Crony War

Rachel Reeves, the shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, has made an intervention calling for an end to the government’s “outsourcing obsession”. She’s accused the government of handing £2bn of coronavirus contracts to Conservative friends and donors and wasting hundreds of millions of pounds on faulty equipment that can’t be used. Ailbhe has interviewed Ms. Reeves exclusively for the New Statesman, and on this episode of the podcast Ailbhe joins Stephen and Anoosh to discuss the cronyism controversy, and the former shadow work and pensions secretary's return to the front benches. Then, in You Ask Us, they clear up some of the confusion surrounding factionalism and in-fighting within the Scottish National Party.Subscribing to the New Statesman helps us keep producing this podcast. You can now subscribe for 12 weeks for just £12. Visit newstatesman.com/subscribe12.Read more on the New Statesman:Ailbhe's interview with Rachel Reeves MPStephen argues that the apparent polling surge for the Green party matters more for the Liberal Democrats than the Labour party.James Meadway writes that long-term Covid could mean long-term Conservative rule.We'd love to hear from you.Send us your You Ask Us questions at youaskus.co.uk.You can follow Stephen Bush on twitter @stephenkb. Anoosh Chakelian is @Anoosh_C and Ailbhe Rea is @PronouncedAlva.More audio from the New Statesman: listen to our weekly global affairs show World ReviewIf you are a New Statesman digital subscriber you can get ad-free access to this podcast by visiting newstatesman.com/nssubscribers.Topics in this episode:coronaviruscovid-19government spendingoutsourcinggovernment contractsthe labour partythe conservative partyScotlandthe SNPPeople mentioned in this episode:Rachel ReevesBoris JohnsonKeir StarmerMichael GoveEd MilibandDavid CameronNicola SturgeonAlex SalmondLISTEN AD-FREE:📱Download the New Statesman appMORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.