The Politics Show

England’s waterways are overflowing with sewage. In a recent report it has been found that a record amount of sewage is being discharged into rivers and seas around England. Data revealed that last year raw sewage was discharged, by private water companies, for more than 3.6 million hours, a 105% increase on the previous 12 months.  And in addition to all of this Thames Water, Britain’s bigge...

Flexible work has existed for decades. Think about local hairdressers, personal trainers, or tutors working for themselves – or even the jazz musicians in the early 1900s who coined the term ‘gig economy’. But the past ten years of technology have made it more accessible – and visible – to both the people who use it and those who work in it. But what is the right balance between job autonomy, econ...

Today on the podcast we're bringing you a conversation from the New Statesman's Path to Power conference which looked inside the Labour Party machine as it gears up for the next election. In this session Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor at the New Statesman, was joined by Alison McGovern, MP for Wirral South and Shadow Minister for Work and Pensions, to discuss Labour's plans for labour...

This is an episode we like to call “You Ask Us”.   Our first question from James who says: "How would the results of a general election change if all British residents were allowed to vote, not just British Citizens? In other words what happens if we let immigrants without British passports vote?"   Ryan also writes in to say: "Will Labour be forced into a strict immigration policy come...

Earlier this week the UK government accused China of stealing 40 million UK registered voters’ names and addresses. The breach occurred in 2021 and 2022, in which time GCHQ has ascertained that China state-affiliated actors also targeted several parliamentarians’ emails - including former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith.  So what could the Chinese government do with this data? How real...

Each one of us in the UK is likely to be or become a carer at some point in our lives. Women have a 50:50 chance of caring by the time they are 46 and men by the time they reach the age of 57. But the UK’s social care system is failing all of us. This includes those that require care (whether this is older or disabled adults), and both formal employed carers and informal carers who tend to be pare...

This is an episode we like to call “You Ask Us”. Our first question from Adam in Cardiff who says: "Does it matter who was elected in the Welsh Labour leadership election? It seems that both candidates had a very similar platform. Does the selection of Vaughan Gething have political implications in Westminster?" Rory also writes in to say: "With the Mayoral elections coming up, what would the sign...

Stability, investment, and reform - these are the three pillars for growth set out by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Mais Lecture to business and finance leaders earlier this week. “In a changing world, Britain has been behind the curve,” she said, but a Labour government, she stated, would seek to bring a “new chapter in Britain's economic history”.  Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor...

Why are women still taken less seriously than men? Alona Ferber, senior editor at the New Statesman, is joined by Mary Ann Seighart, journalist, former assistant editor of The Times, visiting professor at Kings College London and author of The Authority Gap: Why women are still taken less seriously than men, and what we can do about it. One of the things that shocked Mary Ann Seighart most from wr...

Ben Walker shares exclusive analysis on the impact of a dying electorate. In our weekly listener questions episode, Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Freddie Hayward and Ben Walker to answer two questions from New Statesman listeners: Nick asks: "what is the whip system and how (the hell) can it be democratic?" Freddie explains how it works, and Ben shares his experiences being 'whipped' in his role as...

The Tory racism row exposed the Prime Minister's weakness. It's been another "torrid" week for the Conservatives, with a row over alleged racist comments made by their largest donor overshadowing the announcement of new extremism rules. Rachel Cunliffe is joined by George Eaton and Freddie Hayward to discuss how Rishi Sunak's response to Frank Hester's alleged comments exposes his weakness as lead...

At the beginning of February Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor at the New Statesman, travelled to Liverpool to interview two regional mayors: Andy Burnham the Mayor of Greater Manchester and Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region. Their new co-authored book, Head North: A Rallying Cry for a More Equal Britain, chronicles their intersecting journeys in politics, the careers paths w...

It's listener question time! Neil from Cambridge asks: "Rishi Sunak and other Conservatives keep telling us that Labour will take us 'back to square one' either through their policies or lack of a plan. What point in time does he want us to think of as being 'square one'? And why does he think that voters would believe that it is necessarily worse than where we are headed now?" Jon says: "Why...

Yesterday, Jeremy Hunt delivered the spring statement, the last before the next general election and his fourth budget since becoming Chancellor in October 2022, after replacing Kwasi Kwarteng. Non-doms have been abolished, national insurance has been cut by 2p, a vaping tax has been introduced, and the NHS has been promised 3.4 billion towards a digital transformation. But while inflation remains...

Over 5 million people in the UK live in a leasehold; a property ownership agreement which entitles people to the space inside the property but not necessarily the building it’s in nor the land it is built on. England and Wales are the last countries in the world where leaseholds are still widely used. So why is this, how does it affect the 5 million people living in these properties, and is it all...

After a dramatic and chaotic campaigning period for the Rochdale by-election, the controversial politician George Galloway will be returning to Westminster - yet again. He currently represents the Workers Party of Britain, but this is the fourth city he’s been elected to represent and the third party in four decades. Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor, is joined by the New Statesman's Bri...

From Lee Anderson’s rant against Sadiq Khan on GB News, to Liz Truss’s appearance with Steve Bannon, this week has been nothing short of a conspiratorial catastrophe for the Conservative Party. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Andrew Marr and Rachel Cunliffe to discuss why Rishi Sunak and senior Conservatives are “too scared” to call out islamophobia – while Reform and GB News are “driving them a bit...

The world is currently facing multiple crises, from geopolitical conflicts to pandemics and climate change. But amidst this turbulence, international aid budgets are being stretched as domestic issues take precedence. The UK has cut its overseas aid budget significantly, from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of gross national income. Meanwhile, low-income countries need more support than ever, as they deal wit...

From opaque contract awards, to cosy relationships between politicians and business elites, the idea of a ‘chumocracy’ has long been making headlines and raising eyebrows. But just how endemic is the issue? And how does it affect the functioning of the state? Harry Clarke-Ezzidio, policy correspondent at the New Statesman, is joined by business editor, Will Dunn, to explore the links between...

"I've heard speculation that the Tories' election strategy is not really about "culture war and wedge issues" or evoking fear of Labour spending plans. It's about showing Starmer as indecisive and untrustworthy, and the Labour Party as divided." - one listener writes in to ask if the Conservatives election tactics have changed in recent months. Another listener writes in to ask if Labour "have got...

Almost five months on from the beginning of the conflict, Labour appears to have shifted its position - calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza. This culminated in a chaotic debate in parliament last night with SNP and Tory MPs walking out and this morning Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the house, is facing calls to resign. Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor at the New Statesman, is joi...

The UK is one of the biggest plastic polluters in the world. According to Greenpeace we produce more plastic waste per person than almost any other country, with our supermarkets creating roughly 800,000 tonnes every year. We need to find ways to minimise waste through keeping products and packaging in circulation for as long as possible. This is where the circular economy comes in - a more sustai...

More councils have gone bust in 2023 than in the 30 years before 2018, with eight effectively declaring bankruptcy since that year: Northamptonshire, Croydon, Slough, Northumberland, Thurrock, Woking, Birmingham and Nottingham.  But why are councils going bust? Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor, is joined by policy correspondent Megan Kenyon and Jonny Ball, associate editor of the New Statesma...

The results of yesterday’s by-elections are in, Kingswood and Wellingborough - both previously Conservative seats - have turned red in a historic loss for the Tories. Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor, is joined by the New Statesman's associate political editor Rachel Cunliffe, and senior data journalist Ben Walker to discuss what these results mean for Labour, the Conservatives, and Reform UK. Joi...

This week Labour has suspended not one, but two parliamentary candidates for reported comments made over Israel. The party has been on a mission to purge anti-semitism from its ranks over the past few years, so just how catastrophic has this week been for them? Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor, is joined in the studio by the New Statesman's political editor Andrew Marr, and political correspondent...