As Theresa May’s final chief of staff, Gavin Barwell knows what it’s like to see a party oust its leader first-hand. He speaks to political correspondent Ailbhe Rea about what it takes to get rid of a leader, where Boris Jonson is going wrong, and whether the Conservatives still feels like his party.   Then in a special We ask Stephen, Ailbhe asks the New Statesman's political editor Stephen Bush why Sadiq Khan finally ran out of patience with Cressida Dick.   If you have a question for You Ask Us, email podcasts@newstatesman.co.uk.
Podcast listeners can get a special discount on subscriptions to the New Statesman. Visit www.newstatesman.com/podcastoffer to subscribe for just £1 per week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could these be Boris Johnson’s last weeks in office? With Gavin Barwell

Politics and ideas from Britain's leading progressive political magazine.
Mondays: leading thinkers illuminate the ideas shaping the world, from politics to culture.
Thursdays: host Anoosh Chakelian is joined by the New Statesman politics team to help you understand the week in politics, in Westminster and beyond. Featuring Andrew Marr, Rachel Cunliffe, Freddie Hayward and more.
Saturdays: the New Statesman team answer your questions in "You Ask Us".
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News & Politics

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Politics

In March, Charles Spencer, the 9th Earl Spencer, published his memoir - A Very Private School. This recounted, in devastating detail, the abuse, both mental and physical, that he had been subjected to at his elite prep boarding school. The brutality is laid bare. 
For centuries in the UK, a private education has been the pathway to opportunity. Today those who attended private schools are five times more likely to hold top jobs in politics, the judiciary, media, and business. 
Boarding school boys in particular, who represent less than 1% of the population, have been in charge of the country for most of the past 14 years. But at what cost? For both the survivors of these institutions and for the whole country.
Read: A boyhood built on fear, The price of private education Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Boarding school boys rule Britain, at what cost?

This episode was recorded on the 18th of April, prior to Israel's missile strikes on Iran.
Tensions in the Middle East have heightened further after Iran launched a missile attack on Israel last week. This was in response to Israel’s strike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria - which killed 16 people. Western leaders came to Israel’s defence and condemned Iran’s attack, but prior to this David Cameron - the UK foreign secretary - had warned that the UK’s support for Israel was ‘not unconditional’. 
So how have these latest developments divided the government’s stance on Israel’s conflict? And how are Labour planning to act should they come into government amid this war?
Anoosh Chakelian, Britian editor at the New Statesman, is joined by Freddie Hayward, political correspondent, and George Eaton, senior editor.
Read: The new Tory divide on Israel
Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics email Morning Call 
 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How Iran and Israel are dividing British politics

This week Liz Truss has embarked on the press tour of a lifetime with her new book, Ten Years to Save the West: Lessons from the only conservative in the room. She's been casting blame from the UN to the Bank of England for the failure of her time in office, but does she really believe what she's saying? And how might this affect her standing in the next general election?
Anoosh and Rachel also ask Freddie about his recent trip to the National Conservatism conference in Brussels with the likes of Nigel Farage, Suella Braverman, Éric Zemmour, Viktor Orbán, and the Belgian police. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Does Liz Truss believe what she's saying?

People up and down the country have been struggling to get NHS dental appointments for the past few years, forcing some to pay inflated prices for private treatment, or ignore their oral health until it’s reached an unbearable point. This crisis is also greatly impacting children across the nation, and today the number one reason children are admitted to hospital is due to severe dental issues.
So how did we get here? Why is the UK faced with Dickensian rot in 2024?
Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor, is joined by policy correspondent Harry Clarke-Ezzidio, and senior associate editor, Sarah Dawood. 
 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Decaying Britain: how severe is the NHS dental crisis?

Angela Rayner, the Labour deputy leader, is being accused of being a ‘tax avoider’. While these attacks are coming predominantly from the right, they’ve been mounting in recent weeks and now Labour is having to confront the allegations.
So what could this mean for the deputy leader? Is Labour in trouble? Or is this a Tory smear campaign?
Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor at the New Statesman, is joined in the studio by political correspondent Freddie Hayward; this episode was recorded on Thursday 11th April.
Read the pieces mentioned in this podcast: Is Angela Rayner in danger?; What Dominic Raab missed about Angela Rayner at Glyndebourne; I looked into Angela Rayner’s tax affairs – here’s what I found Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could these be Boris Johnson’s last weeks in office? With Gavin Barwell

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