Is the party over before it has even begun? Tens of thousands of people signed up to be members of Your Party, the new political project founded by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana. But within hours, rumours of a rift within the party leadership exploded into warring public statements and threats of legal action.

Meanwhile, Zack Polanski won eighty-five percent of the vote in the Green Party leadership election, with record numbers of members signing up to his eco-populist vision. But the Greens face an electoral system stacked in favour of the bigger parties.

As of the time of recording, Your Party has relaunched its membership drive. So what would it mean for them to get off the ground? Will Polanski change the fortunes of the Greens? And do either of these parties have what it takes to challenge the rise of the far right?

This week Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Adam Ramsay and Shanice McBean to discuss.

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Music by Lee Rosevere, Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org/m... used under Creative Commons licence: cre​ativecom​mons​.org/​l​i​c​e​n​s​e​s​/​b​y​-​n​c​/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney and Margaret Welsh.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

This government has taken a record-breaking plummet in popularity, our chancellor keeps telling us the Treasury has no spare cash for our crumbling schools and hospitals, and Reform have become the most popular party in the country.

So, where did it all go wrong for Labour? Is it true that this government is hamstrung by the UK’s ailing economy? And why are so many people turning to Reform?

For the first episode in a new series of the New Economics podcast, Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined By Faiza Shaheen, chief executive of Tax Justice UK, and Alex Chapman, senior economist at the New Economics Foundation.

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Music by Lee Rosevere, Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org/m... used under Creative Commons licence: cre​ativecom​mons​.org/​l​i​c​e​n​s​e​s​/​b​y​-​n​c​/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney and Margaret Welsh.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

During the presidential campaign, the Democratic Party warned that American democracy was under attack from Trump. Since the start of Trump two-point-0, his administration has deported pro-Palestine student protestors. He has barred Oval Office access to journalists who have used the phrase “Gulf of Mexico” rather than “Gulf of America”. And he has called for a judge blocking his orders to be impeached.

With such anti-democratic forces ensconced in the White House, have US progressives failed? Have the far-right thrived because they are simply better at organising? And how can Americans come together to prevent the stripping away of their most basic rights?

Hannah Peaker is joined by Marshall Ganz, legendary organiser, lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, and author of People, Power, Change: Organising for Democracy Renewal.

Links:

The Leading Change Network: https://leadingchangenetwork.org/

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Music: Canyon by A.A. Aalto, used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney and Margaret Welsh.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

We are living in a time of contradictions.

For the last forty years, our politics and media have been dominated by neoliberal, right-wing voices - yet pundits insist that the UK is dominated by a woke, left-wing elite.

Our politicians claim to champion the voices of the forgotten working class - yet working-class people are not seeing better wages, housing or healthcare.

And the majority of people in this country are being screwed by the economic system - yet for some reason we seem unable to secure a better future for ourselves.

So where did it all go wrong? Are we really ruled over by a censorious woke mob? Or is it all a convenient story, to distract us from the real villains?

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Ash Sarkar, journalist and author of Minority Rule: Adventures in the Culture War.

Music by A.A Aalto (available: freemusicarchive.org), used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney and Margaret Welsh.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

Half a year ago, the Labour Party swept into power with a huge parliamentary majority and Kier Starmer celebrated by saying that the country could “get its future back”. 

Today, Labour are dogged by low approval ratings, having upset everyone from environmentalists to pensioners, farmers to small-business owners. 

And just last week Reform overtook both the Conservatives and Labour in a poll of voting intentions - suggesting the public are already looking for an alternative.

So, why has the public seemingly turned on the Labour Party? Should they be threatened by the rise of Reform? And how can the progressive movement push this government to create the world we want? 

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Grace Blakeley, economics commentator and author of Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom, and David Edgerton, historian and author of The Rise and Fall of the British Nation: a Twentieth Century History.

Music by A.A Aalto (available: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/A_A_Aalto/Bright_Corners/Corps_Of_Discovery/), used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney and Margaret Welsh.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

The price of your food shop rocketed because of inflation and now your mortgage is going up hundreds of pounds because the Bank of England decided to increase interest rates. You might be struggling to make ends meet and wondering why our central bank has made your life more difficult.

Across the pond Donald Trump is putting pressure on the American central bank to lower its interest rates, saying he knows more about it than Federal Reserve policymakers. It might seem a tempting proposal to the average American who feels that their central bank has not provided them with the stability it is supposed to.

So what is the role of central banks in all of this? Are they under threat from right-wing populism? And what are the progressive alternatives to dealing with inflation?

This week Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Dominic Caddick, economist at NEF, and Sebastian Mang, senior policy advisor at NEF, to discuss.

Music by A.A Aalto (available: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/A_A_Aalto/Connections/Focus/), used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney and Margaret Welsh.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

Do you work from home? Then you’re probably not doing proper work, and you’re causing the UK’s economic decline! At least that’s what the former boss of Asda and M&S said last week. Meanwhile, gig economy Deliveroo riders have launched a new campaign for greater openness around the opaque algorithms that rule their working lives. It’s clear with new technology comes new battles for workers.

So what is working life like in the UK right now? After pandemic lockdowns and high inflation, have we changed our expectations of what work provides? And are unions ready to lead the fight back against bad work?

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Kate Bell, assistant general secretary at the Trades Union Congress.

Music by A.A Aalto (available: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/A_A_Aalto/Bright_Corners/Coast_Highway/), used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney and Margaret Welsh.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

Last week hundreds of tractors drove through Parliament Square. It was the latest protest by UK farmers against changes to inheritance tax announced by the chancellor. From farmers’ protests to the poll-tax riots in the 90s, the amount of tax we pay to the government churns up intense emotions. We want to rescue our cash-strapped public services - but most of us are reluctant to pay more tax.

Do Labour’s tax plans go far enough to fix our broken economy? Is the UK really a high-tax nation? And if we want an economy that meets everyone’s needs, do we all just need to pay more tax?

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Sara Hall, deputy director at Tax Justice UK, and Hannah Peaker, director of policy at NEF, to discuss.

Music by A.A Aalto (available: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/A_A_Aalto/Bright_Corners/Corps_Of_Discovery/), used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney and Margaret Welsh.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

From housebuilding to sewage systems to the NHS, private companies are deeply intertwined with our essential public services. But is partnering with big corporations the only way of improving people’s lives? Is private investment a vital ingredient in economic renewal? Or will it just lead to price gouging for us and soaring profits for corporate execs?

This week Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Daniela Gabor, professor of economics at SOAS, and Aveek Bhattacharya, research director at the Social Market Foundation, to discuss the role of private investment in our economy and public services.

Music by A.A Aalto (available: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/A_A_Aalto/Fest/Sneak), used under Creative Commons licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney, Margaret Welsh and Amy Clancy.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

The International Energy Agency has said that the world cannot develop any new oil and gas fields if we are to stop climate breakdown. Keir Starmer has promised that the UK will slash its emissions faster than ever before and his government is banning new licences to drill for fossil fuels in the North Sea. Drilling in the wild waters of the North Sea has been a major Scottish industry for decades. Now, its time may be coming to an end.

But what about the people who depend on the industry for their livelihoods? What will happen to workers and communities in places like Aberdeen? And how do we square this with the need to kick our addiction to destructive fossil fuels?

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Anna Carthy, senior policy researcher at Uplift, and Mika Minio-Paluello, industry and climate lead at the Trades Union Congress, to discuss.

Music: Curious by Poddington Bear (available: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Curious/Curious/), used under Creative Commons licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney, Margaret Welsh and James Rush.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254