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Daily Politics from the New Statesman
The rise of the "super-council" - plus, assisted dying interview with Kim Leadbeater
Are local council changes "an attack on democracy"?
Rachel Cunliffe and Megan Kenyon join Hannah Barnes to discuss changes to the rules governing local elections, which Ed Davey and Nigel Farage have attacked as anti-democratic. They answer a listener question about why their local council can "delay my right to vote".
Also in this episode, Megan Kenyon meets Kim Leadbeater for an update on the assisted dying bill, and we answer your questions about the checks and balances that would apply if the bill were to pass.
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Student loans: Should graduates sue the government?
27:38|Britain faces a looming student loan crisis. What can graduates do?Last week's episode on student loans prompted a flurry of questions. How did it get this bad? Should students sue over mis-sold loans?Rachel Cunliffe and Anoosh Chakelian answer your questions.Also in this episode:Labour's internal factions explainedWhat does Nigel Farage really believe?Local government changes: what's really going onMentioned in this episode: Meet the Blue Labour bros, by Morgan Jones
Can Plaid Cymru defeat Reform again?
28:35|Last October, a Senedd by-election took place in Caerphilly, South Wales. As long as the seat had existed, for over 100 years, it had belonged to Labour.But that night, Welsh Labour fell to third place. Reform galloped into second. And after fighting in 18 elections since the 1980s, Plaid Cymru’s Lindsay Whittle took first place with almost 50 per cent of the vote.Is this a stark demonstration of how politics in Wales is changing? Plaid Cymru leader Rhun Ap Iorwerth joins Megan Kenyon.
Do leasehold reforms go far enough?
27:20|Millions of leaseholders in England and Wales will get their ground rents capped at £250 per year as part of Labour’s long-promised overhaul of a hated system.Reforms also include proposals to ban the sale of new leasehold flats, in a bid to give people greater control over their homes.Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Will Dunn.
Shabana Mahmood's new police force
29:14|The Home Secretary’s known for her blue Labour roots, a tough stance on immigration and has just proposed what she calls the “biggest ever” policing reforms for centuries.Tom McTague joins Oli Dugmore.
Burnham blocked, Braverman defects
31:50|Yesterday, Keir Starmer’s camp blocked Andy Burnham’s plans to return to parliament. Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Ailbhe Rea to discuss how this has landed inside the party. But first, another defection in the one way pipeline from Conservative to Reform.
Trump’s stand-up routine in Davos
25:58|In a tumultuous week in geopolitics, Donald Trump delivered a bizarre speech in Davos. Will Dunn finds the moments of (unintentional) humour amidst the chaos.Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Will to for a rundown of this mad week.
What happens when an MP defects?
28:47|Robert Jenrick's defection prompted a lot of listener questions. So we'll try to answer them!Last week Robert Jenrick dramatically defected to Reform after being booted out of the Conservatives by a furious Kemi Badenoch. The Tory leader claimed that she had "irrefutable evidence" that Jenrick had been planning to defect in "the most damaging way possible". So she sacked him from the government and removed the Conservative whip.This prompted a lot of listeners to write in to Daily Politics with questions about the Jenrick defection, the future of Reform, and what it means for the Conservatives.Megan Kenyon and Ethan Croft selected the best of your questions, and do their best to answer them in this listener questions edition of Daily Politics from the New Statesman.
Is this Andy Burnham’s moment?
26:55|Andrew Gwynne, the MP for Gorton and Denton in Greater Manchester, has resigned.This opens up the path for another Andrew, King of the North and Labour leadership hopeful, Andy Burnham, to return to Westminster. Ailbhe Rea joins Anoosh Chakelian.
The UK must crawl back to Europe
24:49|With Donald Trump threatening tariffs on the UK and eviscerating Keir Starmer on Truth Social, does the PM have no choice but run back into the arms of the EU? Many Labour MPs think yes.Tom McTague joins Rachel Cunliffe.