As Donald Trump visits Scotland, world leaders - including Keir Starmer - flock to pay tribute at the emperor's feet.

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2DHAQOeEg-Z-4trARDXHRA?sub_confirmation=1

The US President is on a 4-day trip to his golf courses in Scotland. He has met with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Wielding the "bully-boy" threat of trade tariffs, the President is enjoying unprecedented influence. But should European leaders learn from the more combative approaches taken by Canada and France?

Megan Gibson joins Tom McTague on the New Statesman podcast.

📚 READ: Can Starmer and Trump come to an agreement on Gaza? - Megan Kenyon

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/morning-call/2025/07/can-starmer-and-trump-come-to-an-agreement-on-gaza

LISTEN AD-FREE:

📱Download the New Statesman app

MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:

❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday

⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning

✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday

JOIN US:

⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Director, writer and producer Peter Kosminsky, who directed of the BBC's adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall, has worked in the television industry for 45 years. The BAFTA and Golden Globe winner is one of the most respected voices in the industry.

Kosminsky spoke to the New Statesman's Hannah Barnes in a wide ranging discussion about the state of British television, and why he is calling upon the government to stand up for public service broadcasting against the might of the streaming giants.

LISTEN AD-FREE:

📱Download the New Statesman app

MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:

❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday

⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning

✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday

JOIN US:

⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Listeners ask: With Keir Starmer and his government under fire over their approach to Gaza, and the emergence of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's new party, why vote Labour? And with infrastructure and public services in such a terrible state, and the prospect of taxes and bills rising, what are we paying for?

Tom McTague is joined by Megan Kenyon, George Eaton and Will Dunn to discuss.

READ

Corbyn and Sultana declare war on Labour from the left - Megan Kenyon

LISTEN AD-FREE:

📱Download the New Statesman app

MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:

❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday

⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning

✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday

JOIN US:

⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week - Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has identified immigration, economic insecurity and time spent online as key causes of unrest and rioting in the UK following last year's Southport attacks. Also, Can Rachel Reeves avoid another fiscal crisis?

Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Andrew Marr and George Eaton to discuss.

READ

Can Rachel Reeves avoid a new fiscal crisis - George Eaton

LISTEN AD-FREE:

📱Download the New Statesman app

MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:

❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday

⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning

✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday

JOIN US:

⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

She was the Tory saviour. Now, by November, she could be gone.

Where did it all go wrong for Kemi Badenoch?

--

For this week's New Statesman magazine, Will Lloyd has written a powerful and revealing profile of the Nigerian immigrant who rose to lead the Conservative Party.

Will joins Tom McTague to discuss what he discovered in the course of his reporting, including why Conservative grandees first celebrated, then turned against, Kemi Badenoch.

They explore whether racism plays a role in the way Badenoch has been treated, and whether the woman who some cast as a new Thatcher was ever as able as the Conservatives wanted to believe.

--

Read Will Lloyd's profile of Kemi Badenoch in the New Statesman magazine, or online: Kemi Badenoch isn't working

Listen next: How to defeat reform - exclusive polling with analyst Steve Akehurst

LISTEN AD-FREE:

📱Download the New Statesman app

MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:

❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday

⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning

✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday

JOIN US:

⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could Donald Trump’s plea to his support base to “not waste time and energy on Jeffrey Epstein” finally drive a wedge between the US president and his MAGA faithful? And what are Trump and Vice President JD Vance doing in the UK this summer?

Katie Stallard is joined by the New Statesman’s US correspondent Freddie Hayward to discuss.

READ

A conspiracy theory that Donald Trump can't control - Freddie Hayward

LISTEN AD-FREE:

📱Download the New Statesman app

MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:

❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday

⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning

✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday

JOIN US:

⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Water regulator Ofwat is to be abolished - but Labour should go further.

***

On Monday the results of an independent review of the water industry were published. The results were damning for the regulator, Ofwat, which will be abolished in response to the report.

Megan Kenyon attended the announcement for the New Statesman and joins Anoosh Chakelian and George Eaton on the podcast.

They argue that while provision of water in the UK clearly needs drastic reform, the government needs a more radical plan to address the core issues - including the "radicalising" problem of sewage in Britain's lakes and waterways.

They also discuss the proposed appointment of Tim Allan as Keir Starmer's permanent secretary for communications. Does the PM really need another member of the New Labour team on his staff?

LISTEN NEXT:

What does "Blue Labour" really mean? - Morgan Jones interview

LISTEN AD-FREE:

📱Download the New Statesman app

MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:

❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday

⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning

✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday

JOIN US:

⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Keir Starmer's government appears to be buffeted by internal storms, multiple factions are influencing the flow of power. Not least, the oxymoronically-named 'Blue Labour'.

But what is Blue Labour? And what do those in the movement actually want?

In this episode, Anoosh Chakelian and Rachel Cunliffe are joined by the author Morgan Jones, who specialises in reporting on the politics of the Labour Party. She's also the co-editor of Renewal, a Labour-aligned journal.

LISTEN AD-FREE:

📱Download the New Statesman app

MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:

❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday

⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning

✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday

JOIN US:

⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The government are pursuing AI developments, but at what cost? Why aren't Labour rebels protesting about stealth taxes? And will Jeremy Corbyn join the Green Party?

Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Will Dunn and Andrew Marr to answer your questions.

READ

Magic and divination in the age of AI - Will Dunn

LISTEN AD-FREE:

📱Download the New Statesman app

MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:

❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday

⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning

✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday

JOIN US:

⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On Wednesday, the prime minister removed the whip from the group of MPs for breaches of discipline. The group of MPs have persistently rebelled against the Labour leader.

The government are also reckoning with a revelation that leaked information compromised the safety of Afghans who supported the British military, and inflation has risen higher than expected.

Plus: Labour introduce plans to lower the voting age to 16.

Rachel Cunliffe is joined by Andrew Marr, George Eaton and Will Dunn to discuss.

READ

Why Keir Starmer has purged Labour rebels again - George Eaton

LISTEN AD-FREE:

📱Download the New Statesman app

MORE FROM THE NEW STATESMAN:

❓ Ask a question – we answer them every Friday

⏰ Get our daily politics newsletter every morning

✍️ Enjoy the best of our writing via email every Saturday

JOIN US:

⭐️ Get full access to all our reporting and analysis with a print + digital subscription

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.