The Power Test Podot

Schools expert, and Teacher Tapp co-founder, Laura McInerney, joins Sam Freedman and Ayesha Hazarika to speak about Labour’s commitment to recruit extra teachers by removing the VAT exemption on private schools - as well as the party’s other plans on education.
With election fever setting in, The Power Test is not being knocked off course. With just six weeks until a new government will be in place, Sam and Ayesha look in detail about what Labour is offering and whether its plan adds up.
Joined by McInerney, the team look at Labour’s pledge to recruit 6,500 extra teachers, a review of the national curriculum, the role of Ofsted, special needs education, and culture war arguments in schools.

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With Labour under pressure from trade unions to remain committed to its 'New Deal for Working People', this week Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman look at the party's relationship with the unions and the future ahead.
They're joined by the General Secretary of the Prospect trade union, Mike Clancy, to look at Labour’s relationship with the union movement and how any future government can build a productive relationship to reshape the economy and support its growth mission.
They also look at Natalie Elphicke's defection to Labour and the delicate balance Keir Starmer faces in holding together his broad church. In the Quickfire round, Mike nominates Barbara Castle to the Fantasy Cabinet and suggests that Labour should be less shy about facing the impact that Brexit has had on the British economy and society more generally.

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In the aftermath of last week's local elections, Sam Freedman and Ayesha Hazarika, together with author and Political Science Professor Rob Ford, look at what the results might mean for a future Labour government on this week's episode of The Power Test podcast.
Under the surface of a very good set of elections for the party, and another very bad few days for the Tories, Ford, who was part of the BBC's elections analysis team, suggests however there are a few trends that may give an early warning to some of the challenges the party may face in power. In particular, the willingness of the left to be "much less partisan and back other options" such as the Green Party which now has a "serious and credible base in local government - having quadrupled the number of councillors they have in the last five years".
Sam warns that the party may therefore find itself squeezed in the middle - between a more centrist leadership trying to play to Red Wall voters, and others at the same time trying to defend from a rising left flank.
"If I'm a Labour MP in Hastings or Stroud or places like that where the Greens are coming on very strong and I'm in a Labour government that is being tough on benefits because that's what the newspapers want us to do, and not spending money, I'm going to start getting nervous pretty quickly that I'm going to lose my voter base."

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In a week of drama in Scottish politics, Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman are joined for this week’s episode of The Power Test by former Labour leader in Scotland, Kezia Dugdale.
They discuss where Scottish politics goes next following the shock resignation of Humza Yousaf, whether the SNP's attack lines on independence have been blunted, and whether Anas Sarwar, the current leader of Scottish Labour, can take advantage of an increasingly rosy electoral picture.
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This week, Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman are joined by none other than Sam’s dad, Sir Lawrence Freedman, to discuss future foreign and defence policy under a Labour Government.
How will Labour confront the range of security threats that the UK faces across the world? Sir Lawrence Freedman, renowned academic, historian and author on foreign policy and international relations, reflects on the grave challenges a Starmer Government will face in a dangerous world. From the 'Special Relationship' and how a Trump re-election might ignite the necessity for nuclear independence, to analysing the sustained threats post by Putin and Russia, and Xi and China, this is a wide-ranging but essential discussion.
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Tune into The Debrief, live on Twitter/X this coming Monday.

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Is Labour capable of reversing the curse facing centre-left governments around the world? Josh Simons, Director of the highly influential think tank Labour Together says the party must be ready to confront the challenge of thinking about how it can govern and win a second term.
Josh joins Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman to speak about how Labour is preparing for government and whether the party really has a plan to win the decade in power it wants and needs.
Visit THEPOWERTEST.CO.UK to find out more and support the show.
Tune into The Debrief, live on Twitter/X every Sunday at 7pm.

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