Armando Iannucci: Westminster Reimagined | a New Statesman podcast

Thurrock is suffering major cuts to all its council services after it went effectively bankrupt last December, after hundreds of millions of pounds were put into risky investments that didn’t pay off. One of the services to be gravely affected by the cuts is a place called “Thameside”, an arts complex, described locally as a “mini Barbican”, which houses a theatre, library, archive and museum.

Places like Thameside often serve as the heart and soul of our communities. They bring people together, foster a sense of belonging, and contribute to our overall well-being. But what happens when these vital services face budget cuts?

In this episode of Westminster Reimagined we discuss The Good Life - how much value do we put on happiness in Britain? How can government policy boost happiness? And is it possible to quantify personal wellbeing?

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Does change happen because of politicians, or despite them?

Armando and Anoosh speak to two campaigners addressing issues of inequality to discuss whether it's people or politicians who change public opinion - and whether activists are letting the government off the hook.

Guests

Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah launched her grass roots campaign to improve London's air quality after her daughter became the first person in the world to officially die from air pollution. Find out more about the Ella Roberta foundation for clean air: https://www.ellaroberta.org/

Gary Stephenson is a former interest rate trader who made his fortune betting on the fallout of the 2008 market crash, before leaving the City to campaign against wealth inequality. See his YouTube channel, GarysEconomics, here: https://www.youtube.com/c/garyseconomics

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This episode was originally published in the New Statesman podcast feed on April 20, 2022.

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Making lasting change - is it easier from inside Westminster, or through public protest and activism?

Armando Iannucci and Stephen Bush are joined by Louise Casey, the UK government's former homelessness tsar, and Paul Stephens of Extinction Rebellion to discuss how you make change happen within and without the British political system.

Guests

Louise Casey, Baroness Casey of Blackstock, DBE, has been head of the UK's Rough Sleepers Unit, Director of the Anti-Social Behaviour Unit and head of the Respect Task Force. She was the UK's first Victims' commissioner and Director General of the Troubled Families programme, before heading a review for David Cameron into community cohesion and extremism. During the pandemic she chaired the Covid-19 rough-sleeping task force.

Paul Stephens is a former Metropolitan Police Officer turned Extinction Rebellion activist, working as the environmental activist group's police liaison officer.

Stephen Bush was the New Statesman's political editor 2018-2022, and a founding host of the New Statesman podcast.

This episode was originally published in the New Statesman podcast feed on August 2, 2021. Listen to the New Statesman podcast here: https://podfollow.com/new-statesman

Subscribe to the New Statesman for full access to all our reporting and analysis. Get your first month free: www.newstatesman.com/30daytrial

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The British government has no shame. How can we hold politicians to account?

Ian Hislop (Private Eye, Have I Got News For You) and Jill Rutter (former senior civil servant) join Armando Iannucci and Anoosh Chakelian to discuss political scandal, resignations, and accountability in politics.

This episode was originally published in the New Statesman Podcast on 26 July, 2021. Listen to the New Statesman podcast here: https://podfollow.com/new-statesman

Guests

Ian Hislop is the editor of Private Eye and regular on the long-running satirical panel show Have I Got News For You.

Jill Rutter is a former British civil servant. She is a senior research fellow of UK in a Changing Europe, and was previously the programme director at the Institute for Government directing the organisation's work on better policy making and Brexit.

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Armando and Anoosh delve into the inner workings of British political reporting, exploring the complex world of the Lobby, the blurred relationships that many political journalists and politicians balance - trading access and trust, - and how this landscape has been evolving over the past few years with the rise of digital and alternative media.

To do this they are joined by Ash Sarkar, senior editor at Novara Media, and Ian Dunt, columnist at the I and former editor of Politics.co.uk.

This us the last episode of this series of Westminster Reimagined.

Listen to all previous episodes of Westminster Reimagined here: https://podfollow.com/westminster-reimagined-with-armando-iannucci-the-new-statesman

Download the app:

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/new-statesman-magazine/id610498525

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.progressivemediagroup.newstatesman&hl=en_GB&gl=US

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https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va9latS0wajogms2z02c

Sign up to our daily politics email:

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.