"Turning up to a gun fight with a wooden spoon": should the UK be tougher on China?

Earlier this week the UK government accused China of stealing 40 million UK registered voters’ names and addresses. The breach occurred in 2021 and 2022, in which time GCHQ has ascertained that China state-affiliated actors also targeted several parliamentarians’ 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: China’s global coal machine won’t be stopped so easilyLISTEN 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.