Our monthly-ish get-together for Patreons is back tomorrow evening , Thur 3 April, and it won’t be the same without you. Sign up to back the podcast and you can join in. 

We need your questions in advance too! Email to [email protected] – and Steve will answer as many as he can. See you tomorrow night, don’t forget to put something refreshing in the fridge first.

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Trump has said ‘tariff’ is his favourite word, but will US consumers agree with him when prices rise? Plus - does the UK need a Department for Economic Growth?

Subscribe to Patreon here to join Thursday’s live discussion and get a vault of timeless bonus podcasts.

Rock & Roll Politics is live at the main concert hall in Kings Place on May 8th. Tickets here.

Written and presented by Steve Richards.

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This week Rachel Reeves announces more spending cuts in order to meet her fiscal rules, and the OBR’s verdict on her ‘fiscal headroom’. But what was the original purpose of ‘the fiscal rules’ and has Reeves learned the lessons from past Labour chancellors? Some context in a week that could doom a landslide government to being trapped rather than liberated by a chancellor’s ‘ironclad’ rules.

Rock & Roll Politics is live at the main concert hall in Kings Place on May 8th. Tickets here.

Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts and to get the regular podcast a day early and ad free. 

Written and presented by Steve Richards.

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The decision to scrap NHS England is a rare example of clear thinking in relation to delivery of public services. Can such clarity be applied more widely or will chaotic lines of management from the BBC to the railways continue to prevail? Some context from the 1980s, the New Labour era and David Cameron’s shallow and confused thinking when he set up NHS England.

Rock & Roll Politics is live at the main concert hall in Kings Place on May 8th. Tickets here.

Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts and to get the regular podcast a day early and ad free. 

Written and presented by Steve Richards.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rachel Reeves is looking to save billions from the welfare budget. What are the lessons from New Labour’s attempts to cut welfare and what is the purpose of the latest focus on benefits? Will the government succeed in its hastily planned mission? Plus, brilliant questions on the international crisis and the internal turmoil in Reform.

Rock & Roll Politics is live at Kings Place on May 8th. Tickets here.

Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts and to get the regular podcast a day early and ad free. 

Written and presented by Steve Richards.

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Keir Starmer is enjoying his best media coverage since the election – but the UK commentariat always hails the appearance of ‘strong leadership’ during the early phase of an international crisis. Tough choices can still be avoided, but what happens when the consequences are played out and these vaguely defined choices must be made? The commentariat in the UK can turn speedily… and so can voters.

Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts and to get the regular podcast a day early and ad free. 

Written and presented by Steve Richards.

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The moving parts in the international crisis continue to move. Macron and Starmer in Washington, a new government to form in Germany and Trump never far away from a TV screen. But to what end are all the diverse parts moving?

Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts and to get the regular podcast a day early and ad free. 

Written and presented by Steve Richards.

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Trump has instigated peace talks with Putin. The UK, France and Germany are alarmed, but what did they expect? And in their responses are they making a war with Russia more likely, and with what consequences? Plus more on ‘disrupters vs non-disrupters’ - the silliest and most shallow framing in the history of modern politics.

Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts including the current series ‘The Defectors’, and to get the regular podcast a day early and ad free. 

Written and presented by Steve Richards.

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The new fashionable term in politics is ‘disrupter’ or ‘insurgent’. Morgan McSweeney briefs that the government must be insurgents, but does he mean it? The cautious Number 10 operation seems wary of genuine change making ministers, so who are the insurgents? And can Starmer be one? Plus, brilliant questions from the Rock & Roll Politics co-operative.

Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts, and to get the regular podcast a day early and ad free. 

Written and presented by Steve Richards.

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The chancellor hails her fiscal rules and iron resolution, but in her search for stability is she taking routes that are riskier than they appear to be? Plus five years of Brexit, the real Walden/ Thatcher interview and brilliant questions from the Rock & Roll Politics co-operative.

Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts, and to get the regular podcast a day early and ad free. 

Written and presented by Steve Richards.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices