Pod Save the UK Crooked Media

It’s week one of the campaign and after a comical series of false starts, Rishi Sunak and the Tories have fired the first shots in a campaign of generational warfare.

Nish and Coco are joined by Abigail Thorn (actress, writer and host of PhilosophyTube) and Freddy McConnell (writer and journalist) to examine the issues facing the trans and non-binary community in the UK today.

Nish and Coco bring you a hot off-the-press special look at the announcement of a UK general election.

On Wednesday 22nd May - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the next general election will be on Thursday 4th July 2024. It appeared to be a sudden decision that surprised even his own Conservative MPs. But this announcement brings a whole host of questions with it. What key issues will this election be fought on? Is the timing helpful to any party in particular? How will Sunak fare under the microscope? To answer those and many more - friend of the show Liz Bates makes an eager return. Alongside Nish and Coco - Liz discusses what drove Sunak to this announcement and whether Keir Starmer got something of a headstart on his campaign.

The UK is officially out of recession - Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have been banging the drum of the 0.6% GDP growth in the Jan-March quarter, but are things actually getting better?

George Monbiot drops into the studio to demystify Neoliberalism - the invisible economic doctrine that has influenced UK politics and policy since the Thatcher years. George also brings some fresh ideas for how citizens can move away from being consumers and recapture our democracy.

“A hung Parliament” - it’s not quite admitting defeat, but the new media lines from Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party suggest that even the Government knows its days are numbered. Nish and Coco unpack Sunak’s shock admission and some of the highlights from the local elections.

Comedian, actor and activist (and old colleague of Nish) Aisling Bea drops in to talk about campaigning against food insecurity. The “Essentials Guarantee” campaign championed by the Trussell Trust asks that political parties prioritise all citizens having basic essentials as part of their election manifestos.

Aisling also talks about the fight for abortion rights in her homeland of Ireland, while Coco reminds us that the abortion laws in England, Scotland and Wales are incredibly archaic. Abortion buffer zones, 150m no-protest areas around clinics have just hit their one-year anniversary of receiving royal ascent for England & Wales, however, the Home Office has yet to roll out the change to the law - leaving protestors free to approach women outside.

While the results from elections across England & Wales are still rolling in - the signs so far are pointing to a disastrous outcome for the Conservative party. So Nish & Coco have jumped on for this special bonus episode to pop the champagne - asking exactly what it means ahead of the General Election - whenever that will eventually be called!