Daily Politics from the New Statesman Farewell, George!
Mar 15, 2026
George Eaton, longtime New Statesman political journalist who covered British politics for 17 years. He reflects on reporting through the post‑crash era, austerity debates and the Labour civil war. Conversation covers memorable interviews, the role of ideas in politics, tradeoffs between growth, redistribution and defence, and how culture shapes political movements.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Era Of Persistent Political Crisis
- The post‑2008 era has been defined by continuous crisis rather than a single dominant political project.
- George Eaton describes an era without a Thatcher/Blair punctuation, with constant shocks from austerity, coalition politics, SNP rise and Brexit.
Avoid Being A Chaos Junkie
- Balance covering political drama with deeper ideas; don't be a 'chaos junkie' that fixates only on scandal.
- Eaton warns media can overemphasise drama while still recognising real and sustained turmoil to report responsibly.
Austerity Shifted From Consensus To Regret
- Austerity was once a marginal consensus that later became conventional wisdom and is now widely questioned.
- Eaton recalls his 2012 cover story asking economists who had backed austerity whether they changed their minds, finding many had reversed position.