JOIN US ON SUBSTACK: substack.com/@wtfisleft Early Access to Ad-Free Extended Interviews Ask our Guests Questions LIVEs with Jovan + Freddie WL Book Club + Community Discussion Articles + Exclusive Content **********************************************

The Labour leadership crisis has gone nuclear with Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigning this afternoon, after a week of intense speculation of a coup following Labour's local elections drubbing.

We sat down with Phil Tinline, author of Ghosts of Iron Mountain and The Death of Consensus: 100 Years of British Political Nightmares, to dive deep into the chaos. Phil is an expert in both Labour history and conspiracy theories - coalescing here for a rich discussion on the polycrisis that has rendered the British state obsolete.

How can Labour make the case that they aren’t the Tories, with infighting and psychodrama returning from 2022-3? Do bond market jitters await?

Chapters

00:00 Intro

02:48 Britain's Permacrisis

12:09 Starmer's Leadership Challenge

20:53 Burnham's Manchesterism

30:57 Politics Love of Conspiracy Theories

39:04 Breakdown In Political Communication

48:45 Who is Labour for after the AI revolution?

56:35 British Cultural Identity

1:05:40 Conspiracy Theory vs. Reality

1:16:35 The Iron Mountain Conspiracy

1:23:30 Who Believes Conspiracies?

1:31:20 Reinvigorating the Social Contract

1:34:30 Reform, Donations and Accountability