It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast Compass

On this episode, Frances Foley, deputy director of Compass hosted two great movers and shakers of the community power movement:
Andy Jackson, community leader at We’re Right Here, the campaign for community powerMohammed Afridi, Director of Organising at the Civic Power FundWe got into the complicated nitty and gritty of what terms like ‘community power’ actually mean, the links to physical infrastructure, and democratic innovation at the local level, from co-operatives to friendly societies, settlements to trade unions.


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With the Conservatives publicly announcing that they are expecting of loss of more than 1,000 councillors in the upcoming local elections, it looks to be a good year for progressive councillors. But we know that, especially when there are 8,000+ seats up for election with 25,000+ candidates, It's Bloody Complicated.
Join us on May 9th as we dig into the results from the Local Elections in 2023, and what's going on beneath the surface.
We're  joined by journalist and former president of the YouGov, Peter Kellner, as well as council leaders and campaigners from Compass's networks around the country.

We’re joined by Caroline Jackson, the Leader of Lancaster City Council for the last two years, leading a Shared Administration containing 5 political groups and 44 councillors, Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg who leads the Labour-Lib Dem partnership council in North Hertfordshire.
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On the 4th April 2020, Keir Starmer assumed office as the Leader of the Labour Party. He won that leadership election with almost a 30% winning margin.
3 years on, Neal talks with journalists Rachel Shabi and Rafael Behr to look back, and forward to where Starmer's leadership is taking us.
Sir Keir is a controversial leader. In the three months since the beginning of this year, he's come under fire for candidate selection processes that routinely block progressive and left leaning candidates, a purge of the left leaning members, failing to engage with the recommendations of Brown's Commission, resolutely refusing to stand with striking workers, ignoring the wish of 80%+ of his party's members to scrap our rotten voting system, and the list goes on.
He's built a huge poll lead, previously unthinkable for Labour. He is widely expected to be capable of winning the next election and become Prime Minister.
But in December last year, 63% of voters thought the current poll lead Labour is enjoying is down to negative views of the government, not positive views of Labour or him. Compass is committed to ensuring a progressive government at the next election. That will be a Labour-led one, with either a majority or minority of seats. On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated we dive into the what Keir Starmer's leadership means for that future.
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On 21st April 2023, Extinction Rebellion are bringing 100,000 to protest peacefully outside the Houses of Parliament to demand an end to the fossil fuel era and for a citizen-led transformation towards a fair society that includes reparations.
This is the Big One. After a "winter of discontent" that saw thousands gathered at picket lines and demonstrations, and hundreds of pages spent evaluating and criticising the tactics of protests in our streets or our museums, protest - and its power - is in the air.
What are the demands of the Big One? What is changing in how the British state interacts with protestors and organisers? Are we under threat?
On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated we hear from Miranda Irwin a relationship builder from XR, David Mead, a legal academic specialising in the regulation of protest and dissent, and Nick Dearden, the director of Global Justice Now to talk about the power of protest.



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Zack Polanski has had an incredible year.
Last September, he was elected the Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales. As a member of the London Assembly, he is the Chair of the Environment committee, and has worked with others across all parties and persuasions on an incredible array of progressive policies. From the fight to end new transmissions of HIV, campaigning for universal basic income, and bringing communities and civil society into making and informing climate policy to standing by strikers and appearing on LBC, BBC, and at our Green Party Conference Event, he's been busy.
On this episode, we caught up with longtime Compass friend Zack Polanski on the lessons and challenges of the past years and what's to come for him and his party in the years to come. 


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When people can't feed themselves and their families and the planet burns, it's clear democracy is not working. On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated, we're diving into the mechanics of how our political system makes our society more unequal and unstable.
The structure of our parliaments changes what they can and will do, limiting the potential for the change this country needs. Voting justice would lead to social justice. Where votes are fair and equal across the UK, where people's voices are represented and Westminster doesn't hold an iron grip on crucial levers of power.


In the UK, voter are split pretty evenly (49/51) on whether immigration enriches or undermines our society. Yet, three quarters of constituencies have anti-immigration majorities. 8 in 10 Brits are concerned about climate change. Half think that net zero targets need to be brought forward. Over 65% of the public supports nonviolent direct action to protect the environment. The pay rise size that the most working Britons agree with is 1o%.


Between union busting, new coal mines, and greater police power, it's clear that chasm between the policy passed and public opinion is creeping wider. Without changing the way we vote, the policy options of what we vote for policies will keep being decided by the margins, factions, and swing voters.


Joining us to make the case for voting justice as social justice, and explain the connection between the ballot box and bills passed are:
Professor Kate E. Pickett, co-author of The Spirit Level, is a Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of YorkEmeritus Professor, Baroness Ruth Lister, Professor of Social Policy at Loughborough UniversitySupport the showEnjoyed 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?

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