Pod Save the UK

Rishi Sunak finally ‘got Rwanda done’ after a long and dramatic night as his Safety of Rwanda Bill ping-ponged between the Common and the Lords. Our guest, the Green MP Caroline Lucas, tells Coco what it was like to be in Westminster that night and criticises Rishi Sunak for holding a drinks party while the Bill - which she describes as “a piece of performative cruelty” - was still being debated in the Lords. She also discusses her new book about why the left needs to speak up for ‘Englishness’, and explains why she’s training to become a death doula. Nish and Coco provide an indispensable guide to next week’s local elections, talking about why they’re important and analysing what they might mean for Tory and Labour prospects at a general election. They also discuss whether the new rules on voter ID are an attempt by the Conservative Party to suppress the vote. For our hero and villain of the week, Nish is appalled by Rishi Sunak’s attack on the sick and disabled, while Coco has been enjoying The Menstrual Cramps! Plus what would happen if Nish and Rishi Sunak met at notorious Berlin club Berghain? Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.   Contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk WhatsApp: 07494 933 444 (UK) or + 44 7494 933 444 (internationally) Insta: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk [https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk] Twitter: https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk [https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk [https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk] Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk [https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/podsavetheworld [https://www.youtube.com/podsavetheworld] Guest: Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavillion Audio credits: parliamentlive.tv Sky News   Useful links: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-elections/voter-id [https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-elections/voter-id] https://www.bethknight.com/ [https://www.bethknight.com/] https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-america/ [https://crooked.com/podcast-series/pod-save-america/]

On a busy week of news as MPs return to Parliament, Nish and Coco are joined by the Labour MP Jess Phillips. She gives her take on the investigation into Angela Rayner’s tax affairs, and reveals the toll it’s taking on her party’s deputy leader.  A discussion on Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel leads Jess to reveal her family links to Iran, and there’s some rare praise for Rishi Sunak for his anti-smoking legislation. Jess also says Diane Abbott should get the whip back, despite the two Labour colleagues having a somewhat frosty relationship.  Villain of the week is Liz Truss for her shameless book tour, although Jess makes a play for her to be hero, saying she’s “a gift” for Labour and “should be on the tele more”. There’s also praise for Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham, for putting a sexist photographer in his place. Plus Nish and Coco have some songwriting tips for Megan Thee Stallion. Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.   Contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk WhatsApp: 07494 933 444 (UK) or + 44 7494 933 444 (internationally) Insta: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk [https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk] Twitter: https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk [https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk [https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk] Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk [https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/podsavetheworld [https://www.youtube.com/podsavetheworld]   Guest: Jess Phillips, Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley   Audio credits: parliamentlive.tv BBC News Fox News LBC odeiotedlasso/X

Coco is back from holiday and the first order of business is for Nish to explain the Westminster “honeypot” scandal, which has seen the vice-chairman of the 1922 committee resign. But beyond a salacious story about MPs texting, what are the broader security issues this raises? Nish and Coco also take issue with Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting attacking “middle-class lefties” in a tabloid newspaper. Special guest Shami Chakrabarti joins Nish and Coco to discuss human rights - what they are, why we need them, and how we need to define them in a future that’s powered by technology and AI. The Labour peer also gives her verdict on Keir Starmer’s leadership, Diane Abbott’s suspension, and responds to listener comments about the importance of voting. Plus she takes an unexpected detour into film criticism. Nish laments the fall of a heroic shoe, and Coco aims a government department for the way it treats carers in her villain of the week. Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.   Contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk  Insta: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk [https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk] Twitter: https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk [https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk [https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk] Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk [https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/podsavetheworld [https://www.youtube.com/podsavetheworld]   Guests: Baroness Shami Charkrabarti, human rights lawyer and author of Human Rights: The Case for the Defence’.    Audio credits: Dr Luke Evans MP Sky News Elent Finance/Instagram LBC   Useful links: https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/ [https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/]

With the Government’s controversial Rwanda Bill currently stuck between the Commons and the Lords, this timely special episode focuses on the UK’s asylum policy. Nish takes up an invitation to speak about the issue at the House of Lords. The event has been organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees, in conjunction with the makers of a new film called Io Capitano - which follows the perilous migration journey of two young boys travelling from Senegal to Europe in search of a better life.  Nish joins Labour peer Lord Dubs, the co-chair of the APPG on Refugees, in his office afterwards to hear how he and his colleagues are “digging their heels in” to try and amend the Rwanda Bill. Lord Dubs tells Nish what he learnt from a recent trip to Calais to meet asylum seekers first-hand. They also discuss what a more humane asylum system might look like and whether the next Labour government can deliver it. Back in the studio, Nish and Coco discuss the extent to which arts and culture can have the power to bring about change. With special thanks to Altitude Films and Think-Film Impact Production.  Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.   Contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk WhatsApp: 07514 644 572 (UK) or + 44 7514 644 572 Insta: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk [https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk] Twitter: https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk [https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk [https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk] Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk [https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/podsavetheworld [https://www.youtube.com/podsavetheworld]   Guest: Lord Dubs, Labour peer and co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees   Useful link: Io Capitano trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6fLvLN2EqM [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6fLvLN2EqM]

As Westminster goes on its Easter holidays, Nish and Coco reflect on a busy end of term that saw a couple of ministerial resignations and a diplomatic row with China. Nish asks if Lord Cameron’s post No.10 activities leave him compromised in dealing with China as Foreign Minister. Coco also raises the plight of the WASPI women, who lost out due to the change in pension age - will they ever see any compensation? Special guest George the Poet joins Nish and Coco for a fascinating conversation that takes in disillusionment with Westminster politics and the pitfalls of getting into political arguments over social media. Plus he reveals which famous comedian gave him his stage name. Nish takes aim at a villainous Tory campaign ad, while Coco celebrates the life of Richard Taylor, father of Damilola. Also, find out why Alan Titchmarsh’s trousers have been censored in North Korea!   Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.   Contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk WhatsApp: 07514 644 572 (UK) or + 44 7514 644 572 Insta: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk [https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk] Twitter: https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk [https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk [https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk] Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk [https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/podsavetheworld [https://www.youtube.com/podsavetheworld]   Guests: George the Poet, spoken word artist and author of Track Record: Me, Music, and the War on Blackness   Audio credits: BBC News The Conservative Party   Useful links: https://www.georgethepoet.com/ [https://www.georgethepoet.com/]