Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards

While the UK's bonkers pre-election 'tax and spend' debate continues the Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has discovered he has more money to spend than he had expected. Steve Richards considers all this plus the need to avoid being perceived as punitive at the start of the UK's tentative green revolution. Support Rock N Roll Politics on Patreon and get exclusive benefits including bonus episodes and much m...

Labour's gain in Selby was a triumph as was the Liberal Democrat’s victory in Somerset and Frome. In a by-election special Steve Richards considers the fall out from the results, including the Conservatives' win in Uxbridge that will have immediate consequences. Support Rock N Roll Politics on Patreon and get exclusive benefits, including a LIVE gathering on Zoom on Monday 24th July for more on th...

In a recent article for the Observer, Keir Starmer deployed many phrases that were part of Tony Blair 's armoury twenty years ago – or even further back than that. After several Labour defeats is that the smart strategic move, to follow the language and ideas of an election winner? Or is such an unusual act of imitation a sign of weakness? Support Rock N Roll Politics on Patreon and get exclusive...

At the same time that we discovered the police were not investigating allegations surrounding Huw Edwards we also learned that the presenter was in hospital. Unsurprisingly given the media frenzy surrounding him.  In this episode Steve Richards asks how big can a story get when involving a presenter's private life? Support Rock N Roll Politics and get episodes early and ad-free on Patreon: https:/...

One of Keir Starmer 's key missions is to achieve the highest levels of growth in the G7. Steve Richards asks how? The answer is far from clear, as Starmer and Rachel Reeves highlight their commitment to stick more or less to Tory tax and spend plans, although in the style of New Labour circa 1997. Plus today there’s more brilliant questions and life changing notices. Rock N Roll Politics is live...

Steve Richards is in conversation with the director, Josh Appignanessi, about his new film ‘My Extinction’. The film is both funny and urgently reflective as Josh explores the dilemmas facing each of us in the face of climate change. What does it take for us to act on the climate crisis and is the issue too overwhelming as we contemplate our extinction?  Steve asks what is the best way to protest...

We are now in the pre-election phase, so inevitably tax is a 'burden' that should be cut and 'reforms' will magically improve public services. Steve Richards assesses the consequences for the state that we are in. Rock N Roll Politics is live at the Hitchin Festival on Tuesday July 11. Tickets here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/hitchin/the-market-theatre/rock-n-roll-politics-with-steve-...

Water privatisation was rushed through after the 1987 election. The many problems were as obvious then as they are now. So why was privatisation proclaimed as a Thatcherite triumph for decades? Rock N Roll Politics is live at the Hitchin Festival on Tuesday July 11. Tickets here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/hitchin/the-market-theatre/rock-n-roll-politics-with-steve-richards/e-kgvveaea...

The anti-Tory mood is deep and deepening but amidst the gloom where are the arguments about why nothing works in the UK? And where are the ideas that offer some hope that things can only get better?  Plus - What have we learned in the fast moving Putin saga? All this and your brilliant questions too. Rock N Roll Politics is live at the Hitchin Festival on Tuesday July 11. Tickets here: https://www...

Martin Rosenbaum was the BBC's Freedom of Information guru, seeking to uncover hidden material via the Freedom of Information Act, an item of legislation Tony Blair deeply regretted passing. Martin became the world expert on using the act and has now written a book called 'Freedom of Information: A Practical Guidebook'. Martin reflects on the dramas leading up to the act becoming law and what happ...

It is easy to blame Boris Johnson for everything that has gone wrong but the seeds of the current set of crises go deep, as the Covid Inquiry seems to recognise. Rock n Roll Politics is live at Edinburgh Festival from Sunday August 13 with a different show each day. Tickets here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/steve-richards-presents-rock-n-roll-politics Support Rock n Roll Politics on Patr...

Following the publication of her book - My Family and Other Radicals, Polly Toynbee reflects on being privileged and on the left, her remarkable family, being on the losing side in politics most of the time and her hopes for Keir Starmer. Rock n Roll Politics is live at Edinburgh Festival from Sunday August 13 with a different show each day. Tickets here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/stev...

Boris Johnson seeks to cause trouble for Rishi Sunak. Nicola Sturgeon is arrested. These dramas are more nuanced than they appear to be but for now the obvious beneficiary is Keir Starmer. However, Steve Richards asks if Starmer is conceding too much ground in advance of an election he looks like winning? Or does he look like winning because he concedes so much ground? Rock n Roll Politics is live...

It is the most pledged policy in recent decades and yet never delivered … Labour proposed a national care service in 2010, Theresa May had a plan in 2017, Boris Johnson pretended to have one in 2019 … So far nothing. Now the Fabian Society has set out its ideas for a National Care Service with a report broadly welcomed by its shadow Health Secretary, Wes Streeting. But where will the money come fr...

Boris Johnson is making life hellish for Rishi Sunak..causing trouble in relation to the Covid Inquiry, making the front pages most days of the week, making clear he blames Sunak for his fall. Former PMs make leadership difficult for their successors...does a politically active Johnson make it almost impossible to lead the troubled Conservative party? Support Rock & Roll Politics on Patreon: h...

For a few decades the Conservative Party has changed from an expedient political force with MPs and members loyal to the leadership to a more factional and insurrectionary movement. Tim Bale, the author of The Conservative Party After Brexit-Turmoil and Transformation, has followed the changes at every level from the membership to the leadership. To make sense of the current turmoil in the UK's go...

Suella Braverman and many others contemplating their leadership ambitions, take note. From Rab Butler to Jeremy Corbyn there are reasons why those seen by some as potential Prime Ministers never make it.  Rock N Roll Politics is live at the Edinburgh Festival with a different show every day from Sunday August 13th. Tickets here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/steve-richards-presents-rock-n-...

In his new book ‘Politics-A Survivor’s Guide’ the columnist Rafael Behr hails the centre ground in contrast to the populist politics that has flourished in the UK and elsewhere…but the term is imprecise and often applied to justify policies that are far away from the ‘centre’. Also..Can we get angry about the state of politics without nearly killing ourselves?? Support Rock N Roll Politics on Patr...

It’s the silliest and most dangerous debate of the lot. "Too many are coming here…" "The wrong people are coming here..." "The right people can come here…" "We need vacancies filled, but they can’t come here…" Will the debate on immigration rise above the vitriol, for a solution that benefits everyone? Plus brilliant questions, and much more. Remember to send in your questions to steveric14@icloud...

The author of a new book on Boris Johnson reflects on the many reasons why the former prime minister should never have got close to Number 10...and the lessons that need to be learnt when a figure wholly unsuited for leadership acquires near presidential powers. Support Rock & Roll Politics on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RockNRollPolitics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...

There are echoes with the build up to the 1997 election in the insurrectionary stirrings of prominent Tories...Why did they act with reckless disloyalty then... and why are they doing do now?  Subscribe to RockN Roll Politics: https://www.patreon.com/RockNRollPolitics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Following the release of his new book "Why is this Lying Bastard Lying to Me?," I speak to Rob Burley, former editor of Marr, The Andrew Neil Show and Newsnight, about the art of the political interview. We reflect on the current state of the BBC, and look back at some of the legendary interviews, including Brian Walden's exchanges with Margaret Thatcher and Tony Benn. Rock & Roll Politics is...

Much will happen between now and the next general election, making it risky to extrapolate too much from last week's local polls. For Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, the road ahead will be challenging in different ways... and both are new to the task of leadership in the buildup to an election. Rock & Roll Politics - A New Political Landscape? is live at Kings Place next Monday. Tickets here: ht...

When the Queen died, many commentators predicted the country would be traumatised by the loss for a long time. Instead, it was Liz Truss that caused the trauma immediately after the Queen's passing, Charles's accession to the throne causing no fuss at all. What does it tell us about the monarchy, and its capacity to generate feverish commentary now that the "Elizabethan Age" is over? Rock & Ro...

In a video announcing he was standing for a second term, President Biden chose ‘freedom’ as a them – a term normally associated with the Republicans. It’s a vote winner and in the UK the Conservatives have claimed it too. But will Starmer follow Biden in committing to ‘freedom’? Rock & Roll Politics is live at Kings Place on May 15th. Tickets here: https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/rocknro...