Daily Politics from the New Statesman

Keir Starmer described Green party policy as “nuts” and “dangerous” in an interview with the Observer yesterday. But is he underestimating one of Labour’s biggest threats?And is Starmer alienating a generation of young voters who might run into the arms of Zack Polanski?Rachel Cunliffe is joined by George Eaton and Will Dunn.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

As the UK grapples with cost of living pressures, geopolitical shocks and a shifting political landscape, the case for net zero remains strong - but the story around it seems to have stalled.How can policymakers, businesses and campaigners reconnect climate action with public priorities such as jobs, growth, energy security and household bills?In this episode host Jon Bernstein is joined by Benj Sykes, UK Country Manager at Ørsted, Polly Billington, Labour MP and founder of Climate 100, and Daisy Powell-Chandler, Head of Energy and Environment at Public First, to examine the state of the UK’s net zero consensus and what’s really driving public attitudes.Their discussion looks at why Westminster debate has become more polarised even as public concern about climate change remains high; whether the language of “net zero” helps or hinders; and how to tell a more compelling, place-based story about the energy transition - from local jobs and warmer homes to cleaner transport and revitalised town centres.The panel also explores how to balance upfront investment with cost of living pressures, the case for an energy social tariff, and why decarbonisation should be framed as a national security priority that reduces exposure to volatile fossil fuel markets and future energy price shocks.This New Statesman podcast episode is sponsored by Ørsted.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

Is the Labour Party holding true to its founding principles? Have we lost trust in the police? Are we in a recession?Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Luke O’Reilly and Rachel Cunliffe to answer your questions.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

A recent result from pollsters Find Out Now has put Labour support at just 14%, behind Reform, the Tories and the Greens.Just how bad are these polling numbers for Labour?Oli Dugmore is joined by the New Statesman’s senior data journalist and polling expert Ben Walker to discuss.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

Four senior Labour politicians are on manoeuvres. Ailbhe Rea reveals who's in the running to replace Keir Starmer.-- Keir Starmer has become desperately unpopular. All eyes now are looking towards the May 2026 local elections. A disappointing performance by Labour could prompt the Prime Minister to resign. And senior Labour figures are already positioning themselves to replace him.Ailbhe Rea and Rachel Cunliffe join Anoosh Chakelian to explore the most likely candidates, and the impact their manoeuvring is having on present relationships at the top of the Labour Party.READ: Angela Rayner is Wes Streeting's biggest obstacle to PMLISTEN NEXT: Keir Starmer is in denialSAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

After months of deliberation it’s been decided, it’s not our party, it’s not their party, it’s Your Party.This weekend, thousands of the new left party’s delegates flooded into a conference centre in Liverpool to try and decide the future life and fate of the movement.But in keeping with the last 5 months of trials and tribulations, in-fighting and spats between the co-founding camps of Zarah Sultana and Jeremy Corbyn, things didn’t run smoothly.Is it his party? Or her party? And is this really what the left in Britain want?Oli Dugmore is joined by Megan Kenyon, who spent the weekend in the throes of the socialist spectacle.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

In the past three weeks, 12 prisoners have been accidentally released - Justice Secretary David Lammy announced this morning. This is in addition to the 91 who’ve also been mistakenly freed in England and Wales in the last six months. It’s fair to say, the justice system is in a bad way - leaking from the sides. Trying his best to mop this up, Lammy also announced today that jury trials in England and Wales should be scrapped except for in extreme cases. Oli Dugmore is joined by Rachel Cunliffe for a New Statesman justice review.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

Keir Starmer has backed Rachel Reeves – but the Prime Minister has miscalculated.After weekend front pages accused the Chancellor of lying about the "fiscal black hole" which, Reeves says, necessitated last week's tax-and-spend budget, the PM has given a speech supporting Reeves and saying he's "proud" of the budget.Meanwhile polling reveals a majority believe "the cost of living crisis will never end", and see no hope for improvements in their immediate future.Tom McTague and Rachel Cunliffe join Oli Dugmore to discuss whether the Prime Minister has grasped quite how broken the social contract is, and what's next for the government – and the country – following the budget.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

Another bit has fallen off Labour’s car as its MPs flee Westminster and bid a hasty retreat to their constituencies.This time, Labour has been accused of breaking another manifesto promise by pulling a major one eighty on workers rights. Oli Dugmore is joined by Ailbhe Rea.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

It’s Black Friday and consumers are hunting for bargains. However, are Brits spending more and more money on goods that are getting worse and worse?Will Dunn joins Anoosh Chakelian to discuss his theory of "crapflation".Will also spent time this week in an enormous pile of trash, dumped by organised criminals in a field in Oxfordshire.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

While many on the left were calling for a wealth tax, yesterday the Chancellor delivered a smorgasbord of stealth taxes.How will this platter of sneaky revenue streams boost the government’s finances? And what does it mean in the longterm, economically, for the country?Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the New Statesman's business editor, Will Dunn, and political editor, Ailbhe Rea.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

Tax in Britain will rise to an all-time high following Rachel Reeves’ budget.The Chancellor has unveiled her latest budget. She’s promised to remove the two-child benefit cap, freeze income tax brackets and introduce a new mansion tax.Labour deny they are breaking their manifesto pledge to avoid raising income tax, while critics claim the freeze is doing just that.The Office for Budget Responsibility, who disastrously published their assessment before the Chancellor had made her statement to the House of Commons, say the budget will amount to a tax bill of £28 billion by 2029 – a record high.Oli Dugmore is joined by Rachel Cunliffe and George Eaton to discuss what the budget means for Britain, the Chancellor, and Keir Starmer’s government.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

The Chancellor has admitted that the economy feels stuck. But will tomorrow’s budget, which promises to “grip the cost of living” and looks likely to freeze income tax thresholds, actually do anything to help? Oli Dugmore is joined by the New Statesman's editor Tom McTague and political editor Ailbhe Rea. SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

This summer, MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana announced the launch of the provisionally named ‘Your Party’. The new party was created to fill a gap on the left-wing of British politics that many believe Keir Starmer and his Labour government are ignoring. However, the launch process has not been smooth.Our political correspondent Megan Kenyon has been following all the updates from Your Party, and secured this exclusive interview with Jeremy Corbyn.They discuss whether Corbyn will lead the new party, why it’s been such a struggle to launch, and whether he will collaborate with the Green Party's leader Zack Polanski.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

For so long a fixture of public debate in the US, the software company Palantir is now increasingly being talked about here in Britain.In September the UK government announced a £1.5bn investment by Palantir in the military. It already has contracts with the police and the NHS. So, should we be worried?Tanjil Rashid is joined by journalist James Vincent.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

Whilst Your Party and the Green Party attempt to occupy the space on the left of British politics that they feel Labour has abandoned, our listener asks, what about the British communist parties?Oli Dugmore is joined by Tom McTague to discuss this, along with other listener questions on political briefings to the press and whether Labour can make a comeback.READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/the-sketch/2025/11/britains-young-communists-are-ready-for-revolutionSAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

Shabana Mahmood was back in the Commons today outlining her controversial immigration plans.Meanwhile, Clive Lewis said he’d give up his seat for Andy Burnham and a Labour MP defects to the Greens.In the second half of the podcast, Calum Weir from Labour Together tells us what really matters to Britain. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Rachel Cunliffe and Ailbhe Rea.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

Meet the money men with Britain's future in their hands.*Next week Rachel Reeves will deliver her budget and, for all the talk of fiscal rules, headroom and tax rises, there is a higher power she must contend with. When the Chancellor goes for meetings in the City, she is rarely introduced to the people whose job it is to press the button on buying or selling several hundred million pounds’ worth of gilts. It is to these people that we have been speaking in the run-up to the Budget. You would not guess that they wield political power, but for them politics is not personal. They approach it with blunt, professional interest, seeing opportunity in chaos. And if Reeves thinks she can rely on their support, she’s wrong: the bond vigilantes.Read: Meet the bond market vigilanteshttps://www.newstatesman.com/business/economics/2025/11/meet-the-bond-market-vigilantesSAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

Home secretary Shabana Mahmood has set out her plans for the biggest shake up of asylum laws in 40 years. It divided the Labour party, impressed some Conservatives and even earned the home sec an invite to join Reform.But what will it mean in the long term for Britain, and for the families affected?Oli Dugmore is joined by Anoosh Chakelian and Rachel Cunliffe. SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.

Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, has unveiled a series of changes to the migration and asylum system. The plans, which have been trailed over the weekend, have been met with scorn from within the Labour party.“This approach isn’t just morally wrong” the MP Richard Burgeon tweeted earlier today, “it’s politically disastrous.”Oli Dugmore is joined by Ethan Croft.SAVE £££ THIS CHRISTMAS:⭐️ Gift big ideas, bold politics, and proper journalism from just £2LISTEN 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.