Commons People
261 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 2 years ago - ★★★★ - 8 ratingsEach week, the HuffPost UK Politics team unpack the biggest stories from Westminster and beyond.
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Episodes
Baroness Angela Smith...On Tory Tax Bombshells And Labour's Future
September 10, 2021 15:33 - 34 minutes - 31.3 MBBoris Johnson has taken the biggest gamble of his premiership with a National Insurance hike to fund the NHS and social care. Labour's leader in the Lords Angela Smith joins Ned Simons, Sophia Sleigh and Paul Waugh to chat through Tory tax rises and where Labour's at ahead of its party conference Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Yvette Cooper On The Art Of Govt And Opposition
July 23, 2021 14:03 - 34 minutes - 39.9 MBAs MPs head off to their constituencies, rising Covid cases and Channel crossings of asylum seekers are ensuring Boris Johnson cannot put his feet up. Home Affairs Committee chair Yvette Cooper joins Ned Simons and Paul Waugh to chat through her joust with the Priti Patel this week, as well as the wider problems facing both the government and Labour this summer. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sunak's Overseas Aid Ambush: With Andrew Mitchell
July 16, 2021 16:44 - 29 minutes - 41 MBThe chancellor's late, late move to outflank Tory rebels on international aid cuts won the day, despite MPs voting against the three line whip. But is the rebellion over and will Rishi Sunak and his party rue the damage caused to their brand? Ned Simons and Paul Waugh are joined by former international development secretary (and former chief whip) Andrew Mitchell. Make sense of politics. Sign up to the Waugh Zone and get the political day in a nutshell every weekday evening. Hosted on Ac...
Trading places: Will Liz Truss’s ‘Donut’ Strategy Leave Us With Brexit Indigestion?
July 09, 2021 09:25 - 41 minutes - 56.8 MBFootball may or may not be coming home, but Boris Johnson and Liz Truss want British firms to export more abroad. Can the UK’s tricky relations with China help or hinder that post-Brexit ambition? Shadow international trade secretary Emily Thornberry joins Ned Simons and Paul Waugh to chat through trade, as well as the next steps for Keir Starmer’s Labour after its ‘Batley bounce’. Make sense of politics. Sign up to the Waugh Zone and get the political day in a nutshell every weekday eveni...
Return Of The Saj
July 01, 2021 16:13 - 33 minutes - 37.8 MBSajid Javid made a phoenix-like return to the Cabinet this week, replacing Matt Hancock after the former health secretary was sensationally caught on camera breaking Covid rules by kissing an aide in his office. Senior Tory and Commons education committee chair Rob Halfon joins Arj Singh and Paul Waugh to discuss a rocky week for the government, and the Covid crisis that’s creeping up in English schools. Make sense of politics. Sign up to the Waugh Zone and get the political day in a nutsh...
Brexit Birthday Special
June 24, 2021 16:03 - 39 minutes - 54.9 MBIt’s the fifth anniversary of the vote to leave the EU and Brexit is still having a profound impact on British politics. Tory former spad Salma Shah and the UK In A Changing Europe’s Anand Menon join Arj Singh and Paul Waugh to unpack the successes and failures of the last five years, and discuss what Brexit means for politics in 2021 and beyond. Make sense of politics. Sign up to the Waugh Zone and get the political day in a nutshell every weekday evening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com...
Is The Tory Culture War Backfiring In Its Traditional Heartlands?
June 17, 2021 16:11 - 34 minutes - 39 MBBoris Johnson this week delayed so-called “freedom day” from Covid restrictions in a bid to get more vaccines into more arms and protect the NHS. But the prime minister has angered many Tory MPs, who simply do not believe he will stick to the new “terminus” of July 19th. Lib Dem health spokesperson Munira Wilson joins Arj Singh and Paul Waugh to discuss why her party abstained on extending restrictions, and also why the Tories’ so-called culture war was losing them votes in their tradition...
Joe Biden Jets In Amid An Almighty Brexit ‘Mess’
June 10, 2021 18:47 - 37 minutes - 51.1 MBIt’s a huge week for Boris Johnson as Joe Biden and leaders of some of the world’s wealthiest countries arrive in Cornwall for the G7 summit. But the prime minister has embroiled himself in a row with the EU over the terms of his own Brexit deal, which has angeried the US president and is threatening to overshadow the event. Labour’s shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy joins Arj Singh and Ned Simons to discuss how Johnson can reset and repair relations with Biden, and discuss what Labour c...
Why Cummings Showed The UK Must Ditch ‘Glorious Amateurism’
May 28, 2021 12:25 - 35 minutes - 48.7 MBDominic Cummings took no prisoners this week when laying out claims of a series of “disastrous” government failures that meant tens of thousands of people died of Covid unnecessarily. Conservative MP Bob Seely joins Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth to talk about the former No.10 aide's explosive select committee appearance, why the government needs to be better prepared for “black swan” moments, and the electoral risk facing the Tories if Boris Johnson proceeds with controversial ...
Why Labour Should Be Braver To Win Back The Red Wall
May 20, 2021 14:45 - 44 minutes - 50.4 MBWeeks of optimism and cheer as Covid restrictions were eased gave way to another bout of nationwide nervousness amid localised spikes in infections attributed to the variant of the virus first detected in India, prompting debates about how to contain the variant and whether the June 21 unlocking needs to be delayed. Labour MP and Keir Starmer’s new parliamentary private secretary Sharon Hodgson joins Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth to chat through Covid, winning voters in red wal...
What Is ‘Levelling Up’ And Can Boris Johnson Deliver?
May 13, 2021 15:37 - 36 minutes - 50.3 MBThe government’s legislative agenda for the next year or so was unveiled in this week’s Queen’s Speech. But it was perhaps more notable for what wasn’t in it. Boris Johnson’s plan to reform social care was still absent despite his 2019 claim to voters that he had one prepared. And the prime minister is still struggling to define how he will “level up” left behind communities. Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake, an aide to Michael Gove, joins Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth to expla...
Local Elections Special: What Went Wrong For Labour
May 07, 2021 16:43 - 46 minutes - 63.8 MBLabour suffered a disastrous series of results in the “super Thursday” local elections, capped by a huge and humiliating defeat to the Tories in a parliamentary by-election in the red wall seat of Hartlepool. There were more losses in red wall and other marginal council areas with the Tories even taking control of Northumberland. It has led to serious questions about Keir Starmer’s leadership, Labour’s strategy, and just where the party goes from here. Senior former Labour adviser Matthew ...
Will Voters Care About The Boris Johnson Flat Saga?
April 29, 2021 17:22 - 38 minutes - 43.6 MBIt’s been a nightmare week for Boris Johnson, who kicked the hornet’s nest when he blamed Dominic Cummings for a series of damaging leaks. The former adviser replied with a stinging public attack, which has left the prime minister fending off multiple bad headlines around his handling of the Covid crisis. On top of that, the Tories are now facing an Electoral Commission investigation into who funded the refurbishment of Johnson’s Downing Street flat. Meanwhile, with the Covid situation impr...
Labour Think They’ve Found Tories’ Weak Spot, But Is It Enough To Win? With Lord Mandelson
April 22, 2021 16:01 - 44 minutes - 61.1 MBAllegations of cronyism and government by WhatsApp have been intensifying around the Conservatives as Boris Johnson’s texts to manufacturer and Tory donor James Dyson add to the lobbying scandal engulfing former PM David Cameron and members of the Cabinet. Labour think they’ve found a message to take to the doorstep for local elections, but are claims of Tory sleaze enough to take power nationally? A scandal of another sort has however overshadowed the Greensill story, as failed plans by th...
Could The EU Vaccine War Give Boris Johnson An Election Boost?
March 25, 2021 17:09 - 41 minutes - 56.4 MBWith local elections around the corner, Boris Johnson’s Tories find themselves in a stronger position than they would have imagined just a few short months ago. Will the successful deployment of coronavirus vaccines wipe the memory of the issues Britain endured during repeated lockdowns, giving the prime minister a vaccine bounce? Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth are joined by Tory peer and polling expert Lord Robert Hayward to discuss whether the success of the rollout compared t...
Is Boris Johnson The Right Man To Help Women?
March 18, 2021 17:41 - 42 minutes - 97.3 MBThe scale of protests, anger and shared feeling amongst women that they aren’t safe in British society after the killing of Sarah Everard has sparked a change in attitudes towards women’s safety in Westminster. But is a government led by a prime minister who’s been accused of sexism multiple times really capable of the change needed? Joining Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth to discuss how to improve things is shadow domestic violence minister Jess Phillips, who calls for cross-par...
Britain’s Equality Flaws
March 11, 2021 17:25 - 28 minutes - 64.3 MBThe disappearance of Sarah Everard, Harry and Meghan’s bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, and the resignations of two government equality advisers have revealed just how much work there still is to do to make Britain a more equal society for all. Joining Arj Singh, Rachel Wearmouth and Paul Waugh, Tory chair of the Commons women and equalities committee, Caroline Nokes discusses the need for Royal transparency, why women feel unsafe on our streets, and why she wears “woke” as a “badge of ho...
Does Rishi Sunak’s Budget Change The Fight For Labour?
March 04, 2021 17:13 - 40 minutes - 93.7 MBThis week Rishi Sunak delivered his heavily-trailed Budget, revealing a spend now, tax later approach to the economic recovery from coronavirus. It included big spending on Covid support measures but a sting in the tail as taxes were hiked to their highest level since the 1960s. There were also accusations of “pork barrel politics” as Tory areas benefited from funding for levelling up. Joining Arj Singh and Paul Waugh, shadow Treasury minister Pat McFadden talks through the repercussions of...
The Route Out Of Lockdown Is Revealed But The Road To Recovery Looks Less Certain
February 25, 2021 16:58 - 46 minutes - 106 MBAfter Boris Johnson revealed his “road map” for the country to exit lockdown but with the vaccination programme continuing to go well, attention is turning towards the path to economic recovery. What will chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget next week do to help those in need now? What might it tell us about the government’s vision for the future? And are vaccine passports inevitable to allow the economy to open up? Joining Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth, ex-Treasury Sonia Khan discu...
Is Britain’s Gambling Problem Finally Going To Be Met With Action?
February 11, 2021 16:13 - 41 minutes - 95.6 MBAs the lockdown continues in Britain, attitudes are changing across Westminster to problem gambling as restrictions leave people couple up at home, inundated with betting ads and turning to online gambling sites for entertainment. Can an unlikely cross-party coalition of campaigners bring about change? Labour MP and PPS to Keir Starmer, Carolyn Harris, joins Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth to discuss what needs to happen and why those calling for a challenge to Keir Starmer’s lea...
Are ‘Incompetent’ Ministers Trapping People In Unsafe, Unsellable Homes?
February 04, 2021 17:10 - 38 minutes - 88.7 MBThe government is facing another big Tory rebellion, this time over the cladding scandal which has seen people trapped in unsafe, unsellable flats after the Grenfell disaster, because their buildings are covered in unsafe material. Boris Johnson’s lockdown caution is also causing consternation on the backbenches, as the vaccine rollout continues to move along at pace. Meanwhile, a week to forget for Keir Starmer adds to a sense of dissatisfaction at the party’s direction of travel in Labour...
The Candidates Set Out Scottish Labour's Future
January 28, 2021 18:27 - 50 minutes - 116 MBMonica Lennon and Anas Sarwar join Rachel Wearmouth and Paul Waugh to discuss what Scottish Labour’s future is in Scotland and what they would do as the next Scottish Labour leader. Will they support an independence referendum? And how do they view the stewardship of the devolved government by the SNP in Holyrood? And what view do they take on Brexit affecting Scotland and its place in a post-Brexit Britain? Make sense of politics. Sign up to the Waugh Zone and get the political day in a ...
Boris Johnson Walks Into Another ‘Elephant Trap’
January 21, 2021 16:39 - 33 minutes - 76.3 MBYet more sobering coronavirus death statistics this week raised the prospect of restrictions continuing for some while yet. And with lockdown comes renewed attention to the plight of many juggling work and childcare, with many left without the means to provide classes or food for their children. The government looks set to make another U-turn on Universal Credit - but was the political damage avoidable? Joining Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth, Conservative chair of the Commons ed...
Will The Red Wall Be Left Behind In The Fight Against Climate Change?
January 14, 2021 17:24 - 42 minutes - 96.6 MBThis week Britain faced a grisly milestone, with the highest number of daily deaths with coronavirus reported. The government has vowed to get tough on members of the public who are flouting lockdown measures, but is that where blame should lie? As the government tries to explain that we’re all in this together, senior ex-MPs Caroline Flint and Caroline Spelman talk about their cross-party work to ensure the least well off areas of the country are not left behind in the drive to achieve net...
American Carnage, With Rosie Duffield MP And Anand Menon
January 07, 2021 17:04 - 36 minutes - 83.7 MBIf you thought 2020 was bad, get a load of 2021. It started with Boris Johnson putting England into a seven-week coronavirus lockdown with cases spiralling out of control. In the race of injections versus infections, has the prime minister overpromised again? Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s desperate bid to cling to power despite losing the US election reached a day of reckoning as a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol in extraordinary scenes. What are the lessons for the UK? Joining Arj Singh and...
As 2020 Comes To A Close, Do We Dare Ask What 2021 Brings?
December 17, 2020 17:18 - 48 minutes - 112 MBEnjoy Christmas with your family, but don’t enjoy it too much, or for too long, or with too much of your family. That was the message from Boris Johnson this week as a coronavirus spike sparked a rethink of the government’s festive Covid message. Is the government right to emphasise personal responsibility over the long arm of the state? Not content with one national emergency, the prime minister also agreed to extend Brexit negotiations again. There’s renewed hope that a deal might be comi...
Brexit Special: More Deadlines Than Hot Dinners
December 10, 2020 18:00 - 30 minutes - 55.6 MBBrexit talks were on, then off, then back on again after another crunch week of negotiations passed without Boris Johnson or the EU deciding to compromise and get a deal, or go for no deal. The prime minister’s dinner in Brussels with Ursula von der Leyen failed to break the deadlock and fears of no deal are rising with just weeks left until the end of the transition. Joining Arj Singh and Paul Waugh, Anand Menon of the UK In A Changing Europe think-tank and Maddy Thimont-Jack of the Instit...
Should Labour Back A Tory Brexit Deal? With Lucy Powell MP
December 03, 2020 15:00 - 40 minutes - 92.3 MBThis week brought the welcome news that the first coronavirus vaccine has been approved for use in the UK. Has the announcement on the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine come at a useful time for Boris Johnson as his backbenchers show their dismay at lockdown tiers being imposed across the country? Another potential pitfall for Johnson is the enduring Brexit negotiations that are going down to the wire - but the situation is also a problem for opposition leader Keir Starmer, who will almost certainly ...
Rishi Sunak Delays The Pain Ahead Of Covid Christmas (With Andrew Mitchell MP)isode
November 26, 2020 17:06 - 34 minutes - 78.8 MBRishi Sunak warned that the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic was only beginning as he unveiled his spending review. While there were giveaways to former red wall seats to assist in ‘levelling up’, the decision to cut the overseas aid budget drew cross-party criticism. Will the government be forced to back down on the plans? Joining Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth, Tory former development secretary Andrew Mitchell speaks about the growing rebellion against the aid cut ...
Johnson And Starmer Struggle To Break Free From Their Recent Past (With Ian Lavery MP)
November 19, 2020 17:00 - 36 minutes - 49.9 MBFactional infighting ruled Westminster this week as two of its most divisive figures returned to the front pages. For Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings leaving the No.10 team offered a chance to reset his government, only for another bout of isolation after coming into contact with an MP infected with coronavirus thwarting him. But in Labour, the reinstatement of former leader Jeremy Corbyn after his comments on the anti-Semitism report presented Keir Starmer with a dilemma in trying to unify...
Cummings And Goings At No.10 (With Tom Tugendhat MP)
November 12, 2020 17:04 - 33 minutes - 77.1 MBDowning Street splits burst open this week with the resignation of Dominic Cummings ally and longstanding Boris Johnson aide Lee Cain as director of communications. Cummings didn’t follow through on threats to follow Cain out of the door but what may seem like a Westminster bubble story does really matter. Senior Tory MP Tom Tugendhat joins Arj Singh and Paul Waugh to discuss what’s going on in No.10, whether Covid vaccines could be made compulsory and how whether the new relationship betwe...
226: Will Donald Trump Go Gently Into The Political Night?
November 05, 2020 17:07 - 40 minutes - 37.6 MBLockdown life returns to the UK but for the moment the country is gripped with the fiercely contested US presidential election. Joe Biden looks on course for victory and if he wins, will Donald Trump go quietly? And which outcome works in Britain’s favour? With attention elsewhere, the chancellor has performed another U-turn, this time on the furlough scheme, as England’s second lockdown begins. Has it come too late though for workers? Joining Arj Singh and Paul Waugh, senior Labour MP Ang...
225: Westminster Needs To Face The Music Over Diversity, With Jamie Njoku-Goodwin
October 29, 2020 06:00 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MBIn a parliamentary recess special, Matt Hancock’s former special adviser Jamie Njoku-Goodwin joins Arj Singh for Commons People to discuss his new role as chief executive of UK Music and their new study which looks at representation in the music industry. While the report shows encouraging news about representation of minorities, it has warned that it is concentrated in younger, more junior levels with diversity stalling at senior and mid-management, mirroring in many ways what’s seen in We...
224: Has The King Of The North Stolen Boris Johnson’s Crown?
October 22, 2020 16:13 - 45 minutes - 42.1 MBBoris Johnson moved Greater Manchester area into the highest tier of local lockdown, setting in motion a war of words and press conferences with mayor Andy Burnham. Tensions spilled over as an extraordinary series of negotiations over a lack of financial support for businesses and workers spilled over in public, with Burnham was branded the “king of the north” as he attempted to defend Manchester from Westminster’s “punishment”. Jennifer Williams of the Manchester Evening News and Mancheste...
223: Is A Circuit Breaker Coronavirus Lockdown Inevitable?
October 15, 2020 16:07 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MBBoris Johnson’s tiered local lockdown rules for England were meant to simplify the government’s response to the coronavirus second wave. But the plans immediately ran into trouble after Sage papers revealed scientific advisers had called for a national ‘circuit breaker’ around a month ago. Keir Starmer dramatically took up the call as leaders from the Greater Manchester area hit back at plans to place the city into the toughest lockdown. It has left many in Westminster wondering if a circui...
222: Lockdown Brass, With John McDonnell MP
October 08, 2020 15:55 - 51 minutes - 47.4 MBFormer shadow chancellor John McDonnell joins Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth to discuss the rebellions brewing in Westminster as efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic by the government lurch from crisis to crisis. Is the time of constructive opposition from Keir Starmer’s Labour over? And is it time to impose a national lockdown? While fighting the government’s response, Starmer also has to keep an eye on his own MPs, who defied the whip this week on controversial new spy p...
221: Priti Patel’s Wave Machine
October 01, 2020 15:56 - 45 minutes - 41.8 MBBoris Johnson can’t remember his own coronavirus rules, Priti Patel considered deterring asylum seekers with a wave machine, and the EU is taking the UK to court - it’s been another one of those weeks. Joining Arj Singh and Rachel Wearmouth, Tory former special adviser Salma Shah and Labour ex-adviser Matthew McGregor try to pick their way through the headlines and consider why the PM is faring so badly, and whether government asylum plans could pose a threat to Labour . Make sense of p...
220: Is Now The Winter Of Our Discontent? With Steve Reed MP
September 25, 2020 09:49 - 45 minutes - 41.3 MBAs curfews and other restrictions are brought in to try and stem the rise in coronavirus infections, Rishi Sunak took to the dispatch box with another rescue plan for the economy. But do his emergency schemes go far enough? Joining Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth, Labour’s shadow communities secretary Steve Reed reacts to Sunak’s statement, tries to unpack the problems with test and trace, and discusses what Labour’s virtual conference revealed about the party’s new leadership. ...
219: Do Voters Still Want To Push Cummings Off A Cliff? With Tory MP Paul Howell
September 17, 2020 18:51 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBBoris Johnson’s ‘moonshot’ coronavirus ambition began to look divorced from the reality of worrying testing shortages as more areas were put into local lockdowns. The prime minister also had to contend with a Tory Brexit rebellion and more resignations from his government. Is Johnson losing control of the two biggest issues of our times? Tory MP Paul Howell joined Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth to make sense of the week in Westminster, and look ahead to the imminent Budget and w...
218: Is History Repeating With Brexit And Coronavirus?
September 10, 2020 16:47 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MBAs Britain saw a worrying resurgence of coronavirus cases, Boris Johnson returned to the country’s living room with a briefing with new restrictions. Also returning is Brexit, with the government admitting that they’re planning on breaking international law. Are we witnessing the prime minister repeat his mistakes with both Brexit and the pandemic? Joining Arj Singh and Paul Waugh, Anand Menon from UK In A Changing Europe and Tory MP Andy Carter take a look at the week in Westminster. Ma...
217: A Summer To Forget For Boris Johnson, But Will He Be Marked Down For It? With Emma Hardy MP
September 03, 2020 16:16 - 45 minutes - 41.4 MBParliament returned from summer recess but it has been anything but a calm and relaxing summer holiday as the fallout from the exam results fiasco and many, many more U-turns from the government left Boris Johnson and the Tories sinking in the polls to the dismay of the party’s MPs. HuffPost UK’s Arj Singh and Paul Waugh are joined by shadow education minister Emma Hardy to make sense of what’s gone wrong and whether the fallout will have any lasting effect. Make sense of politics. Sign up...
216: Black Ballad Takeover: The Health Inequalities For Black British People
August 13, 2020 18:42 - 23 minutes - 22 MBThis week, Black Ballad is guest-editing HuffPost UK with a series by Black women on parenting, family, and our post-Covid future. In this special episode of Commons People, Arj Singh speaks with HuffPost UK's Nadine White, Black Ballad’s head of editorial, Jendella Benson and co-founder of the Five Times More campaign, Tinuke Awe to talk about the takeover and what Black Ballad's landmark motherhood survey shows about health inequality in Britain. To find out more, follow the link to see a...
215: Why Did MI5 And The Government Fail To Act On Russia? With Tom Tugendhat MP
July 23, 2020 16:44 - 33 minutes - 30.3 MBNo chance for parliament to wind down to summer recess as the intelligence and security committee published the long-awaited Russia report, which detailed how the government and intelligence agencies took their “eye off the ball” with regards to Russian meddling in British politics. Will Boris Johnson take heed of the warnings? Alongside Russia, the government also has to contend with Chinese relations following the visit of US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Has Dominic Raab found himself ...
214: Grayling Fails As Russia Threat Looms Large, With Lisa Nandy MP
July 16, 2020 15:49 - 46 minutes - 42.7 MBSecurity and foreign affairs was thrust to the forefront this week as Boris Johnson U-turned on Huawei’s involvement in UK 5G infrastructure. The change in tone to China was quickly followed by a very British coup as Julian Lewis stole the chair of the intelligence and security committee from No.10’s favoured Chris Grayling and prepared to publish the long-awaited report on Russian interference. Dominic Raab then revealed that Russian actors tried to influence December’s general election. S...
213: Should Labour Back A Wealth Tax? With Stewart Wood
July 09, 2020 15:36 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBRishi Sunak this week delivered a £30bn mini-budget designed to save jobs from the deep recession caused by coronavirus. The chancellor again came forward with radical state intervention proposals while keeping backbench Tory MPs eager for low tax, small state economics happy. But were the plans radical enough? Labour peer and Gordon Brown’s former adviser Stewart Wood goes through details with Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth, with an eye on what Labour leader Keir Starmer can do...
212: Will Boris Johnson’s Big Reset Work? With George Freeman MP
July 02, 2020 16:19 - 36 minutes - 33.8 MBBoris Johnson tried to reset the agenda on his premiership this week ahead of the lockdown all but lifting, setting out a “new deal” in the mould of Franklin D Roosevelt to get Britain to flourish once more following the coronavirus pandemic. But was he bold enough during the crisis itself? While Johnson was taking to the stage, a local flare up of cases in Leicester, China’s moves on Hong Kong and Donald Trump’s hoarding of coronavirus drugs showed just how gargantuan his task may be. Tory...
211: Why Is Boris Johnson Hanging On To Robert Jenrick? With Jo Stevens MP
June 25, 2020 15:57 - 35 minutes - 32.6 MBAfter three months, Britain’s lockdown is coming to an end after Boris Johnson announced the openings of pubs, restaurants and other venues from July 4. But is it a risk? And what about those, particularly in the arts, that are still not yet allowed to fully reopen? Recorded before Rebecca Long-Bailey’s sacking, Labour’s shadow culture secretary Jo Stevens joins Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth to discuss the lockdown easing and what it could mean for the country next, as well as ...
210: Has The Government Taken Its Eye Off The Ball? With Robert Halfon MP
June 18, 2020 15:55 - 44 minutes - 40.8 MBWhile Boris Johnson was discussing the boarding up of Churchill’s statue, Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford was campaigning for free school meals over the summer. Rashford’s open letter to the government saw a U-turn within 48 hours. With schools reopening also causing consternation, it hints at a government unsure of which way to turn. Conservative MP Robert Halfon joins Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth to discuss whether the government needs to pay more attention to its ...
209: A Week Of Lessons Learned? With Layla Moran MP
June 11, 2020 15:55 - 45 minutes - 41.5 MBGeorge Floyd’s death continued to reverberate around the world this week, with protests in Bristol leading to the tearing down of Edward Colston’s statue due to his links to the slave trade. Is Britain finally facing up to the systemic racism present in the country? One person not facing up to his failings is Boris Johnson, as the government continues to ignore calls to say mistakes were made in the response to the coronavirus pandemic. Joining Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth, L...
208: America’s Racial Injustice Highlights Britain’s Own, with Bim Afolami
June 04, 2020 16:41 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBCoronavirus news took a backseat as the protests against racial injustice fanned across the world following George Floyd’s death in custody of Minneapolis police. Britain too had tough questions to answer as a report detailing the disproportionate effects of coronavirus on Black and minority ethnic (BAME) people was published. Conservative MP Bim Afolami joins Arj Singh, Paul Waugh and Rachel Wearmouth as they discuss the BAME report, whether Boris Johnson has been strong enough in his resp...