The New Statesman Podcast, Subscriber Only Edition

Anoosh Chakelian and the New Statesman team discuss the latest in British politics

Spending review: NHS wins - but tax rises are coming 06/13/2025

Spending review: NHS wins - but tax rises are coming Andrew Marr, Anoosh Chakelian and Rachel Cunliffe review Rachel Reeves's latest financial statement. LISTEN NEXT: What Keir Starmer can't say - NS editor Tom McTague on his profile of the Prime Minister https://pod.fo/e/2e40f0 -- Rachel Reeves unveiled her latest spending review this week. Andrew, Anoosh and Rachel unpack the winners and losers, and discuss what the spending review reveals about the government's priorities. READ: Rachel Reeves's economic credibility is on the line https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2025/06/rachel-reeves-high-stakes-spending-review SIGN UP: for a dose of political analysis every morning, sign up for our newsletter morningcall.substack.com JOIN US: Subscribe to the New Statesman to get all our reporting from £8.99 a month www.newstatesman.com/pod25 /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36971935

What Keir Starmer can't say - New Statesman editor Tom McTague on his new profile of the Prime Minister 06/12/2025

What Keir Starmer can't say - New Statesman editor Tom McTague on his new profile of the Prime Minister Keir Starmer had tears in his eyes as he spoke of the death of his brother. The Prime Minister was talking with the New Statesman's new editor, Tom McTague, about how his personal life informs how he runs the country. Tom has spent weeks accompanying and interviewing Keir Starmer for an extensive profile published in the latest issue of the New Statesman. In this extended interview, Tom speaks with deputy editor Will Lloyd to discuss what he learned about the man who leads the government. Read the profile on the New Statesman website: https://www.newstatesman.com For a daily dose of political analysis, sign up to our newsletter: morningcall.substack.com /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36971815

Jeremy Hunt: Reform's mission is to destroy the Tories 06/09/2025

Jeremy Hunt: Reform's mission is to destroy the Tories Jeremy Hunt held an extensive number of briefs in successive Conservative cabinets; culture secretary, health secretary, foreign secretary, and chancellor. He's now back on the back benches after just holding onto his seat, focusing his time on "reading and writing". Last week he published a new book "Can We Be Great Again? - looking at Britain’s global position, and in Hunt’s opinion, why it could be greater. Is this part of his bid for the Tory leadership? And with the rise of Reform would he consider a coalition? /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36894975

Britain is trapped in a new build nightmare 06/06/2025

Britain is trapped in a new build nightmare If you live in a new build, or know someone who does, who might already be all too familiar with the fact that Britain has a housing problem. Yes we have a severe shortage of housing, and the government has promised to build 1.5million new homes by the end of parliament - but something which is affecting many people but remains underreported is the terrible quality of the houses being built. Will Dunn is joined by Anoosh Chakelian who has written this week's cover story: Submit a question for a future episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36891810

Does Andy Burnham want to be prime minister? 06/05/2025

Does Andy Burnham want to be prime minister? There's a gap on the left and several figures have stepped forward to fill it! Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Rachel Cunliffe and George Eaton to discuss, Andy Burnham's leadership pitch, Jeremy Corbyn's Gaza inquiry, dysfunction in no 10, and what the hell Robert Jenrick is doing on the internet. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Submit a question for a future episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36865470

Why is Trump shilling crypto? 06/03/2025

Why is Trump shilling crypto? If there's one thing that the president loves, it's money. Recently, Trump has turned his attention to crypto - going into business with his sons and launching $TRUMP and $MELANIA memecoins. But while this is one of Donald Trump’s latest passion projects, it joins a long, long list of business ventures over his lengthy career. A story that in reality involves a long list of failed business ventures, tax evasion, and multiple bankruptcies. So how has Donald Trump manage to fail upwards for more than half a century? And who pays the price when he does? Katie Stallard is joined by Russ Buettner, investigative reporter at the New York Times and co-author of Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump squandered his father’s fortune and created the illusion of success. /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36824950

Who can fill the left-wing gap? 05/30/2025

Who can fill the left-wing gap? With Reform being a right-wing populist movement, and splitting Tory voters. Why is there a lack of a strong left-wing populist party?, one listener asks. And another listener, Damon, writes in to ask, Why are fishing rights on the agenda with regards to this latest EU deal? Do you agree that France has a disproportionate influence on the EU? Anoosh Chakelian is joined by George Eaton and Rachel Cunliffe. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Submit a question for a future episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36790835

Labour are U-turning it up 05/29/2025

Labour are U-turning it up Winter fuel cuts? Two child benefit gap? Rachel Reeves' fiscal rules? Angela Rayner? The team discuss what will stay and what will have to go for Labour in the coming weeks and months, and where Nigel Farage is lurking to capitalise on Labour and Tory struggles. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by George Eaton and Rachel Cunliffe. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Submit a question for a future episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36769985

As Gaza faces famine, where does the US stand on Israel? 05/26/2025

As Gaza faces famine, where does the US stand on Israel? Last week, the Israeli military launched a major new ground assault on Gaza. The aim, according to Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is to force the surrender of Hamas, free the remaining Israeli hostages, and bring the entire territory under Israel’s control. The UK, France and Canada have demanded Israel halt "its military operations" and "immediately allow aid" in. While Trump spoke about his support for Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu during his campaign, in recent weeks his patience seems to be wearing this. The US ambassador to Israel maintains Hamas is still responsible for starting the war by attacking Israel on 7 October 2023, and says the militant group must release the 58 Israeli hostages it is still holding. Meanwhile Hamas has been in private talks with the US about a ceasefire. Katie Stallard is joined by Raja Khalidi and Rajan Menon. /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36713450

Gordon Brown on the “cruel” two-child benefit cap 05/23/2025

Gordon Brown on the “cruel” two-child benefit cap The former Labour prime minister speaks to the New Statesman Podcast about how the government can reduce levels of child poverty. Read: Submit a question for a future episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36687340

Brentrance 05/22/2025

Brentrance Starmer has sealed the deal with the EU, U-turned on winter fuel, and made a marked departure on the UK's stance on Israel. This has been a big week for Labour, but how will it wash with the public? Anoosh Chakelian is drawn by the New Statesman's political editor Andrew Marr, senior editor George Eaton, and senior data journalist Ben Walker. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Submit a question for a future episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36670705

This house believes private schools should be abolished 05/21/2025

This house believes private schools should be abolished Seven per cent of British children attend private school – a tiny minority – and yet they retain a grip on our elite institutions. The latest figures show that 65% of judges, 44% of newspaper columnists and 23% of MPs were independently educated. Fee-paying schools, however, do not merely cater for the privileged few, but hard-working aspirational parents who want the best for their children. They also allow for a quality that is essential in all aspects of raising children: choice. Is this two-tier system an archaic injustice that needs total reform? Or is it the route to a better education for all? This debate was recorded at the Cambridge Literary Festival. You can watch and listen to more on /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36648695

Alice Vincent: rediscovering music after trauma 05/19/2025

Alice Vincent: rediscovering music after trauma In our teenage years, music can be everything. But as we age, our relationship with music changes. Alice Vincent was a music journalist for many years, and in this frank conversation tells Kate Mossman how childbirth, PTSD and depression turned her love of music into something darker. In her new book, Hark: How women listen, Alice recounts her quest to rediscover the power of music as an adult, a mother and after mental health battles. In this conversation, Alice and Kate discuss how her quest took her from an anechoic chamber in south London to the Mojave desert - and how music is finally returning to her life. Hark: How women listen is available to buy here: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11114/9781805302063 Read Kate Mossman's review here: https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/book-of-the-day/2025/04/sounds-that-shape-us /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36595575

Should we abolish the Treasury? 05/16/2025

Should we abolish the Treasury? “Having moved on from Blue Labour, which other policies will Turquoise Labour adopt from the far right?"; “Given that they are a break on everything, should the Treasury department be abolished?”; “What would happen if Labour and the Conservatives got completely wiped out at the general election and the Lib Dems and Greens also had bad polling results and the Reform party suddenly lost its mojo? Could a government function or would King Charles have to step in?” Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Andrew Marr and Rachel Cunliffe to answer listener questions. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Submit a question for a future episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36592635

Starmer moves right on immigration 05/15/2025

Starmer moves right on immigration This week saw potentially the boldest moment of Keir Starmer’s leadership, as the Government announced its white paper - Restoring Control over the Immigration System. According to the Prime Minister, it marks a a significant overhaul of UK immigration policy. The headlines, however, have been less kind - focussing on the wording of his speech announcing the plans, specifically on the phrase ‘island of strangers’... Some were quick to compare this to Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech in which Powell talks of white British people becoming ‘strangers in their own country’. Hannah Barnes is joined by Andrew Marr and Rachel Cunliffe. /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36580685

An American in the Vatican 05/14/2025

An American in the Vatican For the first time, the Conclave of cardinals at the Vatican have elected an American pope. Pope Leo XIV has ascended to the papacy following the death of his modernising predecessor, Pope Francis. Katie Stallard is joined by writer Madoc Cairns and the New Statesman’s Finn McRedmond to discuss Francis’s legacy and Leo’s future. Mentioned in this episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36551340

Turner at 250: why Britain's most influential artist still matters 05/12/2025

Turner at 250: why Britain's most influential artist still matters 2025 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Joseph Mallord William Turner, widely celebrated as Britain's greatest landscape painter. -- YOUR NEXT EPISODE: -- Yet, beyond the familiar image of the "painter of light", Turner was a complex figure whose radical art often baffled his contemporaries. Tom Gatti meets the New Statesman’s art critic, Michael Prodger, to explore why Turner still matters – and how themes in his work like the power of nature, the impact of technology, and national identity resonate profoundly today. READ: The second birth of JMW Turner, by Michael Prodger https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/art-design/2025/04/the-second-birth-of-jmw-turner LISTEN AD-FREE Download the New Statesman app: / STAY IN TOUCH Get our best writing every weekend in SUBSCRIBE Get full access to the New Statesman by /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36508565

Do the Greens need a more charismatic leader? 05/09/2025

Do the Greens need a more charismatic leader? The team answer questions on the Green party's charisma issue, how Reform's power in local council could hurt their overall polling, and whether too many Lib Dems are vegan. Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Ben Walker, Megan Kenyon, and George Eaton. Listen to our Submit a question for a future episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36506785

The Labour party is turning in on itself 05/08/2025

The Labour party is turning in on itself Tom McTague, the incoming editor of the New Statesman, joins Andrew Marr to discuss Labour's rocky week following Reform's dramatic wins, the India and US trade deals, and also his vision for the future of the publication. Read more: Submit a question for a future episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36484090

A year undercover on the far right 05/07/2025

A year undercover on the far right The far right now makes up a third of terrorism convictions and a majority of referrals to the governments Prevent counter-radicalisation scheme But what fuels the far-right and how influential are they becoming? Harry Shukman, journalist and researcher at HOPE not hate, an anti-fascist organisation, went undercover with the British far right to find out how these groups operate, their plans for changing Britain, and the conversations that go on behind closed doors, far away from voters’ doorsteps. /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36456540

100 years of The Great Gatsby 05/05/2025

100 years of The Great Gatsby Tom Gatti meets authors Sarah Churchwell and Erica Wagner to discuss why The Great Gatsby is still relevant a century after it was published. Considered by many to be the great American novel, F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic tale of ambition, class and the American dream continues to resonate today. Sarah Churchwell and Erica Wagner joined Tom Gatti at the Cambridge Literary Festival to offer fresh perspectives on a timeless classic. Watch more from the Cambridge Literary Festival at https://www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com/clf-player-watch-listen/ /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36425530

Reform wins: dire for Labour, existential for Tories 05/02/2025

Reform wins: dire for Labour, existential for Tories Yesterday elections took place up and down the country, for councils, six mayoral contests, and a by-election. What we’re looking at today is a big win for Nigel Farage’s Reform - and a seismic shift in British politics. Hannah Barnes is joined by senior data journalist Ben Walker and senior editor George Eaton. /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36409055

Trump finally invests in Ukraine 05/01/2025

Trump finally invests in Ukraine Overnight, Ukraine and the United States have signed a long-awaited minerals deal. Hannah Barnes is joined by political editor Andrew Marr and international editor Megan Gibson to discuss what this means for Ukraine's security and the future of the conflict with Russia, and later in the episode the team look at Mark Carney's anti-Trump win in Canada and what this means for democracies around the world. Read more: Submit a question for a future episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36388775

Trump's 100 day fight with democracy 04/30/2025

Trump's 100 day fight with democracy In the short period which has elapsed since Donald Trump took office (again) in January, he has slashed public health funding, gone after education, attacked media freedom, and challenged the authority of the legal system of the courts. Some of this seems outright reckless, but some of the actions taken by this Trump administration mirror the political trajectories of countries like Hungary, el Salvador, Turkey, and Russia. Countries where democracy has crumbled and autocracy has taken hold. Katie Stallard is joined by Kim Lane Scheppele, a scholar of law and politics at Princeton University and Lucan Way, distinguished professor of democracy at the University of Toronto. /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36363025

Do billionaires truly benefit the country? 04/25/2025

Do billionaires truly benefit the country? The politics team answers listener questions on council tax, the voters ignored by Labour and the Tories, and the true value of billionaires. Hannah Barnes is joined by Andrew Marr and Rachel Cunliffe. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Submit a question for a future episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36304810

Ukraine peace talks crumble 04/24/2025

Ukraine peace talks crumble After the purported 'Easter truce' fighting has resumed in Ukraine and Russia, meanwhile peace talks in the West have broken down with the US speaking to Russia separately. Hannah Barnes is joined by Andrew Marr to discuss this week in UK politics, and later in the episode by Rachel Cunliffe and George Eaton to look at Reform UK's surging popularity ahead of the local elections. Read: , /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36296600

This isn't China's first rodeo (or trade war) 04/23/2025

This isn't China's first rodeo (or trade war) China's modern history is also a story about trade. So how will the echoes of the past 200 years shape the trade war that Donald Trump has waged on the world's second largest economy? Katie Stallard is joined by Rana Mitter and Kevin Xu. Read: Read: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36276590

Should we have an elected House of Lords? 04/18/2025

Should we have an elected House of Lords? Former senior civil servant Jill Rutter joins the podcast to answer liatener questions on the inner workings of government. This episode is hosted by the New Statesman's associate political editor, Rachel Cunliffe. Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Submit a question for a future episode: /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36221400

America's greatest hoax 04/17/2025

America's greatest hoax How did a joke gone awry in 1967 forever changed the nation’s relationship with the truth? Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Phil Tinline, a regular writer for the New Statesman and author of the new book Ghosts of Iron Mountain: The Hoax that Duped America and its Sinister Legacy. /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36205570

Big Pharma: Gaming the system 04/16/2025

Big Pharma: Gaming the system Major pharmaceutical companies - or Big Pharma - research, develop and distribute medicines and treatments that we rely upon. However, their pursuit of commercial interests has often led to accusations of prioritising profits over the healthcare of patients both in the UK and beyond. Katie Stallard is joined by doctor and medical commentator Dr Phil Whitaker, and author/campaigner Nick Dearden. /episode/index/show/nssubscribers1913/id/36181900

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