Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper have played their migration cards, but will they be enough to counter Farage’s populist policies? Will they work in practical terms? And if they do, what will be the impact on growth and any hope for the urgently needed National Care Service? So many questions erupt when moving on to this thorny terrain…
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Written and presented by Steve Richards.
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1:01:20
Do Starmer and co know what they mean by ‘change’ and ‘reform’?
Labour was elected to deliver ‘change’ but Starmer, Reeves and Morgan McSweeney have been cautious and vague about their ambition to move on from the recent past. Instead Labour communications use the term ‘reform’ as if it were a policy in itself.
Now Labour faces the Reform Party, the Greens, the SNP and Lib Dems, all pitching bolder versions of change. Yet in government Labour is trapped by fiscal rules, the power of the Office for Budget Responsibility and a lack of clarity and coherence at the top. Can Starmer become a clear-sighted political teacher?
• Rock’n’Roll Politics is live at Kings Place this Thursday, May 8th. Tickets available here.
• Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts and to get the regular podcast a day early and ad free.Â
Written and presented by Steve Richards.
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50:36
Is the Government moving closer to Europe?
There is a big UK/EU summit in May which ministers are confident will be a significant event – and not just a talking shop. Meanwhile Rachel Reeves has dared to state the obvious – that a deal with the EU is the biggest prize for the British government, as Trump oscillates wildly. Are these signs that a government so fearful of raising Brexit is beginning to turn towards Europe? And what would be the consequences?Â
Rock & Roll Politics is live at Kings Place on May 8th and streaming live, just days after the local elections and the Runcorn by-election. A new landscape? Tickets available here.
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Written and presented by Steve Richards.
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53:26
Why are the right targeting Ed Miliband?
The right are obsessed with Miliband and his zeal for net zero policies, but is there any basis for the argument that his net zero policies threaten economic growth? And what is their alternative strategy?
Rock & Roll Politics is live at Kings Place on May 8th… there’ll be a lot going on. Tickets available here.
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Written and presented by Steve Richards.
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57:15
With Farage backing steel nationalisation, is public ownership back in fashion?
For decades nationalisation was the great taboo in British politics, while privatisation was deemed the great triumph of Thatcherism. Blair and Brown were opposed to any attempt to renationalise – but now there is cross party support for the nationalisation of British Steel, the railways are being renationalised and there is huge support for the government to take over water companies. What’s happening… and why?
Rock & Roll Politics is live at Kings Place on May 8th. Tickets available here.
Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts and to get the regular podcast a day early and ad free.Â
Written and presented by Steve Richards.
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Based on his live one-man show Rock & Roll Politics, the broadcaster and author Steve Richards takes a weekly behind-the-scenes tour of UK politics and the media that shapes the way we view the epic political dramas. The future is ridiculously unpredictable and the past is so easy to misread. Subscribe to your weekly guide through seismic times.
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