The Social Review

Continuing our series discussing British political dramas of film and TV, host Ciaran is joined by Editors Michael and Sam to discuss House of Cards a 1990 BBC drama centring on the machiavellian rise of Francis Urquhart, the Tory Chief Whip passed over for a promotion to high office after the resignation of Margaret Thatcher. We discuss; what does ethical parliamentary whipping look like? Why has the British House of Cards endured and the American remake aged poorly? And will Sebastian Payne ever win selection for a Tory seat?

The TV and films we will be covering on future podcasts

Host Sam is joined by editor-in-chief Ciaran to interview Colm Murphy, Deputy Director of the Mile End Institute and Lecturer in British Politics at Queen Mary University of London, about his new book Futures of Socialism 'Modernisation', the Labour party, and the British Left 1973-1997.

We talk about the contested meanings of Modernisation, how it came to be thought of synonymously with New Labour, whether New Labour were neoliberals, constitutional reform, and who and what the soft left are.

⁠Futures of Socialism (ISBN: 9781009278812) is out now from Cambridge University Press for £85.00⁠

Host Ciaran is joined by Social Review editor Julia, and freelance trade union journalist Alex Maguire to talk about Sherwood - a BBC drama about two killings in a former mining village in Nottinghamshire. In this episode we cover; the weird Blue Labour politics of one of the killers, how the show deals with the real life elements of the murders it portrays, and how the show covers both the spycops scandal and the politics of former 'red wall' seats.

Guardian review of Sherwood

List of films and TV shows that will be covered in future episodes

*This episode was recorded in June*

Host Ciaran joins Julia and Harry to discuss Roadkill, the 2020 BBC drama starring Hugh Laurie and Helen McCrory. In this episode we examine what the show says about Boris Johnson, the 2019 election, Tory "libertarians", and the genre of TV political thrillers.

Guardian review of Roadkill

List of films and TV shows that will be covered in future episodes

*This episode was recorded before Boris Johnson resigned as an MP*

Ciaran, Harry, and Michael sit down to discuss the BBC 2018 series Bodyguard for a new series for The Social Review covering British political dramas of television and film. In it we'll examine what they say about the politics of their time and today, as well as why the genre has come to be so dominated by the format of police procedurals.

In this episode we discuss: the snoopers charter, organised crime, and the humourlessness of BBC dramas.

The Guardian long-read mentioned in the podcast

The list of TV and film that will be covered in future episodes

Hosts Sam and Harry speak to freelance industrial relations journalist Alex Maguire about the current state of British trade unionism. Alex talks about, the TUC's upcoming conference, the various upcoming ballots & disputes that will define the autumn & winter, and gives a brief overview of the internal politics of Britain's largest unions. 

If you'd like to read more about trade unions, visit our website: 

https://www.thesocialreview.co.uk/category/trade-unions/

Just Sam, Harry and Julia toasting the end of Joris and mulling what and who comes next, as well as how none of us are safe in high crime Britain as Sir Beer Korma continues to walk the streets. 

We're joined by Chris Terry (@CJTerry) to digest last week's by-elections and to offer advice to Boris after he tragically lost two more seats to the Progressive Alliance hordes. Some moaning about the state of Labour gets chucked in the mix too. 

*Alexander Boris D'Pfeiffel Johnson and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

New host Sam joins @Harry_Balden, @ciaranmcgurdy, @michaeljbawden and @BallotWorld's @CJTerry to discuss the recent local elections. They talk: Tower Hamlets, Scotland, Wales, Chris gives a run down of how Labour, the Tories and the Lib Dems did, and we discuss Keir Starmer's imminent imprisonment!

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Join Michael, Julia, Tyron and Ciaran as they review the recent New Labour Documentary 'Blair & Brown: The New Labour Revolution. In this episode they go over all the various ways the 5-episode doc was essentially rubbish for a variety of reasons. Strong language throughout!