Politics from the New Statesman

When Saudi cinemas reopened in 2018, for the first time in 35 years, they screened the Marvel movie Black Panther. Many saw parallels between the kingdom and the fictional world of Wakanda, as crown prince Mohammed bin Salman unveiled ambitious plans for modernisation and an economy that would diversify away from oil, investing in futuristic projects such as Neom, a half-trillion-dollar city.Saudi Arabia has since sought to position itself as a global investment powerhouse, focusing on tourism, sports sponsorships, financial services, green hydrogen production, and the electric vehicle industry. Long dependant on oil, can the kingdom transform itself into a major global force in a post-carbon future?In this week’s long read and magazine cover story, New Statesman contributing writer Quinn Slobodian explores the consequences of Saudi dominance on international politics, the climate crisis and our technological future. Written by Quinn Slobodian and read by Chris Stone.Listen to more: The Spanish election reveals the future of Europe, by Jeremy Cliffe: https://pod.fo/e/18c885Download the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our weekly Saturday Read emailhttps://saturdayread.substack.com/LISTEN 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 a terrible night of results for Rishi Sunak in rural England, Labour faltered in outer London.Rachel Cunliffe, Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth and Ben Walker analyse the results of the by-elections in Somerton and Frome, Selby and Ainsty, and Boris Johnson’s old seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.Submit a question: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsDownload the app:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week:https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to our daily politics email: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN 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 says he’ll keep the two-child cap on benefits. Is this a knee-jerk reaction to public opinion, or an attempt at “fiscal discipline”? The New Statesman Podcast team answer your questions. The Labour leader has risked the anger of his own MPs by apparently reneging on a previous commitment to reverse limits on child benefit introduced by George Osborne under austerity. Angela Rayner has called the cap “barbaric”, and Starmer himself has previously said Labour would reverse it. So what’s prompted this about-turn? Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth, Rachel Cunliffe and Will Dunn answer a listener’s question. They also discuss what the government can – or should – do to force banks to pass rising interest rates onto savers. Should the banks be nationalised?Submit a question to You Ask Us here: https://www.newstatesman.com/YouAskUsSubscribers can listen ad-free via the New Statesman app. Download it now:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week with our special podcast offer: https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to receive our daily politics email, Morning Call: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN 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.

Stephen Flynn, Westminster leader of the SNP, speaks to Zoë Grünewald at the New Statesman's Politics Live conference.They discuss the SNP’s ambitions for Scottish independence in the light of Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation, arrest and subsequent release, and how a Labour government under Keir Starmer might relate to the SNP over issues including Brexit in remain-voting Scotland.This episode was recorded in front of a live audience at the New Statesman's Politics Live conference on 27th June 2023. To pre-register for next year’s conference visit nsmg.liveSubscribers can listen ad-free via the New Statesman app. Download it now:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week with our special podcast offer: https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to receive our daily politics email, Morning Call: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN 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.

Since 2018, prime minister Pedro Sánchez has led a surprisingly durable and impactful Spanish government, implementing progressive policies such as improved rights for abortion, transgender people and migrants. His coalition government has repositioned Spain as a European “pivot” state, a bridge between north and south, east and west. Its economy is predicted to grow faster than that of Germany, France and Italy.But will any of this be enough to keep Sanchez in power after the 23 July general election? He faces significant challenges from the conservative People's Party, as well as new alliances on the left – an increasingly fragmented political environment that mirrors trends seen across Europe, as identity politics, the climate crisis, and demographic shifts reshape many once stable two-party systems. In this wide-ranging essay, New Statesman contributing writer Jeremy Cliffe reflects on what Spain and its election tells us about the future of Europe. By 2030, he writes, “politics in many states will be defined by the normalised collapse of the cordon sanitaire between mainstream conservatism and the far right. It will be a landscape in which the left can only win by forging broad and canny coalitions.” If Silvio Berlusconi’s divisive authoritarianism presaged our present moment, Sanchez and his battles could point the way to our European future. Written by Jeremy Cliffe and read by Chris Stone. This article originally appeared in the 14-20 July issue of the New Statesman. You can read the text version here.If you enjoyed listening to this episode, you may also like A brief history of “woke”: how one word fuelled the culture wars.Subscribers can listen ad-free via the New Statesman app. Download it now:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week with our special podcast offer: https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to receive The Saturday Read - our weekly email highlighting the best writing from the New Statesman and around the web: https://saturdayread.substack.com/ LISTEN 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 Conservatives are on track to lose the next election. Who would lead them in opposition?Anoosh Chakelian, Rachel Wearmouth and Zoë Grünewald answer a listener question on the senior Conservatives who currently look most likely to replace Rishi Sunak as Tory leader.They also address whether Keir Starmer will survive as leader of the Labour party until the next election, if unhappy Labour MPs will stick with him – and what the risks to his leadership might be.Read Zoë’s interview with David Blunkett: “Labour needs to be radical, but not scary” https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics-interview/2023/07/david-blunkett-interview-labour-radical-not-scarySubscribers can listen ad-free via the New Statesman app. Download it now:iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=USSubscribe to the New Statesman from £1 per week with our special podcast offer: https://newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to receive our daily politics email, Morning Call: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN 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 finished announcing Labour’s five missions. Are they enough to get Labour into government? Vocational education, social mobility, and breaking the “class ceiling” – Labour’s final "mission" was designed to represent the party’s core values. Keir Starmer's mission-based approach is supposed to give us an insight into how a Labour government might lead the country.Anoosh Chakelian, host of the New Statesman podcast, Zoë Grünewald, political reporter for the New Statesman, and Rachel Wearmouth, deputy political editor of the New Statesman, discuss Labour’s five missions and whether they will be enough to win the next election - and chat through reshuffle rumours.These podcast are made possible by New Statesman subscribers. Not a subscriber yet? Get access to all our content online, including ad-free podcast episodes, from just £1 per week. Subscribe here: https://www.newstatesman.com/podcastofferSign up to receive our daily politics email, Morning Call: https://morningcall.substack.com/LISTEN 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 this wide-ranging interview with Rachel Wearmouth, Keir Starmer discusses the “really damaged economy” Labour will inherit if they win the next election – and attacks Rishi Sunak for being “out of touch” with ordinary people.Speaking in front of a live audience at the New Statesman politics live conference on 27 June 2023, Starmer said a Labour government would have to “go at pace” to rebuild public services, but refused to commit to recommended public sector pay rises.He also addressed claims that he is planning to create hundreds of new Labour peers, acknowledging an “imbalance” in the House of Lords.Pre-register for next year’s Politics Live conference here: https://nsmg.live/event/ns-politics-live/Sign up for the New Statesman’s daily politics email, Morning Call, here: https://morningcall.substack.com/Subscribe to the New Statesman from just £1 a week: www.newstatesman.com/podcastofferLISTEN 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.

Anoosh, Freddie and Zoë answer your questions in You Ask Us.Keir Starmer has said that voter reform is not a priority for the Labour party. But in the event of a hung parliament at the next election, he may look to the Liberal Democrats – who have long campaigned for proportional representation – for support. Could this sway his hand to change the electoral system?A new survey revealed Andy Burnham is the second most popular politician in the country. The Manchester Mayor has run for the Labour leadership twice. Could he make it third time lucky?To submit a question for You Ask Us visit www.newstatesman.com/youaskusSign up to receive Morning Call, the New Statesman’s daily politics email by Freddie Hayward, here: https://morningcall.substack.com/Subscribe to the New Statesman for £1 per week: www.newstatesman.com/podcastofferLISTEN 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 UK is experiencing higher inflation than any other G7 country. Ed Conway, Economics editor for Sky News, joins Anoosh, Freddie and Zoë on the New Statesman podcast to explain why Britain appears caught in a "contagious" cycle of economic pain - and why Rishi Sunak and the Bank of England appear unable to break it.Read Ed Conway's cover story for this week's New Statesman magazine, "Broke Britannia", here: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/economy/2023/07/broke-britannia-uk-inflationSign up to receive the New Statesman's daily politics email, Morning Call, here: https://morningcall.substack.com/Subscribe to the New Statesman from just £1 per week: https://www.newstatesman.com/podcastofferLISTEN 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.