Anoosh and Will are back with this week's round up of the politics stories you might have missed.

This week:

• Housing Secretary Steve Reed has the perfect opportunity to "build, baby, build"
• Misinformation powerhouse InfoWars is officially over - just like the Metaverse
• Pete Hegseth seems to encourage the US army to commit war crimes
• Rachel Reeves takes a gamble on building "an army of Burnhams"

READ:

Anoosh's Thomas Hetherwick interview

Will's sketch on Pete Hegseth - "the boss of tough men in hot places"

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Angela Rayner has called Shabana Mahmood’s immigration plans un-British. Is this the beginning of the dilution of these reforms and even of a leadership campaign?

Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Ailbhe Rea to discuss.

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Keir Starmer’s cost of living crisis

At the beginning of this year, Keir Starmer vowed to bring down the cost of living. 

But as other PMs learned before him, this is often out of the government’s control.

The Iran war is threatening to ruin his strategy and Starmer now finds himself in a bind.

Anoosh Chakelian is joined by political editor, Ailbhe Rea.

READ: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2026/03/keir-starmer-is-struggling-to-keep-his-new-years-resolution

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Yesterday, Keir Starmer met Volodymyr Zelensky to sign a new defense partnership.

The Ukrainian President said he faced a missile shortage due to the war in Iran and Keir Starmer resolved to remain focused on the fight against Russia. 

But is the war in Eastern Europe only the first act of a much wider conflict?

Oli Dugmore is joined by Will Lloyd, who visited Ukraine last month. 

Read: https://www.newstatesman.com/international-content/2026/03/the-new-world-war

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The Treasury Select Committee has announced an inquiry into Student Loans.

It comes after Rachel Reeves announced a freeze on repayment thresholds meaning more graduates will start repaying once they earn just over the living wage.

It's an issue that doesn't just affect today's students and graduates but is increasingly becoming a political issue the government cannot ignore.

Tom McTague is joined by Rachel Cunliffe to discuss what the inquiry might achieve - and what the student loans issue means for graduates, the economy and Britain's future.

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Oil prices have spiked following the outbreak of war in Iran, with crude oil jumping to over £75 a barrel.

This is having a huge impact around the world, and is set to get worse.

Megan Gibson is joined by Rory Johnston, oil market researcher and author of the Commodity Context newsletter, who argues that this scenario could lead to a global depression.

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After a massive 17 years reporting on politics for the New Statesman, George Eaton joins Anoosh Chakelian the podcast for a farewell episode.

Anoosh and George discuss his highlights from covering the past 17 years in British politics, from the post-crash austerity years, through Labour civil war and ultimately Keir Starmer's Labour election victory in 2024. They reflect on the lessons learned, what's changed... and what's stayed the same.

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Hereditary peers scrapped, tech overlord villainy, Tory hypocrisy and camel pageant botox cheating.

It’s another weekly round up from Anoosh Chakelian and Will Dunn.

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Keir Starmer apologised for appointing Peter Mandelson as US ambassador. Is it enough?

After a vote by MPs forced its hand, the government has released the first batch of files relating to Mandelson’s appointment.

They revealed that the Prime Minister was told the Labour peer posed a “reputational risk” because of his relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and that his national security adviser raised concerns about the appointment.

The so-called “Mandelson files” also exposed a number of facts about the vetting process that were already reported by the New Statesman in February and have angered Labour MPs all over again, and prompted further calls for Keir Starmer’s resignation.

Will the Prime Minister go?

Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Rachel Cunliffe - who has read through every word of the files - do discuss what they contain, what they reveal, and what Keir Starmer must do now.

📚 READ

Starmer, Mandelson and the missing puzzle piece

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Is the UK going through the “fourth great disruption” to its geopolitical position?

In this unprecedented moment, we take a look at how history can shed light on the current conflict, and which politician is best placed to handle the crisis. 

Editor-in-chief Tom McTague is joined by John Bew, professor of history at King’s College London and former foreign policy adviser to four different British governments, and our political editor Ailbhe Rea. 

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