Episodes
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In March, Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, published his memoir - A Very Private School. This recounted, in devastating detail, the abuse, both mental and physical, that he had been subjected to at his elite prep boarding school. The brutality is laid bare.
For centuries in the UK, a private education has been the pathway to opportunity. Today those who attended private schools are five times more likely to hold top jobs in politics, the judiciary, media, and business.
Boarding school boys in particular, who represent less than 1% of the population, have been in charge of the country for most of the past 14 years. But at what cost? For both the survivors of these institutions and for the whole country.
Read: A boyhood built on fear, The price of private education
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This episode was recorded on the 18th of April, prior to Israel's missile strikes on Iran.
Tensions in the Middle East have heightened further after Iran launched a missile attack on Israel last week. This was in response to Israelâs strike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria - which killed 16 people. Western leaders came to Israelâs defence and condemned Iranâs attack, but prior to this David Cameron - the UK foreign secretary - had warned that the UKâs support for Israel was ânot unconditionalâ.
So how have these latest developments divided the governmentâs stance on Israelâs conflict? And how are Labour planning to act should they come into government amid this war?
Anoosh Chakelian, Britian editor at the New Statesman, is joined by Freddie Hayward, political correspondent, and George Eaton, senior editor.
Read: The new Tory divide on Israel
Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics email Morning Call
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Missing episodes?
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This week Liz Truss has embarked on the press tour of a lifetime with her new book, Ten Years to Save the West: Lessons from the only conservative in the room. She's been casting blame from the UN to the Bank of England for the failure of her time in office, but does she really believe what she's saying? And how might this affect her standing in the next general election?
Anoosh and Rachel also ask Freddie about his recent trip to the National Conservatism conference in Brussels with the likes of Nigel Farage, Suella Braverman, Ăric Zemmour, Viktor OrbĂĄn, and the Belgian police.
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People up and down the country have been struggling to get NHS dental appointments for the past few years, forcing some to pay inflated prices for private treatment, or ignore their oral health until itâs reached an unbearable point. This crisis is also greatly impacting children across the nation, and today the number one reason children are admitted to hospital is due to severe dental issues.
So how did we get here? Why is the UK faced with Dickensian rot in 2024?
Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor, is joined by policy correspondent Harry Clarke-Ezzidio, and senior associate editor, Sarah Dawood.
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Angela Rayner, the Labour deputy leader, is being accused of being a âtax avoiderâ. While these attacks are coming predominantly from the right, theyâve been mounting in recent weeks and now Labour is having to confront the allegations.
So what could this mean for the deputy leader? Is Labour in trouble? Or is this a Tory smear campaign?
Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor at the New Statesman, is joined in the studio by political correspondent Freddie Hayward; this episode was recorded on Thursday 11th April.
Read the pieces mentioned in this podcast: Is Angela Rayner in danger?; What Dominic Raab missed about Angela Rayner at Glyndebourne; I looked into Angela Raynerâs tax affairs â hereâs what I found
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Weâve been digging around in our virtual mailbag and have brought a couple of your questions âŻto discuss.
One listener asks: What are the political implications of the Cass report and will it affect how British politicians approach the transgender conversation?
And another listener writes in to ask: Could a Starmer win in the UK and a Trump win in the US spell the end for the âspecial relationshipâ?
Ask a question for a future podcast: www.newstatesman.com/podcasts/2022/10/you-ask-us
Read Andrew Marr's piece: Inside Labourâs foreign policy factory
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The British royal family was in crisis even before Queen Elizabeth II died, and the new King and princess of wales both became ill with cancer.
In this modern age where access increasingly equates to relevance, and truth and conspiracy so often intertwine, how is Britainâs relationship with monarchy changing?
Chris Stone is joined on the New Statesman podcast by author Tanya Gold who has written this week's cover story: The Fragile Crown.
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It's listener questions time!
Anoosh Chakelian and Rachel Cunliffe answer a listener who asks why senior politicians flock to address culture wars issues "which are frankly below their station", and another who wants to know if MPs who are also landlords should recuse themselves from voting on laws affecting renters.
Submit a question for us to answer on a future episode: www.newstatesman.com/youaskus
Listen to our previous episode on leasehold reform with Barry Gardiner MP: https://pod.fo/e/22360d
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Englandâs 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, Britainâs biggest water company, is at risk of insolvency.
Whoâs responsible for this shitstorm? And in how many ways is this damaging for the country?
Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor at the New Statesman, is joined in the studio by Will Dunn, business editor, and Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor.
Read Will's piece: Who killed Thames Water?
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Flexible work has existed for decades. Think about local hairdressers, personal trainers, or tutors working for themselves â or even the jazz musicians in the early 1900s who coined the term âgig economyâ. But the past ten years of technology have made it more accessible â and visible â to both the people who use it and those who work in it.
But what is the right balance between job autonomy, economic security and workerâs rights? Is there a world where an evolving labour market provides proper workersâ protections and union representation while maintaining real autonomy and flexibility?
This New Statesman podcast, sponsored by Uber ahead of the three year anniversary of their groundbreaking recognition agreement with GMB â the first of its kind in the gig economy â breaks down all of this and more, to discuss the future of work in 21st-century Britain.
Journalist Suze Cooper was joined by a panel of guests including Sir Stephen Timms, MP for East Ham since 1994 and Chair of Parliamentâs Work and Pensions Select Committee; the GMB trade unionâs National Secretary, Andy Prendergast and Uberâs UK General Manager, Andrew Brem.
Through the episode, they discussed how changes in ways of working have come to the fore in our everyday lives, with technological advances seeing less of a focus on traditional industries and more on the dynamic, flexible labour market of the 21st century. Alongside these transformations weâve seen the world of work change in other ways with the rise of hybrid working environments, the gig and sharing economy, work-from-anywhere culture and digital nomads. The pandemic has sped up and baked in these developments across the UK, as peopleâs approach to work-life balance adjusted, with workers seemingly coming to value their autonomy in much more profound ways than previous generations.
Options for flexible work across various apps and platforms have enabled more choice for millions of people around their working patterns, choosing when and where they earn. More and more, it appears British workers are putting greater value on autonomy and flexibility in their lives and careers than their parents and grandparents did, balancing work around other responsibilities like caring or studying.
But the question for the UK â and considered by the panel throughout this episode â is how best to deliver this flexibility and autonomy whilst not compromising on the protections and benefits workers need.
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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.
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This is an episodeâŻwe like to call âYouâŻAskâŻUsâ.
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 the general election in order to stop it being the dominant issue?"
Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor of the New Statesman, is joined in the studio by political correspondent, Freddie Hayward, and down the line by senior data journalist Ben Walker.
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Earlier this week the UK government accused China of stealing 40 million UK registered votersâ names and addresses. The breach occurred in 2021 and 2022, in which time GCHQ has ascertained that China state-affiliated actors also targeted several parliamentariansâ emails - including former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith.
So what could the Chinese government do with this data? How real is the threat of China to Western democracy? And what is our government doing to mitigate this risk?
Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor of the New Statesman, and Freddie Hayward, political correspondent, discuss the UK's China strategy in the run up to the election.
Read: Chinaâs global coal machine wonât be stopped so easily
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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 UKâs 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 parents, children, siblings, or spouses.
Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor of The New Statesman, is joined by Jess Prestidge from the Centre for Social Justice, and former BBC correspondent and family carer Humphrey Hawksley.
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This is an episodeâŻwe like to call âYouâŻAskâŻUsâ.
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 significance of a Labour clean sweep be? A lot has been said about the different experiences of Labour and Tory Mayors under the previous government⊠might a Labour government try to depoliticise devolution?"
Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor of the New Statesman, is joined in the studio by political correspondent, Freddie Hayward.
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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.
âIn a changing world, Britain has been behind the curve,â she said, but a Labour government, she stated, would seek to bring a ânew chapter in Britain's economic historyâ.
Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor at the New Statesman, is joined by George Eaton, senior editor, and Freddie Hayward, political correspondent, who both attended Reeves' lecture on Tuesday evening at Bayes Business School in City University.
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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 writing this book was that even the most senior, successful, authoritative women are taken less seriously. Even being president of a country doesn't insulate women from the authority gap. Why is this?
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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 a borough councillor.
And an anonymous listener asks for analysis on the proportion of voters who have died since the 2019 election - Ben responds with some exclusive analysis, hot off the press.
Want to ask a question for a future episode? Go to www.newstatesman.com/YouAsk Us
Join our community of free thinkers by becoming a New Statesman subscriber, and get your first month free: https://www.newstatesman.com/subscribe
Get a free daily dose of politics from Freddie Hayward by signing up for the Morning Call newsletter: https://substack.com/morningcall
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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 leader - and the impact this might have on the next election.
Submit a question for "You Ask Us": https://www.newstatesman.com/youaskus
Join our community of free thinkers by becoming a New Statesman subscriber, and get your first month free: https://www.newstatesman.com/subscribe
Get a free daily dose of politics from Freddie Hayward by signing up for the Morning Call newsletter: https://substack.com/morningcall
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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 which brought them to Westminster, and ultimately their joint decision to leave Westminster in order to affect greater change for the regions they represent.
This episode was recorded on the 5th of February, 3 days before Labour rowed back on their pledge to invest an annual ÂŁ28 billion on kickstarting a green industrial revolution. We discuss the proposed ÂŁ28 billion investment during this conversation, the contents of which are now out of date.
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