Debated Podcast

In this episode of the podcast, Will speaks to academic and author David Swift about his new book "The Identity Myth" which argues that four dominate identities, those of Class, Race, Sex and Age are harming our political debate by the way they are used by political actors. Will and David discuss this as well as the nature of class now and in the past, the complexities of comparison, how age has b...

In this episode of the podcast Will is joined by Gareth Walsh, Energy Practise Lead for the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change on a new paper Gareth has co-authored entitled A Just Transition For Africa: Championing A Fair and Prosperous Pathway to Net Zero. They discuss particulars relating to the paper such as the difference between climate mitigation and climate adaptation; the role Mozambi...

In this episode of the podcast, Will is joined by Dr Brett Meyer, a Research Fellow at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change to discuss his new paper "A Playbook Against Populism? Populist Leadership in Decline in 2021" as well as how populism differs in different countries; the impact of Covid on populist leaders; whether or not populist leaders are better at speaking to the public than thei...

In this special Live 2021 End of Year Special, we are joined by two long standing friends of the podcast, George Fairhurst of Red Rose Reporting and Torrin Wilkins Director of the Centre Think Tank to discuss all of the major political events of the year including Dominic Cummings and his trip to Barnard Castle; the US's withdrawal from Afghanistan; the end of Merkel's Chancellorship and the impac...

In this episode of the podcast Will is once again joined by William Kedjanyi, the Political Analyst and the Sporting Previewer for Star Sports, to discuss the upcoming North Shropshire by election to elect a new MP for Owen Paterson's former seat, the fall out of the various alleged Christmas Parties involving Downing Street, Boris Johnson's fall in the polls and Keir Starmer's rise in them, the U...

In this episode of the podcast Will is joined by Dr Simon Biltcliffe, the Yorkshire Party's candidate for the South Yorkshire Mayoral Election to discuss his campaign, the impact of Storm Arwen, Brexit, Coronavirus, employment in the region, transportation and his business Webmart.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Will is joined by Dominic Jones, a young Labour activist from Barnsley, who is seeking to become Labour's candidate for Mayor of South Yorkshire. They discuss Dominic's plans for the region, what he thinks can be done to improve South Yorkshire, green industries in the area and how jobs can be brought to the region.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Will is joined by Amen Tesfay, the BAME rep for Open Labour and an activist with the 1987 Caucus to discuss the 1987 Caucus, why the 1987 Caucus was set up, racism in political parties, Keir Starmer's recent performance as Labour Leader, the up coming by elections in North Shropshire and Old Bexley and Sidcup and next year's local elections. You can buy a copy of Amen's mother's bo...

In this special episode, which examines the politics of the Doctor Who world as if it were real, we are joined by George Fairhurst of Red Rose Reporting to figure out just what happened to the political titans of the past such as Harold Saxon and Harriet Jones. Where did they go and what legacy have they left on Britain? We attempt to find out.    With thanks to Tom Harris, Richard B Brookes, Tim...

In this episode of the podcast Will is joined by Stephen Kinnock, Labour MP for Aberavon, Shadow Minister for Asia and the Pacific and Chair of Labour Renaissance to discuss the Labour Renaissance group, what it hopes to achieve and a new report released by the group. They also discuss what is happening in Asia, in particular the situation in Myanmar and the many complex issues facing the region. ...

In this episode of the podcast Will is joined by Dan Morain, a veteran California journalist who has worked on The Sacramento Bee and the LA Times to discuss his new book, Kamala's Way, a biography of the current Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. They discuss Kamala Harris' early life, her time as a prosecutor and what drove her to become one, her run for President and her Vice P...

In this episode Will speaks to Tim Stanley, a journalist with The Daily Telegraph and author of the new book "Whatever Happened to Tradition?" They discuss how traditions change over time, whether or not you can distinguish between good and bad traditions, the political nature of American traditions and tradition and the Labour Party. You can purchase a copy of the book from Amazon here Hosted on...

In this episode Will speaks to Ian Williams, a journalist and veteran foreign affairs correspondent, about his new book "Every Breath You Take: China's New Tyranny." They discuss the book, Xi Jinping's foreign policy, what the coalition's withdrawal from Afghanistan means for China and the West and how the Chinese state have used social media to create propaganda and to silence their critics.  Hos...

In this episode Will is joined by Brandon Green, one third of the Left Whingers Podcast, to discuss his campaign to be elected to the Young Fabians Executive, the Fabian Society, the Left Whingers Podcast, the rise in National Insurance contributions and how the media might change with the emergence of new media outlets.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Will speaks to Ibrahim Dogus from the Small and Medium Enterprises for Labour group about the group, how it hopes to change the perception of the Labour Party's relationship to businesses, the impact of COVID 19 and Brexit on small and medium businesses, what the propose rise in National Insurance contributions could do to community businesses and how Turkey has been impacted by th...

In this episode of the podcast Will speaks to Mathew Hulbert, councillor for Redhall Ward, Vice Chair of Barwell Parish Council and Vice Chair of Leicestershire county council's Equalities Group. They discuss the difference between Parish and Town councils, what influence and powers councils have, the prospect of an English Parliament and the importance of housing in the UK.  Hosted on Acast. See...

In this episode of the podcast Will is joined by David Clark, Baron Clark of Windermere the former Labour MP for Colne Valley (1970 - 1974) and South Shields (1979 - 2001), Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food from 1987 to 1992; Shadow Secretary of State for Defence from 1992 to 1997 and Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1997 to 1998 to di...

In this episode of the podcast Will is joined by the former First Minister of Wales and Leader of the Welsh Labour Party from 2009 to 2018 Carwyn Jones. They discuss the changes in Wales since the establishment of the Senedd, his time as First Minister of Wales, the Welsh Independence movement, David Cameron's dealings with Lex Greensill, the future of the UK and how Labour can regain areas it los...

In this fourth episode of the Debated Podcast mini series looking at recent successful candidates in this year's local elections, Will speaks to Rebecca Halifax the recently elected Liberal Democrats councillor for Cirencester Park. They discuss the issues that Rebecca focussed on during the campaign, housing, technology and voting, the so called culture war and the importance of local politics. T...

In this episode of the podcast Will is joined by Joe Jervis, director of Renaissance a new Labour Party group, to discuss Renaissance, what it hopes to achieve, the recent by elections in Hartlepool, Chesham and Amersham and Batley and Spen, the housing crisis, Brexit and what Labour should focus on going into the next general election.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Will speaks to newly elected Green Party councillor for Cliviger with Worsthorne in Burnley, Scott Cunliffe. They discuss why he decided to stand for the Greens, his priorities now he has been elected, what he sees at the future of the Green Party, HS2 and HS3, the proposed changes to planning regulations in England and much more. This episode features a trailer for the Politics of...

In this episode Will speaks to Jack Brown, author of the new book The London Problem, London Partnerships Director and Lecturer in London Studies at King’s College London and former Researcher in Residence at No. 10 Downing Street from 2016 to 2017. They discuss the book, how London is perceived by the rest of the UK, inequality in London and whether more devolved government would encourage more p...

In this second episode of our mini series looking at local election winners, Will speaks to returning guest and recently elected Labour Councillor for Unsworth on Bury Council, Nathan Boroda. They discuss Nathan's campaign, how Labour did in the recent set of local elections and what that means for Keir Starmer's leadership, the recent Hartlepool by election, what Nathan hopes to achieve on the co...

In this first episode of a Debated Podcast mini series in which we speak to 2021 local election winners from across the country, we speak to Ryan Simpson the newly elected Conservative councillor for Sherbourne ward on Coventry City council about his election, his campaign, why he thinks the Conservatives won across the West Midlands, Coventry's 2021 City of Culture celebrations, the impact of Cor...

In this episode Will speaks to former Labour and Change UK: The Independent Group MP for Illford South, Mike Gapes, about a new book he's contributed to edited by Peter McNab about Change UK. They also discuss Andy Burnham, Keir Starmer's leadership of Labour, social media abuse, Jeremy Corbyn's time as Leader of the Labour Party, Hilary Benn's Syria speech and Britain's relationship with the EU. ...