this week. Freddie Hayward speaks to Anoosh Chakelian about what the mood has been like at the public events, and whether some of the policing has been heavy handed. Then in You Ask Us they answer a listener’s question about whether the events have affected parliament’s ability to scrutinise the new government. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email [email protected] Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesma...
Sep 12, 2022•15 min
A special podcast from the New Statesman to reflect on the death of Elizabeth II and the accession of Charles III. Andrew Marr, political editor, Megan Gibson, international editor, and Rachel Cunliffe, senior associate editor, join Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor, to discuss the impact that the Queen had on the country, the reaction to her death from around the world and what it means for the UK now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Sep 09, 2022•31 min
The Prime Minister, Liz Truss, has announced her plans to help with the energy crisis. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the New Statesman ’s political editor, Andrew Marr, and deputy political editor, Rachel Wearmouth, to discuss Truss’s first few days in office and how her energy price cap is likely to go down with the public. Then, in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question on whether Boris Johnson is planning a political comeback. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more infor...
Sep 08, 2022•21 min
As predicted, Liz Truss has beaten Rishi Sunak in the race to become the next prime minister of the UK. She won the Tory leadership contest by a comfortable majority, securing 81,326 votes (57 per cent) to Sunak’s 60,399 (43 per cent). Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth, Freddie Hayward and Ben Walker discuss her promises to “deliver” in a muted victory speech, why polls predicted a landslide victory that didn't quite emerge, and the series of daunting challenges that lie ahead for her – ...
Sep 05, 2022•20 min
With just days until we find out who Britain’s next prime minister will be, we take a look back at the outgoing Conservative leader: what shaped Boris Johnson? How did he rise to power? What do his three years in office mean for his successor and how the media will cover them? Rachel Cunliffe speaks to Adam Fleming about his BBC podcast series Boris , which examines the life of Johnson from his birth, in 1964 in New York, until the moment he was forced to resign as Tory leader in the wake of the...
Sep 01, 2022•29 min
As the cost-of-living crisis and rapidly rising energy prices look set to push the UK into recession, how bad is the situation and what could be done about it? The economist and journalist Duncan Weldon speaks to Will Dunn, the New Statesman’s business editor, about just how serious the crisis is, how it compares to the 1970s and why Liz Truss will find that tax cuts just won’t cut it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Aug 30, 2022•30 min
The Conservative leadership contest limps towards its conclusion with Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak attending the final hustings this week. And as the country heads towards a difficult winter, raw sewage is being pumped into Britain’s waterways and the economy goes from bad to worse. Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Rachel Cunliffe discuss the leadership hopefuls’ latest campaign pledges and the distinct lack of enthusiasm for them among Tory members and MPs. They also talk a...
Aug 26, 2022•32 min
As the US president Joe Biden starts to turn around his poor polling figures ahead of the midterm elections later this year, are there lessons that the Labour leader Keir Starmer can learn from his Democrat counterpart? The veteran campaigner Matthew McGregor, who worked for Ed Miliband and supported digital campaigns for the Democrats in the US, talks to Rachel Wearmouth about what Labour could learn from American politics, and why the party also needs to look at countries like Australia and Ge...
Aug 23, 2022•23 min
UK inflation has risen above 10 per cent for the first time in 40 years , driving the fastest fall in real pay on record. The defining challenge for the next prime minister will be preventing millions from facing destitution this winter. Rachel Wearmouth and Freddie Hayward are joined by Emma Haslett, the New Statesman ’s associate business editor, to discuss the economic downturn and Britain’s “zombie” government. They also talk about recent polling indicatin...
Aug 19, 2022•21 min
The Labour leader Keir Starmer has announced that the party wants to tackle the energy bills crisis by freezing the energy price cap, to be chiefly funded by a windfall tax. Has Labour finally shown its economic competence? Rachel Wearmouth is joined by Freddie Hayward and Ben Walker to discuss the plans, whether they’ve come at the right time, and what the Conservative response will likely to be. Then, in You Ask Us, they answer a listener's question on whether Labour should now be repur...
Aug 16, 2022•19 min
Against the backdrop of a predicted massive increase in energy bills and the coming recession, the Tory leadership contest grinds grimly on. There is a palpable feeling that the country is adrift, with Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss focused on personal attacks and appealing to the Tory party membership. Rachel Cunliffe, Freddie Hayward and Ben Walker discuss the damage the campaigns are doing to the Conservative brand as the “blue-on-blue” bickering dominates the contest. They also talk about ...
Aug 12, 2022•27 min
After more factional strife within Labour, the academic and former Downing Street staffer Patrick Diamond speaks to Anoosh Chakelian about his new book: Labour's Civil War: How infighting has kept the left from power (and what can be done about it) . They discuss the party’s history of fighting itself, what lessons can be learned from its time in government, and what Keir Starmer needs to do to end the conflict. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email: podcasts@newstatesm...
Aug 09, 2022•21 min
This podcast is sponsored by Rio AI As the world faces a climate emergency, what power do ordinary people have to try and shape the way big companies behave. One of the biggest areas of investment is our pension funds – but do we have the information or ability to shape how companies invest our money? Philippa Nuttall discusses how to make our pension funds work for the environment with David Hayman from Make My Money Matter and Ros Altman, former pensions minister. Rio ESG is an intellig...
Aug 06, 2022•15 min
The Bank of England has raised interest rates by 0.5 per cent to 1.75 per cent, the highest increase in 27 years, and predicts that the UK will enter a deep recession within months. As the cost-of-living crisis worsens and with strikes planned throughout the summer, Labour remains split over frontbenchers joining picketing workers. Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth, Freddie Hayward and Rachel Cunliffe discuss Labour leader Keir Starmer’s softening stance on picketing –&n...
Aug 04, 2022•31 min
With the Conservative leadership hopefuls offering competing promises of tax cuts, the New Statesman podcast looks at whether either has anything to say about Britain’s cost-of-living crisis. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Rachel Wearmouth, deputy political editor, and Emma Haslett from the New Statesman’s business desk to pick through the promises, and ask whether Rishi Sunak’s campaign is looking more and more desperate. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks if the shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves...
Aug 01, 2022•26 min
Two years after it was commissioned, the Forde report into infighting in the Labour Party during the years of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership has finally been published. Such tensions have never fully gone away. Keir Starmer sacked Sam Tarry , a shadow transport minister, on July 27 after he joined a rail picket line against the leadership’s instructions. Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth and Freddie Hayward discuss what led to the Forde inquiry, its key findings and why this is unlikely to sp...
Jul 28, 2022•24 min
After Boris Johnson talked of a "deep state" undermining his ability to govern, have we entered an era of conspiracy theories? Jonn Elledge, one of the authors of a new book, Conspiracy: A History of Boll*cks Theories and How Not To Fall For Them , talks to Rachel Cunliffe about how conspiracy theories are nothing new. They discuss QAnon, whether a few hundred years of European history were just made up – and why Britney Spears shows that sometimes obscure internet ...
Jul 26, 2022•30 min
With Penny Mordaunt having been eliminated from the contest on Wednesday 20 July, either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss will become Britain’s next prime minister. Anoosh Chakelian and Rachel Cunliffe speak to the New Statesman ’s political editor, Andrew Marr, about how the Johnson “loyalist” and the “traitor” emerged victorious , whether Boris Johnson will indeed be back as he hinted in his final PMQs, and the climate emergency that overshadows this ra...
Jul 22, 2022•24 min
This evening one of the remaining five candidates to be the next prime minister will be eliminated in a vote of MPs. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Rachel Cunliffe, Ben Walker and Rachel Wearmouth, our new deputy political editor, to discuss who came out of the two debates over the weekend best and why Labour has enjoyed watching the candidates tear strips out of each other on live TV. Then, in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question on what Boris Johnson might do next. If you have a questi...
Jul 18, 2022•31 min
Rory Stewart, the former international development secretary and Conservative leadership candidate, speaks to Rachel Cunliffe about the lessons he learned from running for leader in 2019. They talk about whether this year’s candidates show growing diversity in the party, why our political culture has got so bad at argument and debate, and what he got wrong when he was in government. Stewart’s new series , The Long History of Argument , starts on BBC Radio 4 on 19 July at 9am. Podcast...
Jul 15, 2022•35 min
Nadhim Zahawi, Jeremy Hunt and Suella Braverman have been eliminated from the Conservative leadership election, with Penny Mordaunt climbing to second place behind Rishi Sunak. Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Harry Lambert discuss the remaining candidates in this unpredictable race, the latest polling on front-runners Penny Mordaunt and Rishi Sunak, and whether being a “fresh face” will ultimately decide the contest. Then in You Ask Us, NS Environment Corresponden...
Jul 14, 2022•27 min
At the time of recording, 11 Conservative MPs had launched official bids to r eplace Boris Johnson as prime minister. Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Ben Walker discuss the candidates' prospects, promises and pitfalls – as well as how the leadership election could reshape the Conservative Party. Then in You Ask Us, a listener asks which Tory candidate would pose the biggest threat to the Labour Party. If you have a question for You Ask Us, email podcasts@...
Jul 11, 2022•27 min
After a dramatic twenty-four hours in which over fifty ministers and advisors resigned from government, Boris Johnson has finally admitted defeat and announced he will step down as prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party. In his speech to the public at lunchtime today, he set out his desire to remain in post as a caretaker PM until the party elect his replacement. Indeed he continues to appoint new ministers to cabinet to fill the vacuum left by those who quit. In this episode ...
Jul 07, 2022•29 min
After a torrid 24 hours in Westminster for Boris Johnson, in which Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid both resigned, Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Harry Lambert, Ben Walker and Rachel Cunliffe to discuss whether this, finally, is a mess that the Prime Minister can't get out of. Is this the straw that broke the camel’s back? And what is going to happen next? Podcast listeners can subscribe to the New Statesman for just £1 a week for 12 weeks using our special offer. Just visit newstate...
Jul 06, 2022•23 min
