City Politicos: Counting Down to UK 2024 Election

In the final episode of the podcast Ian Pace, Michael Ben-Gad, Konstantin Vossing, Lise Butler, and Eric Harrison reflect on the results of the election. They revisit their early forecasts about the outcome; hear from Eric about how closely the polls predicted the election results; ask what kind of challenges will face the new Labour government; and ask whether the results of the recent election in France tell us anything about the future of social democracy and populism in Western Europe.

This episode is hosted by Professor Chris Rojek, Head of the Department of Sociology and Criminology at City. He is joined by Professor Ian Pace, Professor of Music, Culture and Society, and special guest Dr Eric Harrison, Deputy Director of the European Social Survey, which is based at City. He gives some detail about the techniques used by opinion pollsters and outlines some of the contingencies and risks in response to questions from both others. He also contrasts these with the strategies used for assembling exit polls. The three participants then give their ‘ratings’ of the Labour and Conservative campaigns, and some of those from other parties, and discuss what might change in British society by the end of a first term of Labour in power.

This episode is hosted by Professor Ian Pace, Professor of Music, Culture and Society, with guests Professor Charles Lees, Dean of the School of Policy and Global Affairs, and Professor Michael Ben-Gad, Professor of Economics. They discuss the aftermath of the US Presidential Debate and the implications of the US election for a new British government, how the new prevalence of social media affects the political public sphere, and the impact of J.K. Rowling’s intervention in the election, expressing doubts about supporting Labour because of their equivocal views on biology versus self-identified gender. Then they are joined by special guest Professor Sir Anthony Finkelstein, President of City. They discuss the situation for higher education and what this will mean for a new government, the relationship between academic political discourse and that witnessed during the election campaign, the role of public service when politicians and others face threats, and defence imperatives in the face of rising world threats.

In this episode Prof. Charlie Lees chairs a discussion with Prof. Michael Ben Gad and Dr. Konstantin Vossing. They assess the UK election campaign as we approach the last week, get diverted by Joe Biden’s calamitous performance in the TV debate with Donald Trump, and speculate as to how a future Labour-led UK will navigate an increasingly unpredictable international scene. On the way, they discuss electoral systems, political gambling, and ponder an alternative universe where George Galloway is Minster of Defence.

In this episode Lise Butler and Chris Rojek speak to Professor Richard Sennett, Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics.

They discuss his most recent book, The Performer: Art, Life, Politics, asking what kind of performance is at play in the current election; how the next government should resolve the housing crisis; and whether the major political parties have a clear idea of ‘the good society’.

This episode is hosted by Ian Pace, Professor of Music, Culture and Society at City, with special guest Stephen Pollard, editor-at-large of The Jewish Chronicle, as well as regular participants Chris Rojek, Head of the Department of Sociology and Criminology, and Michael Ben-Gad, Professor of Economics.

They discuss Stephen's trajectory from researcher to Peter Shore and policy advisor to New Labour, to endorsing the Conservative manifesto in 2019, as well as the impact of Corbyn in the Jewish community and how Labour has changed dramatically in the period since Corbyn was leader.

In this episode Professor Michael Ben-Gad and Professor Chris Rojek look at recent polling. They remain sceptical of new projections that Labour will achieve a majority of over one hundred seats, but nonetheless as good Bayesians, update their priors. They then discuss the Labour manifesto. Is growth feasible? Is it desirable?

Macroeconomists struggle to understand which policies might generate sustained economic growth, yet politicians think they have uncovered its secrets.

Chris discusses Nigel Farage’s impact on UK politics and the future of the Tory Party. What does the rising support for the Reform Party tell us about the nature of populism? Michael gets to invoke Friedrich Hayek’s Road to Serfdom.

In this episode we welcome our guest contributor Dr Joanna Williams, academic, author and journalist. Joanna is a columnist for Spiked and a regular contributor to the Times. Her most recent book is How Woke Won.

Joanna talks to Professor Michael Ben-Gad and Professor Ian Pace about the shift in UK politics from a focus on the concerns of ordinary working people, in favour of an identity politics that best suits the interests of the graduate elite. They also discuss the future of academic freedom in universities under a likely Labour government. Joanna discusses why she supports the Social Democratic Party and Ian considers how much it overlaps but also contrasts with David Owen’s 1980’s SDP. Finally, we turn to the EU elections. How much does immigration explain the growing support for right-wing political parties, particularly among the young?

In this episode we welcome our guest contributor Professor Tim Bale (Queen Mary, University of London) who talks with Professor Charles Lees about why the media’s use of Vox Pops is a waste of time and also how the Prime Minister’s week badly unravelled, following his unexpectedly strong performance in the first Leadership Debate on Tuesday.

We ask what on earth where he and his team thinking when he left the D Day celebrations on Thursday. We then move on to strategy and discuss whether Isaac Levido’s stewardship of the Conservative campaign is as effective as expected or if there is more to the Tory campaign than the highly visible ‘air war’.

Professor Chris Rojek and Dr Lise Butler throw light on historical comparisons from Canada and beyond and we discuss the lessons of Margret Thatcher’s 1970-1983 government as a template for how a future Starmer government might start to move the dial on what is politically possible following their various campaign pledges.

The third episode of City Politicos’ 2024 Election podcast is hosted by Chris Rojek, Professor of Sociology and Head of the Department of Sociology and Criminology at City, University of London. He is joined by Michael Ben-Gad, Professor of Economics, and Ian Pace, Professor of Music, Culture and Society. They discuss the effect of voting of Nigel Farage’s return to organized politics. What are the main differences between the Parties with respect to the society that they are trying to build in the next 5 years? They also consider such issues as the two main party leaders’ stance on defence, what a Kemi Badenoch Conservative leadership might mean for British politics, and the prospects both in the former Labour seats known as the ‘Red Wall’, and the possibility of a new ‘Blue Wall’ of previously solid Conservative seats which could be lost at this election.’