The Politics Show

Months before 9/11, a passenger seized control of a Boeing 747 and nearly crashed it into the Sahara. Everyone survived - including a curious ensemble of famous passengers - but no one quite recovered. Kate Mossman tells the story of Flight 2069 to Oli Dugmore. READ: The strange fate of Flight 2069 LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – w...

Is the New Statesman too soft on Wes Streeting? Are the Lib Dems an unserious party? Plus our journalists make their predictions for what will happen in 2026, and listen back to their guesses from last year… Oli Dugmore is joined by Anoosh Chakelian and Rachel Cunliffe. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday ⏰...

After being pushed back not once, not twice, but three times, the government's long-awaited strategy to halve violence against women and girls has been revealed. Measures include training teachers to spot signs of misogyny in the classroom and police forces introducing specialist rape and sexual offence investigation teams. But do they go far enough? Rachel Cunliffe joins Luke O'Reilly. LISTEN AD-...

Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong’s most famous media tycoon and a British citizen, could be sentenced to life in prison. What does his case say about the political climate in Hong Kong, and how might it affect relations between the East and West? Oli Dugmore is joined by Katie Stallard. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Frid...

Speculation surrounding a leadership challenge to Keir Starmer is rife. Andy Burnham, Manchester Mayor, is in the mix as a challenger. But can he find the necessary seat in parliament, and what hurdles does he face? Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Ethan Croft and George Eaton to discuss. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them...

The "evil" mass shooting at Bondi Beach was the latest in a rising number of antisemitic attacks. 16 people died in the attack in Sydney, Australia. They were Jews who had gathered to celebrate the first night of Chanukah. Among them, a holocaust survivor and a ten-year old girl. Antisemitic attacks are on the rise. In this year to September, Australia recorded 1654 anti-semitic incidents. That's...

Journalist Peter Oborne claims both Labour and Conservatives have fallen short on their response to Israel's war in Gaza. -- Peter Oborne is a journalist, author and commentator. He was the political editor of The Spectator, a commentator for the Daily Telegraph and now writes for Middle East Eye. A long-time conservative, Oborne joins Oli Dugmore to explain why he believes the Conservative Party...

In this week’s episode of You Ask Us, one listener wonders, is the media infatuated with Zack Polanski? And another challenges our journalists to listen to the Liz Truss podcast. You ask, we deliver.  Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Rachel Cunliffe. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday ⏰ Get our daily pol...

Wes Streeting denied plotting to oust Keir Starmer. Ailbhe Rea met the Health Secretary to learn what he's really thinking. *** Ailbhe writes: Labour is in danger of presenting itself as the “maintenance department for the country”, he says. “The problem with that kind of practical, technocratic approach is that if someone else comes along and says, ‘Well, I’ve got a maintenance company too, and m...

If you are raped in London today, you could be waiting until 2030 for a trial.  Justice secretary David Lammy has stated that 60 per cent of rape victims drop their cases whilst waiting for the trial. Rape Crisis estimates 1 in 6 women go to the police. Oli Dugmore is joined by Labour MP Natalie Fleet, who has written for the New Statesman on the fight for justice for victims of rape. LISTEN...

Why does the Reform leader spend so much time in the US? Freddie Hayward has been speaking to him to find out. -- Winston Churchill had an American mother. Boris Johnson was a dual citizen. But if Nigel Farage makes it to Downing Street, he’ll have closer ties to the US than any other British PM.   That’s the argument of our correspondent Freddie Hayward, who joins Oli Dugmore on Daily P...

Keir Starmer described Green party policy as “nuts” and “dangerous” in an interview with the Observer yesterday. But is he underestimating one of Labour’s biggest threats? And is Starmer alienating a generation of young voters who might run into the arms of Zack Polanski? Rachel Cunliffe is joined by George Eaton and Will Dunn. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW ST...

As the UK grapples with cost of living pressures, geopolitical shocks and a shifting political landscape, the case for net zero remains strong - but the story around it seems to have stalled. How can policymakers, businesses and campaigners reconnect climate action with public priorities such as jobs, growth, energy security and household bills? In this episode host Jon Bernstein is joined by Benj...

Is the Labour Party holding true to its founding principles? Have we lost trust in the police? Are we in a recession? Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Luke O’Reilly and Rachel Cunliffe to answer your questions. 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 b...

A recent result from pollsters Find Out Now has put Labour support at just 14%, behind Reform, the Tories and the Greens. Just how bad are these polling numbers for Labour? Oli Dugmore is joined by the New Statesman’s senior data journalist and polling expert Ben Walker to discuss. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them eve...

Four senior Labour politicians are on manoeuvres. Ailbhe Rea reveals who's in the running to replace Keir Starmer. -- Keir Starmer has become desperately unpopular. All eyes now are looking towards the May 2026 local elections. A disappointing performance by Labour could prompt the Prime Minister to resign. And senior Labour figures are already positioning themselves to replace him. Ailbhe Rea and...

After months of deliberation it’s been decided, it’s not our party, it’s not their party, it’s Your Party. This weekend, thousands of the new left party’s delegates flooded into a conference centre in Liverpool to try and decide the future life and fate of the movement. But in keeping with the last 5 months of trials and tribulations, in-fighting and spats between the co-founding camps of Zarah Su...

In the past three weeks, 12 prisoners have been accidentally released - Justice Secretary David Lammy announced this morning.   This is in addition to the 91 who’ve also been mistakenly freed in England and Wales in the last six months.   It’s fair to say, the justice system is in a bad way - leaking from the sides.   Trying his best to mop this up, Lammy also announced today that j...

Keir Starmer has backed Rachel Reeves – but the Prime Minister has miscalculated. After weekend front pages accused the Chancellor of lying about the "fiscal black hole" which, Reeves says, necessitated last week's tax-and-spend budget, the PM has given a speech supporting Reeves and saying he's "proud" of the budget. Meanwhile polling reveals a majority believe "the cost of living crisis will nev...

Another bit has fallen off Labour’s car as its MPs flee Westminster and bid a hasty retreat to their constituencies. This time, Labour has been accused of breaking another manifesto promise by pulling a major one eighty on workers rights. Oli Dugmore is joined by Ailbhe Rea. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN: ❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Frid...

It’s Black Friday and consumers are hunting for bargains. However, are Brits spending more and more money on goods that are getting worse and worse? Will Dunn joins Anoosh Chakelian to discuss his theory of "crapflation". Will also spent time this week in an enormous pile of trash, dumped by organised criminals in a field in Oxfordshire. LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM...

While many on the left were calling for a wealth tax, yesterday the Chancellor delivered a smorgasbord of stealth taxes. How will this platter of sneaky revenue streams boost the government’s finances? And what does it mean in the longterm, economically, for the country? Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the New Statesman's business editor, Will Dunn, and political editor, Ailbhe Rea. LISTEN AD-F...

Tax in Britain will rise to an all-time high following Rachel Reeves’ budget. The Chancellor has unveiled her latest budget. She’s promised to remove the two-child benefit cap, freeze income tax brackets and introduce a new mansion tax. Labour deny they are breaking their manifesto pledge to avoid raising income tax, while critics claim the freeze is doing just that. The Office for Budget Responsi...

The Chancellor has admitted that the economy feels stuck.   But will tomorrow’s budget, which promises to “grip the cost of living” and looks likely to freeze income tax thresholds, actually do anything to help?   Oli Dugmore is joined by the New Statesman's editor Tom McTague and political editor Ailbhe Rea.  LISTEN AD-FREE: 📱 Download the New Statesman app MORE FROM THE NEW STATE...

This summer, MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana announced the launch of the provisionally named ‘Your Party’. The new party was created to fill a gap on the left-wing of British politics that many believe Keir Starmer and his Labour government are ignoring. However, the launch process has not been smooth. Our political correspondent Megan Kenyon has been following all the updates from Your Party,...