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  • The Bigger Picture: Can Starmer survive the Mandelson revelations and the forthcoming elections

    The Bigger Picture: Can Starmer survive the Mandelson revelations and the forthcoming elections
    2026/02/05
    The Mandelson revelations, says Mike Indian, is a serious issue, going to the heart of the UK government. It questions the political judgement of Sir Keir Starmer and his staff. Clearly Mandelson should not have been appointed without due diligence being carried out, particularly given that he has had to resign twice in the past over personal scandals. Mike does not expect Labour to hold the Gorton and Denton seat when the by-election is held later this month, reckoning that the Greens will win. Labour is haemorrhaging votes but Mike feels that it would have been a great distraction if Andy Burnham had been the candidate. However, he is not convinced that the Prime Minister has it in him to survive beyond the May elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    22 分
  • The Bigger Picture: What has happened to beauty in housing and why has housbuilding in London collapsed?

    The Bigger Picture: What has happened to beauty in housing and why has housbuilding in London collapsed?
    2026/01/29
    Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University says that housing is one of the most important issues in the UK and that young people being unable to get on the housing ladder could have serious social and political consequences. He wondered why, when the Georgian style of homes is the most popular style of architecture with the public, the majority of contemporary houses look so unprepossessing. He is staggered by the level of often contradictory housebuilding regulations, which would not permit the construction of Georgian-style houses. Turning to London, he notes that housebuilding in London has fallen 84% in the last decade and that Sadiq Khan is falling short of his housebuilding target by a massive 90%. Given this, Tim wonders what the Mayor's legacy will be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    26 分
  • The Bigger Picture: Under-16 social media ban, defections to Reform & Trump's erratic behaviour

    The Bigger Picture: Under-16 social media ban, defections to Reform & Trump's erratic behaviour
    2026/01/22
    Political commentator Mike Indian tries his best not to mention “the giant orange elephant in the room”. He discusses the Lords amendment which would impose a ban on social media for the under-16s. This would follow a similar move in Australia and has strong cross-party consensus. Robert Jenrick’s defection to Reform was undermined to some extent by the response from a more assertive Kemi Badenoch which took some of the wind out of Nigel Farage’s sails. He does not have a history of playing nicely with people and Jenrick may yet find himself a bit player in the Nigel Farage Show. As for Trump’s speech in Davos, despite his trampling of the rule-based international order, he clearly yearns for acceptance from the world elite. But, as his health fails, he is becoming increasingly erratic and may yet try and find a way to get a third term. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    23 分
  • The Bigger Picture: The main themes for the UK in 2026, ID cards and other Labour U-turns

    The Bigger Picture: The main themes for the UK in 2026, ID cards and other Labour U-turns
    2026/01/15
    For his first appearance in 2026, Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University looks as what he feels will be the big themes for the United Kingdom this year: geopolitics; living standards; state efficiency; devolution; leadership, the EU; trade & tech; and Net Zero. When it comes to ID cards, with the government heavily influenced by Tony Blair, the protests against the scheme made the public – who had been moderately in favour – realise the drawbacks and cost, so that it became a political liability. Tim cantered through the various Labour U-turns on income tax thresholds, workers' rights, the WASPI women, grooming gangs, winter fuel payments, pub business rates, farming inheritance tax and welfare reforms. Labour appears to have no strategy. The U-turns smack of weakness and, in the public mind, echo the 14 years of Conservative rule. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    27 分
  • The Bigger Picture: Trump, Venezuela & Greenland and Starmer's New Year reset

    The Bigger Picture: Trump, Venezuela & Greenland and Starmer's New Year reset
    2026/01/08
    Political commentator Mike Indian says that President Trump's abduction of Nicolás Maduro sets a new and dangerous precedent in international relations. It's a spectacular gesture but a "gesture" is all that it is and it could further destabilise an already unstable country. Trump's stated aims for Greenland risk undermining NATO and relations between the US and Europe. Mike believes he is acting to create a legacy, exerting power in the most direct way he can. However, even the US could overextend itself and then find that it does, after all, need other countries. In the meantime, Trump's actions will simply embolden the world's autocrats. 2026 could be a very volatile year. In the UK, Keir Starmer looks to be in a stronger position than he was before Christmas. There does not seem to be a credible challenge to his leadership. To some extent, his unpopularity is now almost a boon, as it is out of the way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    26 分
  • The Bigger Picture: Tim’s Top Ten in 2025

    The Bigger Picture: Tim’s Top Ten in 2025
    2025/12/30
    Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University rounds off 2025 with his countdown of the 10 most significant issues. 10: Trade frictions and international relations are moving away from blockification and becoming messier. 9: Net Zero is on the wane and nuclear power is on the rise. Hydrocarbons could be around for longer than expected. 8: Productivity problems in Britain continue to bedevil the economy. 7: The lack of success in welfare reform, with inflation continuing to exacerbate poverty. 6: The housing crisis and the rise in homelessness. Red tape and bureaucracy continue to hold housebuilding back. 5: Fiscal strategy and stealth taxes. The policy of borrowing now and paying later is very dicey. 4: The NHS. It still in crisis, despite tens of billions of pounds poured in. 3: The cost of living crisis. Inflation is a hidden tax and most people have not seen their wages increase significantly for 20 years. 2: Immigration, which is fuelling anxiety and division, not just in Britain but throughout Europe. 1: Stagnating economic growth. We could now be in a recession. People are down and depressed and expect things to get worse. The Government is injecting misery and pessimism without understanding the consequence of their actions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    28 分
  • The Bigger Picture: The Three Unwise Men

    The Bigger Picture: The Three Unwise Men
    2025/12/18
    In seasonal spirit after what has felt like an exhausting political year, Mike Indian looks at the Three Unwise Men: Starmer; Trump; and Farage. Not since Attlee has a Labour PM had such internal difficulties and such a short honeymoon. His achievements have been drowned out by U-turns, defeats and gaffes. Labour are expected to do poorly in the May elections. Starmer is resilient and ruthless, but can he recover his authority? The unwisest man is surely Donald Trump. Eccentric and sometimes delusional, there has rarely been a more chaotic period in recent American history. His actions have a massive effect around the world. His health is now in question and it’s unlikely that he will go gracefully when is term is up. Of the three, Farage has had the best year. With just 5 MPs, Reform is polling above 30%. But the Russian links are insidious and it is still too early to predict the next election. We need to see real policies, not empty slogans. The next election will be the most pluralistic since 1923. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    26 分
  • The Bigger Picture: Abolishing trial by jury & Labour pleasing the libertarian right

    The Bigger Picture: Abolishing trial by jury & Labour pleasing the libertarian right
    2025/12/15
    Professor Tim Evans adds his voice to those opposing the restriction to trial by jury. It is an ancient right to be judged by one's peers, a democratic safeguard of liberty against an overbearing state. He feels it will lead to a loss of public confidence and democratic illegitimacy of the legal system. Without the rule of law, you don't have trust and without trust you don't have an economy. The government need to find other ways to reduce the legal backlog. While the Chancellor and her advisers appear not to have worked out exactly how EV users will be charged per mile they drive, Tim wonders if she realises that the idea is a darling of the libertarian right, proposed by Milton Friedman back in the early 1950s. It is, in essence, returning to the Georgian era of turnpikes. He feels, though, that it will create an incentive to keep roads in a good state. The era of all roads being "The King's Highway" can no longer be afforded. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    28 分