Pod Save the UK

143: Are we stuck in never-ending political scandal? w/Ash Sarkar

This week Nish and Coco are joined by friend of the pod, Ash Sarkar from Novara Media to talk about political scandal, trust and compromise. Ash’s book, Minority Rule, has a new afterword which talks about two progressive movements which have tried to build different kinds of relationships with voters. Is that the way forward - or are we stuck in an endless cycle of broken promises from our leaders?  One of those leaders - Keir Starmer - seems to be lurching from crisis to nightmare, so can he rise above the latest headlines about Peter Mandelson’s arrest and the Labour Together scandal? Plus Reform’s new immigration policies, the new proposals to change the SEND system - and some good news about two protest groups. CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS  BABBEL: https://www.babbel.com/PSUK [https://www.babbel.com/PSUK] WISE: https://www.wise.com [https://www.wise.com/] SURFSHARK: https://www.surfshark.com/podsave [https://www.surfshark.com/podsave]  CODE: PODSAVE    GUESTS  Ash Sarkar, Contributing Editor at Novara Media and author of Minority Rule: Adventures in the Culture War - out now in paperback. USEFUL LINKS Jumaane Williams’ thoughtful response following the outcry about the handling of a racial slur at the Baftas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgaqKIxS4Hs&t=1s [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgaqKIxS4Hs&t=1s] CREDITS Daily Express - YouTube Nigel Farage - YouTube @sendra.uk [http://sendra.uk] [http://sendra.uk] - Instagram Nida Jafri Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media. Get in touch - contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk [PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk] Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK [https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK] Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk [https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk [https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk] BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com [https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com] Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk [https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk]X: https://x.com/podsavetheuk [https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk]

142: Can she fix it? Hannah the plumber and politician on tackling Reform

This week Coco is joined by the comedian Cody Dahler while Nish takes a brief break and there’s so much to talk about! The Greens' Hannah Spencer has become the unexpected bookies favourite to win the Gorton and Denton by-election but does she have what it takes to turn good odds into a win at the ballot box? We speak to her about the importance of fighting to improve lives, her favourite false rumour and why walking her dogs helped form her political outlook. Plus Keir Starmer is back with another U-turn and another inquiry. We try to work out what he’s hoping to achieve this week. And Amnesty International’s UK Director of Law and Human Rights, Tom Southerden, updates us on their High Court victory as they challenge the proscription of Palestine Action. CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS  BABBEL: https://www.babbel.com/PSUK [https://www.babbel.com/PSUK] SHOPIFY: https://www.shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk [https://www.shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk] GUESTS  Hannah Spencer, Green Party candidate, Gorton and Denton by-election Tom Southerden, UK Law and Human Rights Director, Amnesty International USEFUL LINKS Gorton and Denton by-election candidate list https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/parl.gorton-and-denton.by.2026-02-26/gorton-and-denton/ [https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/parl.gorton-and-denton.by.2026-02-26/gorton-and-denton/] CREDITS TikTok / @mrcodydahler Green Party of England and Wales / Facebook Hannah Spencer / Instagram Paul Holden, Investigative journalist and author of "The Fraud" High Court protest reaction - Amnesty International footage @mrcodydahler / Instagram Otto, Budding Comedian Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media. Get in touch - contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk [PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk] Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK [https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK] Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk [https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk [https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk] BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com [https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com] Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk [https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk]X: https://x.com/podsavetheuk [https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk]

141: McSweeney: the man who made Starmer and his ties to Mandelson

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet circles the wagons as he survives another hellish week in office. One that saw the loss of his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, and his director of communications, Tim Allan, as the scandal over Peter Mandelson's ties to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein rages on.  Nish and Coco are joined by Paul Holden, the “unofficial biographer” of Morgan McSweeney, to discuss his key role in the rise of Keir Starmer to power and his close relationship with Mandelson. Plus - reports that Labour Together hired a PR firm to investigate Paul and others looking into its funding under McSweeney. Also, comedian Stuart Goldsmith on the serious business of being funny about climate change and why it goes all the way to the top of British intelligence. CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS  AURA FRAMES https://www.auraframes.com [https://www.auraframes.com] [https://www.auraframes.com] Code: PSTUK WISE https://www.wise.com [https://www.wise.com] [https://www.wise.com] GUESTS  Paul Holden, Investigative Journalist and author of The Fraud Stuart Goldsmith, Climate Comedian USEFUL LINKS The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney, and the Crisis of British Democracy https://orbooks.com/catalog/the-fraud/ [https://orbooks.com/catalog/the-fraud/] [https://orbooks.com/catalog/the-fraud/] Stuart Goldsmith www.stuartgoldsmith.com [http://www.stuartgoldsmith.com] [http://www.stuartgoldsmith.com/] CREDITS Sky News / YouTube Sky News / YouTube GOP Oversight / YouTube Sky News Australia / YouTube Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media. Get in touch - contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk [PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk] Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK [https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK] Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk [https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk [https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk] BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com [https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com] Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk [https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk]X: https://x.com/podsavetheuk [https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk]

140: Will Mandelson be Starmer’s downfall?

The release of the latest Epstein files triggered a deluge of revelations, spelling the end for one of UK’s biggest political characters. Nish and Coco chat about Lord Mandelson’s fall and the damage done to Keir Starmer and his government as well as the new police investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Economist Ann Pettifor, one of the few who predicted the 2008 financial crash, is the author of a new book “The Global Casino”. She has a lot to say about the Mandelson scandal, the financial systems that control our lives and what governments need to do to challenge the global billionaires who speculate with our money every day. Plus - move over Barbenheimer, Nish and Coco give their take on two premieres: The Moment and Melania. CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS  SHOPIFY https://www.shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk [https://www.shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk]  AURA FRAMES https://www.auraframes.com [https://www.auraframes.com] Code: PSTUK GUEST  Ann Pettifor, economist and author of ‘The Global Casino’ USEFUL LINKS Nish Tour Tickets https://www.nishkumar.co.uk/gigs/ [https://www.nishkumar.co.uk/gigs/] The Global Casino: How Wall Street Gambles with People and the Planet https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3258-the-global-casino [https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3258-the-global-casino] CREDITS Keir Starmer MP / Parliament TV Lord Mandelson / ‘Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg’ BBC One Melania Trailer  Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media. Get in touch - contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk [PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk] Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK [https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK] Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk [https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk [https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk] BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com [https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com] Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk [https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk]X: https://x.com/podsavetheuk [https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk]

Will Starmer’s control freakery deliver victory to Reform?

Keir Starmer jets off to Beijing, leaving Westminster - once again - bubbling with rumours about his future. The King of the North might be off the cards, but Angela Rayner and even Ed Miliband are eyeing up the top spot.  Reform thinks GB News Presenter and right-wing activist Matt Goodwin is the right man to be their MP candidate in Gorton and Denton - if only he can shelve his disdain for Manchester… Nish and Coco chew it all over with political journalist Zoë Grünewald. Away from the psychodrama, controversial plans to overhaul special educational needs education in England risk children’s legal rights to cut costs. Campaigners Rachel Filmer and Carrie Grant share their concerns with Coco. And surveillance firm Palantir is using medical records to target people for ICE in the US - could the UK be next? This podcast has been edited to remove a story about Matt Goodwin after he clarified the context of his comments about Manchester. We regret the error. CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS  SHOPIFY https://www.shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk [https://www.shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk]  GUESTS  Zoë Grünewald, journalist, broadcaster and political commentator Dr Carrie Grant MBE, TV presenter and voice coach Rachel Filmer, SEND campaigner USEFUL LINKS Save Our Children’s Rights Campaign https://www.saveourchildrensrights.org.uk/ [https://www.saveourchildrensrights.org.uk/] [https://www.saveourchildrensrights.org.uk/] Stop Palantir in the NHS https://goodlawproject.org/campaign/stop-palantir-in-the-nhs [https://goodlawproject.org/campaign/stop-palantir-in-the-nhs] [https://goodlawproject.org/campaign/stop-palantir-in-the-nhs] CREDITS Keir Starmer / TikTok Pod Save America / X Good Law Project / Instagram Sky News / YouTube UKLabour / X Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media. Get in touch - contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk [PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk] Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK [https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK] Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk [https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk [https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk] BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com [https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com] Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk [https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk]X: https://x.com/podsavetheuk [https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk]