New Economics Podcast New Economics Foundation

In the recent European elections, the far right won unprecedented gains. From the success of the AfD in Germany, to Le Pen’s National Rally in France, the elections saw nationalist and eurosceptic parties sweep up nearly a quarter of the seats in the European parliament.

In the UK, the next general election is just days away. Voters will be heading to the polls against a backdrop of decades of economic failure, crumbling public services and a cost of living crisis that has left more than four in 10 households unable to afford life’s essentials.

But you wouldn’t know it from the way a lot of our political leaders are talking. Voters are being told, yet again, that times are tough, government spending power is weak, and there is no magic money tree. Oh, and of course, it really is time to crack down on migration, once and for all.

So, how can we understand the promises, or lack thereof, of the people vying for our votes, within a broader context of political upheaval across Europe? In a time of such great need, why are Labour and the Conservatives offering so little? And as the dust settles on the European elections, is the UK really an anomalous country leaning the left, while our continental neighbours lurch rightward?

This week, Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Yanis Varoufakis - economist, academic, formally Greece’s finance minister, and author of a number of critical books, the latest of which is Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism. They discuss: how do we build a Pan-European progressive movement that can win?

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Music: Melting Ground by Jangwa, used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Amy Clancy, Margaret Welsh and James Rush.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

We live under an invisible ideology. It tells us that we are not citizens but consumers. That intervening in the free market compromises our freedom. That we are all millionaires-in-waiting - and if we are struggling to make ends meet, then we only have ourselves to blame.

This is capitalism on steroids. But few of us can even identify the doctrine we live under. It’s called “neoliberalism”, and it’s been the dominant economic ideology for the past four decades.

So what does this ideology have to tell us about the world? How is neoliberalism shaping our democracy? And what has almost half a century of neoliberalism done to our lives?

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by George Monbiot, journalist and co-author of the new book The Invisible Doctrine: the secret history of neoliberalism, to discuss: how do we tell a new story about neoliberalism?


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Music by Inaequalis is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Produced by Amy Clancy, Margaret Welsh and James Rush.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent or NEF.

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

In February, the prime minister warned that “mob rule is replacing democratic rule” in the UK. He encouraged police to take action on pro-Palestine protests which, he said, had descended into “intimidation, threats, and planned acts of violence”. Over 50 organisations responded by accusing this government of placing draconian restrictions on the right to protest.

A UN expert has claimed that before the 1930s, it was almost unheard of for peaceful protesters to be imprisoned in the UK. But last year two climate protestors who scaled a bridge on the Dartford Crossing received the longest sentences for peaceful protest in modern British history.

Are we witnessing a protest crackdown? Why are politicians referring to some protest groups as “extremists” and “militants”? And how can we defend the right to protest?

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Akiko Hart, Director of Liberty, and Audrey Cherryl Mogan, Criminal Defence and Civil Liberties Barrister.

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Music by Aldous Ichnite, used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Amy Clancy, Margaret Welsh and James Rush.

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

Three years’ ago, the Conservative Party celebrated their best local elections performance since 2008. But after last week’s local elections in England and Wales, the Telegraph called the results a “dire day” for the Conservatives.

Now that the dust has settled, we’re taking a closer look. Local elections aren’t just about Count Binface and potholes. With the next general election creeping ever closer, journalists and political wonks were watching these elections like hawks.

So who were the big winners and losers? Has the rise of metro mayors increased democracy in England? And what does this all mean for the next general election?

Hannah Peaker is joined by joined by Dr Abi O’Connor, senior researcher at the New Economics Foundation and Jack Shaw, fellow at the Bennet Institute for Public Policy.

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Music: Thoughtful by Lee Rosevere, Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/lee-rosevere/music-for-podcasts-playful/more-questions-than-answers/, used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney, Margaret Welsh and James Rush

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

Almost three million people in the UK are unemployed and unable to work because they are ill or disabled. According to the right-wing media, these people aren’t nearly as unwell as they claim. Meanwhile a UN committee warned that disabled people in the UK are subjected to a “traumatising” benefits system.

We have a social security system that’s been stripped to the bone and millions of people are struggling to afford the essentials as a result, yet both of the main political parties are desperate to be seen as “tough on benefits”.

So what’s gone wrong with our social security system? Why are politicians so intent on alienating those who rely on it? And how can we build a system that gives everyone the support they need?

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Kaliya Franklin, freelance disability policy expert and campaigner, and Mikey Erhardt, campaigner at Disability Rights UK.
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Music: Thoughtful by Lee Rosevere, Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/lee-rosevere/music-for-podcasts-serious/thoughtful-2/, used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney, Margaret Welsh and James Rush

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254

Britain’s favourite broadcaster David Attenborough once said: “Anyone who thinks you can have infinite growth in a finite environment is either a madman - or an economist.”

But our political leaders don’t seem to agree. Both our major political parties have made growing the economy a key metric for their success in government.

So what is economic growth? How did it become so central to our understanding of the economy? And should we really be striving for infinite growth on a finite planet?

Ayeisha Thomas Smith is joined by Kate Raworth, economist and author of Doughnut Economics, and Michael Jacobs, professor of political economy at the University of Sheffield.

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Music: Under Suspicion by Lee Rosevere, Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/lee-rosevere/music-for-podcasts-serious/under-suspicion/, used under Creative Commons licence: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

Produced by Katrina Gaffney, Margaret Welsh and James Rush

The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more about becoming a NEF supporter at: neweconomics.org/donate/build-a-better-future

New Economics Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales. Charity No. 1055254