Episodes
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Mission government with Jill Rutter
Jill Rutter of the Institute for Government joins Martin and Steve to discuss the idea of mission government and how Labour are getting on with their missions, after the Prime Minister's speech last week.
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Trump's influence here
Martin and Steve discuss the US election and what it means for politics in the UK.
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Evaluating The Budget
Martin and Steve break down the budget and ask where the centre ground on the economy is now.
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First 100 days and Conference round up
Martin and Steve catch up on the first few months of a Labour Government, Conference season and the surprises of the Tory leadership race.
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Why are the Toires happy?
Martin and Steve discuss the Conservative conference.
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Why Labour are nervous
Martin and Steve discuss an uneasy Labour conference.
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Should the Libdems replace the Tories?
Martin and Steve discuss the gossip from the Libdem conference in Brighton.
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Political factions
Steve and Martin discuss factions in Parliament following the 'Pop Con' this week.
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Politics in 2024
Martin and Steve discuss the big year ahead, and assess the starts Starmer and Sunak have made to 2024.
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Attitudes to immigration, with Sophie Stowers.
Sophie Stowers join the podcast to talk about how the public view immigration.
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How to be a patriot, with Sunder Katwala.
Sunder returns to the podcast to talk about his new book, ‘How to Be a Patriot’.
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Cllr Stephen Penfold on local government
Councillor Stephen Penfold joined us to talk about housing and the other challenges he faces in local government.
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Christabel Cooper on Stevenage Woman and Labour Together
Labour Together's Director of Research tells us where the next general election can be won and lost.
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The politics of the ’new elite’ with Matt Goodwin.
Professor Matt Goodwin joins Martin and Steve to talk about his new book Values, Voices and Virtue, its reception and the wider arguments about populism and our politics.
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Finding common ground with Luke Tryl.
Martin and Steve are joined by Luke Tryl, UK Director of More in Common to talk about the state of divides in UK society, the political weather and education policy.
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The Conservative Party After Brexit with Professor Tim Bale
Professor Tim Bale on his new book about the Conservative Party
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Economic discourse with Giles Wilkes.
Former No10 economic adviser Giles Wilkes joins the podcast to discuss the budget, Trussonomics, austerity, "boomsters vs doomsters" and much much more.
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Elliott Goat on democracy and polarisation
Elliott Goat of Undivided and Unhack joins us to discuss democracy and polarisation
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US midterms and American democracy, with Roifield Brown.
We welcome host of the Mid Atlantic pod Roifield Brown back to the show, to discuss the fallout of the US midterm elections and what this means for US democracy and more.
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Lessons from New Labour with Dr Lise Butler and Dr Colm Murphy.
Historians of the British left, Lise and Colm, join Steve and Martin to talk about New Labour’s legacy and what current politicians could learn from them.
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Polling UnPacked, with Mark Pack.
Libdem president Mark Pack joins Steve to discuss his new book on the opinion polls and touch on the mood within the Libdems.
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One Nation Conservatism with Bim Afolami MP.
Martin is joined by Bim Afolami MP in his office in Parliament to discuss One Nation Conservatism and the Conservative leadership race. This podcast was recorded on Thursday 8 September, prior to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
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Polling the political centre with Keiran Pedley of Ipsos.
Pollster Keiran Pedley joins us to explore polling on the political centre ground
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Facing economic challenges, with Martin Wolf.
In this episode we are joined by Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times, to discuss Gaitskell, Social Democracy and how well the UK's political parties are facing up to challenging economic times.
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Labour’s Blue Wall chances, with Cllr Robert Evans.
Cllr and former MEP Robert Evans joins the podcast to discuss the frontline of the political realignment, what it is like to be a Labour Councillor in Surrey and reflect on the reemergence of the Brexit debate.
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Making democracy work, with Polly Mackenzie.
Polly Mackenzie CE of the think tank Demos and former adviser to Nick Clegg joins the podcast to talk about their work on participative policy making, and what is wrong with being a partisan or a technocrat.
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Ukraine and foreign policy on the left, with David Taylor.
David Taylor co-founder of the Labour Campaign for International Development joins the podcast to talk about the situation in Ukraine, wider issues in international development and debates within Labour on foreign policy including re Stop the War Coalition.
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Labour building bridges, with Ryan Wain.
Ryan Wain, of the Tony Blair Institute, joins Martin and Steve to talk about his recent work on how Labour might rebuild its electoral coalition, as well as broader questions around renewing progressive politics.
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Polarisation and generational divides, with Prof Bobby Duffy.
Professor Bobby Duffy of Kings College London joins Martin and Steve to talk about his research on polarisation in UK politics and the role of generational divides.
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Local government and Labour‘s prospects, with Cllr Christabel Cooper.
Labour Cllr and data analyst Christabel Cooper join Martin and Steve to talk about the prospects of the Labour party and the state of local government and politics.
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Tim Bale on party members, switchers, and a threat to democracy
Professor Tim Bale on party members, switchers, and a threat to democracy
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Polling and parties, with WIll Jennings
Professor of politics Will Jennings joins Martin and Steve to discuss how the public think about policy, the parties and government.
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The 'Blue Wall', with David Gauke.
Former Conservative MP and minister David Gauke joins Martin and Steve to reflect on politics since the 2019 election and talk about the prospects of Labour making inroads in the Tory southern seats .
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100 days of President Biden, with Roifeild Brown.
Steve is joined by Roiflield Brown to talk about President Biden’s first 100 days in office. We cover approval ratings, the stimulus package, Mexico border and police reform — and go on to talk about the GOP and the difference between local government in the US and UK. Photo by Markus Spiske on...
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Economic and environmental justice, with Carys Roberts.
IPPR Executive Director Carys Roberts joins Martin and Steve to talk about the future of capitalism, the green revolution, economic justice and more.
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Labour, England and patriotism, with John Denham.
Martin and Steve welcome Prof John Denham back to the podcast to discuss the recent controversies around Labour’s attempts to be more patriotic in the context of debates about Keir Starmer’s leadership. We also cover how the politics of England fit into this debate.
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Science and covid-19, with Tom Chivers.19
Science writer Tom Chivers joins Martin and Steve to talk about covering the scientific twists and turns of the pandemic and what impact it has had on how the media and wider society think about science.
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Devolution and the future of the UK , with Akash Paun.
Akash Paun, of the Institute for Government, joins the podcast to talk about devolution in England and the other nations of the UK. We also touch on the shocking events in Washington DC and review a harrowing year.
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Brexit, Covid and economic fall out, with Jonathan Portes.
Martin and Steve are joined by Professor Jonathan Portes, of UK in a Changing Europe, to discuss the economic fallout post-pandemic, look at the chances of a last-minute Brexit deal and discuss what the consequences of deal or no deal might be.
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Everything in moderation, with Daniel Finkelstein.
With the moderate politics on the line in the US election, we talk to Lord Finkelstein on his new book ‘Everything in Moderation’. We cover what it means to be a moderate, including in relation to Brexit, culture wars and more. We also look at the US election and the recent EHRC report into...
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Labour and political divides, with Caroline Flint.
Former Labour MP and Minister the Rt Hon Caroline Flint joins Martin and Steve to talk about the future of Labour and much more. Caroline tells us why she is a ‘Labour moderate’ and why she voted for Theresa May’s Brexit deal. We discuss the political split between towns and cities, as well as…
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Science and politics, with Cory Clark and Bo Winegard.
Dr Cory Clark and Dr Bo Winegard join Martin and Steve to discuss the politics of science. We talk about politics in academia and 'cancel culture' and how politicians are using science on issues such as Covid and Climate Change. Photo by Michael Longmire on Unsplash.
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Polling and political strategy 2020, with Matt Singh.
Matt Singh of Numbercrucher joins Martin and Steve to talk about where we are with political strategy, polling and more in both the UK and the US. We cover Labour and Conservative strategies, the role Brexit and culture wars are playing and Extinction Rebellion. We also explore how certain (or…
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Gender identity, with Helen Belcher.
Helen Belcher joins Martin and Steve to discuss current debates around gender identity, correct some misconceptions and understand how it has played into political narratives. We also touch on Helen’s Libdem candidacy and the future of the party under Ed Davey.
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What are the Libdems for?
Martin and Steve give a short reaction to the election of Ed Davey as Liberal Democrat leader and pontificate about what the party might stand for in the 2020 political landscape.
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Brexit and the Liberal Democrats, with Norman Lamb.
Martin and Steve welcome Sir Norman Lamb to the podcast. We look back on Remainers’ failure to compromise on Brexit and the future of the LibDems: how they get cut through and Norman’s advice for the new leader. Photo by Habib Ayoade on Unsplash.
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Anywheres and Somewheres, with David Goodhart.
Martin and Steve welcome David Goodhart to talk about his work recent work on ‘anywheres’ and ‘somewheres’ and how it helps explain the new landscape of British politics. We touch on immigration, BLM and more.
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DFID abolished and Global Britain, with Laura Round.
Former DFID Special Adviser Laura Round joins Martin and Steve to discuss the thinking behind the merger of DFID and the Foreign Office and what Global Britain means.
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Race, history and identity with Sunder Katwala
Martin and Steve welcome Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future, to discuss the debate about British history in the wake of the BLM protests, and how identity politics is playing out in Britain. Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash.
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BLM, police reform and understanding racism in the US and UK with Roifield Brown.
Martin and Steve welcome Roifield Brown back to the podcast to discuss the Black Lives Matter protests in the UK and US, the prospect of police reform in the US and race and politics more broadly.