It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast

Compass

Hear from the widest range of voices in the progressive movement. Every week, host Neal Lawson, speaks with progressive thinkers, writers and politicians from the UK and beyond about current affairs and how to build the Good Society. Visit compassonline.org.uk to learn more about Compass.

  1. A Political Round-Up of 2025 with Emma Burnell and Gaby Hinsliff | ep. 138

    12/14/2025

    A Political Round-Up of 2025 with Emma Burnell and Gaby Hinsliff | ep. 138

    The launch of Mainstream, the election of Zack Polanski as Green Party leader, Angela Rayner’s resignation and Peter Mandelson’s sacking – just some of the headline events of another chaotic year in British politics. 2025 may not have had a General Election like last year, but the first full year of a Labour government since 2009 was never going to be dull. At this time of year it’s good to take stock of just what happened so that we can all launch into making 2026 something very special. On It’s Bloody Complicated, we were delighted to be joined by two dynamic, respected voices in the journalist scene to have a look back at the political year that was 2025: Emma Burnell and Gaby Hinsliff. Emma Burnell is the Editor of LabourList, taking over the role in September. She has worked with the affiliated Fabian Society for four years as their media consultant, and has also been a consultant for Labour’s Environment Campaign SERA for the last year and a half. She previously served on the National Policy Forum as Socialist Societies representative, and served on the executive committees of Labour Housing Group, SERA and Labour Women’s Network. Burnell has worked in political and campaign communications for over 20 years, bringing her expertise and insight to issues as diverse as social housing, devolution and the environmental and climate crisis. Gaby Hinsliff is a columnist and feature writer with over 17 years’ experience covering politics and public policy for a range of British media. She currently writes weekly columns for The Guardian and for Grazia magazine, plus a range of freelance writing and broadcasting, and was the youngest ever political editor of a British national newspaper when she became Editor of The Observer in 2004. Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

    1h 15m

  2. 12/08/2025 · BONUS

    What Next For Your Party? with Sienna Rodgers and Joe Todd

    Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's new political party - now officially named Your Party - had its founding conference at the end of November. In fashion that is seemingly becoming typical with the organisation, the conference wasn't without its difficulties, with arguments over access, disputes over positioning and Sultana ending up boycotting the first day. But the new leftist party are officially founded and will be a force in British politics going forward. So what is going on inside the fledgling group and how can they end up operating with the rest of the progressive side of the spectrum? To discuss it all, Compass Director Neal Lawson is joined by Deputy Editor of The House Magazine, Sienna Rodgers, and organiser and co-host of the Life of the Party podcast Joe Todd. Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

    51 min
  3. 2025 Budget – Will They Fudge It? With Clive Lewis MP, Erin Mansell and Michael Jacobs | ep. 137

    12/01/2025

    2025 Budget – Will They Fudge It? With Clive Lewis MP, Erin Mansell and Michael Jacobs | ep. 137

    The 2025 Budget was set up to be the most important since at least the Truss-Kwarteng mega-failure of 2022. It’s Labour’s first attempt to set a full, multi-year spanning agenda since 2007. In the build-up to it every possible financial lever has been floated as on the table: income tax rises, changes to national insurance and VAT, windfall taxes on banks or the gambling industry, to name a few. What the Chancellor eventually decides to do will have serious ramifications for years to come. So it’s only right that our reactive episode of It’s Bloody Complicated treats this moment with the seriousness it deserves. This episode was hosted by Clive Lewis, Labour Member of Parliament for Norwich South, as he gave his own insight into what the Budget means and how the PLP have reacted to it. Joining Clive was Erin Mansell, Head of External Affairs at the Women’s Budget Group, and Michael Jacobs, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Sheffield. Erin Mansell leads WBG’s influencing work getting their analysis and policy recommendations for a gender equal economy out to as large and diverse audiences as possible. Before joining WBG in October 2022, Erin was responsible for public affairs at Solace Women’s Aid, a specialist domestic abuse and sexual violence charity where she specialised in tackling housing and homelessness issues for survivors of male violence. Prior to that she was Political Advisor and Researcher at the Women’s Equality Party, supporting the Party Leader, developing policies, and campaigning for universal free childcare and an end to violence against women and girls. Michael Jacobs is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Sheffield. He is a former General Secretary of the Fabian Society (1997-2003) and member of the Council of Economic Advisers at the Treasury (2004-07). He was Special Adviser to Gordon Brown at 10 Downing St from 2007-10. His books include The Green Economy: Environment, Sustainable Development and the Politics of the Future (1991), Paying for Progress: A New Politics of Tax for Public Spending (2000) and Rethinking Capitalism: Economics and Policy for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth (ed, with Mariana Mazzucato. 2016). Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

    51 min
  4. Political Fragmentation with Jamie Driscoll | ep. 136

    11/16/2025

    Political Fragmentation with Jamie Driscoll | ep. 136

    Jamie Driscoll was the Mayor of the North of Tyne between 2019-2024 and a true champion of progressive ideas throughout his political career. In 2023, he was denied the ability to run as Labour’s candidate for the North East Mayoral Election by the Labour NEC – an unprecedented decision for an incumbent Mayor and an inherently political decision. This moment has become one of the key indicators of the direction the Labour Party has moved under the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer. Since then, Jamie Driscoll has set up the political party Majority to advance progressive ideals up and down the country. With the launch of the new Left party by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, Driscoll has been open about the need and desire for unity, cohesion and cooperation on the Left. This has only been exacerbated by Zack Polanski’s election as leader of the Green Party. With the threat of Reform lurking and a political system not built to house six legitimate political parties, listen now to hear Neal and Jamie Driscoll discuss exactly what the Left need to do to navigate this fragmented space. Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

    1h 14m

  5. 11/11/2025 · BONUS

    Labour's Factions: How Did Things Get Hyperfactional? with Jeremy Gilbert and Alan Finlayson

    In the second instalment in this miniseries, Compass Director Neal Lawson sits down to chat to long-time Compass intellectual contributors - and hosts of their own podcast Culture, Power and Politics - Professor Jeremy Gilbert and Professor Alan Finlayson.  The three discuss the history of factions within the Labour Party, from its inception through the New Labour era and now to the Starmer-McSweeney hyperfaction, and the consequences that has both for the party and for democracy in Britain today. Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

    1h 24m

  6. 10/30/2025 · BONUS

    The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney, and the Crisis of British Democracy with Paul Holden

    Paul Holden's new book, 'The Fraud', has made waves since its publication last month as it lays bare the intrigues, stratagems, and deceits that made Keir Starmer Leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister. Paul Holden shows how Starmer has been the frontman for a ruthless, right-wing political project headed by Morgan McSweeney, now chief of staff in Number 10 and arguably the most powerful man in Britain. McSweeney’s clique often employed dirty tricks to undermine the left-wing Labour leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, fuelling a moral panic over antisemitism and establishing front groups that hobbled prominent independent media outlets in the name of fighting ‘misinformation’. With the shallow nature of this Labour project now clearly in its final throes, this episode is part of a multi-episode series bringing together how this happened and what can be done to bring the Party back into the hands of those who have its best interests at heart. You can purchase 'The Fraud' from OR Books here: https://orbooks.com/catalog/the-fraud/. Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

    55 min
  7. In Conversation with Nish Kumar | ep. 135

    10/25/2025

    In Conversation with Nish Kumar | ep. 135

    Named one of The Guardian and The Telegraph’s Top 50 Comedians of the 21st Century, Nish Kumar has come to stand out from the stand-up crowd. With his politically-charged brand of funny, he has sought out and established his own space in the entertainment scene. As co-host of Pod Save the UK, Nish melds comedy with commentary to bring light and resolution to the ever-growing sense of bleakness in British politics (including on an episode with Compass Director, Neal Lawson, back in 2023). As host of The Mash Report in the late-2010’s, The Bugle, and regular appearances on your TV screens on successful shows such as Taskmaster, Nish has come to be one of the most recognisable figures in British entertainment. So join us as Nish Kumar dissects a turbulent autumn in British politics and sets out the landscape for what on earth progressives need to do between now and the next election. Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

    54 min
  8. Can Labour build a way out of Britain’s housing crisis? with Cllr Aydin Dikerdem and Dr Beth Stratford | ep 134

    10/20/2025

    Can Labour build a way out of Britain’s housing crisis? with Cllr Aydin Dikerdem and Dr Beth Stratford | ep 134

    Where and how we live has always been political – but with the right to buy, the explosion of the private-rented sector, and ever-increasingly demand for affordable, social, and council housing, it’s rarely felt this existential. With the Renters’ Rights Bill currently making its way through Parliament, the mammoth English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill set to extend planning powers to new mayors and councils, and the budget expected on 26th November, it feels like a timely moment to unpick this huge, crucial issue – and how Labour is handling it. To dig into this, we were joined by two brilliant guests: Cllr Aydin Dikerdem is the Cabinet Member for Housing at Wandsworth Council. His background is in organising and campaigning, having worked as a community organiser for both the Labour Party and then the New Economics Foundation, where he focused on supporting renters unions and the retrofit agenda.Dr Beth Stratford is an economist, currently an Honorary Research Fellow at UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, and founder member of the London Renters Union. She was a lead author of Land For The Many for the Labour Party, and is co-leading the Homes that Don’t Cost the Earth project alongside colleagues from UCL, Arup, Dark Matter Labs and Rising Tide.Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

    1h 20m
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Hear from the widest range of voices in the progressive movement. Every week, host Neal Lawson, speaks with progressive thinkers, writers and politicians from the UK and beyond about current affairs and how to build the Good Society. Visit compassonline.org.uk to learn more about Compass.

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