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Despatch: From Stronghold to Shaky Ground
04:48||Season 1Runcorn and Helsby has been Labour’s turf for decades — but the ground is shifting, and Reform UK can smell blood. In this week’s edition of Despatch, Gawain Towler — former director of communications for Reform UK — takes us inside the Cheshire constituency where poverty is entrenched, campaigning is curiously absent, and Keir Starmer’s team seems strangely quiet. Why is Labour pulling its punches in its 16th safest seat? What is Morgan McSweeney really playing at? And could Nigel Farage’s insurgents turn a protest vote into a political earthquake? Despatch unpacks how this by-election could be the first domino in a collapse of Labour’s red wall.
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15. Global Growth Is Faltering — Can Britain Sprint Ahead?
31:36||Season 1, Ep. 15Is Britain ready to outpace a stalling global economy? As fresh figures show growth grinding to a halt, The Capitalist asks whether the UK can still carve a bold new path forward. With Chancellor Rachel Reeves heading to Washington, is a transatlantic trade deal within reach — or is Britain about to be caught in a clash of superpowers? Plus: nationalisation is back on the table, but can state control really rescue British steel? Economist Cornelia Meyer and Conservative Home’s Harry Phibbs unpack the pressures, posturing, and political gambits shaping the world economy.15. Despatch: Steel Trap — Why Nationalisation Won't Work
05:55||Season 1, Ep. 15Harry Phibbs asks a pointed question in this week's Despatch: if nationalisation has failed before, why are we doing it again? With Parliament recalled for an emergency Saturday sitting to save British Steel, the political consensus was deafening — and expensive. But is this really a matter of national security, or just another costly round of state interference dressed in patriotic clothing? From HS2 to Net Zero, Phibbs argues that consensus is the real danger — and nationalised steel is the latest case in point. Tune in for a sharp-eyed look at Britain’s industrial nostalgia, and why we should all be watching our wallets.14. Economic Nostalgia vs. the Hard Work of Growth
33:48||Season 1, Ep. 14A dramatic Saturday recall of Parliament delivers a last-minute reprieve for British Steel — but is it a genuine industrial strategy, or just another short-term fix? Meanwhile in Washington, President Trump promised to revive American manufacturing. But can you really rebuild the past — or is this economic cosplay doomed to fail? Broadcaster Albie Amankona and the IEA’s Daniel Freeman join CapX’s Marc Sidwell to ask a vital question — can Britain resist the noise and rediscover the quiet power of centre-right pragmatism?Despatch: No Growth, No Progress
07:13||Season 1Britain isn’t broken — but it is stuck. In this urgent Despatch, Julia Willemyns, co-founder of the Centre for British Progress, makes the case for boldness over drift. Why has growth stalled? Why does everything feel harder, slower, smaller than it should? And why have both Left and Right abandoned the ambition to build? With sharp insight and a rallying cry for change, Willemyns lays out a compelling vision: one that trades bureaucracy for dynamism, timidity for courage, and economic stagnation for social progress. If Britain wants to lead again, it has to learn how to build again.13. Backlash Economics: When Policy Meets Pocketbooks
33:39||Season 1, Ep. 13What happens when the world’s biggest economy slams the brakes on global trade? In just weeks, Donald Trump’s tariff blitz has shattered decades of US-led liberalisation — and the fallout is only just beginning. As prices creep higher and wallets tighten, will the political backlash bite harder than the economic one? And in the UK, could fiscal fear turn into fiscal flair? CapX editor Marc Sidwell is joined by the IEA’s Reem Ibrahim and Dominic Pino of the National Review Institute to explore whether this era of upheaval might just offer the chance to rewrite the economic rulebook.Despatch: Mel Stride, Robert Colvile, David Miles and Alys Denby
33:49||Season 1Rachel Reeves entered her first Budget with a familiar refrain—blaming the Conservatives for the difficult choices ahead. But now, the focus has shifted to her own decisions, particularly the impact of tax rises on business confidence, jobs, and growth. Can her latest fiscal measures break Britain free from economic stagnation, or have they only deepened the challenge? CapX Editor-in-Chief Robert Colvile leads a live discussion with Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride, David Miles from the OBR Budget Responsibility Committee, and Alys Denby, Opinion and Features Editor at City AM.