It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast

In a recent substack post, John Harris said that ‘the itch to write’ his new book Maybe I’m Amazed ‘arrived not long after the General Election of 2019’:I’d chewed over writing a book about the turns Britain had taken since the Brexit referendum three years before, but I had the feeling that a)The story had got too grim and relentless to return to with the dedication that a book would need, and b)In any case, the whole saga showed no sign of coming to any kind of conclusion (it still hasn’t). In some way I couldn’t quite work out, after all the political turbulence and anger I had been reporting on, what I really wanted to write about was human happiness. And music.– John HarrisThe blurb for the book reads:“Obsessed with music since he was a child, John Harris had no idea that he was in fact preparing himself for the greatest challenge of his life. But so it transpired. When his son James was born, and three years later diagnosed with autism, music became a source of precious connection and endless wonder for both of them. Maybe I’m Amazed describes how the music of The Beatles, Kraftwerk, Funkadelic, The Velvet Underground, Amy Winehouse and many more were soon woven into the fabric of James’s life, becoming an essential part of who he is. It takes us through the struggles of raising an autistic child in a prejudiced world, and uncovers a hidden history of neurodivergence and creativity that casts new light on why notes, chords and lyrics speak so powerfully to the human mind.”We were thrilled to have John back on the It’s Bloody Complicated on Tues 8th April to discuss his new book.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice. 

On this episode of It’s Bloody Complicated, ahead of the upcoming spring statement from the Treasury, we asked the perennial question: how could we pay for it?A lot of our vision of a good society rests on changing the narrative around fiscal rules and economic constraints, perhaps raising more money for the state, but certainly diverting the money we do have to more progressive ends. So where can that money come from and how can we effectively spend the money we do have?To discuss this crucial topic, Neal was joined by academic and author, Stewart Lansley, and Head of Communications and Public Affairs at Women’s Budget Group, Erin Mansell.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice. 

We were delighted to be joined by Will McCallum, co-executive director of Greenpeace and Tessa Khan, executive director of Uplift.Last year was the first calendar year to globally reach more than 1.5°C of warming above pre-industrial levels. It was also the first year that renewables surpassed fossil fuels in the UK electricity mix.With a new Labour government, the advent of GB energy, a National Wealth Fund, it has, in some senses, been a momentously positive time for climate news. However, Labour’s message of growth, with the approval of the Heathrow expansion, their keenness for North Sea oil extraction to go ahead despite a court case ruling it “unlawful”, and shelving of the Climate and Nature Bill paints a troubling picture.The challenge we face is one and the same as the opportunity we have – how do progressives fight for substantial climate action in 2025?Where are we winning?With the most progressive parliament ever elected, more and more obvious, widespread effects of a warming world, and the rise of climate-denying right-wing populism we sat down with two people at the forefront of the climate fight to dig into where climate policy and pushback is in the UK:Will McCallum, co-executive director of GreenpeaceTessa Khan, executive director of UpliftSupport the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice. 

It’s been said that German elections are usually dull affairs. Well, whether that’s been true in the past, it’s certainly not true this time – it’s bloody complicated.The result Sunday 23rd, brought success for the CDU/CSU conservatives, with 28.6% of the votes and 208 seats, followed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) who won 20.8% and 151 seats.The partners who make up the current red-green-yellow “traffic light” government all suffered losses – the SPD Social Democrats lost over 80 seats ending at 121, with the Greens losing 33 seats and securing only 85. The smaller Liberal FDP lost all 91 seats they held as they joined the BSW Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance in struggling to reach the 5% threshold to qualify for parliament, but in a unexpected resurgence the left party (Die Linke) won 64 seats.To dig through the results, explain the acronyms, parse what difference the voting system makes, and explore the ramifications for us in the UK, Frances was joined by Ronja Endres, Boris Kanzleiter, and James Hoctor.Ronja Endres sits on the the SPD party executive and is co-chair of the Bavarian SPD. A proud trade unionist, she works at the PECO institute, where she helps train young people in sustainable construction and technologies of the future. With a country at the crossroads and more speakers to be confirmed, this is not one to be missed.Boris Kanzleiter is the director of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Athens office and was the director of the international department of the RLS until 2023. He is an active party member of Die Linke.James Hoctor is Project Manager at the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, London.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice. 

In July 2024 the New Popular Front (NFP), a coalition of left-wing parties, came out on top in a snap general election in France, winning 193 seats in the National Assembly. The centrist bloc supporting President Emmanuel Macron got 166 seats, the far-right National Rally (RN) 142, and the center-right Republicans forty-seven.A progressive alliance prevented Marine Le Pen far-right taking power in France. To help us pick through a complicated year for progressives in Frances, and what comes next for the NPF, Neal was joined by Professor of French and European Politics, Philippe Marliėre, and journalist and researcher based in the UK, Olly Haynes.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice. 

Britain’s infrastructure is struggling. We’ve seen stories of concrete falling down in schools, unreliable public transport, and an NHS at breaking point after chronic neglect and the Covid-19 pandemic. But little has captured people’s attention and activism like the damage and disrepair of our sewage system and the disastrous decisions of the companies that own our water.Currently we’re dealing with sewage in the rivers, rising bills, poorly managed companies that are increasingly “uninvestable“, and a regulator that has fined water companies just £2 despite record sewage spillages.But how did we get here, and how do we turn the tide? On this episode of It’s Bloody Complicated we discussed just how feasible, desirable, and popular public ownership of water is and highlighted the campaign to get there.The Compass campaigns team were joined by the Director of We Own It, Cat Hobbs, expert on water legislation Professor Ewan McGaughey, and chair of the UNISON Water Industry Sector Committee Natalie Mladenovich-Haigh to dive into how we got here and how we get out of this mess.Cat Hobbs is the Founder and Director of We Own It, an organisation that campaigns for public ownership of public services.Ewan McGaughey is a Professor of Law who specialises in law, economics and history at Kings College London. His core research interests are economic and social rights, particularly in the governance of enterprises.Natalie Mladenovich-Haigh is the chair of UNISON Water Industry Sector Committee.We’ve been working with Clive Lewis MP, Green New Deal Rising, We Own It, and more to campaign for changes to ownership and management of water and will be doing more in the coming months. This podcast is one piece of that work – find our more here.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice. 

For our first podcast of 2025, Neal and Lena were be joined by Rob Ford to discuss electoral chaos, First Past the Post and political instability, his recent work, and our recent publication Thin Ice.Rob Ford is a Professor of Political Science, and author of “Brexitland”, “The British General Election of 2019” and “Sex, Lies and Politics”.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice. 

Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice. 

Political commentator, journalist, and author Anushka Asthana joined us to break down the political year that was, and look ahead to 2025.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice. 

Ellie Chowns has been involved with politics for less than a decade. Yet, in that time has represented the West Midlands in the European Parliament, led the Green Group on the Tory-controlled Herefordshire Council, and in 2024 was elected as a Green MP for North Herefordshire, the first non-Conservative Member of Parliament for the area since 1906.We were excited to welcome her onto the Compass podcast to hear about her journey, her first few months in Westminster, the Greens’ record breaking performance in 2024, and what she’s planning for 2025 and beyond.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.