Share

The New Statesman | UK politics and culture
How to tackle the UK's plastic pollution problem | Sponsored
The UK is one of the biggest plastic polluters in the world. According to Greenpeace we produce more plastic waste per person than almost any other country, with our supermarkets creating roughly 800,000 tonnes every year.
We need to find ways to minimise waste through keeping products and packaging in circulation for as long as possible. This is where the circular economy comes in - a more sustainable model of production that reduces, reuses, repairs and recycles. With a general election coming up, creating a circular economy will be a crucial component of the next government’s net zero agenda, and businesses will need to play their part.
In this sponsored podcast, host and freelance journalist Emma Haslett is joined by Julian Hunt, vice president of public affairs, communication and sustainability of GB and Northern Europe at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners; Ruth Jones, Labour MP for Newport West and shadow minister for environmental protection and animal welfare; and Dr Costas Velis, a lecturer in resource efficiency systems in the School of Civil Engineering (SoCE), at the University of Leeds. They explore how the UK can move towards a circular economy, and the role businesses play in enabling that shift.
This podcast is sponsored by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.
To learn more about Coca-Cola Europacific Partners' work in making its packaging more sustainable, you can check out its This is Forward packaging commitments or for further information about the company head here.
Listen to the podcast in full here or on the Spotlight on Policy podcast channel.
More episodes
View all episodes
Does Morgan McSweeney really run Labour?
27:57|Andrew Marr is joined by the authors of Get In: The Inside Story of Labour Under Starmer, Gabriel Pogrund and Patrick Maguire. But while this is ostensibly the story of Starmer's Labour, who really runs the party behind the scenes?Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us"It's guided by six rats": The battle for a life-changing drug
28:46|For some with epilepsy, valproate is the only medication which can control their seizures. But for decades women say they were not made aware of the risk this drug posed for their unborn children.Today we know around 11% of the children born to women who take valproate during pregnancy have major congenital disorders. 30-40% experience other conditions including delays in early development, poor language skills, and lower intellectual abilities. There’s also an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder.Restrictions on how the drug should be used have since been tightened. But this week on Insight we hear from neurologists who believe the system might have overcorrected as a result of this tragedy, causing more harm than good.Kate Lamble is joined by Janet Williams, Hannah Barnes, and Dr Dominic Heaney.How do you solve a problem like Margaret Thatcher?
28:05|In 1989, following the shock resignation of the chancellor, Nigel Lawson, Margaret Thatcher sat down with veteran broadcaster, friend, and former Labour MP Brian Walden for a 45 minute interview. It was a disastrous encounter for Thatcher, that ultimately spelled the beginning of the end of her 10 years in power – a year later she resigned.The story behind this is told by Rob Burley in his book Why is this Lying Bastard Lying to Me? Searching for the Truth on Political TV – which has now been adapted into a two part dramatisation, Brian and Maggie, starring Steve Coogan and Harriet Walter. The show raises bigger questions, too: why does the political interview matter? And how do you solve the riddle of Margaret Thatcher on screen?Tom Gatti is joined by TV producer and editor Rob Burley, and the New Statesman’s TV critic - Rachel Cooke.Read: Rachel Cooke's reviewReturning to Labour is John McDonnell's "greatest wish"
19:19|Last week marked the end of the sanctioned 6 month whip removal of 7 Labour MPs who voted against the two-child benefit cap in July.Andrew Marr is joined by one of them, John Mcdonnell MP for Hayes and Harlington to ask - what next?Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask UsAre Labour "clutching at straws" on growth?
24:32|Rachel Reeves' latest growth speech has failed to convince one curious listener.George Eaton and Rachel Cunliffe join Hannah Barnes for a special listener questions episode. They tackle your questions on Labour's latest intervention on growth, which George describes as an "attempt" at a vibe shift. They also discuss whether Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have a charisma problem, as well as one listener who asks if the media should be giving the Liberal Democrats more attention.Ask a question for us to answer in a future episode: www.newstatesman.com/youaskusGet more politics coverage every day direct to your email inbox by signing up for our daily politics newsletter: morningcall.substack.comSave money on a New Statesman subscription to get full access to all our reporting and analysis from just £5 for your first 5 weeks: www.newstatesman.com/jan25Beg, borrow or steel
35:00|Last year Scunthorpe’s two blast furnaces Queen Anne and Queen Bess became the last remaining primary steelmaking facility in the UK. However there were reports that those facilities were soon to be mothballed - 2,500 jobs lost before Christmas. Despite those reports, smoke is still rising from the Scunthorpe Steelworks and talks about its future are continuing between Jingye - the Chinese company which owns the plant - and the government. But what is the government's plan for the future of British steel? How reliant are we on offshore production? And how did Scunthorpe come to own the latest poltical football? Kate Lamble is joined by Megan Kenyon and Sam Alvis, as well as Ben Houchen, Nic Dakin, Tony Gosling, Andrea Jenkyns and Martin Foster.Read: The cost of net zero in the town that steel builtThe Times They Have a-Changed: Where is the protest song now?
31:25|In 1966, to the chagrin of his fans and the folk music community, Bob Dylan went electric. The five years leading up to this moment is the focus of A Complete Unknown, the new Bob Dylan biopic from James Mangold. This indignation came at a time where folk was the language of protest, from the civil rights movement to the Vietnam war, but when did folk get left behind? What was Dylan’s lasting effect on the protest song? Tom Gatti is joined by Kate Mossman, senior writer at the New Statesman, and Dorian Lynskey, writer and author of 33 Revolutions Per Minute: A History of Protest Songs. You can read more from Kate and Dorian on newstatesman.com.What does Trump 2.0 mean for the UK?
27:05|Freddie Hayward joins from Washington DC to answer listener questions on the new Trump administration.Following his inauguration on Monday January 20, Donald Trump signed a flurry of executive orders to implement new policy or reverse work done by the Biden administration. Listeners have asked what the US president's actions will mean for Britain.Freddie joins Rachel Cunliffe and Hannah Barnes to answer your questions.-- 📚 READ: Trump's techno-futurist inaugural addresshttps://www.newstatesman.com/international-politics/2025/01/donald-trump-inauguration-techno-futurist-elites🙋♀️ ASK a question: We answer listener questions every Friday. Submit your by commenting here, or at www.newstatesman.com/youaskus📧 FREE get our daily politics emailhttps://morningcall.substack.com💷 SAVE Become a New Statesman subscriber:Get access to all our reporting at newstatesman.com and receive your copy of our weekly magazine. Podcast listeners can get the first two months for just £2 at https://www.newstatesman.com/saveHow do we fight terror now? - Andrew Marr and Jacob Davey on the Southport killer trial.
22:46|Is Axel Rudakubana a terrorist, or just a very disturbed individual?Hannah Barnes is joined by Andrew Marr and Jacob Davey of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue to discuss the trial of Alex Rudakabana, who has pled guilty to the murder of three young girls in Southport.Keir Starmer has responded to the guilty plea and ordered a new public inquiry - but critics say the Prime Minister waited too long to act.How should the government respond to the threat of self-radicalised attackers, and the changing nature of “terrorism”?–📚 READ: Southport and the changing face of terror https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/society/2025/01/southport-and-the-changing-face-of-terror🙋♀️ ASK a question: We answer listener questions every Friday. Submit your by commenting here, or at www.newstatesman.com/youaskus📧 FREE get our daily politics emailhttps://morningcall.substack.com💷 SAVE Become a New Statesman subscriber:Get access to all our reporting at newstatesman.com and receive your copy of our weekly magazine. Podcast listeners can get the first two months for just £2 at https://www.newstatesman.com/save