Share

cover art for Why Love Actually has ruined politics, with Jonn Elledge

The New Statesman Podcast

Why Love Actually has ruined politics, with Jonn Elledge

In a special festive edition of the New Statesman PodcastNS columnist Jonn Elledge speaks to Rachel Cunliffe about the highs and lows of the year, how Love Actually messed up our politicians, and why residents of a town in Sweden spend every Christmas trying to burn a wooden goat.

 

If you have a question for You Ask Us, go to newstatesman.com/youaskus

 

You can find Jonn Elledge’s books Conspiracy and The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything at all good bookshops, and hear him talk about Conspiracy on the NS podcast.


More episodes

View all episodes

  • The UK's social care system is failing all of us

    29:54
    Each one of us in the UK is likely to be or become a carer at some point in our lives. Women have a 50:50 chance of caring by the time they are 46 and men by the time they reach the age of 57.But the UK’s social care system is failing all of us. This includes those that require care (whether this is older or disabled adults), and both formal employed carers and informal carers who tend to be parents, children, siblings, or spouses.Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor of The New Statesman, is joined by Jess Prestidge from the Centre for Social Justice, and former BBC correspondent and family carer Humphrey Hawksley.
  • Is Vaughan Gething’s victory politically significant?

    13:11
    This is an episode we like to call “You Ask Us”.Our first question from Adam in Cardiff who says: "Does it matter who was elected in the Welsh Labour leadership election? It seems that both candidates had a very similar platform. Does the selection of Vaughan Gething have political implications in Westminster?"Rory also writes in to say: "With the Mayoral elections coming up, what would the significance of a Labour clean sweep be? A lot has been said about the different experiences of Labour and Tory Mayors under the previous government… might a Labour government try to depoliticise devolution?"Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor of the New Statesman, is joined in the studio by political correspondent, Freddie Hayward.
  • Labour's economic plans: 'Bidenomics' without the money?

    16:09
    Stability, investment, and reform - these are the three pillars for growth set out by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves in her Mais Lecture to business and finance leaders earlier this week.“In a changing world, Britain has been behind the curve,” she said, but a Labour government, she stated, would seek to bring a “new chapter in Britain's economic history”. Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor at the New Statesman, is joined by George Eaton, senior editor, and Freddie Hayward, political correspondent, who both attended Reeves' lecture on Tuesday evening at Bayes Business School in City University.
  • How men can have better sex (by closing the authority gap)

    38:01
    Why are women still taken less seriously than men? Alona Ferber, senior editor at the New Statesman, is joined by Mary Ann Seighart, journalist, former assistant editor of The Times, visiting professor at Kings College London and author of The Authority Gap: Why women are still taken less seriously than men, and what we can do about it.One of the things that shocked Mary Ann Seighart most from writing this book was that even the most senior, successful, authoritative women are taken less seriously. Even being president of a country doesn't insulate women from the authority gap. Why is this?
  • How does the whip system work? + Are Tory voters dying out?

    14:24
    Ben Walker shares exclusive analysis on the impact of a dying electorate.In our weekly listener questions episode, Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Freddie Hayward and Ben Walker to answer two questions from New Statesman listeners:Nick asks: "what is the whip system and how (the hell) can it be democratic?" Freddie explains how it works, and Ben shares his experiences being 'whipped' in his role as a borough councillor.And an anonymous listener asks for analysis on the proportion of voters who have died since the 2019 election - Ben responds with some exclusive analysis, hot off the press.Want to ask a question for a future episode? Go to www.newstatesman.com/YouAsk UsJoin our community of free thinkers by becoming a New Statesman subscriber, and get your first month free: https://www.newstatesman.com/subscribeGet a free daily dose of politics from Freddie Hayward by signing up for the Morning Call newsletter: https://substack.com/morningcall
  • Rishi Sunak has lost control

    19:42
    The Tory racism row exposed the Prime Minister's weakness.It's been another "torrid" week for the Conservatives, with a row over alleged racist comments made by their largest donor overshadowing the announcement of new extremism rules.Rachel Cunliffe is joined by George Eaton and Freddie Hayward to discuss how Rishi Sunak's response to Frank Hester's alleged comments exposes his weakness as leader - and the impact this might have on the next election.Submit a question for "You Ask Us": https://www.newstatesman.com/youaskusJoin our community of free thinkers by becoming a New Statesman subscriber, and get your first month free: https://www.newstatesman.com/subscribeGet a free daily dose of politics from Freddie Hayward by signing up for the Morning Call newsletter: https://substack.com/morningcall
  • Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram's "rallying cry for a more equal Britain"

    42:00
    At the beginning of February Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor at the New Statesman, travelled to Liverpool to interview two regional mayors: Andy Burnham the Mayor of Greater Manchester and Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region.Their new co-authored book, Head North: A Rallying Cry for a More Equal Britain, chronicles their intersecting journeys in politics, the careers paths which brought them to Westminster, and ultimately their joint decision to leave Westminster in order to affect greater change for the regions they represent. This episode was recorded on the 5th of February, 3 days before Labour rowed back on their pledge to invest an annual £28 billion on kickstarting a green industrial revolution. We discuss the proposed £28 billion investment during this conversation, the contents of which are now out of date.
  • Is Starmer showing his "true colours"?

    15:57
    It's listener question time!Neil from Cambridge asks: "Rishi Sunak and other Conservatives keep telling us that Labour will take us 'back to square one' either through their policies or lack of a plan. What point in time does he want us to think of as being 'square one'? And why does he think that voters would believe that it is necessarily worse than where we are headed now?"Jon says: "Why do you guys propose on your podcasts that Starmer is currently lying, intending on being radical and inspiring once in office? Don’t you think with a 30 point lead he can afford to show his true colours?"Harry Clarke-Ezzidio, policy correspondent at the New Statesman, steps in for Anoosh this week, and he is joined. by Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor, and Freddie Hayward, political correspondent.
  • Spring Statement: let's talk about growth!

    22:42
    Yesterday, Jeremy Hunt delivered the spring statement, the last before the next general election and his fourth budget since becoming Chancellor in October 2022, after replacing Kwasi Kwarteng.Non-doms have been abolished, national insurance has been cut by 2p, a vaping tax has been introduced, and the NHS has been promised 3.4 billion towards a digital transformation. But while inflation remains high and most of the nation is feeling the prolonged squeeze of the cost of living crisis - will these proposals make any real difference?Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor at the New Statesman, is joined in the studio by Will Dunn, business editor, and Freddie Hayward, political correspondent.