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 Call

Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Britain faces a severe housing crisis. But while high interest rates, mortgages, and sky high prices in the private rental market dominate headlines, Britain's diminishing social housing stock gets less attention. The supply shortages, landlord mismanagement, and unsafe conditions often seen in social housing are all issues that the new Labour government will have to contend with.

Social housing campaigner and author Kwajo Tweneboa joins the New Statesman's policy correspondent, Harry Clarke-Ezzidio.

Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call

Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do parliamentary private secretaries, aka 'bag carriers', really do? How will Ben Houchen fare as a mayor in opposition? How much will Labour commit to international development? And should funding for GB News be considered a political donation?

Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined by George Eaton, senior editor, and Freddie Hayward, political correspondent, to answer your questions.

Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call

Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labour party has been described countless times over the past 4 years as ‘ruthless’, and this week we saw this in action for the first time as prime minister withdrawing the Labour whip from seven MPs who voted with an SNP amendment to scrap the two child cap in certain benefits.

Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined by senior editor George Eaton, and political correspondent Freddie Hayward.

Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call

Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a surprise social media post this weekend, Joe Biden stood down from his re-election campaign and endorsed VP Kamala Harris. Significant support has mounted in the past 48 hours for Harris, but how does this change the presidential race?

Hannah Barnes, associate editor at the New Statesman, is joined by political editor Andrew Marr to discuss the developments in the US as well as Labour's imminent challenges this summer as parliament heads for recess.

CORRECTION: Andrew Marr states that Kamala Harris has never been elected. Kamala Harris was elected District Attorney of San Francisco (2004-2011); Attorney General of California (2011-2017); and Senator, CA (2017-2021).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The new PM has been in office a couple of weeks, but you've already asked how long he's got.

In our weekly "You Ask Us" episode, Hannah Barnes and Rachel Cunliffe answer listener questions on how long Keir Starmer has before the Conservatives can form a coherent opposition, how a Labour government will approach China, and the things that have surprised them about the new parliament so far.

Submit a question for the New Statesman team to answer at www.newstatesman.com/youaskus, or if you're listening on Spotify scroll down and leave a reply on the episode page.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

David Muir: Taiwan at the edge of chaos

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2024/07/taiwan-at-the-edge-of-chaos

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Clean energy by 2023? We're "pretty far off".

Ed Miliband today made his first parliamentary speech as the new Energy Secretary, hailing the Labour government's progress on their energy plans. Central to their goal to reach clean energy by 2023 is their proposal for a new publicly owned energy firm, Great British Energy.

Sustainability correspondent Megan Kenyon joins Hannah Barnes and Rachel Cunliffe on the New Statesman podcast to unpick Labour's energy plans and discuss whether or not GB Energy will actually be able to deliver.

Read more: Britain will never be an energy superpower, by Helen Thompson

https://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2024/07/britain-will-never-be-an-energy-superpower

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.