The Politics Show

Over 80 MPs are calling for Keir Starmer’s resignation, reaching the threshold required for a contender to mount a leadership challenge, with ministers - including Jess Philips - resigning from government too. After a high stakes meeting this morning, several cabinet members voiced their support for the Prime Minister, as he defiantly vowed to “get on with governing”. Will the Prime Minister survi...

Keir Starmer has pledged to “prove the doubters wrong” as he tries to head off a leadership challenge after the disastrous local election results last week. Fighting for his political life, the PM announced plans for stronger ties with the EU, powers to nationalise British steel and a scheme to help young people find work. But will it be enough? Many of his own party don’t seem to think so, with h...

Results from the local and devolved are coming in. It has been, as many expected, a disappointing result for the Labour Party. Meanwhile, the insurgent parties, the Green Party to an extent, but especially Reform, have delivered on their promise of snowballing momentum. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by senior data journalist Ben Walker, political editor Ailbhe Rea and editor-in-chief Tom McTague. REA...

The UK is gearing up for local and devolved elections on Thursday. As Keir Starmer looks increasingly isolated as Prime Minister, much is being made of a potentially disastrous few days for the Labour Party. If results go as badly for Labour as some are predicting, this could be the end for the PM. Meanwhile, the insurgent Reform and Green parties are looking to continue their surging momentum. LI...

Crowds of young people chant his name but the Green leader is "nervous", says Ailbhe Rea. -- A year ago, Zack Polanksi was relatively unknown. Now, he's leading an "eco-populist" movement that has revitalised the Green Party and looks likely to propel a left-wing surge in the May local elections. Ailbhe Rea profiled the Green leader for the New Statesman, meeting him shortly after he'd been addres...

Parliament boozers, Morgan McSweeney vs Emily Thornberry, and King Charles' stand-up routine. Will and Anoosh discuss another big week. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday ⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning ✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

"It makes me furious," says New Statesman editor Tom McTague.  An attack in Golders Green, London, yet again exposes the rise of antisemitism in Britain. Anoosh Chakelian has been reporting from the borough, where local Jews fear for their safety, volunteer security guards patrol the streets and Jewish children have to pass through heavy security cordons to get to school. She tells editor Tom McTa...

The inevitability of the Peter Mandelson scandal, Jacob Rees-Mogg’s live show, and the rising cost of condoms… Will Dunn and Anoosh Chakelian round up the stories of the week. READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2026/04/whos-afraid-of-olly-robbins https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/the-sketch/2026/04/jacob-rees-mogg-relishes-the-limelight LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New...

The Mandelson affair has become less about Peter Mandelson’s alleged wrongdoing, and all about Keir Starmer’s ability to run the country. This week Olly Robbins, former chief civil servant at the Foreign Office, insisted the Prime Minister pressured him into clearing Peter Mandelson for the US ambassador post. Yesterday, Starmer was forced to admit his former spin doctor Matthew Doyle, who was sus...

Does Keir Starmer deserve more credit for keeping us out of a third Gulf war? Is Farage's relationship with Trump hurting Reform's polling? And who are the bright young things in British politics? Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Tom McTague and Ailbhe Rea to answer your questions. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them every...

Criticism of Labour's response to the global threat, Trump's AI Jesus and parliament's "summer of sex". Will Dunn and Anoosh Chakelian round up this week's stories. Any suggestions for next week's categories, please comment below. 📚 READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/the-sketch/2026/04/at-a-defence-conference-tech-execs-haggle-over-reducing-the-cost-to-kill LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download th...

For years, we have wrung our hands about the manosphere: the misogynist influencers like Andrew Tate exploiting a generation of disillusioned and impressionable lost boys. But what about radicalised young women? New, exclusive polling for the New Statesman has uncovered a huge difference in the political, economic and social outlook of women and men under 30 in Britain, created largely by women tu...

Trump’s "demented" Easter announcement, Britain’s squeezed middle and getting “the ick” for Zack Polanski… Anoosh Chakelian and Will Dunn round up the stories of the week. READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/the-sketch/2026/04/the-trumps-wish-the-world-a-very-demented-easter https://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/economy-international-politics/2026/04/britains-vanishing-middle...

AI is embedded in the machinery of the British state: drafting legislation, shaping spending decisions, informing interest rate policy and writing speeches delivered in parliament. Has Britain handed over political power without ever really deciding to, and without fully understanding to whom? Tom McTague is joined by Will Dunn to discuss. READ Will's piece: https://www.newstatesman.com/technology...

Follow The Exchange on Spotify , Apple , and YouTube for more episodes like this. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday ⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning ✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The pollution of Britain’s waterways is well known, but the full extent of the carelessness and vandalism of Britain’s biggest water company, Thames Water, is a catalogue of wrongdoing on an industrial scale. Will Dunn speaks to the MP with the dubious honour of representing the constituency that is worst affected by sewage spills - Liberal Democrat MP, Charlie Maynard. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download...

As the war in Iran enters its second month, President Trump has delivered a prime time address promising, simultaneously, that the conflict will be over “very shortly” and that the United States is preparing to hit Iran “extremely hard”. Thousands more US troops have arrived in the region in recent days, including a marine expeditionary unit as the president is reportedly weighing options for a po...

Keir Starmer delivered one of his routine updates on the war in Iran in a press conference from Number 10 this morning - but this one was a little meatier than usual. Will Lloyd is joined by Ailbhe Rea to discuss LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday ⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning ✍️ Enjoy...

Green Party support is surging after its by-election victory in Gorton and Denton last month. But is Zack Polanski’s party leaving its environmental principles behind?  Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Megan Kenyon to discuss. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday ⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every m...

As ministers and backbenchers criticise Shabana Mahmood’s immigration plans, is Labour about to water them down? And what is behind the splits over the policy? Anoosh Chakelian and Ailbhe Rea go behind the scenes of Labour’s battle over immigration reform. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday ⏰ Get our daily...

Morgan McSweeney’s stolen phone, Kemi Badenoch’s council tax claims and the UAE defence attache, Group Captain Sandy Sandilands.  Will Dunn and Anoosh Chakelian round up their stories of the week. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday ⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning ✍️ Enjoy the best of...

Follow The Exchange on Spotify , Apple , and YouTube for more episodes like this. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday ⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning ✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does the Instagram and YouTube verdict mean for the UK's proposed social media ban? A California jury has found Meta and Google liable in a case that accused them of building intentionally addictive platforms. Here in the UK, the government is consulting on whether to ban children from using social media. Australia and Spain have already implemented similar bans, and France has backed a ban f...

Ed Miliband, everyone would agree, is a central part of the Labour government. The ex-Labour leader is a hugely popular figure within the party. Is his power and influence greater than we realise? Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Will Lloyd to discuss. READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2026/03/a-certain-idea-of-ed-miliband LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app M...

Donald Trump is grappling with the consequences of staging a military intervention in Iran without a clear plan. Modern conflicts are often driven less by coherent national interest than by the instincts and ambitions of powerful leaders. From the Strait of Hormuz, to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to the tension between China and Taiwan - miscalculation, overconfidence, and the enduring unpredicta...