The New Statesman Podcast The New Statesman

We’ve had lots of questions come in this week about defection, prompted by the surprise and somewhat contentious defection of the once Conservative MP for Dover and Deal, Natalie Elphicke, to Labour last week.
To help guide us through Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined in the studio by Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor at the New Statesman, and down the line by David Gauke, former Conservative MP for South West Hertfordshire and New Statesman columnist.
Read: Do Tory defections to Labour herald a realignment?


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This morning Keir Starmer has laid out six key pledges for a Labour government, should they win power this election year.
So what is the Labour leader promising, and will those promises be kept?
Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined on the New Statesman podcast by Freddie Hayward, political correspondent, and George Eaton, senior editor.

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Just over a month ago Dr Hilary Cass published her landmark review of gender identity services for children and young people.
In her last UK media interview before her team wrap up, she spoke to the New Statesman about the four years it took to compile and complete the review, as well as the reflections she’s had since it was published and criticisms that have been leveled against both her findings and her own professionalism.
You can read the accompanying article to this interview here: Hilary Cass: “Do I regret doing it? Absolutely not”

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Are any Tories desperate enough to take over as Prime Minister?
In our listener questions episode, You Ask Us, Rachel Cunliffe, George Eaton and Freddie Hayward answer your questions on whether any Conservative MPs would really want to take over as PM before the next election, and how on earth they will explain Britain's failing economy during the election campaign.
To submit a question, visit www.newstatesman.com/youaskus
Subscribe to the New Statesman at www.newstatesman.com/subscribe
Sign up to receive Freddie's daily politics email, Morning Call: morningcall.substack.com

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The longer the Conservatives hang on, the worse it gets. Last week Rishi Sunak lost 474 councillors, the constituency of Blackpool south, and Andy Street’s West Midlands mayoral. And yesterday things went from bad to worse for Sunak with a surprise defection to Labour from Natalie Elphicke MP for Dover and Deal.
The Conservatives can’t seem to escape this endless decline in support and popularity. So when did it all start to go wrong, and can they stop the train before it completely derails?
Freddie Hayward, political correspondent, is joined in the studio by Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor, and George Eaton, senior editor.
Read: The Tory doomscroll

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The UK is on course for a huge rise in preventable illness. The Health Foundation charity predicts that by 2040, one in five adults will be living with a serious condition, such as cancer, dementia or heart disease. Meanwhile, economic activity is stagnating, with roughly 2.8 million people currently out of work due to ill health, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Our world-leading life sciences sector has the capacity to help reverse this trend. In 2021 alone, it contributed £43.3bn to the UK economy, and supported 646,000 jobs. With the right investment, it could add an additional £68bn to GDP over the next 30 years, create 85,000 more jobs and result in a 40 per cent decrease in disease burden across the UK.
This episode, in partnership with professional services firm PwC, explores how greater investment into vital disease areas such as cancer, obesity and immunology could make British society physically and financially healthier.
Emma Haslett is joined by Chi Onwurah, the shadow minister for science, research and innovation; Dr Dan Mahony, chair of the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) and the government’s life sciences investment envoy; and Stephen Aherne, pharmaceutical and life sciences leader at PwC UK.
If you enjoyed this podcast you can find more of Spotlight's policy reporting in our standalone Spotlight podcast feed, or at newstatesman.com/spotlight  

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