Changing Politics

Changing Politics

Ever feel like politics could be different?

  • 30 minutes 51 seconds
    Trans Rights

    Ever feel like politics could be different? Join comedian Gráinne Maguire and journalist Marie Le Conte as they work out how we can all get more involved. This isn't just a podcast, it's Changing Politics.


    This week, we look back at the no confidence vote in Theresa May which was ONLY LAST WEEK and yet it feels like something from a bygone era.


    We've also replaced our regular producer for this last show of the series with a producer who is trans, to oversee a look at how the media can do better at covering trans issues and how you can help bolster trans rights.

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    20 December 2018, 2:23 pm
  • 32 minutes 28 seconds
    Sex for Rent

    Ever feel like politics could be different? Join comedian Gráinne Maguire and journalist Marie Le Conte as they work out how we can all get more involved. This isn't just a podcast, it's Changing Politics.


    This week, the news roundup is entirely focused on the top five candidates to replace Theresa May, as determined by the bookies. We actually recorded this on Tuesday afternoon, before the vote of no confidence was called on Wednesday morning - how could we possibly know it would be relevant? We must be psychic.


    In the second half of the show, Marie and Gráinne look at sex for rent, a seemingly personal arrangement that can become infinitely more sinister. We hear from Peter Kyle, MP for Hove, who has been campaigning to get landlords who advertise accommodation in exchange for sex prosecuted, and from journalist and housing policy expert Jonn Elledge.

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    12 December 2018, 1:15 pm
  • 40 minutes 16 seconds
    Deportation: Hilary Ineomo-Marcus

    Ever feel like politics could be different? Join comedian Gráinne Maguire and journalist Marie Le Conte as they work out how we can all get more involved. This isn't just a podcast, it's Changing Politics.


    This week, Marie and Gráinne look at one particular case: Hilary Ineomo-Marcus, a man who came to the UK when he was ten, over twenty years ago. Following a conviction for tax fraud, he served fifteen months in prison, making him eligible for deportation under Home Office guidelines, despite having a British wife, two British children, and having visited the country he is being deported to just once since coming to the UK. A product of the British education system, the British workforce, British society and the British rehabilitation system, Hilary's story is an example of a punitive and inhumane migration system. Offering additional insight are Tottenham MP David Lammy and Luke Butterly from Right to Remain, a human rights organisation.


    The week's news roundup looks at the exciting and in-no-way pointless Brexit debates between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn; Gerard Batten's survival as leader of Ukip, and a down-on-his-luck arsehole; and Marie explains the riots in France in terms we can all understand.

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

    4 December 2018, 11:52 pm
  • 29 minutes 23 seconds
    DSS Discrimination

    Ever feel like politics could be different? Join comedian Gráinne Maguire and journalist Marie Le Conte as they work out how we can all get more involved. This isn't just a podcast, it's Changing Politics.


    This week, Marie and Gráinne look at the DSS Discrimination, a form of penalising the poor for being poor, with the help of Monica Burns from The National Housing Trust, and Vicky Foxcroft MP.


    The week's news roundup is, we're afraid, totally dominated by the recently-negotiated Withdrawal Agreement, but we also look at how Brexit has been covered by the media. Gráinne's angrier about this than Marie is, but Marie still calls two different people "morons" as well as telling you which journalists she really trusts.

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    28 November 2018, 12:41 am
  • 33 minutes 5 seconds
    Gay Conversion Therapy

    Ever feel like politics could be different? Join comedian Gráinne Maguire and journalist Marie Le Conte as they work out how we can all get more involved. This isn't just a podcast, it's Changing Politics.


    This week, Marie and Gráinne look at the gay conversion therapy, which is amazingly still happening in the UK. We spoke to ITV's Paul Brand, who's been reporting on this recently, as well as Rachel Taggart-Ryan from Humanists UK who have been campaigning on getting the practice criminalist. And the good news is this week, you can help by simply not laughing at bad jokes.


    The roundup of the week's news focuses largely on the attempted revolts on the Tory benches, where the ERG have finally pulled the trigger on Theresa May, only to realise that their water pistols are facing the wrong way. But there's also time to mention the UN report into UK austerity, and to consider how that looks on Esther McVey's CV.

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    20 November 2018, 11:30 pm
  • 31 minutes 1 second
    The Gig Economy

    Ever feel like politics could be different? Join comedian Gráinne Maguire and journalist Marie Le Conte as they work out how we can all get more involved. This isn't just a podcast, it's Changing Politics.


    This week, Marie and Gráinne look at the gig economy, and how not deleting taxi-ride apps can benefit precarious workers. They speak to James Farrer and Yaseen Aslam, who are taking Uber to court to win rights for cab drivers.


    They also look at Hero Rebel of the Resistance, Jo Johnson, who bravely resigned from the Cabinet (apparently he was OK with all that cutting benefits stuff, but Brexit has been the final straw); the ongoing disaster that is Universal Credit - who knew that something invented by Iain Duncan Smith and overseen by Esther McVey could go wrong?; and the Taxpayer's Alliance, which it turns out aren't actually an alliance for us taxpayers, but a bunch of lobbyists.

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    14 November 2018, 7:00 am
  • 29 minutes 44 seconds
    Homelessness

    Changing Politics is back for a second run, and as the nights draw in and the temperature drops journalist Marie Le Conte and comedian Gráinne Maguire turn their attention to the issue of homelessness. The government currently does not keep figures on how many homeless people die each year, and this is something that needs to change. They speak to Melanie Onn MP, who was homeless at 17 and is now campaigning for the government to invest the time and effort to reduce homelessness that was invested in the early 00s, and to Maeve McLenaghan from The Bureau for Investigative Journalism, who has been working out what the numbers may actually be. And as ever, Marie and Gráinne have a small, practical step you can take which would make a real difference to the problem.


    They also discuss the week's news, including Arron Banks's troubles, Tracey Crouch's resignation, bullying MPs and a shit-ton of hospitality.


    You can find us on Twitter @ChangingPoliPod, and on Facebook @changingpol.

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

    7 November 2018, 7:00 am
  • 16 minutes 7 seconds
    Summer Recap: Seni's Law

    Ever feel like politics could be different? Join comedian Gráinne Maguire and journalist Marie Le Conte as they work out how we can all get more involved. This isn't just a podcast, it's Changing Politics.


    Over the summer we're re-releasing all our campaign features without the topical jokes at the top, so you don't have to go through old news to get to the stuff that's still really important. This is the feature from the first episode, and is about Seni's Law, an attempt to stop people with mental health challenges dying in police custody. We spoke to the bill's author, Steve Reed MP, and the parents of Seni Lewis, who have had to fight for justice for their son.

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

    8 August 2018, 8:00 am
  • 10 minutes 40 seconds
    Summer Recap: Foodbanks

    Ever feel like politics could be different? Join comedian Gráinne Maguire and journalist Marie Le Conte as they work out how we can all get more involved. This isn't just a podcast, it's Changing Politics.


    Over the summer we're re-releasing all our campaign features without the topical jokes at the top, so you don't have to go through old news to get to the stuff that's still really important. This is the feature from the fifth episode, which went out at the start of the school holidays - a time when more children than ever will be relying on food banks. We spoke to Garry Lemon from the Trussell Trust, a food bank charity, and one of our own listeners, Benjamin Moore, who has been a food bank user in the past.


    Because the line wasn't great, here's a transcript of Ben's comments:

    "Because of my wife's disability we had a support worker from a local organisation who used to come to us every two weeks and check out what was going on, and check we were alright, and one of the things she said to us one week was, 'Would you like a food bank voucher?'. I hadn't really thought about it before, but things were very tight at the time. Basically we were at that stage in a flat where the roof had a major leak, and so our bedroom was incredibly damp all the time. And this was during the winter, so a lot of our money was going on electricity. We were at the point of spending what we had left on food, after we'd paid for rent and electricity."


    "If it's donated, they'll pass it out. So what they give you is non-perishable items. So it's mainly things like tins of stuff, and they'll give you rice of pasta and they'll give you breakfast cereal, you know, things they can accrue and keep for a reasonable length of time. But it's not all functional, so they will give you bars of chocolate or crisps, things that you might like as opposed to stuff that just works. If you're going to donate to a food bank, just think about what you would want if you found yourself in that position."

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    8 August 2018, 8:00 am
  • 21 minutes 6 seconds
    Summer Recap: Abortion Rights

    Ever feel like politics could be different? Join comedian Gráinne Maguire and journalist Marie Le Conte as they work out how we can all get more involved. This isn't just a podcast, it's Changing Politics.


    Over the summer we're re-releasing all our campaign features without the topical jokes at the top, so you don't have to go through old news to get to the stuff that's still really important. This is the feature from the second episode, in which we spoke to Stella Creasy MP and Mara Clarke from the Abortion Support Network about abortion rights in Northern Ireland - and, surprisingly, the rest of the UK, where the situation isn't as clear-cut as you might have thought...

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

    8 August 2018, 8:00 am
  • 18 minutes 45 seconds
    Summer Recap: The Far Right

    Ever feel like politics could be different? Join comedian Gráinne Maguire and journalist Marie Le Conte as they work out how we can all get more involved. This isn't just a podcast, it's Changing Politics.


    Over the summer we're re-releasing all our campaign features without the topical jokes at the top, so you don't have to go through old news to get to the stuff that's still really important. This is the feature from the fourth episode, which was recorded the day after two Nazis were found guilty of being member of a banned organisation; a third man had plead guilty to planning an act of terrorism in the same trial. We spoke to Joe Mulhall from Hope Not Hate, and Shabana Mahmood MP, about how you can stand up to the far right.

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

    8 August 2018, 8:00 am
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