The Progressive Britain Podcast

Host of the Progressive Britain History Project, Steven Fielding and Laura Beers, speak to author of 2024's 'Social Democracy', Eunice Goes. They discuss the origins of social democracy and its meaning throughout the 20th century; before turning to the dynamics and direction of social democracies around Europe and the world and examine the Labour Party and Rachel Reeves' recent budget through that lens. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Host of the Progressive Britain History Project, Laura Beers, turns guest for this episode as she's quizzed on her new book, Orwell's Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the 21st Century, by History Project host Steven Fielding alongside guest host and renowned author Phil Tinline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts, Laura Beers and Steven Fielding, speak to Charlotte Lydia Riley about the consequences of Britain's empire and colonialism for modern British politics. Get Charlotte's book, Imperial Island, here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/442125/imperial-island-by-riley-charlotte-lydia/9781529923803 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laura and Steven, hosts of the Progressive Britain History Project, speak to David Torrance about his new book on the remarkable story of the first Labour Government of 1924. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Laura and Steven talk to Professor Richard Toye about his new book 'Age of Hope', which focuses on Clement Attlee's 1945 Labour government and its contribution to modern Britain. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Progressive Britain History Project hosts Steven Fielding and Laura Beers speak to former Political Secretary to Tony Blair, John McTernan. They discuss what Keir Starmer can learn from Tony Blair and what the current Labour Party can learn from New Labour. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Peter Mandler, Professor of Modern Cultural History at Cambridge, talks education policy with Progressive Britain History Project hosts, Laura Beers and Steven Fielding. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tim Bale, author and Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University, talks to hosts Steve Fielding and Laura Beers about why the Conservatives are historically one of the most successful political parties in history and why Labour historically struggles to win. They discuss the current political and public opinion climate and ask if the next general election could be the real start of a Labour Century. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jim Tomlinson, Professor of Economic and Social History at the University of Glasgow, speaks to co-hosts Steven Fielding and Laura Beers about the Labour Party's relationship with the economy. Why, even when it is steaming ahead in the polls, does the party always seem to be, to an extent, mistrusted on such a crucial electoral issue? Is this perception true, and what can be done about it? Do Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer have the answer? Where does growth fit into the picture? Jim, Laura and Steven discuss. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Progressive Britain History Project hosts Laura Beers and Steven Fielding speak to Professor Andrew Thorpe, Professor of Modern History at The University of Leeds and author of “A History of the British Labour Party”, about the Party's long relationship with the unions – from its formation at the beginning of the 20th century to the modern day. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Progressive Britain History Project hosts Laura Beers and Steven Fielding, speak to Dr Emma Lundin, Senior Lecturer at Malmo University in Sweden, about women in politics. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Progressive Britain History Project hosts, Laura Beers and Steven Fielding, speak to professor of modern and contemporary history at Oxford Brookes, Glen O'Hara, about Harold Wilson's impact and legacy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Simon Hannah, author of 'A Party With Socialists In It: A History Of The Labour Left' and 'Can't Pay Won't Pay: The Fight To Stop The Poll Tax', discusses the history, impact, failures and future of the Labour left with Progressive History Project hosts Laura Beers and Steven Fielding. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Laura Beers and Steven Fielding, hosts of the Progressive Britain History Project, speak to Greg Rosen about the former chancellor and Labour leader. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joe speaks to Lord Peter Hain, who grew up in South Africa under apartheid rule before leaving for London with his family, was a leader in the protests against the South African cricket and rugby tours of the 60s and 70s. He then went on to become an MP, Secretary of State and now Labour peer. The discussion focuses on his two most recent books, The Rhino Conspiracy and his autobiography, A Pretoria Boy, and their themes of corruption in South Africa and the decades' long fight against apartheid. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Laura Beers and Steven Fielding, hosts of the Progressive Britain History Project, speak to Lecturer in Modern History, University of London , Lise Butler, about Labour's relationship inequality and meritocracy and where the party stands on the issues now See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The first in a mini-series hosted by Henna Shah and Cllr Amina Ali focusing on mental health and wellbeing. Henna and Amina spoke to Alison McGovern, shadow sports minister, about the relationship between wellbeing, the olympics, racism, housing, mental health policy and more… See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Laura Beers and Steven Fielding, hosts of the Progressive Britain History Project, speak to political scientist and professor of Politics at the University of Sheffield, Andrew Gamble, about the progressive dilemma popularised by David Marquand in his 1991 book of the same name. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Frankie speaks to CAC candidates, Mary Wimbury and Shama Tatler, about what the CAC is for and why they're standing for the committee. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joe speaks to next gen fellow at Foreign Policy for America, Andy Laub, about the current state of US politics, the legislation going (or rather not going) through congress, and the big challenges facing Biden and Harris on immigration and foreign policy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're in an ecological crisis which threatens to change our planet beyond repair within two decades. Philosopher and author, Roman Krznaric, spoke to Joe about his book 'The Good Ancestor', explaining what we can do as individuals and together to think long-term and take future generations into account. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Pearl and Joe speak to Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, about how she organised on the ground in Georgia in advance of November's election and January's crucial Senate run-offs and what she thinks Democrats must do to win again in 2022. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joe and Henna speak to Southampton Labour Councillor, Satvir Kaur, and Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, MP for Slough and Shadow Rail Minister. They talk about Sikhs for Labour and diaspora campaigning, the Indian farmers protests, the proud ignorance of the Tory government and the Sikh tradition of langar. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tower Hamlets councillor Amina Ali speaks to NEC candidates Jermain Jackman and Terry Paul about the experiences of black men in the Labour party, why there is no black men on the NEC and what the party has got right and wrong when it comes to diversity. This episode is the first in a series of episodes on diversity within the party, hosted by some new and returning guests including Amina and Henna Shah. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Chris Clarke, author of 'The Dark Knight and the Puppet Master', speaks to Joe about the book and why a pluralist left is the way forward. They discuss the three populist myths detailed by Chris in the book and talk about their origins and political ramifications— from losing elections to inspiring antisemitism. Chris' ideas are backed up by solid empirics and strong lines of argument, making the conversation one that will bring you to a new political perspective and give you a deeper understanding of the flaws in populist thinking. Buy 'The Dark Knight and the Puppet Master' by Chris Clarke here: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/320/320484/the-dark-knight-and-the-puppet-master/9780141994352.html See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Special guest Samara Linton is a Doctor, Writer and now radio Producer. She co-edited ‘The Colour of Madness': an anthology of poems, stories and art about the experiences of minorities with mental health services in the UK. Samara also co-authored 'Diane Abbott: The Authorised Biography'. Henna Shah returns to host this episode with Frankie Grant, as they talk to Samara about her literary success, Diane Abbott's life & politics and the intersections between race and mental health. Samara also reads a powerful poem from the anthology. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For the last five years, Jewish Labour members had been told by many within the party that the issue of antisemitism was manufactured and exaggerated. The EHRC report into institutional racism in the Labour party acted as a vindication for those members and for others in the Labour movement who knew the extent of the problem and were desperate for more to have been done to fight against it. In this episode of the Progressive Britain Podcast, Frankie Grant and Progress director Nathan Yeowell speak to North West Jewish Labour Movement chair, Dena Ryness, and director of Labour Friends of Israel, Michael Rubin, about the report, its ramifications and how the party can move forward and seek to regain the trust of the Jewish community. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Abena Oppong-Asare, MP for Erith and Thamesmead, spoke to Vaughan Gething, Welsh Minister for Health and Social Services, as part of a Labour BAME network event. In August, Abena produced a report on the effects of COVID on people who fall under protected characteristics. Their discussion focuses on this report and how to mitigate the impacts of COVID on communities and people who already suffer from the effects of inequality and 10 years of Tory austerity. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the first female Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith draws on her experience to tell us her thoughts on how the government has handled the crisis and where the home office seems to be moving on immigration. We also discuss her role as Deputy Minister for Women and Equalities and her current position on the Labour Women's Network, before moving on to the more important topic of Strictly Come Dancing! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For the second of two US Election Special episodes, Frankie speaks to her old friend and roommate Tiara Polite, Digital Organiser for Our Future Florida, who's on the ground in one of the crucial swing states for November 3rd. They talk voter suppression, Biden's campaign tactics and the Latinx vote. Tiara gives a firsthand perspective of campaigning and getting out the vote in a state seen as important to both candidates. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Joe speaks to Amanda Renteria, Hillary Clinton's 2016 National Political Director. They talk about the state of the American social safety net and the state of American democracy before jumping into what to expect in November. Amanda's experience from the 2016 campaign lends her strong credibility on this year's election and her expectations may well surprise you. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Why was World War Two such a pivotal moment in Britain's national story? How did Labour benefit from the war and its role in the coalition government? And what can national crisis in the 1940s tell us about the Covid crisis today? Tune in to the first episode of the Progress History Project with Nathan and co-host Rachel Reeves MP as they interview Professor Daniel Todman about Britain's War - his two volume history of the Second World War. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Frankie and Joe speak to Gabriel Pogrund and Patrick Maguire, co-authors of Left Out: The Inside Story of Labour Under Corbyn. Did some figures get off lightly? In what ways did sources dictate the narrative? What's the real deal with Ergon House? Listen to find out! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On the first episode of Uncovered, Frankie and Joe interview Wes Streeting MP. They dive into the challenges posed by Covid to Universities, how the pandemic has changed our attitudes to city living and ask what Labour can do to win again. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bridget Phillipson, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, gave a fantastic speech at the inaugural Labour to Win convention about what Labour needs to do to get back into government. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What can Ernie Bevin, Labour's innovative post-war foreign secretary, teach Keir Starmer's Labour Party? Andrew Adonis in conversation with David Taylor from the Labour Campaign for International Development. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Frankie and Joe relaunch the Progressive Britain Podcast— a snapshot of what's to come! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Peter Pomerantsev's parents arrived in London as political refugees from the Soviet Union and after being persecuted for their distribution of banned literature.They devoted their life in the UK to radio broadcast, working at the BBC – an organisation that liberated them in its impartiality and commitment to the pursuit of objective truth. But today, Peter is seeing the very thing that liberated his parents – the freedom of information flow – destroy any notions that we had of objective truth.Peter was a TV producer in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union, and it was here that he wrote his first book – Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible – as he began to notice that post-Soviet Russia lacked any sense of a new identity and that cynical PR men and post-truth politicians were rushing in to fill that void.After writing that book he returned to the UK in search of a rest-bite, only to find that the post-truth politics he left behind in Russia was taking hold here in the UK and across the world.In his latest book – This Is Not Propaganda – Peter speaks to online, pro-democracy activists across the world who are on the front lines of the information war. In this new war of freedom vs tyranny, the strategy of oppression is not suppressing freedom of information flow, but to overload us with so much contradictory information that we don't know who or what to trust.Peter talks to Stefan Rollnick about his family's story, whether the age of information has sent democracy into a death spiral, and we talk about what – if anything – can get us back out.Get Peter's book(s):Nothing Is True And Everything Is PossibleThis Is Not Propaganda See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We made it! To celebrate making it to one hundred, Stefan Rollnick manages to grab Alison McGovern and New Statesman's political correspondent Patrick Maguire during a busy day in Brighton at Labour party conference to talk about how politics has changed during the two years since the podcast was launched.Stefan also runs in to to Progress colleague Joe Cox in a beer garden where they catch up about the work he's been doing with HOPE not hate since he left Progress. More info:—HOPE not hate—Episode 80: More in Common with Tim Dixon—Extra: Biggest government defeat ever with Alastair Campbell See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Two years ago in south west London, posters for long-finished TV series and films started to reappear at bus stops. But instead of displaying the casts of The Inbetweeners and Harry Potter that many of us would recognise, these actors were different: they were black.A group of young activists from Brixton, supported by the Advocacy Academy, launched the Legally Black campaign to raise awareness about the misrepresentation and underrepresentation of black British people in the media. This campaign, like many other campaigns run out of the Advocacy Academy, was driven and led entirely by young people in their local areas.On this episode of the pod, join Henna on her visit to the Advocacy Academy and listen to her conversation with their commercial director Saba Shafi about how they're supporting young people to create a more fair and just society.Further reading:*The Advocacy Academy See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 2002, Anders Breivik, a computer programmer in Norway, began a nine-year plan to finance his 2011 terrorist attack – where he would take the lives of 77 people. Ninety minutes before the attack Breivik sent out a mass email with a far-right manifesto entitled 2083: A European Declaration of Independence. Now, nine years on from the release of Brevik's manifesto, the far-right in Britain and across the world seems to still be gaining ground. On this episode of the pod, Stefan Rollnick talks to friend of the pod Cristina Ariza from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, who has been comparing the themes of Breivik's manifesto with four far-right groups in the United Kingdom to see how their narratives compare and to see what it can teach us about how to fightback against these narratives.Further information:*Narratives of hate: The Spectrum of far-right worldviews in the UK*Progressive Britain pod speaks to Cristina Ariza about the far-right in Spain See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Henna is joined by Progress director Nathan Yeowell, and Darren Jones MP to discuss the imminent possibility of a general election, the constitutional impact of the government's actions, and what Labour progressives should be doing right now. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the last of our special series of interviews over recess, Henna sits down with new Progress director, Nathan Yeowell. Aside from a very serious conversation about the future of social democracy in the Labour Party, and the role of Progress today, we cover everything from Pontypool politics, to the 1992 election, and why Barbara Castle should get her own statue in Parliament Square.Be a Progressive:*Follow Nathan on Twitter*Join Progress See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this very special episode of the Progressive Britain podcast, Stefan Rollnick speaks to the president of the U.S Middle East Project, and previous Israeli negotiator with Palestine, Daniel Levy. They talk about what Zionism means to him, why the Israeli left is struggling to make itself heard, and how this fits into Labour's antisemitism crisis. Further reading:*Labour, the left, antisemitism, Israel and Palestine: a way forward*The Jewish Community must not become a sacrificial pawn in Labour's war See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Henna meets Paul Powlesland, barrister and Extinction Rebellion activist, for the second of our summer interviews, where they discuss everything from his beginnings as a young Tory, to convincing BP to save the planet, and how to advocate for the rights of ancient trees. Learn more:*Lawyers for Nature*Extinction Rebellion See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Henna and Stefan are joined by Alf and Stephen to discuss campaigning for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers, why we should always be hopeful in our politics, and why we should all move to the People's Republic of Hammersmith and Fulham.Learn more:*Safe Passage See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Join Henna and Ally as they discuss what Boris' premiership means for Brexit and the country, why progressives should still have hope AND what your choice of ice lolly says about you. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Henna and Stefan sit down to talk about Gordon Brown's collaboration with HOPE not hate and the IPPR to stop a no deal Brexit from the bottom-up. Then Stefan heads over to Portcullis House to speak to Bridget Phillipson about why she decided to join the fight against Brexit, frustrating stereotypes about 'The North' and how to make the Labour party the best version of itself.Be a progressive:*Join the fight to stop a no deal Brexit See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this week's extra show, Progress interim director Stephanie Lloyd sits down with Stella Creasy to talk about her fight to extend abortion access to the women of Northern Ireland, going public about her miscarriage and Donald Trump's racist comments about 'The Squad'.Be a progressive:*Donate to the Abortion Support Network*Support JLM – become an affiliate member*Become an LGBT+ Labour solidarity member See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Henna, Stephanie and Alison are joined by Pearl to talk about the dismantling of the welfare state, Donald Trump and criticising our allies, and what the hell we should do when Boris Johnson becomes prime minister. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Wednesday was one of the darkest days in the history of the Labour party. In this week's review show acting director Stephanie Lloyd and events manager Katie Curtis discuss the Panorama programme on antisemitism in the party. They take an in depth look at the issues that came out of the programme, the party's response and what needs to happen next; we need to start dealing deeds not words.*Join JLM as a full or affiliate member See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.