Podcasts about bloody complicated

The government's child poverty taskforce is set to release its findings imminently. But with a country that needs widespread reform at-large, what are the necessary steps in tackling child poverty?A new report by Baroness Ruth Lister, and published by Compass, argues for a radical set of new policies ranging from direct provisions, social welfare and wider societal attitudes towards how we view childhood to alleviate the epidemic of child poverty in this country.We were joined by Baroness Lister in the latest episode of It's Bloody Complicated to discuss this report, and more.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated, listeners will get a sneak peek of the debate and discussion set to take place at Compass' upcoming national conference, CHANGE: HOW? A Decade of Radical Renewal, on Saturday 31st May.Last summer, Labour was returned to government promising to deliver ‘a decade of national renewal'. Whilst some positive things have happened since then – especially on GB Energy and returning the railways to public ownership – decisions on oil and gas licenses, cuts to disability benefits and the go-ahead for a new runway at Heathrow have rightly caused alarm.With voters calling for change, and the populist right on the rise at home and abroad, the costs of Labour failing to make good on its promise would be catastrophic. On this episode of the podcast, you'll get an exclusive preview of the vision for transformative change that we'll be building together at CHANGE: HOW? A Decade of Radical Renewal, with Jon Cruddas – former Labour MP for Dagenham & Rainham and member of the Compass BoardSupport the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

In a recent substack post, John Harris said that ‘the itch to write' his new book Maybe I'm Amazed ‘arrived not long after the General Election of 2019':I'd chewed over writing a book about the turns Britain had taken since the Brexit referendum three years before, but I had the feeling that a)The story had got too grim and relentless to return to with the dedication that a book would need, and b)In any case, the whole saga showed no sign of coming to any kind of conclusion (it still hasn't). In some way I couldn't quite work out, after all the political turbulence and anger I had been reporting on, what I really wanted to write about was human happiness. And music.– John HarrisThe blurb for the book reads:“Obsessed with music since he was a child, John Harris had no idea that he was in fact preparing himself for the greatest challenge of his life. But so it transpired. When his son James was born, and three years later diagnosed with autism, music became a source of precious connection and endless wonder for both of them. Maybe I'm Amazed describes how the music of The Beatles, Kraftwerk, Funkadelic, The Velvet Underground, Amy Winehouse and many more were soon woven into the fabric of James's life, becoming an essential part of who he is. It takes us through the struggles of raising an autistic child in a prejudiced world, and uncovers a hidden history of neurodivergence and creativity that casts new light on why notes, chords and lyrics speak so powerfully to the human mind.”We were thrilled to have John back on the It's Bloody Complicated on Tues 8th April to discuss his new book.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated, ahead of the upcoming spring statement from the Treasury, we asked the perennial question: how could we pay for it?A lot of our vision of a good society rests on changing the narrative around fiscal rules and economic constraints, perhaps raising more money for the state, but certainly diverting the money we do have to more progressive ends. So where can that money come from and how can we effectively spend the money we do have?To discuss this crucial topic, Neal was joined by academic and author, Stewart Lansley, and Head of Communications and Public Affairs at Women's Budget Group, Erin Mansell.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

Britain's infrastructure is struggling. We've seen stories of concrete falling down in schools, unreliable public transport, and an NHS at breaking point after chronic neglect and the Covid-19 pandemic. But little has captured people's attention and activism like the damage and disrepair of our sewage system and the disastrous decisions of the companies that own our water.Currently we're dealing with sewage in the rivers, rising bills, poorly managed companies that are increasingly “uninvestable“, and a regulator that has fined water companies just £2 despite record sewage spillages.But how did we get here, and how do we turn the tide? On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated we discussed just how feasible, desirable, and popular public ownership of water is and highlighted the campaign to get there.The Compass campaigns team were joined by the Director of We Own It, Cat Hobbs, expert on water legislation Professor Ewan McGaughey, and chair of the UNISON Water Industry Sector Committee Natalie Mladenovich-Haigh to dive into how we got here and how we get out of this mess.Cat Hobbs is the Founder and Director of We Own It, an organisation that campaigns for public ownership of public services.Ewan McGaughey is a Professor of Law who specialises in law, economics and history at Kings College London. His core research interests are economic and social rights, particularly in the governance of enterprises.Natalie Mladenovich-Haigh is the chair of UNISON Water Industry Sector Committee.We've been working with Clive Lewis MP, Green New Deal Rising, We Own It, and more to campaign for changes to ownership and management of water and will be doing more in the coming months. This podcast is one piece of that work – find our more here.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

Buy Manda's book hereOur first Election Special with friend of the podcast, Neal Lawson.Neal is Director of the progressive campaign group, Compass and co-host of the Compass podcast ,called It's Bloody Complicated. Neal is a long-time progressive campaigner and a tireless advocate for Proportional Representation as a vehicle for radical progressive change in the way we do politics.  In this swift half hour, we look at the circumstances of this utterly unexpected election and Neal explains the practical steps we can take between now and polling day  with the aim of brining about what he calls a progressive 'Pitch Invasion' that will fundamentally upgrade and update the way we arrange our governance structures... Neal Lawson on Twitter https://x.com/neal_compassCompass https://www.compassonline.org.uk/Neal in Episode #150 https://accidentalgods.life/charting-a-progressive-route-through-the-political-maelstrom/https://accidentalgods.life/charting-a-progressive-route-through-the-political-maelstrom/

First Past the Post might block smaller parties from gaining representation at Westminster, but on this episode of It's Bloody Complicated, we discussed how in spite of this they can still wield substantial influence and contribute meaningfully to our national political discourse.We were joined by:Gina Miller, True and Fair PartyCatherine Mayer, Women's Equality PartySupport the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

In 2017, South West Surrey Compass organised and slashed Jeremy Hunt's majority taking it from the 7th safest Tory-held seat to the 121st. In 2019, they took control of a local council. In 2023, they sued the government.In the beginning of a an election year, we brought old Compass friends Paul Follows and Steve Williams onto It's Bloody Complicated to talk about their journey, lessons, and plans for cooperation in South West Surrey.For the past 8 years, they have been a leading light for progressive cooperation. They have illustrated time and time again that coalitions and cooperative politics isn't lowest common denominator politics – it's our future.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

As another year comes to a close, we were excited to welcome Ayesha Hazarika and Andrew Grice to It's Bloody Complicated to round up another year in politics.Ayesha Hazarika is a broadcaster, journalist and political commentator, and former political adviser to senior Labour Party politicians.Andrew Grice is a political columnist for The Independent, having been its political editor from 1998 to 2015. He has worked in Westminster since 1982.2023 was a year of strikes and protests, record-breaking global temperatures, a coronation, 2 cabinet and 1 shadow cabinet reshuffles, and horrific conflict.What's on the report cards for our progressive parties?What can we expect from 2024 with a general election (probably) on the horizon – and what are the prospects for genuine system change, including proportional representation?We digested the year that was, alongside some mince pies. Members joined us live at 6pm on Tuesday 12th December with Ayesha and Andy.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

According to the Right to Roam campaign, 92% of the UK's countryside and 97% of its rivers are not available to the vast majority of the public. For Episode 96 of It's Bloody Complicated, we'll be discussing land ownership and the Commons, and why democratising and sharing control of our land, rivers and seas could slash inequality and help calm political instability in this country.We were joined by :Guy Standing, a leading thinker and writer on this issue. In his book Plunder of the Commons, Guy deep dives into a history of our country's democracy that created the commons and why we need to fight to keep it.Pam Warhurst, the founder and chair of Incredible Edible the community urban gardening project. In its 15th year of “propaganda gardening”, Incredible Edible has 170+ groups in the UK, and around 1000 groups worldwide, growing food, building communities, and transforming our relationship with the public land around us.On the podcast, we discussed why our relationship to land is such a pressing issue, what a new progressive settlement for the Commons might look like and how we can get there.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

Climate chaos is looming. The question of how to protect and preserve our planet for future generations is a conversation that's not just timely, but absolutely essential.That's why, for Episode 95 of It's Bloody Complicated, we were joined by Areeba Hamid, co-Director of Greenpeace. When she took up the role last October, Areeba became the first woman of colour and first migrant to lead Greenpeace and, along with Will McCallum, the first to share the top job.From grassroots activism to global campaigns, Areeba shared insights into the transformative power of environmental advocacy and explored the challenges Greenpeace has faced in the fight against climate change. We explored the complexities of environmental conservation, the role of Greenpeace alongside newer organisations like XR and JSO, and why we must renew our democracy to achieve climate justice.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

After Labour came to power in 1997, Clare Short served as the UK's first cabinet-level Secretary of State for International Development, a post she would go on to hold for six years. In this role, she secured large increases in the British government's overseas aid budget and persuaded then-chancellor Gordon Brown to write off the debts to Britain of Africa's poorest countries. A famously independent-minded politician, she stood down from her role over the Iraq war in 2003 and later resigned the Labour whip in 2006. She then served the remainder of her term as an independent before standing down as an MP in 2010.She joined us on It's Bloody Complicated to discuss the legacy of New Labour, the future of the UK's role in international development and how the current political moment compares to 1997.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

Labour faces a huge challenge at the next election: first to win power, then to use it to change our country for the better. The polls suggest it will clear the first hurdle, but what of the second?The challenges our county faces have never been greater. We need a bold and reforming progressive government to rebuild our crumbling public services, restore trust in our democracy and tackle the climate crisis head-on. We brought you a live episode of It's Bloody Complicated from Labour Conference 2023 to ask: is Labour up to the challenge?We were joined by journalist and broadcaster Steve Richards, the New Statesman's Zoe Grunewald, and The Guardian's Zoe Williams to talk about the key headline announcements, reflected on the mood on the conference floor and discussed whether Labour is ready for power.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

The average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. If you live to be 80, you'll have had about 4,000 weeks. But, to Oliver Burkeman, that's no reason for despair. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals was a smash hit from author and journalist Oliver Burkeman. On 25th July, he'll join us on It's Bloody Complicated to talk time, reality, the delusions we hold about productivity, and how to focus on the ‘gloriously possible' in a time of spiralling global crises.Oliver is the author of The Antidote: Happiness for People who Can't Stand Positive Thinking and Help! How to Become Slightly Happier and Get a Bit More Done. He wrote a long-running column for the Guardian, This Column Will Change Your Life, and has a devoted following for his writing on productivity, mortality and the power of limits.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

What would a Fair Society actually look like? What are the feasible policy building blocks that could help us get there?In Daniel Chandler's book Free and Equal he makes the case for a new progressive liberalism grounded in the ideas of the philosopher John Rawls – complete with democratic reform of the voting system for the House of Commons, a universal basic income, and the abolition of private schools.Listen back to this episode of It's Bloody Complicated as we ask Daniel about these ideas and more.This episode was recorded with an audience of our members on July 11th.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the NHS this year, Julia Grace Patterson is publishing a new book, Critical: Why the NHS is being betrayed and how we can fight for it. After years of austerity, a global pandemic, and the looming threats of privatisation, the NHS is bad shape.She writes, “The NHS is an institution. But it's also a political football, kicked back and forth between politicians for the past 75 years. It's a burden to some and a potent vote-winner for others. It's a construct, framed in the media. It's a set of ideas and a logo. It's a workplace for many and the birthplace of almost all of us. It's become a valued part of our society, it is extraordinarily special – and it's being destroyed”.On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated we dug into her journey as a campaigner and what she's planning heading into the next election.Julia is a relentless and extremely effective campaigner and advocate for NHS staff and patients. She is the Founder and Chief Executive of EveryDoctor, a doctor-led campaign organisation fighting for a better NHS. A doctor who qualified from UCL Medical School in 2010, she took a break from her speciality training to set up EveryDoctor, and has now given up her GMC licence to practice, in order to devote herself fully to advocating for NHS staff and patients. She remains a doctor on the GMC register.This episode was recorded live on 27th June, 6pm.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

With the Conservatives publicly announcing that they are expecting of loss of more than 1,000 councillors in the upcoming local elections, it looks to be a good year for progressive councillors. But we know that, especially when there are 8,000+ seats up for election with 25,000+ candidates, It's Bloody Complicated.Join us on May 9th as we dig into the results from the Local Elections in 2023, and what's going on beneath the surface.We're  joined by journalist and former president of the YouGov, Peter Kellner, as well as council leaders and campaigners from Compass's networks around the country.We're joined by Caroline Jackson, the Leader of Lancaster City Council for the last two years, leading a Shared Administration containing 5 political groups and 44 councillors, Elizabeth Dennis-Harburg who leads the Labour-Lib Dem partnership council in North Hertfordshire.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

On the 4th April 2020, Keir Starmer assumed office as the Leader of the Labour Party. He won that leadership election with almost a 30% winning margin.3 years on, Neal talks with journalists Rachel Shabi and Rafael Behr to look back, and forward to where Starmer's leadership is taking us.Sir Keir is a controversial leader. In the three months since the beginning of this year, he's come under fire for candidate selection processes that routinely block progressive and left leaning candidates, a purge of the left leaning members, failing to engage with the recommendations of Brown's Commission, resolutely refusing to stand with striking workers, ignoring the wish of 80%+ of his party's members to scrap our rotten voting system, and the list goes on.He's built a huge poll lead, previously unthinkable for Labour. He is widely expected to be capable of winning the next election and become Prime Minister.But in December last year, 63% of voters thought the current poll lead Labour is enjoying is down to negative views of the government, not positive views of Labour or him. Compass is committed to ensuring a progressive government at the next election. That will be a Labour-led one, with either a majority or minority of seats. On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated we dive into the what Keir Starmer's leadership means for that future.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

On 21st April 2023, Extinction Rebellion are bringing 100,000 to protest peacefully outside the Houses of Parliament to demand an end to the fossil fuel era and for a citizen-led transformation towards a fair society that includes reparations.This is the Big One. After a "winter of discontent" that saw thousands gathered at picket lines and demonstrations, and hundreds of pages spent evaluating and criticising the tactics of protests in our streets or our museums, protest - and its power - is in the air.What are the demands of the Big One? What is changing in how the British state interacts with protestors and organisers? Are we under threat?On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated we hear from Miranda Irwin a relationship builder from XR, David Mead, a legal academic specialising in the regulation of protest and dissent, and Nick Dearden, the director of Global Justice Now to talk about the power of protest.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

When people can't feed themselves and their families and the planet burns, it's clear democracy is not working. On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated, we're diving into the mechanics of how our political system makes our society more unequal and unstable.The structure of our parliaments changes what they can and will do, limiting the potential for the change this country needs. Voting justice would lead to social justice. Where votes are fair and equal across the UK, where people's voices are represented and Westminster doesn't hold an iron grip on crucial levers of power.In the UK, voter are split pretty evenly (49/51) on whether immigration enriches or undermines our society. Yet, three quarters of constituencies have anti-immigration majorities. 8 in 10 Brits are concerned about climate change. Half think that net zero targets need to be brought forward. Over 65% of the public supports nonviolent direct action to protect the environment. The pay rise size that the most working Britons agree with is 1o%.Between union busting, new coal mines, and greater police power, it's clear that chasm between the policy passed and public opinion is creeping wider. Without changing the way we vote, the policy options of what we vote for policies will keep being decided by the margins, factions, and swing voters.Joining us to make the case for voting justice as social justice, and explain the connection between the ballot box and bills passed are:Professor Kate E. Pickett, co-author of The Spirit Level, is a Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Health Sciences at the University of YorkEmeritus Professor, Baroness Ruth Lister, Professor of Social Policy at Loughborough UniversitySupport the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated, Frances hosted a conversation between Anthony Barnett and one of the symbols of hope for British progressives - longtime Compass friend and the only Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas. At the tail end of 2022, Anthony Barnett caused a stir with an essay, "The Year of the Definite Left". He laid out why new movements on the Left across the world are challenging the political status quo, and what challenges lie ahead.His general diagnosis is hopeful, but disparaging about the UK:While it is in the Americas, both South and North, that the definite Left has gained political influence, the forces of humanisation that underlie it are felt everywhere, from Ukraine to Brazil, and from the apartments of Tehran to those of Beijing. But still they remain largely bottled up by the dominant order. In my own country, the UK, Brexit cannot be voted out like Trump, while the Labour opposition, far from seeking to initiate a Biden-style alliance with an intellectually vibrant definite Left, seeks to ensure its impotence and a return to Blairism.Full essay here. Guardian article here.Join the Martin Forde event 20th March 2023 here.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

Significant power is vested in Wall Street and Silicon Valley. How did we come to live in a world dominated by big tech and finance, where they hold considerable sway over the direction of politics and government? How do we understand this transformation in power? And what can we do about it?On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated, Jeremy Gilbert joined us to talk through how we might upgrade the concept of hegemony, the importance of passive consent, the complexity of political interests, and the structural force of technology. He is the co-author of Hegemony Now: How Big Tech and Wall Street Won the World (And How We Win it Back), which outlines a dynamic socialist strategy for the 21st Century.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

Politics isn't working. To do the big things, to transform our society and planet we have to transform the way we do politics. On this special episode of It's Bloody Complicated, our four fantastic guests help us understand why and how our miserable political structures and culture deny the chance of big change in the areas they most care about, and why a better politics gives us hope that the system can make the desirable become feasible. They are: Gavin Esler, former Newsnight presenter and now author and campaigner – his latest book is How Britain EndsGail Bradrook, a scientist and co-founder of XR Simon Duffy, the President of Citizens Network a global non-profit cooperative developing the theory and active of active citizenship Lara Parizotto, the co-director of Migrant Democracy Project, an organisation mobilising migrants to participate in UK democracySupport the show

Neal Lawson was brought up in an activist household and joined the Labour party at sixteen.  After university, he worked for the Transport and General Workers' Union and then was a speech writer for Gordon Brown during the New Labour years.  He has been helping to lead the political campaign group, Compass, since its formation in 2003. He is more focused than ever on how to make big transformative change happen. He works on strategy, relationships, funding and fronting Compass. He writes for The Guardian,[9] the New Statesman[10] and OpenDemocracy[11] about equality, democracy and the future of the left, and appears on TV and radio as a political commentator. He was the author of All Consuming (Penguin, 2009), which analysed the social cost of consumerism. Lawson's writing has been heavily influenced by the late Polish Marxist sociologist Zygmunt Bauman who described him as  “one of the most insightful and inventive minds on the British political stage”.Compass itself is a home for those who want to build and be a part of a Good Society; one where equality, sustainability and democracy are not mere aspirations, but a living reality. We are founded on the belief that no single issue, organisation or political party can make a Good Society a reality by themselves so we have to work together to make it happen. Compass is a place where people come together to create the visions, alliances and actions to be the change we wish to see in the world.In this episode, we explore the recent history of politics in the UK and then open more deeply into the routes by which our manifestly broken political system could be transformed into something that will - in Neal's words - transform the brief flaring fireworks of hope into floodlights that can transform our nation, and the world.  Compass https://www.compassonline.org.uk/campaigns/winasone/Compass 45 Degrees paper https://www.compassonline.org.uk/publications/45o-change-transforming-society-from-below-and-above/What is Quadratic Voting? https://towardsdatascience.com/what-is-quadratic-voting-4f81805d5a06It's Bloody Complicated podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/its-bloody-complicated-a-compass-podcast/id1502390267Book: Four Thousand Weeks https://uk.bookshop.org/books/four-thousand-weeks-the-smash-hit-sunday-times-bestseller-that-will-change-your-life-9781784704001/9781784704001

Across the nations, regions, towns and cities of the UK, a new way of doing politics is emerging.Far from the adversarial politics encouraged by Westminster's first-past-the-post electoral system, politicians and people are working together across parties for progressive change.Joining us to discuss the art, benefits and challenges of progressive alliances are:Anthony Slaughter, Leader of the Wales Green Party, which recently announced an electoral alliance with Plaid Cymru in CardiffLucy Nethsingha, Liberal Democrat Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, which is run in a joint administration with Labour and independentsPeter Marland, Labour & Co-operative Leader of Milton Keynes Council, which is run by a ‘Progressive Alliance' of Labour and the Lib Dems.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show

This week on the Compass podcast we are joined by Helen Thompson, author of the book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, published by Oxford University Press. A chronicle of three recent political histories - in our geopolitics, world economy and todays western democracies, Helen shows us the ways  that energy, global finance and democracy interact - forcing us to think hard about why and how we get a fit for purpose democracy to meet the challenges we face.Helen Thompson is a professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and panelist at Talking Politics podcast. Her previous works also include the 2017 book 'Oil and the Western Economic Crisis.'It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show

On Monday 11th April we saw the consequences when progressives divide and centrists ignore the ground to their left. A rightward-shifting Emmanuel Macron finds himself in a second-round matchup with the far-right Marine Le Pen in France. Left-of-centre parties split the vote in the first round, allowing Le Pen to narrowly make the run-off.  Current polling suggests that left-wing voters will only break to Macron fairly narrowly – with huge numbers set to abstain. What does it all mean? And what are the lessons for the UK?French politics experts Philippe Marliėre and Rim-Sarah Alouane will join us to assess the aftermath of the election.Take a deep dive into the French election on this edition of It's Bloody Complicated, the Compass podcast.Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show

This week on the Compass podcast we are joined by Matthew Brown and Rhian E. Jones, authors of the book Paint Your Town Red: How Preston Took Back Control and Your Town Can Too, published by Repeater. Against a national backdrop of austerity and privatisation, a city in Lancashire bucked the trend and created what is known as the Preston Model.Matthew is the leader of Preston City Council, where he has led pioneering efforts in community wealth-building – what has become known as the ‘Preston Model'. He's also a Senior Fellow at the Democracy Collaborative, tasked with promoting community wealth-building across the UK and abroad.Rhian is a writer, historian and the author of four books on politics and popular culture. She's a founding editor of New Socialist and an editor at Red Pepper magazine.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show

Stella Creasy is one of the most dynamic back-benchers in Parliament. She campaigns nationally on issues such as abortion rights, making Westminster a child friendly workplace, and how to deepen democracy. Locally, Stella put her constituency, Walthamstow, on the map with clever campaigns and even smarter social media.We were delighted to welcome her to It's Bloody Complicated. We talked all things Labour Party and Tory Party, and what's next for the future of democracy, E17, and indie rock.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show

Basic income is a regular payment everyone receives. Forever.Now, the Welsh and Irish governments have followed the examples of the United States and elsewhere, and are piloting basic income programmes for real.In this special episode Jonathan Williams, co-founder of UBI Lab Wales, gives us the inside track on the Welsh pilot.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show

Another world is possible. A professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London, Geoff Mulgan is a prolific writer, thinker and doer. He was a strategy adviser to former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as well as governments around the world, with his expertise also running think tanks like Nesta and Demos.His latest book Another Word is Possible, released in June 2022, examines how we reignite social and political Imagination. From the sciences to philosophy, learning from the past and not giving in to the doom of recent calamities, we discussed with Geoff how we can create new methods of creative imagination for a better politics and society.He will shares his experiences working with the previous Labour government, the practice of theory of change and what can be applied for the future, for the better. It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show

What would your life look like with less time spent at work?Across the UK, thousands at workers at 70 companies are taking part in the biggest-ever trial of a four-day working week.Joining It's Bloody Complicated to discuss the trial and a potential future of reduced working hours are representatives from digital marketing firm Literal Humans and brewery Pressure Drop, both of which are participating in the pilot.And we'll also hear from Will Stronge, co-author of Overtime: Why We Need a Shorter Working Week and Head of Research at future-of-work think tank Autonomy, which is helping coordinate the pilots, and Kate Bell, Head of Rights, International, Social and Economics at the TUC.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show

From fines for the prime minister to shocking allegations of harassment, bullying and sexism in the workplace, Parliament has been bedevilled by scandal once again.We're joined by Dr Hannah White, Jennifer Nadel and Darren Hughes to explore What about the structure and culture of our politics results in such awful behaviour – and how we build a new politics.Hannah White is Deputy Director of the Institute for Government and author of Held in Contempt: What's Wrong with the House of Commons? (https://www.waterstones.com/book/held-in-contempt/hannah-white//978152615669 3)Jennifer Nadel is Co-Director of Compassion in Politics and an award-winning journalist.Darren Hughes is Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society and a former government minister in New Zealand.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show

It's Bloody Complicated brings you a special episode on a fascinating set of elections across the UK. Joining us is elections guru Professor Rob Ford.What were the progressive triumphs and tragedies – where did progressive alliances win out, and where could they have helped score wins?Rob Ford is Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester. He is the author, with Maria Sobolewska, of the award-winning Brexitland and, with Tim Bale, Will Jennings and Paul Surridge, of The British General Election of 2019.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show

Orwell Youth Fellows Jamie See and Noah Robinson meet poet Tishani Doshi to explore protest, poetry and performance.Tishani Doshi is an award-winning poet, novelist, dancer and journalist.The episode begins with Jamie and Noah reading their poems.Read 'A Love Symphony to the World' by Jamie See (https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-youth-prize/2018-youth-prize/runners-orwell-youth-prize-2020/jamiesee/)Read 'Here There Are No People' by Noah Robinson (https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-youth-prize/2018-youth-prize/runners-orwell-youth-prize-2020/noahrobinson/)The Future We Want is a new podcast series from the Orwell Youth Prize and Compass. We've matched the Orwell Youth Fellows from 2020 with figures from politics, media and political writing.The Orwell Youth Prize is an annual programme for students aged 12–18 culminating in a writing prize. The prize and programme introduce young people to the power of political language, and provoke them to think critically about the world around them.Compass' regular podcast, It's Bloody Complicated, is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show

After a year-plus on the job, having inherited a deeply divided country, Joe Biden and the Democrats are still facing multiple interlocking crises – from the war in Ukraine, to the ongoing impact of the pandemic, to climate catastrophe. But amidst all this, can we count some wins – on infrastructure, Covid and a once-in-a-generation Supreme Court nomination?Top Democratic organisers Sky Gallegos and Joe Sudbay join It's Bloody Complicated to help make sense of it all.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

Chief Executive of Demos Polly Mackenzie joins It's Bloody Complicated to look at what's gone wrong with our democracy and how we can fix it. Polly builds on the insights from her series of papers for Demos – Making Democracy Work. Polly Mackenzie was Director of Policy to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg from 2010–15, helping to write the 2010 Coalition Agreement. After leaving Government, Polly established the operations of the Women's Equality Party and founded the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. Produced by Compass and distributed by The Real Agenda Network

Chief Executive of Demos Polly Mackenzie joins It's Bloody Complicated to look at what's gone wrong with our democracy and how we can fix it.Polly builds on the insights from her series of papers for Demos – Making Democracy Work.Polly Makenzie was Director of Policy to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg from 2010–15, helping to write the 2010 Coalition Agreement. After leaving Government, Polly established the operations of the Women's Equality Party and founded the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute.Read the Making Democracy Work papers (https://demos.co.uk/making-democracy-work/).It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

Orwell Youth Fellow Jessica Tunks joins Professor Donna Hall to discuss family, community, reimagining public services and her scorching essay 'Knifepoint'.Donna Hall is Chair of New Local and of Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.The episode begins with Jessica reading her essay 'Knifepoint'.Read 'Knifepoint' by Jessica Tunks (https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-youth-prize/2018-youth-prize/winners-orwell-youth-prize-2020/jessica-tunks/).The Future We Want is a new podcast series from the Orwell Youth Prize and Compass. We've matched the Orwell Youth Fellows from 2020 with figures from politics, media and political writing.The Orwell Youth Prize is an annual programme for students aged 12–18 culminating in a writing prize. The prize and programme introduce young people to the power of political language, and provoke them to think critically about the world around them.Compass' regular podcast, It's Bloody Complicated, is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

Orwell Youth Fellow Rosaleen Tite Ahern joins Guardian journalist John Harris to discuss place; the successes, failures and hopes of social housing; and her brilliantly evocative essay 'Streets in the Sky' on Manchester's Hulme Crescents.John Harris is a columnist at the Guardian and host of the podcast Politics Weekly UK. (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/johnharris).The episode begins with Rosaleen reading her essay 'Streets in the Sky'.Read 'Streets in the Sky' by Rosaleen Tite Ahern (https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-youth-prize/2018-youth-prize/winners-orwell-youth-prize-2020/rosaleen-tite-ahern/).The Future We Want is a new podcast series from the Orwell Youth Prize and Compass. We've matched the Orwell Youth Fellows from 2020 with figures from politics, media and political writing.The Orwell Youth Prize is an annual programme for students aged 12–18 culminating in a writing prize. The prize and programme introduce young people to the power of political language, and provoke them to think critically about the world around them.Compass' regular podcast, It's Bloody Complicated, is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

Tommy Sheppard MP joins It's Bloody Complicated to discuss the future of the Scottish independence movement, the prospects of the SNP supporting a Labour government and his remarkable political life.Tommy Sheppard is the Scottish National Party MP for Edinburgh and the SNP's Spokesperson for Constitutional Affairs.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

Jon Alexander, author of the new book Citizens, joins the podcast to tell us how can we start to think and act like Citizens, not Consumers. Joining Jon is conversation is author and political scientist Sue Goss.But first we hear from Luke Cooper of Another Europe is Possible for an update on the terrible events in Ukraine. Luke helps us think through what we can be doing about this awful war.Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us (https://www.jonalexander.net/) It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

Frances Foley goes behind the scenes of Labour–Liberal Democrat cooperation in the 1997 General Election with former Lib Dem Policy Director Duncan Brack, political commentator Peter Kellner, and Compass Director and 1997 Labour electoral negotiator Neal Lawson .In '97 an informal arrangement between Labour and the Lib Dems helped drive tactical voting – and a landslide election victory for Labour, ending 18 years of Conservative rule.What are the lessons from 1997 today? What has changed in the intervening years? And after four election defeats in a row, how might progressive parties work better, and smarter, together?Duncan Brack is Editor of the Journal of Liberal History, and was Liberal Democrat Policy Director from 1988–94 and special adviser during the coalition government in 2010–12.Peter Kellner is a political commentator, election analyst and former President of YouGov.This episode is presented in partnership with the Social Liberal Forum.There are seats where Labour can't win, but the Tories can lose. Find out more about the Compass campaign Only Stand to Win (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/campaigns/only-stand-to-win/). It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

We take a look at coalition governments – what they are, how they are formed, lessons from the new 'traffic light' coalition in Germany and why the UK's progressive parties need to be thinking about them right now.Joining the podcast are Henning Meyer, Publisher of Social Europe, Fellow at the German Ministry of Finance and member of the SPD's Basic Values Commission, and George Peretz QC, legal expert, member of the Society of Labour Lawyers and author of the recent article Wargaming a Minority Labour Government in Prospect (https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/wargaming-a-minority-labour-government-next-election-starmer).It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

Political commentators and Guardian journalists John Harris and Zoe Williams join us to break down the political year that was and look ahead to 2022.From tackling the climate catastrophe to the state of the current Conservative party and challenges facing a progressive alliance – as well as some political reasons to be cheerful in 2022.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

Author, journalist and political commentator Ece Temelkuran joins the podcast to talk about her new book Together: 10 Choices for a Better Now, faith vs. hope, the parallels between the UK's slide towards authoritarianism and her experience in Turkey, and the power of young women.Ece was in conversation with special guest host Jon Alexander of the Social Liberal Forum.Together: 10 Choices for a Better Now  (https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/together-a-manifesto-against-the-heartless-world-ece-temelkuran-2) How to Lose a Country: The Seven Steps From Democracy to Dictatorship (https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/how-to-lose-a-country-the-7-steps-from-democracy-to-dictatorship-ece-temelkuran?variant=32558325629006)This episode is brought to you by Compass and the Social Liberal Forum.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

On a special bonus episode of It's Bloody Complicated, the Compass podcast, we welcome First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford MS.Mark spoke to Compass Director Neal Lawson about progressive alliances, his support for proportional representation, basic income and why he's vowed to stand down after five years.Under Mark Drakeford's leadership, Labour in Wales bucked the party's national trend in 2021, winning a working majority of 30 seats in the Senedd.Welsh Labour is currently in talks with Plaid Cymru about a cooperation agreement. And the party has previously worked with the Liberal Democrats.The Welsh Government this year also approved a basic income (UBI) trial for Wales.The Basic Income Conversation, powered by Compass, recently published a report (https://autonomy.work/portfolio/ubi-in-wales/) with Autonomy on principles, precedents and feasibility of piloting a basic income in Wales.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

83% of Labour members backed proportional representation. So did 80% of the membership's representatives on the conference floor. But the Labour machine didn't, and the motion to make PR party policy fell at last month's party conference.We welcome leading Labour for a New Democracy campaigners Laura Parker and Caroline Osborne to the podcast to get the inside track on the campaign for Labour to back fair votes.Why didn't the leadership back PR? How can those unions who didn't support PR be convinced to do so? And, with a groundswell of support among members and voters, what's next for the UK's largest progressive party and democratic reform?It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

The election in Germany has seen progressives surge and conservatives suffer at the polls.John Kampfner and Michèle Auga join It's Bloody Complicated to make sense of the SPD and Olaf Scholz's (relative) surge, the CDU's collapse, and the 'traffic light' (red/yellow/green) coalition talks.Will Scholz's late embrace of the climate agenda be born out in practice? And what can we in Britain learn from German progressive electoral successes – and the alliance-building challenges to come?John Kampfner is a journalist and the author of Why Germans Do It Better: Notes from A Grown-Up Country (https://atlantic-books.co.uk/book/why-the-germans-do-it-better/).Michèle Auga is head of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in London (https://www.fes-london.org/).It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)

Orwell Youth Fellow Tom Finlayson joins Labour MP Jon Cruddas to discuss impending environmental disaster, automation, AI and the future of work – themes brought vividly to life in Tom's dystopian short story 'Not So Welcome Break'.Jon Cruddas is the Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham and a leading thinker on the meaning of work. His book, The Dignity of Labour, is out now from Polity Books (https://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509540785&subject_id=89).The episode begins with Tom Reading his short story, 'Not So Welcome Break'.Read 'Not So Welcome Break' by Tom Finlayson (https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-youth-prize/2018-youth-prize/winners-orwell-youth-prize-2020/tom-finlayson/)The Future We Want is a new podcast series from the Orwell Youth Prize and Compass. We've matched the Orwell Youth Fellows from 2020 with figures from politics, media and political writing.The Orwell Youth Prize is an annual programme for students aged 12–18 culminating in a writing prize. The prize and programme introduce young people to the power of political language, and provoke them to think critically about the world around them.Compass' regular podcast, It's Bloody Complicated, is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)Support the show (https://www.compassonline.org.uk/podcast/)