EPISODE · Nov 13, 2025 · 1H 2M
Dial S for Starmer: how NOT to supress a leadership challenge
from Quiet Riot · host Alex Andreou, Naomi Smith, Kenny Campbell
It takes a very special team to accidentally advertise and fuel a leadership challenge that was not even real yet, but the current team in No.10 is nothing if not special. AND... Is the BBC just another legacy giant that has outlived its purpose? Or is it worth defending against Trump? (SPOILERS: Hell, yes, it's worth defending!) PLUS... an unexpected "Wokey Dokey" and a superbly inspirational "Grin And Share It". Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell discuss the latest drama. In as non-dramatic a way as possible, of course. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “To head off a coup, you display confidence and strength. This did the opposite - showed weakness and anxiety. It was just pretty weird. Like they accidentally fired the starter’s pistol on the leadership challenge they were trying to quell.” “Starmer has just not been a good Prime Minister. He has shown poor judgment throughout his tenure. They have consistently boxed themselves in and made everything harder than they needed to.” “The political strategy, at its core - come to power and instead of looking after your base, devote the first year to p***ing off your base, in favour of voters who will probably never come to you - is so poor and so predictably disastrous, that I don’t understand how McSweeney is still in Downing St.” “There are two separate issues here: Yes, the BBC needs to do better, but they are also the victim of Trump doing what Trump does. And this will be used by Trump’s team to divert attention from other stuff.” “We also have to realise that the assault on the BBC is part of a larger battle being waged. A battle between sources of accurate information and political forces and people for whom accurate information is like kryptonite.” “The BBC is important and contributes globally. If it comes under pressure the scale, the reach, the nature of its output might shift and Britain’s soft power global footprint takes a substantial hit.” CALLS TO ACTION Listen to Arthur Snell's latest Behind The Lines, and SUBSCRIBE! Find out more about the BBC Media Action charity here. GRIN AND SHARE IT All about Lego MRI Scanners! • Buy something from our bookshop here. • Email us at [email protected]. • Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What this episode covers
It takes a very special team to accidentally advertise and fuel a leadership challenge that was not even real yet, but the current team in No.10 is nothing if not special. AND... Is the BBC just another legacy giant that has outlived its purpose? Or is it worth defending against Trump? (SPOILERS: Hell, yes, it's worth defending!) PLUS... an unexpected "Wokey Dokey" and a superbly inspirational "Grin And Share It". Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell discuss the latest drama. In as non-dramatic a way as possible, of course. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** “To head off a coup, you display confidence and strength. This did the opposite - showed weakness and anxiety. It was just pretty weird. Like they accidentally fired the starter’s pistol on the leadership challenge they were trying to quell.” “Starmer has just not been a good Prime Minister. He has shown poor judgment throughout his tenure. They have consistently boxed themselves in and made everything harder than they needed to.” “The political strategy, at its core - come to power and instead of looking after your base, devote the first year to p***ing off your base, in favour of voters who will probably never come to you - is so poor and so predictably disastrous, that I don’t understand how McSweeney is still in Downing St.” “There are two separate issues here: Yes, the BBC needs to do better, but they are also the victim of Trump doing what Trump does. And this will be used by Trump’s team to divert attention from other stuff.” “We also have to realise that the assault on the BBC is part of a larger battle being waged. A battle between sources of accurate information and political forces and people for whom accurate information is like kryptonite.” “The BBC is important and contributes globally. If it comes under pressure the scale, the reach, the nature of its output might shift and Britain’s soft power global footprint takes a substantial hit.” CALLS TO ACTION Listen to Arthur Snell's latest Behind The Lines, and SUBSCRIBE! Find out more about the BBC Media Action charity here. GRIN AND SHARE IT All about Lego MRI Scanners! • Buy something from our bookshop here. • Email us at [email protected]. • Or visit our website www.quietriotpod.com. With Naomi Smith, Alex Andreou and Kenny Campbell. ***SPONSOR US AT KO-FI.COM/QUIETRIOTPOD*** Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Dial S for Starmer: how NOT to supress a leadership challenge
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