With both the UK and US elections coming into view, the team consider what's happening with Labour's foreign policy agenda and how the relationship between a Labour government and a Trump government could play out. And another question from a listener casts a look back to the appointment of Jeremy Hunt as Chancellor. Had Sunak not been required to keep Hunt in place in the aftermath of Truss, who might he have chosen to be Chancellor? Would Sunak's preferred brand of economics differ from what H...
Sep 22, 2023•18 min
This Wednesday Rishi Sunak gave a speech rolling back on the government’s Net Zero pledges, pushing back the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 to 2035, scrapping plans to force landlords to upgrade the energy efficiency of their homes, watering down the gas boiler phaseout (aiming for 80% rather than 100% by 2035), and ruling out plans for a seemingly unbeknownst meat tax. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Andrew Marr and Freddie Hayward to discuss where these plans have come f...
Sep 21, 2023•15 min
Liz Truss thought she had two years to save the economy, but her mini-budget caused it all to blow up in less than two months. We're now a year on from her chaotic 49 day premiership, but there are groups of economists and politicians who think her free-market growth strategy was right and it's only a matter of time before it makes a comeback. Read The Trussites are plotting their comeback: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/conservatives/2023/09/the-trussites-are-plotting-their-comeback Down...
Sep 18, 2023•29 min
Fifty years after Salvador Allende was ousted, might his greatest legacy be his battle with the emerging tech giants? On 1 August 1973, a seemingly mundane diplomatic summit took place in Lima, Peru. But there was nothing mundane about its revolutionary agenda. The attendees – diplomats from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru – aspired to create a more just technological world order, one that might have prevented the future dominance of Silicon Valley. As the Chilean foreign ministe...
Sep 16, 2023•22 min
Since being recently surpassed by India, Britain has the world's sixth largest economy. But, one listener asks, how do we square this position with the reality of our crumbling services? And on the subject of government funding, another listener asks: will Birmingham City Council's financial crisis will make Labour more weary of devolving power to local authorities? Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth, and Freddie Hayward, answer listener questions. Read more from Anoosh on Thurrock Council's ban...
Sep 15, 2023•17 min
The deputy labour leader and “trade union favourite” delivered a speech full of promises at the TUC. Now she has to deliver. Reaffirming Labour’s commitment to the New Deal for Working people, Rayner shored up support among the unions as Labour approaches the next election. But, as Rachel Wearmouth tells Anoosh Chakelian and Freddie Hayward, Rayner’s “one of us” status could spell problems for a future Labour government if they fall short. Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.news...
Sep 14, 2023•15 min
The UK is one of the largest producers of household electronic waste in the world. In 2022 we threw away nearly 24 kilos of things like plugs, mobile phones and computer hardware per person. The volume of e-waste produced world-wide is predicted to increase from more than 61 million metric tons this year to nearly 75 million in 2030 – and the vast majority of this will go into landfill. In this special episode, Becky Slack from the New Statesman's Spotlight ...
Sep 13, 2023•24 min
Rishi Sunak earned almost £5m in the past three years, yet this was only taxed at a rate of 22%. Britain's tax system is broken, focusing on income rather than wealth, and it seems like no one plans on doing anything about this. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has explicitly stated that should Labour come into power, a wealth tax will not be introduced. In this episode, staff writer Harry Lambert sets out how Labour could raise £28billion by adopting a wealth tax, and how this could help narrow ...
Sep 11, 2023•19 min
After the extreme heat of summer 2024, which saw children stretchered out of their exams, Britain’s prime minister calls a press conference in Westminster Hall. He has one eye on life after office (skiing in Aspen, a big gig in Silicon Valley), but before he leaves, he wants to unveil something truly ground-breaking: a large language model that has been trained by the best minds to solve the climate crisis. In this satirical work of speculative fiction, the New Statesman ’s business ...
Sep 09, 2023•23 min
We inhabit an economy too small to deliver the social goods British people expect, and now Britain is cracking. From the concrete crises affecting schools across the country, to crumbling policies and leadership on both the right and left, Andrew Marr reflects on the state of the nation and its place in the world. Andrew Marr, political editor of the New Statesman, is joined by Freddie Hayward and Rachel Cunliffe. Crumbling Britain: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/crumbling-britain Submit ...
Sep 08, 2023•15 min
Angela Rayner up, Lisa Nandy down - what’s motivated the moves in Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet reshuffle this week and what does this tell us about the direction of the Labour party if they get into power? Freddie Hayward, Zoë Grünewald, and Rachel Cunliffe, answer listener questions. Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUs Download the app: iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?i...
Sep 07, 2023•22 min
Can liberalism survive the horrors of our modern world? Will Lloyd is joined by John Gray political philosopher and author of The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism. They discuss how Thomas Hobbes seminal work Leviathan can be reinterpreted in the 21st century, particularly in the contexts of Russia, China, and the liberal West. Read more of John Gray's work here: https://www.newstatesman.com/author/john-gray Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUs Download...
Sep 04, 2023•29 min
In the summer of 1924, a highly regarded painter falls – or is he pushed? – into the canal while celebrating his exhibition at the Venice Biennale. Two young women are heard running away into the night. In this dazzling new coming-of-age story first published in the New Statesman’s summer issue , the award-winning novelist Jonathan Coe explores the relationship between artist and muse, female friendship and male cruelty. Written by Jonathan Coe and read by Tom Gatti. If you enjoyed th...
Sep 02, 2023•20 min
Rory Stewart, Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell: a listener writes in to ask why centrist politicians align themselves with one party over another? But before the team dissects the evolution of centrist politicians, they turn an imminent matter. Has the recent turmoil and churn, with multiple prime ministers in quick succession, given the UK an appetite for frequent change? And could this truncate a Labour governments time in office? Rachel Cunliffe, Freddie Hayward, and Zoë Grünewald answer listene...
Sep 01, 2023•19 min
“History will not remember you kindly” Nadine Dorries’ wrote this weekend in her resignation letter to Rishi Sunak. But this is not the only departure which has been looming over the Conservatives for the past few weeks. This morning former defence secretary Ben Wallace handed in his resignation and was swiftly replaced by Grant Shapps, who stepped into his fifth job this year. Rachel Cunliffe, Freddie Hayward, and Zoë Grünewald discuss the implications of the reshuffle for both Labour and the T...
Aug 31, 2023•22 min
For those who leave the ultra-conservative Christian sect, separation comes at great personal cost. The New Statesman’s assistant editor Pippa Bailey had always been curious about the Plymouth Brethren, ever since discovering that her maternal grandparents had left the group in the 1960s. What might her life have been like if they stayed? Who were the cousins separated by a doctrine of isolation from non-Brethren ‘worldlies’? In this week’s deeply reported and moving magazine cover...
Aug 26, 2023•43 min
The Conservatives seem intent on fighting the next election on "culture wars" issues. A listener asks, would a Labour government put an end to all that? Also, how does the government control its media messaging? Is there a shadowy office pulling the strings and controlling what journalists report? We look at the concept of "the grid". Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Cunliffe and Freddie Hayward answer listener questions. Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUs Download t...
Aug 25, 2023•21 min
GCSE and A Level results are out, and the proportion of top grades have dipped since the pandemic years. It's an opportunity for the government and the opposition to talk about their ambitions for education. Are they both failing to do so? Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Cunliffe and Freddie Hayward discuss the Tory education record, from Michael Gove’s reforming agenda to unprecedented churn at the top of the Department for Education. And, they ask, what would Labour do differently? Submit a question ...
Aug 24, 2023•21 min
After spending several days reporting in Pokrovsk, a small city in eastern Ukraine and the recent target of two missile strikes, Katie Stallard describes the devastating impact of Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine’s civilians. “The first strike hit just as people were making dinner, coming home from a long day at work. The first strike hit and the emergency services responded. Then, 37 minutes later, the second strike hit. So it seemed to have been deliberately timed to hit the rescue workers.” Ou...
Aug 21, 2023•29 min
What if the rush to war in 1914 had been averted? What if the Berlin Crisis of 1961 had led to nuclear war? What if the liberal revolution of 1848 had been successful? A new exhibition in Berlin considers a series of momentous what-ifs, an intriguing addition to the canon of counterfactual history. In this week’s long read, the New Statesman ’s contributing writer Jeremy Cliffe assesses the value of such rival realities, as explored in fiction and, increasingly, on social media platforms a...
Aug 19, 2023•23 min
Various MPs, including Nadine Dorries, have been accused of not doing their jobs. Should there be a standard of work all MPs must meet? Anoosh and Freddie tackle a listener’s question. Also – much has been said about the similarities and differences between Tony Blair and Keir Starmer, but what about John Major and Rishi Sunak? Submit a question: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUs Download the app: iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525 Android: https://play.goo...
Aug 18, 2023•22 min
Would Labour be radical in office? Freddie Hayward spoke to party insiders to find out – he joins Anoosh Chakelian to talk about how Labour can make meaningful policy changes in an age of cynicism and poor public finances. Read the full article here: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2023/08/labours-caution-could-turn-to-radicalism-in-office Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUs Download the app: iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-m...
Aug 17, 2023•16 min
Two visions for how Britain can increase productivity and boost growth. Freddie Hayward interviews shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson and Conservative MP Bim Afolami on how Labour and the Conservatives propose to boost growth and prepare Britain for the future. This conversation was recorded live at the New Statesman’s Politics Live conference on June 27 2023. Book your tickets for next year's event: https://nsmg.live/event/ns-politics-live/ Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://w...
Aug 14, 2023•28 min
The novelist Ali Smith first came across the work of Simone de Beauvoir in an Inverness bookshop, aged 18 or 19, and was instantly compelled by her “tough, troubling” prose. In this week’s long read, Smith reflects on De Beauvoir’s 1964 memoir A Very Easy Death, a slight, visceral book about her estranged mother’s death. What happens when an existentialist, bound ethically to a thinking life, confronts the end of life and thought? Why does a writer who prides herself on uncompromising truth tell...
Aug 12, 2023•22 min
Labour’s dominance in the polls draws obvious comparisons with 1997-era New Labour. But is it fair to compare Keir Starmer with Tony Blair – and what should the current Labour leader learn from his predecessor? Anoosh and Freddie tackle a listener’s question. Also – how do we incentivise voter turn out? One listener has a novel idea. Could it work? Submit a question: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUs Download the app: iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525 Andr...
Aug 11, 2023•15 min
The first residents have boarded the Bibby Stockholm barge moored off the coast of Dorset. Anoosh Chakelian visited Portland to meet locals and asylum seekers, and joins Freddie Hayward in the studio to reveal what she discovered. They also discuss why leaving the European Court of Human Rights is no deterrent for people seeking asylum in the UK, and how Brexit may have actually made it harder for Rishi Sunak's conservatives to "Stop The Boats". Submit a question for You Ask Us: https://www.news...
Aug 10, 2023•15 min
An internet hoax conceived on a fringe message board grew into an online conspiracy theory so far-reaching that it sparked the January 6 attack on the US capitol. Now Qanon has gone global, what are the consequences for politics and society? Rachel Cunliffe is joined by James Ball, journalist and author of The Other Pandemic: How QAnon Contaminated the World. They discuss the most recent indictment against former US president, Donald Trump, and how his actions were informed by the viral internet...
Aug 07, 2023•31 min
There is one question the environmental journalist and author George Monbiot is asked more than any other: how do you cope? When your job is to report on the climate crisis, where do you find hope? Monbiot’s answer is a very personal one: he goes sea kayaking – alone, often far off the coast, with (if he’s lucky) a pod of dolphins or a flock of shearwaters for company. In this evocative essay from the New Statesman’s summer 2023 issue, Monbiot explores the sea off the island of Lewis in the Oute...
Aug 05, 2023•16 min
Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Ben Walker answer listener questions. There have been multiple attempts to launch credible new political parties in recent years, but very few have taken hold. Why? A listener, quite possibly the youngest fan of the New Statesman Podcast, asks what it would take for a new party to gain ground in Parliament. And Greater Manchester Police face allegations of sexual assault and cover up. Andy Burnham, as mayor and police commissioner, has ordered a review – but...
Aug 04, 2023•25 min
Yet another by-election could provide a key opportunity for Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour to regain lost seats in Scotland. The former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier has been recalled by her Rutherglen and Hamilton West constituents, triggering a by-election. Ben Walker and Freddie Hayward join Anoosh Chakelian on the New Statesman podcast to discuss what the latest polls reveal about voting intention in the seat – formerly a Labour stronghold – and whether this might be the beginning of a Labour resur...
Aug 03, 2023•13 min
