The New Statesman podcast | politics, ideas and interviews

A listener asks: will Keir Starmer and the Labour government attempt to change the conversation around immigration, or continue with a more hawkish stance in an attempt to win over reform voters?Hannah Barnes and George Eaton discuss in our latest listener questions episode.They also answer questions on how the electorate might change by the next election and whether voting reform will have an impact in future.Send us a question:www.newstatesman.com/youaskusRead more:George’s interview with Sadiq Khan: “politicians need to be braver on immigration”https://www.newstatesman.com/encounter/2024/08/sadiq-khan-politicians-need-to-be-braver-on-immigrationSubscribe to the New Statesman - first two months just £2www.newstatesman.com/saveFollow the New Statesman:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NewStatesman TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@newstatesman Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/newstatesman Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/NewStatesman 

Labour have agreed pay deals with NHS staff, public service workers and now train drivers - but they've handed the conservatives an effective attack line. Are Labour really beholden to "union paymasters"? And can they sustain pay rises while cutting the winter fuel allowance?Hannah Barnes and George Eaton discuss on the New Statesman podcast.Also in this episode, Hannah and George look at the crisis in prisons, and Labour's plan to house inmates in police cells. Can Keir Starmer and new prisons minister James Timpson hold Britain's overflowing prison estate together?Read Hannah Barnes interview with Charlie Taylor, Prisons Inspector, here: https://www.newstatesman.com/ns-interview/2024/07/the-prison-system-is-brokenAsk a question: newstatesman.com/youaskusSubscribe to the New Statesman with a special discount: newstatesman.com/save

And should Starmer be trying to befriend Elon Musk?Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined by senior editor George Eaton to answer this week's listener questions.Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning CallSubmit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

The unrest and violence which gripped the country last week after the killing of three young girls seems to have halted for the time being. A brief sigh of relief. But this doesn’t mean that the anger -  which was unleashed on asylum seekers, police, mosques, and local communities - or what may lie beneath it, has gone away.The prime minister promised that rioters would feel ‘the full force of the law’. And he has been true to his word. As many as 1,000 people have been arrested so far and almost 550 charged.But beneath the misinformation around the Southport murders of three little girls, what was the root of the rioters' anger? While some undoubtedly sought to sow division, and others went on opportunistic looting expeditions, there are genuine held concerns over immigration and the gulf between different societies in the UK. The immediate task of restoring law and order is one which perhaps comes easy to Keir Starmer, but now the harder, longer term job: What story will he tell to rebuild and re-unite this divided nation?Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined by George Eaton, senior editor.

The number of children who say they feel lonely at school more than doubled between 2012 and 2018, and Britons aged 16-29 are more than twice as likely to report feeling often or always lonely as those aged over 70. A report by the think tank Onward found that one in five Britons aged 18-24 have one or no close friends, a proportion that has tripled in the past decade. Historically, people’s social networks have tended to shrink with age, but nowadays research shows that young people have fewer friends than older Britons. The evidence from the UK and other Western countries suggests that Generation Z – those born after 1997 – isn’t just the loneliest cohort in the country, they may be the loneliest generation in human history.-Sarah Dawood, senior associate editor speaks to writer Sophie McBain, who looked into the epidemic of loneliness amongst young people today for her New Statesman feature The lonely land.

If the Labour party in the next 5 years decide to get rid of the House of Lords, what is the most likely option for a replacement? Should there be upper and lower age limits for politicians? What are the rules for becoming a lobby journalist? Who decides who gets in, and can a journalist be kicked out? Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined by Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor, to answer this week's listener questions.Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning CallSubmit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

After over a week of violence and unrest, it was feared last night that the riots would gather even more momentum, targeting immigration offices and centres across the country. Instead, we saw an outpouring of solidarity and counter-protests took place.Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined by Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor, and Nick Harris, Staggers' editor.

This weekend, far-right riots and violence have continued to spread across the country after the killing of three young girls in Southport last week. Hundreds of people have been arrested following violent altercations and the destruction and burning of hotels in Rotherham and Tamworth where asylum seekers were living.Nazir Afzal was a Chief Crown Prosecutor in 2011 during the August riots that began in London and spread across the whole country. He joins Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor, on the New Statesman podcast, to discuss how the far-right violence we have experienced in recent days is “reminiscent” of 2011, what has changed since then, and how the deaths of the young girls have been overshadowed by this political agenda.

Should Starmer be more open to challenge from his party?  Did the Blair government carefully chose to ignore housing issues because they thought doing anything would alienate middle class voters? What events lead to the dissolution of he Whig party and how does it correlate to the Tories now?This is our weekly listener questions episode, You Ask Us. Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined in the studio by associate political editor, Rachel Cunliffe.Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning CallSubmit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us