Keir Starmer is stuck between the UN and Donald Trump.

Under pressure from the International Court, Labour are due to relinquish British ownership of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean.

But the islands house a strategic US airbase, and the Prime Minister needs to maintain good relations with the incoming Trump administration.

Andrew Marr, Hannah Barnes and Rachel Cunliffe answer a listener's question about whether the government will rethink the Chagos Islands deal.

They also discuss whether the New Statesman should regret backing Labour at the general election, and how the UK will be affected by new moderation rules on Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram.

Ask a question for a future episode at www.newstatesman.com/youaskus

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Subscribe to the New Statesman for full access to all our reporting and analysis: www.newstatesman.com/jan24

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Rachel Reeves is under fire for her management of the country's finances.

With suggestions of an impending income tax raise, some have called for her to resign. Andrew Marr and Will Dunn join Hannah Barnes to explain why the Chancellor won't quit - yet.

Will Dunn also explains how government debt is calculated - and why the economic crash really might not have been (entirely) Liz Truss's fault after all.

The team also discuss Tulip Siddiq's resignation, and whether Labour have a two-tier approach to discipline.

Ask a question for a future episode at www.newstatesman.com/youaskus

Get the New Stateman's political analysis in your inbox every weekday by signing up to our newsletter, Morning Call: morningcall.substack.com

Subscribe to the New Statesman for full access to all our reporting and analysis: www.newstatesman.com/jan24

Articles mentioned in this episode:

How damaging is the Tulip Siddiq affair for Labour?

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2025/01/the-tulip-siddiq-affair-is-a-blow-labour

Will the bond markets defeat Rachel Reeves?

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/economy/2025/01/will-the-bond-markets-defeat-rachel-reeves

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

Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, Elon Musk - what do these men have in common?

Just a few days from Donald Trump’s second inauguration as US President, hearings to confirm the team around him have started in earnest and the incoming 47th president has managed to pull together a coalition of competing interests - different groups with different priorities - all of whom see value in his Presidency.

But can these opposing factions work together, and what happens when they start falling out?

Kate Lamble is joined by Quinn Slobodian, Katie Stallard, and Freddie Hayward.

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

The 90's is often heralded as the era of Blur, Oasis, Pulp - but this decade belongs as much to boybands as it does to Britpop. But what was behind these manufactured groups? What does this era reveal about Britain's relationship with class and masculinity? And will Robbie Williams' legacy be a CGI monkey?

Tom Gatti is joined by senior commissioning editor at the New Statesman, Anna Leskiewicz and writer Emma Garland.

Read: Robbie Williams’ anti-redemption arc, by Emma Garland

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Would it be politically safe to go back on their promise not to raise income tax if the increase only affected high earners?, a listener writes in to ask.

Hannah Barnes is joined by political editor Andrew Marr and associate political editor Rachel Cunliffe, and in the first half of the programme we hear from senior data journalist Ben Walker about whether there has been a swell in youth support for Reform UK.

The team also cast their predictions for the year ahead in UK politics.

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Can Elon Musk reshape British democracy?

The X-owning billionaire has waded into one of the darkest scandals in recent British history: the horrific rape and abuse of thousands of girls across the UK by so-called “grooming gangs”. 

Musk’s inflammatory posts on his social media platform, X, have prompted statements from Keir Starmer, questions from Kemi Badenoch in PMQs, and extensive coverage across the mainstream media. 

How should the UK government respond to a foreign billionaire with a platform that amplifies misinformation to hundreds of millions around the world?

Andrew Marr joins Hannah Barnes and Rachel Cunliffe on Politics from the New Statesman.

📚 READ: How does Keir Starmer solve a problem like Elon Musk? - Andrew Marr

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2025/01/how-does-starmer-solve-a-problem-like-elon-musk

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Donald Trump is talking about the 'Gulf of America' but in reality the US is no where near as powerful as it once was.

Kate Lamble is joined by this week's cover writer Robert D. Kaplan, as well as George Magnus and Jonny Ball.

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

Tom Gatti is joined by BAFTA award winning writer, director, and actor, Mackenzie Crook to discuss his acting career from The Office to Detectorists, as well as Crook's new book 'If Nick Drake Came to My House'.

This conversation was recorded at the recent winter edition of the Cambridge Literary Festival. To find out more about the festival, or to watch an extend version of this discussion, please follow the link: cambridgeliteraryfestival.com

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Trump round 2, instability in Europe, and power struggles in the Middle East.

Hannah Barnes is joined by Katie Stallard and Wolfgang Münchau to take a look at the world in 2025.

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Biggest gaffe? Dampest squib? Best political trolling?

Hannah Barnes is joined by Andrew Marr and Freddie Hayward to go through the highs and the lows of UK politics in 2024.

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

It's the last listener questions episode of 2024!

Hannah Barnes is joined by Rachel Cunliffe and George Eaton to discuss Elon Musk's support and intentions for Reform UK.

The team also consider how Children Not In School register could help increase children's safety and wellbeing, especially considering up to 300,000 children may have been missing from education entirely in 2023.

-

The podcast will be taking a break over Christmas but we'll be back on Monday to review the year in UK politics.

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