What do parliamentary private secretaries, aka 'bag carriers', really do? How will Ben Houchen fare as a mayor in opposition? How much will Labour commit to international development? And should funding for GB News be considered a political donation?

Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined by George Eaton, senior editor, and Freddie Hayward, political correspondent, to answer your questions.

Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call

Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

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Keir Starmer’s leadership of the Labour party has been described countless times over the past 4 years as ‘ruthless’, and this week we saw this in action for the first time as prime minister withdrawing the Labour whip from seven MPs who voted with an SNP amendment to scrap the two child cap in certain benefits.

Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined by senior editor George Eaton, and political correspondent Freddie Hayward.

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Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

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In a surprise social media post this weekend, Joe Biden stood down from his re-election campaign and endorsed VP Kamala Harris. Significant support has mounted in the past 48 hours for Harris, but how does this change the presidential race?

Hannah Barnes, associate editor at the New Statesman, is joined by political editor Andrew Marr to discuss the developments in the US as well as Labour's imminent challenges this summer as parliament heads for recess.

CORRECTION: Andrew Marr states that Kamala Harris has never been elected. Kamala Harris was elected District Attorney of San Francisco (2004-2011); Attorney General of California (2011-2017); and Senator, CA (2017-2021).

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The new PM has been in office a couple of weeks, but you've already asked how long he's got.

In our weekly "You Ask Us" episode, Hannah Barnes and Rachel Cunliffe answer listener questions on how long Keir Starmer has before the Conservatives can form a coherent opposition, how a Labour government will approach China, and the things that have surprised them about the new parliament so far.

Submit a question for the New Statesman team to answer at www.newstatesman.com/youaskus, or if you're listening on Spotify scroll down and leave a reply on the episode page.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

David Muir: Taiwan at the edge of chaos

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2024/07/taiwan-at-the-edge-of-chaos

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Clean energy by 2023? We're "pretty far off".

Ed Miliband today made his first parliamentary speech as the new Energy Secretary, hailing the Labour government's progress on their energy plans. Central to their goal to reach clean energy by 2023 is their proposal for a new publicly owned energy firm, Great British Energy.

Sustainability correspondent Megan Kenyon joins Hannah Barnes and Rachel Cunliffe on the New Statesman podcast to unpick Labour's energy plans and discuss whether or not GB Energy will actually be able to deliver.

Read more: Britain will never be an energy superpower, by Helen Thompson

https://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2024/07/britain-will-never-be-an-energy-superpower

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"It's been a long time since we've had a government with this level of ambition" - George Eaton

Black Rod has been summoned and the weighty wooden doors swung open on a new parliamentary year. At the State Opening of Parliament, Keir Starmer's government unveiled their ambitious legislative agenda through the King's speech, which introduced a bumper 39 bills.

George Eaton and Rachel Cunliffe join Hannah Barnes on the New Statesman podcast to unpick the policy announcements and explore the opportunities and potential pitfalls Labour may face over the coming months.

Read more: The King’s Speech is our first chance to inspect the moral code behind “Starmerism”

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2024/07/does-the-labour-government-believe-in-anything

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This episode was initiated and funded by Takeda UK Ltd.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) affects millions worldwide, yet its presence within the criminal justice system is often misunderstood or overlooked. 

In this podcast we navigate the complex landscape where ADHD and the criminal justice system intercept; shedding light on the unique challenges and misconceptions faced by people with ADHD in prisons and the opportunities for improved care and support. 

From late diagnosis to repeated prison sentences, the impact of ADHD can shape outcomes in profound and often unrecognised ways. 

Host Emma Haslett is joined by Dr Tony Lloyd, the CEO of the ADHD Foundation; Sir Robert Buckland, the former Secretary of State for Justice and MP; Daley Jones, trustee at ADHD Liberty; and Sarah Templeton, an ADHD author and therapist, to explore the stories of those living at this intersection.

This podcast was recorded and produced before the 2024 General Election was announced.

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Donald Trump has been greeted like a messiah at the Republican National Convention. But what if that bullet had been an inch to the right?

Just over 48 hours after narrowly escaping death from a gunman’s bullet, Trump has been confirmed as the Republican Party’s candidate for president in the upcoming election. He has named critic-turned-loyalist JD Vance as his running mate. 

Andrew Marr joins Hannah Barnes on the New Statesman podcast to discuss how the attempt on Trump's life has impacted his standing among Republicans - and why political assassinations "never work".

They also discuss the implosion of the Welsh Labour government, and the King's Speech will reveal about the core beliefs of the Labour government.

Read more:

JD Vance - the new face of the Republican party, by Sohrab Ahmari

https://www.newstatesman.com/international-content/2024/07/jd-vance-vice-president-donald-trump-republican-ticket

Will Keir Starmer drop the two-child benefit cap?

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/labour/2024/07/will-keir-starmer-scrap-the-two-child-benefit-cap

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Trump loyalists are blaming Democrats for inciting the assassination attempt on the former President. How should Dems respond?

Republicans and Democrats alike have rightly condemned the shocking attack on former US President Donald Trump which left a bystander dead, two more injured and the presumptive Republican candidate bloodied but defiant.

However Trump supporters have been quick to point to Democrats' use of language - describing Trump as a "threat to American democracy", for example - as inciteful of violence.

On this episode, Hannah Barnes is joined by the journalist and lawyer Jill Filipovic, global affairs editor Katie Stallard and author and documentarian Phil Tinline to discuss how Democrats should respond to this accusation - which, as Jill says, is "not just hypocritical, it's like a through-the-looking-glass made up universe".

Read more:

The attempted assassination of Donald Trump, by Katie Stallard

https://www.newstatesman.com/world/americas/north-america/2024/07/attempted-assassination-donald-trump

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Labour want to distinguish themselves from Boris Johnson's "levelling up". What are they planning instead?

Hannah Barnes, Rachel Cunliffe and Freddie Hayward answer listener questions on Labour's growth strategy, and whether the new government's plans will impact individuals' personal finances.

They also discuss the new "rising star" Labour MPs to look out for, and whether polling during election campaigns impacts the final result.

Articles mentioned in this episode:

Labour's next generation: the new MPs to watch

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2024/06/labours-next-generation-election-2024-new-labour-mps

George Eaton interviews Torsten Bell

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/politics-interview/2024/06/torsten-bell-social-democrats-need-to-become-insurgents

New Labour MP Yuan Yang on the deep class anxiety in China

https://www.newstatesman.com/encounter/2024/05/labours-yuan-yang-there-is-deep-class-anxiety-in-china

Yuan Yang: Democracy begins with us

https://www.newstatesman.com/ideas/2024/07/democracy-begins-with-us-yuan-yang

Labour MP Sarah Sackman on the tensions between her Labour values and her Jewish identity

https://www.newstatesman.com/encounter/2024/06/sarah-sackman-my-labour-values-my-jewish-identity-tension

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The Conservative party are scrapping it out to have their visions of the future of the party heard and things are getting messy.

Hannah Barnes, associate editor, is joined by Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor, and Freddie Hayward, political correspondent.

Read: Kemi Badenoch is the early front-runner for the Tory leadership

Sign up to the New Statesman's daily politics newsletter: Morning Call

Submit a question for a future episode: You Ask Us

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