Women With Balls

The past year has served as a reminder how quickly one's personal circumstances can change. In uncertain times such as these, financial resilience is more important than ever. But whilst savings for some Brits have surged in the pandemic, it's not been the case for everyone. 41pc of UK households could not last more than three months without their main source of income. If you are in a bad place, what are the best steps?

Katy Balls is joined by Tracey Crouch, Conservative MP and former minister for sports, civil society and loneliness, who's also been a leading campaigner on gambling reform; Bridget Phillipson, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury; and Nicola Bannister, Lloyds Banking Group's Collections Effectiveness Director for Retail.

Sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group.

Katy Searle is the Executive Editor of Politics at BBC News. She is known for overseeing numerous blockbuster political moments, including the infamous kitchen interviews with Ed Miliband and David Cameron, where the Labour leader showed off his two kitchens. On the podcast, she talks to Katy Balls about leaving school at 16, working with Rod Liddle on the Today programme and what it's like to produce interviews with prime ministers.

Over the last year of intermittent lockdowns, most of us have spent more time staring at the four walls of our living room than we ever thought possible. One of the biggest factors affecting someone's pandemic experience is the type of accommodation they're in, and 8.4 million people in England are living in unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable homes.

 

There are, however, attempts being made to help fix the problem, with promises to build new homes, a stamp duty holiday, and a new mortgage guarantee system.

 

To discuss the problem of unaffordable homes, and the potential solutions, Katy Balls is joined on this sponsored podcast by Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow secretary of state for housing; Natalie Elphicke, the Conservative MP for Dover and chair of the New Homes Quality Board; and Esther Dijkstra, the managing director of intermediaries at Lloyds Banking Group.

Sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group.

Nusrat Ghani is the Conservative MP for Wealden, having previously served as a transport minister under the May then Johnson governments. On the podcast, she tells Katy Balls about her upbringing under a father who was a headteacher; how she narrowly escaped arranged marriage through university; and how it feels to be one of nine Brits to be sanctioned by the Chinese Communist Party.

The pandemic has changed many aspects of our lives but one of the biggest is the way we work– with 46% of people working from home last year. Perhaps no group has been more impacted by this than the young - from unemployment to the mental health pressures of working from small homes and a tough jobs market, this generation has been dubbed 'the Covid generation'.

 

But at the same time there are also opportunities – could apprenticeships be part of the solution? 

 

On this sponsored podcast, Katy Balls talks to a panel of strong women about the challenges and opportunities facing young people in professional life. She's joined by Gillian Keegan, the Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills; Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the TUC; and Michelle Blayney, Chief Culture and Talent Officer at Lloyds Banking Group.

Sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group.

Elif Shafak is an award-winning Turkish-British novellist, essayist and activist. On the episode, she talks to Katy about what it was like to grow up in conservative Ankara under the strong women in her family; her prosecution by the Turkish government; and why she thinks too much information is not necessarily a virtue.

Rachel Reeves is the Labour MP for Leeds West and the shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. On the podcast, she talks to Katy about being a teen chess champion (pictured playing), going to a school where her mum worked and what Labour needs to do to turn its losing streak.

Suzanne Moore is a journalist. On the podcast, she tells Katy about interviewing to work for Marxism Today, feeling out of place at The Guardian, and standing to be an independent MP.

Mims Davies is the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Employment and the MP for Mid Sussex. On the podcast, she talks to Katy about how her family became lifelong carers when her dad was attacked at work, about why she didn't come out as a Tory in her student days at Swansea University and why her change of seat in the 2019 election was not all that it seems.

Claire Williams OBE is the former Deputy Team Principal of Williams, family-run the Formula One racing team set up by her father, Frank Williams. On the podcast, she talks about what it was like to be seen as 'Frank's daughter', the struggles of trying to turn around an ailing F1 team and how none of her family actually passed their driving test, first time.