What was behind the Washington Post's shock decision not to endorse a presidential candidate? It's owner, Jeff Bezos, has cited reasons of impartiality and a perception of bias. Others have suggested that the decision was financially motivated, made out of fear of losing support and contracts from a Trump government. Tom Gatti is joined by Alison Phillips, former editor of the Daily Mirror, to discuss the impact of this choice and also what drives the handful of men who have controlled our...

David Gauke reveals his pick for the Tory leadership “not without reservations”.  As Labour deliver “hard decisions” in their first budget in 14 years, a listener asks if Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are reliving Nick Clegg’s 2011. David Gauke, who served with Nick Clegg in government, gives his take. He joins Rachel Cunliffe and Hannah Barnes on our weekly listener questions episode, in which they also discuss the Conservative leadership election and David Gauke reveals who he,...

The first Labour budget in 14 years is "refreshing" but risky, say the IFS. Rachel Reeves has delivered her maiden budget in the House of Commons. As expected, thanks to leaks and pre-briefing over the preceding week or so, the Chancellor is raising employers' National Insurance, changing capital gains and inheritance tax, and increasing stamp duty. Andrew Marr and George Eaton join Hannah Barnes on the New Statesman podcast to analyse the politics of the Labour budget. They are also joined...

One week from the US Presidential Elections, the race remains tight. There’s been renewed focus on Trump’s political rallies.  At Madison Square Garden in New York Trump spoke to tens of thousands about the enemy from within, others who appeared likened Kamala Harris to a prostitute with pimp handlers, called her the antichrist and described Puerto Rico an island of garbage. The rally drew comparisons to a fascist event held in the same arena on the eve of the Second World War in 1939. Are...

A new film from Steve McQueen is about to hit cinema screens: Blitz. Set during the devastating German bombing raids of 1940 to 1941, it follows Saiorse Ronan as east end mum Rita, and her son George, played by Elliot Heffernan, as they travel across London searching for each other. In some ways, it’s a new look at history, Rita’s son is mixed race – and issues of race, class, and gender are present throughout McQueen’s film. But Blitz also takes its place in a long tradition: almost 80 years...

Andrew Marr, Hannah Barnes and Rachel Cunliffe hear from a focus group of voters in a marginal Kent constituency, to get their views on Labour's first three months in government. They reveal why they're struggling to trust "posh" Keir Starmer, whether they regret their vote, and which public figure they would love to see in parliament. This focus group was arranged by Public First. 📚 READ The 100 days that shook...

Ben Zaranko, senior research economist from the Institute for Fiscal Studies, takes us through the numbers ahead of next week's budget, and the New Statesman's political editor Andrew Marr takes us through the politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re just two weeks from the 2024 US Presidential election. Donald Trump is up against Kamala Harris. Polls are vanishingly close. They suggest Harris has a 53% chance of moving into the Oval office. But after years of incorrect predictions, can they be trusted? In this episode of Insight, Kate Lamble speaks with Scott Keeter from Pew Research centre as well as the New Statesman's data journalist Ben Walker about what can be gleaned from the polls, and if they are more trustworthy than the...

Donald Trump has reshaped American politics. But who shaped him? A new film has some answers. The Apprentice, written by Gabriel Sherman and directed by Ali Abasi, charts the rise of a young Trump (Sebastian Stan) under the caustic tutelage of bulldog lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong).  Megan Gibson interviews writer Gabriel Sherman to discuss the creative challenges of putting Trump on screen, and Tom Gatti speaks to New Statesman film critic David Sexton to explore whether star Sebastian Stan...

With "normal" James Cleverly out of the Tory leadership race, a listener asks if a Badenoch or Jenrick leadership would split the Conservative party in two. Andrew Marr, Hannah Barnes and Rachel Cunliffe answer listener questions in our weekly episode, You Ask Us - published every Friday. Also in this episode: do journalists talk about Westminster gossip too much? Our own gossipy journalists give their answer! 📚 READ Would Kemi Badenoch be worth the risk for the...

The health secretary Wes Streeting has suggested this week that weight loss injections should be used to get Britain back to work. Is this a good idea? And what does it miss from the root of the problem? Hannah Barnes is joined by political editor Andrew Marr and business editor Will Dunn. Read: Wes Streeting can’t solve unemployment with weight-loss drugs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a deeply personal, deeply divisive issue; and today a private members bill to permit assisted dying in the UK is being presented to the House of Commons.  Politicians will have a free vote on the issue later this year. The New Statesman this week asks whether the UK and its care system is ready for such a law.  In this episode we speak to those who've lost loved ones and are left with questions about whether an assisted death would have been better, as well as palliative care...

The NHS is facing the most difficult period in its history. Just days into office, the new government declared the official position of the Department for Health and Social Care is that the NHS is “broken”.   While there’s evidence NHS productivity has been growing at a faster rate than other public sectors over the last decade, major barriers still remain. The latest Office for National Statistics figures show NHS productivity in 2021/2022 was still 6.6% below pre-pandemic levels.   Emerging...

Andrew Marr sits down for an exclusive interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. And later on in the episode the team discuss what we might have missed from Labour's first 100 days in power. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call   Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Power shifts inside Number 10, a Tory leadership shock twist, and Sturgeon reviews Johnson’s book. **follow in your podcast app so you never miss an episode** Keir Starmer has made changes at the top of his Number 10 team. Sue Gray has been ousted as chief of staff and replaced by the Labour campaign supremo Morgan McSweeney.  George Eaton and Rachel Cunliffe join Hannah Barnes to explore what this means - including what exactly a chief of staff does, and who Morgan McSweeney is. A shock...

Right now the Republic National Committee is involved in around 120 legal cases across the US connected to the upcoming 2024 elections. It's predicted that we won't know the results of the election for days after the vote. And when we do it might very well be challenged. This is set to be the most litigious election in US history. So what does this mean practically? And is the scene being set for more political violence? Read more from Jill Filipovic Read more from Katie Stallard Hosted...

"If we don't like it, we should demand it changes," one listener writes in. Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Andrew Marr and George Eaton to answer listener questions, including if Andrew stands by his comments from February that Starmer would be radical, and whether Lebanon has a right to self-defence. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call   Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And why is democracy a low priority for American voters? Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Andrew Marr, George Eaton, and Katie Stallard. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call   Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On the 7th October Sharone Lifschitz's parents were taken as hostages by Hamas. One year later her father, along with almost 100 other hostages, have not returned and the entire region stands at a crossroads. Tens of thousands have been killed and millions displaced by the ensuing conflict as Israel have conducted air strikes, first on Gaza, currently on Lebanon and Yemen. How did this conflict escalate so drastically? On this episode of the podcast Sharone Lifschitz and Lawrence Freedman,...

In a 2022 poll, a majority of Americans said they believe their government was corrupt and rigged, and more than a quarter believed it might soon be necessary to take up arms against it. Conspiracy theories have ripped across America’s political landscape for decades, but in the last 10 years the divide between fact and fiction has become almost indistinguishable at times. So how did we get here? Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined by journalist and broadcaster Gabriel Gatehouse.  ...

"A very dark speech, very serious, very closely argued, but there was passion there, but the passion was anger" - Andrew Marr reacts after Keir Starmer's speech at Labour party conference, the first Labour prime minister to do so in 15 years. We also hear from David Blunkett, Wes Streeting MP, Baroness Taylor, and Henry Tufnell MP, on the key takeaways from the party's time in Liverpool. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're coming to you from Liverpool where Rachel Reeves has just delivered her keynote speech at this year's Labour Party Conference. There were lots of smiles in the Chancellor's speech as well as the commitment to the tough economic decisions that she has to make, but has she managed to turn the page on Labour's rough beginning in government? Hannah Barnes hears from Andrew Marr, Rachel Cunliffe, and Andy Burnham, and after the break she speaks to the New Statesman's Nicholas Harris about...

Labour Party Conference is just around the corner and the party needs to tell a story about the bigger picture for their time in government, but could this get lost amongst the smaller stories cropping up around free clothes and the chief of staff's pay? Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined in the studio by Andrew Marr, political editor, and George Eaton, senior editor. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call   Submit a question for a future episode: You...

Conference season is underway and Ed Davey sat down with the New Statesman's Rachel Cunliffe to set out his party's ambitions to become the party of opposition. We also hear from Wes Streeting and the political battle for NHS reform. Hannah Barnes is joined in the studio by Andrew Marr, political editor, and Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor. Ed Davey: “The Conservatives are in our sights” Wes Streeting: “I don’t want to be the fun police” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...