“Labour’s Plan For Power: Fixing The North-South Divide” is the third episode of a special new i podcast series looking at what Sir Keir Starmer’s party would do differently if it wins the next election.

Hosted by Paul Waugh, i‘s chief political commentator, this is a four-part series that also covers the economy, Brexit and the NHS.

Andy Burnham, the Metro Mayor for Greater Manchester, tells us: “I keep saying the North-South divide is no accident. It's the product of UK national policy over many decades under many governments. And we either decide to change it or we don't.”

But former Business Secretary Peter Mandelson warns Keir Starmer’s plan to take power from Whitehall and give it to local areas could undermine his own “five missions” for a Labour government.

And Angela Rayner reveals how her own experience as a care worker and trade unionist convinced her of the need to devolve as much power as possible. “When people feel they have control over what they're trying to achieve, they own it. You just got to give people a little bit more empowerment. And it's surprising how well that can pay off.”

Subscribe to Labour's Plan for Power to hear every episode

Produced and edited by Julia Webster.

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Labour’s Plan For Power: The NHS and Your Health is the second episode of a special new i podcast series looking at what Sir Keir Starmer’s party would do differently if it wins the next election. Hosted by Paul Waugh, i’s chief political commentator, this is a four-part series that also covers the economy, Brexit and the North-South divide.

The Royal College of Nursing tells us that it is ready to go on strike again if a Labour government fails to deliver on pay and staff shortages. 

Former Labour Health Secretary Alan Milburn warns that it is “unacceptable” for senior doctors to take industrial action and urges Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting to make that is “bottom line”.

And Streeting himself says that he will stand up for patients against “vested interests” of trade unions and others who oppose NHS reform. With former Health Secretary Andy Burnham and an array of health experts we also discuss funding pressures, the role of the private sector, waiting lists, GP access and social care.

Subscribe to Labour's Plan for Power to hear every episode

Produced and edited by Julia Webster.

Music featured is composed by Slicebeats, Coma Media, Daddy_s_Music and AKTASOK, licensed via Pixabay. 

Check out their music in the links below. 

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Labour’s Plan For Power: The Economy is the first episode of a special new i podcast series looking at what Sir Keir Starmer’s party would do differently if it wins the next election.

Hosted by Paul Waugh, i's chief political commentator, this is the first of a four-part series that will also cover the NHS, Brexit and the North-South divide.

Ken Clarke reveals why he thinks Rachel Reeves’ “responsible approach” to public finances would be “reassuring” if Labour won power. 

Peter Mandelson warns any new tax rises would deter business at home and abroad. Ed Balls explains why Labour adopted Tory spending limits in 1997. John McDonnell spells out the danger of not spending or taxing enough. 

And Rachel Reeves tells us just what it would mean to be Britain’s first female chancellor - and why Labour is “on the cusp of achieving something remarkable” at the next election.

Subscribe to Labour's Plan for Power, and listen to all four episodes today.

Produced by Albert Evans and edited by Julia Webster.

Music featured is composed by Slicebeats, Grand Project, Coma Media and AKTASOK, licensed via Pixabay. 

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The housing crisis is a vast web of overlapping problems and failings. It’s a feature of modern Britain. 

But as the economy flounders, the crisis takes new forms, dragging more people in. And the impact on those caught in its grasp is devastating.

In this week’s episode of The i Podcast we are joined by our housing correspondent Vicky Spratt who has uncovered a scandal about how mothers and children are being treated by the very authorities they have turned to for help. 

Produced by Albert Evans and edited by Julia Webster.

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Having a child is supposed to be a life-affirming experience, if you follow popular logic.  But what if you hate it?

There’s a growing movement promoting a “child-free lifestyle” - and some of its biggest proponents are parents, fed up with their offspring and wishing they'd taken a different path.

In this week's episode of The i Podcast, we are joined by chief features writer Kasia Delgado, who has been talking to the parents who regret having children and the groups they have formed to share their experiences. 

We will also hear from the parents themselves about the taboo surrounding voicing these opinions and what they wish they had known before they took the plunge.

Produced by Albert Evans and edited by Julia Webster.

Music featured is by Michael Kobrin and Lexin Music - licensed via Pixabay.

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Two years since the Taliban stormed Kabul, devastating the lives of thousands of Afghans, those who fled to Britain are now facing an uncertain future. 

The Taliban takeover marked the end of a 20-year presence of coalition forces in the country and the beginning of a dark new chapter for the nation, restricting rights and freedoms for women and girls. 

Afghans who worked with the western-backed Government live in fear for their lives. Many who worked with the British, American and other Western nations braved perilous journeys to escape their new reality. 

In this week’s episode of The i Podcast we speak to three Afghan women who fled Afghanistan for Britain.

To date, the UK has opened its doors to 24,600 vulnerable Afghans under two resettlement schemes hailed as the world’s most generous.  

Yet families who arrived have lived in cramped hotel rooms for months without provisions to cook or wash their clothes.  

Now a new fear looms as the hotels are due to be shut at the end of August with those that remain facing eviction. Some have nowhere else to go.

Read Molly's article here: https://inews.co.uk/news/afghan-refugee-hotel-no-space-cooking-washing-machines-2543645

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Six years ago Paul Price's life changed forever. He was picking up his daughter from an Ariana Grande concert when a terrorist detonated a bomb in the entrance to the Manchester Arena. 

It was one of the most devastating terror attacks in a generation and Paul was at its epicentre. He spent the following eight months in hospital as doctors battled to fix his shattered body.

But these months of pain and loss were followed by another challenge - accessing the support he desperately needed from the British government.

In this week's episode of The i Podcast, we visit Paul at his house in Liverpool to find out why he feels the government has "made his trauma worse". You can read his opinion piece here.

Produced by Albert Evans and Molly Blackall, additional production by Izin Akhabau. Edited by Julia Webster.

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It wouldn’t be the first time a whistleblower has stunned the US Congress with an extraordinary revelation, but last week’s hearings were truly stranger than fiction.

Not one but three military witnesses testified about their experiences of UFOs, otherwise known as UAPs (unidentified aerial phenomena).

In this week’s episode of The i Podcast we’re joined by science writer, Stuart Ritchie, and senior reporter, Richard Holmes, as we explore the line between fact and fiction in these extraordinary testimonies.

Former intelligence official David Grusch told Republican Representative Nancy Mace the federal government held the "non-human" biological remains of the pilots of a crashed craft and the allegations didn't end there.

Mr Grusch said he is now in fear for his life for speaking openly about the discoveries, claiming the Pentagon has a secretive multi-decade programme to collect and piece together crashed UAPs.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, disputes claims of a cover-up, having released footage of US Navy pilots chasing disc-like objects whizzing through the sky for the public to see in 2020.

But Congress members from both sides of the aisle are now demanding more transparency to answer a long-standing question – are UFOs real? 

Listen back to the Covid Lab leak episode here: https://pod.link/1655186150/episode/da7369c27224520df0408adde7d63170

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A general election is on the horizon in the next 17 months. Last Thursday’s triple-decker by-election results could be the final major democratic exercise in Britain before we head to the polls nationally. 

You may have heard the Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat leaders claiming by-election success, but look a little closer at the results and you’ll find things that will worry politicians of all stripes. 

In this week’s episode of The i Podcast chief political correspondent Richard Vaughan and politics reporter Poppy Wood join us to pick through the by-election aftermath.

While the Conservatives held the seat vacated by Boris Johnson in Uxbridge and Ruislip by just 495 votes, Labour’s campaign propelled the UK’s new youngest MP to victory in Selby and Ainsty in Yorkshire. 

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats reclaimed the seat of Somerton and Frome that they lost to the Conservatives back in 2015. 

So how will these by-election results impact how each party runs their national campaign? From net zero to public sector pay disputes, i's politics team is on hand to explain how each party will address key policies to try to turn their hand to victory in the next general election.

Produced by Albert Evans, edited by Julia Webster.

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Europe is boiling. The countries around the Mediterranean are facing soaring temperatures as an anticyclone sends temperatures through the roof. 

And while the mercury is expected to dive in the coming days, the continent is waking up to a harsh new reality. Climate change is here and we are not prepared for it.

In this week's episode of The i Podcast we take a look at how the climate crisis is fuelling these major weather events, like the Cerberus heatwave, and find out what can be done about it. 

Joining us from the island of Sardinia is foreign reporter Claire Gilbody-Dickerson who has been talking to locals, tourists, and emergency service workers, struggling in the scorching heat.  

Then environment correspondent Daniel Capurro and science correspondent Tom Bawden gives us the details on why this heatwave is just the latest in a string of unpredictable events and what we can expect in Europe and across the world.

Produced by Albert Evans, edited by Julia Webster.

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