It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast

On 5th November 2020, we hosted this very special transatlantic edition of It’s Bloody Complicated – outside of our usual fortnightly schedule –  to talk to three people with direct experience in building capacity and infrastructure that demonstrates a different kind of doing politics. Roge Karma is a researcher and reporter at Vox, where he produces The Ezra Klein Show podcast and writes about po...

This week’s live podcast formed part of Build Back Better: How? , a 10 day series of conferences about how we can make the good society after Covid-19 a reality. Universal Basic Services, a guaranteed income floor, the 4 day week, and reform of the banking system:  we discussed some of the biggest, most exciting ideas around for rethinking our approach to work, money, and how we use our time. It’s...

The Scottish Labour Party’s decline has been severe. How – if at all – can it claw back something like the support it once enjoyed? With 51% of Labour voters now backing independence, how should Scottish Labour respond? Join us as we discuss Scottish Labour, Independence, the SNP and the possible break-up of the UK with Scottish commentator and political author Gerry Hassan. Gerry is a regular con...

This week we were joined by Ed Miliband. Ed is best known as leader of the Labour Party but his political career goes way beyond that. In his podcast "Reasons to be Cheerful" he uses the wealth of his experience to discuss the big ideas that we need to transform society. In this fascinating and far-reaching conversation we dig into those ideas. We dissect everything from the lessons lear...

Long before Covid hit, it was evident to many that the UK was hurtling towards a crisis of Care. Now we simply cannot deny that the way we think about the way we care for our most vulnerable – who does it and how we value it – is deeply flawed. We urgently need a new politics of Care. This week on the podcast we were joined by three authorities on the state of Care right now: Madeleine Bunting aut...

Could proportional representation renew our democracy?  On this week’s episode we’ll be focussing on electoral reform, and exploring what it could mean to have a different voting system in the UK. With a panel of guests from the heart of the struggle to get PR on the agenda again, including Klina Jordan from Make Votes Matter, we’ll be digging into the what, why and, most importantly, how of all t...

This week we were joined by Matthew Taylor, writer, broadcaster, and CEO of the RSA. Matthew was one of a cabal of four back in the early 2000s who helped invent Compass. In a wide ranging discussion, we cover the origins of Compass, his time as head of Tony Blair’s Policy Unit, what’s going on at the RSA and what the future holds for all Progressives. "It's Bloody Complicated" is r...

It’s safe to say that Corbyn’s leadership divided opinion within the Labour Party, and the aftershocks of those divisions are still keenly felt today. It’s also clear that Labour has much to learn from the experience of Corbynism – both good and bad – and attempts to scrap everything and move on could end up fracturing the party even more. This week we spoke to Laura Parker (former Momentum nation...

In May, Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said in no uncertain terms that universal basic income is an "idea whose time has come". The SNP have come out in full force for this policy. That's why this week we've invited Ronnie Cowan, SNP MP for Inverclyde and life-long proponent of the idea, to talk to us about what it'll take to make basic income a reality in...

In early 2020, Compass launched the Basic Income Conversation to help a public movement for basic income in the UK. A few months later, the pandemic hit and suddenly everyone was talking about BI. It’s been an action-packed year so far, so let’s take a moment to breathe and look at where it all began for us. What exactly is a basic income, and why do we at Compass feel so strongly about it? This w...

It’s ten years since the Greens had their first MP elected, and since then so much has changed. The climate crisis is no longer considered a niche issue; Extinction Rebellion has become a global movement; and the major political parties are busy competing over who can produce the “greenest” manifesto. And yet, the Greens still only have one MP and seem unlikely to achieve a significant electoral b...

This episode we were joined by Director of the Common Weal think tank and Compass Council member, Robin McAlpine. What’s next for the Scottish Independence movement? How, if at all, can Labour solve its “Scotland problem”? What’s the difference between nationalism and patriotism, and why does it matter? Robin is a famously thought-provoking and engaging speaker, and is definitely not afraid to tel...

Protests, a presidential race and a pandemic. The last few months in the US have thrust questions of racial justice and equality to the fore. As Kimberly Jones, US activist, writer and one of our guests this week, explains in this eloquent and essential video , the social consequences of centuries of systemic racism are truly devastating. As the UK reckons with its own history, and the disproporti...

This episode we were joined by LGBTQ+ and human rights campaigner, Peter Tatchell. Peter first began campaigning against injustice and human rights abuses when he was at school. More than 50 years later, as director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation , he shows no signs of slowing down. From advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, to challenging imperialism and colonial power, Peter’s passion, energy, and unw...

This week we were joined by Sue Goss, long-time friend of Compass and author of Open Tribe . Sue has been writing and thinking about politics, local government, and democracy for over 30 years and we feel incredibly lucky to have her on the podcast. Off the back of her new report Garden Mind , we spoke to Sue about how we should think about society through the framework of gardening, and how this...

This episode we're joined by former cabinet minister and now Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham. Andy knows Westminster politics from the perspectives of both government and opposition, but he also knows what’s it’s like to operate outside that bubble as the mayor of one of Britain’s largest cities. As a staunch supporter of devolution and advocate for the North, we talk to Andy about...

This week we were joined by writer, political scientist and commentator Miatta Fahnbulleh. Miatta Fahnbulleh is a British economist and Chief Executive at the New Economics Foundation. She is also a key partner in our 350-strong coalition of civil society leaders demanding the Government to #BuildBackBetter, from unions to faith groups to NGOs. Our society can't afford for #BuildBackBetter to...

This week we talk to the distinguished writer and campaigner for democracy, Anthony Barnett.  Anthony is co-founder of Open Democracy, a website for political writing which tirelessly challenges power and encourages democratic debate.  He is also author of The Lure of Greatness, an unflinching analysis of the devastating loss of trust in political institutions that cleared the way for Trump and Br...

Join us in conversation with Labour MP and Shadow Foreign Secretary Lisa Nandy. Lisa’s been working tirelessly as an MP for 10 years now, but rose to prominence this year as a contender in the Labour leadership election. Before that, she held a range of shadow cabinet roles, and founded the Centre for Towns. We discuss community responses to the crisis, being 'porous' and learning from &...

Our new Deputy Director Frances Foley talks communities, local government, and 45 Degree change in the time of Covid-19 with Steve Reed MP (Shadow Communities and Local Government Secretary) and Mike Wilson, (Executive Director of Pembroke House ). Pembroke House is a centre for social action which has set up a food distribution hub to respond to the crisis. What have community groups and Local Go...

This week we’re in conversation with Labour MP for Tottenham, shadow frontbencher, author, and activist David Lammy MP. From Windrush to Grenfell, and beyond, David is a notoriously dedicated and tireless campaigner for social justice. Now, as Shadow Secretary of State for Justice, David is continuing to hold the government to account over the deep inequalities which run right through our society....

This week we talk to Guy Standing, Professor of Development Studies at SOAS, founding member and honorary co-president of the Basic Income Earth Network and author of Battling Eight Giants: Basic Income Now . The idea of a universal basic or guaranteed income has been advocated for centuries. Thinkers from Tom Paine in the 1790s to social reformers in the 1890s argued that it was the duty of the s...

In this episode we co-launch, with Policy Network , Marius Ostrowski’s new book Left Unity: Manifesto for a Progressive Alliance , with Clive Lewis, Labour MP for Norwich South, Paul Mason, writer and journalist and Molly Scott Cato, former Green MEP. As Marius wrote in a recent blogpost for Compass , “Being on the Left means aspiring to a society built on cooperation, solidarity, and the common g...

In Episode 8 we talk to Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon and party Spokesperson for Education. Layla has been an MP since 2017, before which she was a teacher, and is now competing in the upcoming Liberal Democrat leadership election. After a disappointing result at last year’s general election the Liberal Democrats have been reflecting on what went wrong and where the...

This week we talk to our friend Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion and twice leader of the Greens. As the coronavirus crisis rumbles on, with huge implications for communities, society and our economy, we chat to Caroline about what we can do now and how we make sure that we build back better. Known all over the world as a staunch advocate for environmental and progressive issues, Caro...