The New Statesman Podcast

Jeremy Hunt presented his first Budget on Wednesday (15 March) as forecasts said that Britain faces a record fall in living standards over the next two years.

Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the New Statesman’s political editor, Andrew Marr, and business editor, Will Dunn, to take us through the key measures. They discuss the huge stealth tax rises the Chancellor snuck into his “boring” Budget and, with half a million workers on s...

The local elections in May will be the first time that voters in England must show a form of photo ID to cast their vote. The government has said we need these tough restrictions to combat election fraud but pilots suggest one million voters could be put off voting, with police told to prepare for polling station chaos.

Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Cunliffe and Ben Walker discuss the reality of voter fraud, why Rishi Sunak is pressi...

Women have turned away from the Conservative Party over the past few decades, who since 2010 have been more likely to vote for Labour. The Conservatives’ failure to support women – who are bearing the brunt of the cost-of-living crisis – has not helped things.

Anoosh Chakelian, Zoë Grünewald and Rachel Wearmouth discuss why the Tories have failed to win over female voters, the rise of newly politicised mums, ...

Childcare in the UK is among the most expensive among the countries of the OECD. The lack of affordable and accessible childcare is costing the nation £27bn a year – equivalent to 1 per cent of GDP – according to report by Centre for Progressive Policy.

In this bonus episode of the New Statesman podcast, brought to you by the Spotlight team, Alona Ferber, editor of the Spotlight policy section and supp...

A new report from economics think tank the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP) reveals the UK is losing 1 per cent of GDP through a lack of suitable childcare. Rachel Cunliffe, Alona Ferber and Zoë Grünewald discuss the cost of Britain’s broken childcare system as the pressure increases for action.

We hear from Labour MP Stella Creasy, who with shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson wants to make childcare a dividi...

Rishi Sunak has agreed a deal with the EU on the Northern Ireland protocol. He has hailed this as a “new chapter” in relations, but will he reap the rewards?

Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Rachel Wearmouth discuss the “Windsor framework”, as the deal is known, and what the DUP and hardline Tory Brexiteers will do now. They also debate whether Labour will be forced to drop its “Make Brexit Work” slogan.

Th...

Anoosh Chakelian and Zoë Grünewald are joined by two parliamentary researchers to delve into the working conditions, power imbalances and abuses that take place within Westminster.

Jenny Symmons and Holly Brazier Tope are senior researchers for Labour MPs and representatives of parliamentary staff for the GMB union. They open up about the problems at their workplace, ranging from diseased drinking water, fires and as...

For a hot moment Kate Forbes was favourite to replace Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister. But revealing her socially conservative views in a series of interviews, including being against equal marriage, gender self-identification and sex outside of marriage, has dismayed her supporters and jeopardised her campaign.

Anoosh Chakelian and Ben Walker discuss the SNP’s socially liberal base and the parallel...

Widespread use of autonomous cars is on the horizon. Self-driving vehicles are already out on our roads. And autonomy will change our relationship with our vehicles. But what will the new immersive world inside a vehicle be like?

In the third episode of a three-part special series partnered with Wejo, the smart mobility tech company, a panel of expert guests discuss how legislation and policy are enabling self-driving vehicles...

With the criminal justice system under immense strain, from huge case backlogs to crumbling court buildings and staff shortages, Labour has seized the opportunity to attack the Tories’ record on crime. In a speech on Thursday 16 February the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, declared that “only Labour is the party of law and order”.

Rachel Cunliffe, Freddie Hayward and Rachel Wearmouth discuss Keir Starmer’s strategy,...

After surprising the country by announcing her resignation as First Minister and SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon leaves a vacuum in UK politics. The New Statesman’s Scotland editor, Chris Deerin, joins the podcast to discuss what's behind her decision and what it means for the Union, independence and the prospects of Scottish opposition parties.

Then in You Ask Us, we try to work out who could replace her.

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Ahead of the publication of his new book, Life in the Balance: A Doctor’s Stories of Intensive Care, Dr Jim Down speaks to Anoosh Chakelian about the struggles the NHS is facing, why privitisation isn’t the answer, and the toll the job is taking on the mental health of many doctors.

Jim’s book is published on 23 February.

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Rishi Sunak is struggling to restore order over a divided and unruly Conservative party. His latest attempt, this week, takes the form of a cabinet reshuffle and a restructuring of Whitehall that created four new government departments.

Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth and Freddie Hayward break down the main changes and talk about what this disruptive and expensive move tells us about Sunak’s grip on his party.

They als...

Last week the government faced multiple defeats in the House of Lords on its wide-ranging Public Order Bill, which have peers warned would have a chilling effect on the right to protest.

As the government continues to try to push its legislation through, Jodie Beck, head of policy and campaigns at the human rights organisation Liberty, talks to Rachel Cunliffe about why this bill is so controversial, how it will criminalise perf...

Rishi Sunak is marking 100 days in office just after Britain was hit by the biggest day of industrial action in a decade and the IMF predicted that the UK will be the only major economy to shrink in 2023. With the Tory party engulfed in sleaze and sackings, Sunak is feeling the pressure.

Andrew Marr joins Anoosh Chakelian and Freddie Hayward to discuss whether the Prime Minister is simply too inexperienced to weather...

After a series of by-election victories, could the Lib Dem election machine be powering the party back to its late 90s levels of popularity? Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Ben Walker look at the party’s recent performance, how it is preparing to fight an upcoming election and why Brexit has changed the kinds of seats it is fighting for.

Listen to our special on the Green Party.

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Rishi Sunak promised to draw a line under the scandalous Boris Johnson era when he became Prime Minister, but Tory sleaze seems here to stay. He is facing serious questions over the integrity of his party after a succession of allegations against senior figures.

Anoosh Chakelian, Freddie Hayward and Will Dunn, the New Statesman’s business editor, try to figure out what's going – from Boris Johnson’s loan allegedly facilitated ...

With the crisis in the health service growing, the New Statesman’s medical editor Phil Whitaker speaks to Rachel Cunliffe about his prescription for fixing it.

They discuss how the system is currently broken, why the Health Secretary Steve Barclay and the shadow health secretary Wes Streeting could benefit from spending time on the front line with GPs, and how to get back to a system in which the private insurance sector ...

A special podcast from Spotlight, the New Statesman’s policy supplement - The New Statesman podcast will return tomorrow.

In 2020, the UK announced the end of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. At the time, Boris Johnson’s government pledged £1.8bn to support greater uptake of zero emission vehicles, including £1.3bn to rollout more chargepoints for electric vehicles nationwide.

Since then, the country has seen the bigg...