The Politics Show

Voters in many areas deserted the Conservatives in last week's local elections, yet this was not a comprehensive victory for Labour.   Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the  New Statesman’s  polling expert Ben Walker and political reporter Freddie Hayward to discuss the headline results and whether Labour has achieved the  sea change  it needs ahead of the next gener...

As voting in the local elections begins, Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the  New Statesman’s  polling expert Ben Walker to discuss key councils to watch and  predict the outcome .   They talk about  the driving forces  behind people’s votes, from partygate and rising living costs to potholes, and what the political consequences of the results could be.   Then they...

The renowned satirist and broadcaster Armando Iannucci returns to the  New Statesman Podcast  to co-host five more special episodes. In these shows Iannucci, explores the parts of British public life that he believes are broken, and he will be joined by guests from inside and outside Westminster to discuss how politics could be better. In this episode, Iannucci and Ailbhe Rea examine vot...

Anoosh Chakelian chairs a special episode of the  New Statesman Podcast , recorded live at the Cambridge Literary Festival.  In recent years, Britain has witnessed the unlawful prorogation of parliament; debacles in the management of public health, education and immigration; and scandals of cronyism, incompetence and sleaze. How has the cultural and political debate become so degraded? C...

The misogyny that many women working in parliament experience has reared its ugly head once more. Anoosh Chakelian, Ailbhe Rea and Harry Lambert discuss the  latest revelations  of sexual misconduct at Westminster and the personal cost for the women who speak out. The team then discuss Labour’s prospects for the local elections and whether the cost of living, not partygate, could be the...

The renowned satirist and broadcaster Armando Iannucci returns to the  New Statesman Podcast  to co-host five more special episodes. In these shows Iannucci, explores the parts of British public life that he believes are broken, and he will be joined by guests from both inside and outside Westminster to discuss how politics could be better. In this episode, Iannucci and Anoosh Chakelian...

With partygate rumbling on and Boris Johnson referred to the House of Commons’ Committee of Priviliges, Anoosh Chakelian speaks to Hannah White, the deputy director of the Institute for Government.    White is a former civil servant who worked on standards in public life and as a Commons clerk. She explains exactly how the privileges committee works, why the Prime Minister has been allow...

As MPs debate the fallout from partygate, Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Andrew Marr, political editor, and Freddie Hayward, political reporter, to discuss why Boris Johnson may still be safe as PM and the opinions of Conservatives about their leader. Then in a special section on Northern Ireland, Ailbhe Rea reports from Belfast on what is becoming a very tense Stormont election. If you have a ques...

The legendary writer, satirist and broadcaster  Armando Iannucci  returns to the  New Statesman  podcast to co-host five more special episodes. In these shows, Iannucci explores parts of British public life he believes to be broken, and is joined by guests from both inside and outside Westminster to discuss how politics could be better. In this episode, Armando and An...

A devolution special of the  New Statesman Podcast  looks ahead to the local elections in Scotland and Wales.   Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Scotland Editor Chris Deerin to discuss Scotland, including Nicola Sturgeon's face mask slip-up, why the real race is for second, and whether Labour can win back Glasgow.   Anoosh then talks about the state of play in Wales with poli...

When the Taliban took control of Kabul in August 2021, the Koofi family were among 8,000 Afghans airlifted to safety in the UK, as part of the government’s Operation Warm Welcome. The New Statesman ’s Sophie McBain met them in a hotel in the north of England soon afterwards, where they were waiting to be resettled. As the months passed, she followed their new life, as well as that of the...

Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak and Carrie Johnson have all received fixed-penalty notices for attending parties in Downing Street during lockdown, but could the Prime Minister now be safer than he was at the height of partygate? Harry Lambert, Senior Correspondent, joins Anoosh Chakelian and Ailbhe Rea to discuss the fines, the downfall of Rishi Sunak and why we won’t know the real mood among MPs unti...

The legendary writer, satirist and broadcaster  Armando Iannucci  returns to the  New Statesman  podcast to co-host five more special episodes. In these shows, Iannucci explores parts of British public life he believes to be broken, and is joined by guests from both inside and outside Westminster to discuss how politics could be better. In this episode, Armando and Ai...

As Rishi Sunak comes under investigation by the government’s standards watchdog, Ailbhe Rea and Anoosh Chakelian discuss the fallout from the revelations about the Chancellor and the tax affairs of his wife, Akshata Murty, and why it shows he is still naïve as a politician. Then in You Ask Us, they answer a listener’s question about how Labour should respond to the story. If you have a q...

Anoosh Chakelian and Ailbhe Rea are joined by the senior data journalist Ben Walker to mark the launch of State of the Nation, the  New Statesman ’s new data site for understanding Britain in numbers, maps, words and charts. Ben responds to listeners’ questions on what’s going on in the polls. Do they show an increase for Labour and Keir Starmer’s leadership? How much do Conservativ...

As the EU and UK debate further sanctions on Russia after evidence of massacres by Russian forces in Bucha, north of Kyiv, Ailbhe Rea speaks to the exiled opposition campaigner Vladimir Ashurkov. They discuss how London got its reputation for hosting the world’s dirty money, why it took so long for the UK to take the threat posed by Vladimir Putin seriously and how Russia uses corruption to underm...

As the fallout from Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement continues,  New Statesman  Political Editor Andrew Marr joins Ailbhe Rea to discuss why it was received quite so badly and whether it has ruined the Chancellor’s hopes of becoming prime minister. Then, as partygate returns to the news, they look at whether it is now too late for the Conservative Party to get rid of Boris Johnson.  ...

This special episode of the  New Statesman Podcast  marks “A Dream of Britain”, the  New Statesman ’s  latest issue . It is guest edited by Michael Sheen and explores class, culture and identity in Britain today. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the writer and academic Gary Younge, the Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller, and the  New Statesman  editor-in-chie...

Anoosh Chakelian and Ailbhe Rea discuss Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement as the Office for Budget Responsibility warns the UK is about to face the biggest rise in the cost of living since records began.   They discuss why Sunak still wants to be seen as a low-tax Chancellor, whether any of his measures will make a difference and why he seems so averse to using Universal Credit to help the peopl...

Ahead of his guest-edited issue of the  New Statesman , the actor and campaigner Michael Sheen speaks to Anoosh Chakelian for a special episode of the New Statesman podcast.   Titled "A Dream of Britain", the magazine explores what British identity means in 2022.   They discuss why he wanted to tackle the idea of our national story,   how widening inequality and...

P&O Ferries caused  outrage  last week (17 March) when it sacked 800 crew members to replace them with “cheap agency workers from eastern Europe” overnight.   Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull East, Karl Turner, who has been on King George Dock advocating for local workers who lost their jobs. They discuss the stand-off between the company a...

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been reunited with her family in Britain, having been imprisoned for years in Iran on charges of seeking to overthrow the country’s government, which she has always denied. Her release along with another dual citizen, Anoosheh Ashoori, came after the payment of a long withheld  £450m debt  owed by the British government to Iran.   Ailbhe Rea and Anoosh...

As the government scrabbles its policy together for Ukrainian refugees, the Labour peer and refugee campaigner Alf Dubs tells Anoosh Chakelian that the response has been a "disgrace".   He discusses how the government finds itself on the wrong side of public opinion, why Priti Patel is the worst Home Secretary he's worked with, and why he'd like to see a "more robust" approach to welcoming re...

The owner of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich, and leading industrialist Oleg Deripaska are among the seven wealthy and influential Russian oligarchs who have been sanctioned by the UK over Russia’s war in Ukraine. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the  New Statesman ’s associate editor of business, Emma Haslett, to discuss the UK’s history of welcoming and protecting  Russian wealth...

As parliament rushes through the Economic Crime Bill in an attempt to toughen sanctions on Russian oligarchs, investor and anti-corruption campaigner Bill Browder talks to Anoosh Chakelian about the impact of sanctions on Russia.   He opens up about whether the UK has gone far enough, the psychology of Russian oligarchs, and why we should boycott McDonald’s.   If you have a question for...