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Latest podcast episodes about Conservative Party

What A Day
UK Prime Minister Musical Chairs

What A Day

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2026 21:45


It's been 10 years since the UK voted to leave the European Union — a decision with major political implications that most of the country regrets. Since then, neither the Labour Party nor the Conservative Party have been able to keep a leader in power. Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned his post – becoming the sixth prime minister to quit in the last ten years. For comparison's sake, the UK had just two prime ministers between 1990 and 2007. So what's going on in the UK — and who's up next for prime minister? To find out, we spoke to Nish Kumar, co-host of Crooked Media's Pod Save the UK.And in headlines, the US and Iran make conflicting claims over whether or not Iran is welcoming U.N. inspections of its nuclear sites, the Pentagon asks the Senate for roughly $80 billion to help pay for the Iran war, and no one wants to name their babies Donald. I wonder why!Show Notes: Check out Pod Save The UK – www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK Call Congress – 202-224-3121 Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/y4y2e9jy What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/ For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday

The Herle Burly
Kenney, Teneycke, DeLorey: Can Canada's Conservatives build a big tent winning coalition?

The Herle Burly

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2026 63:53


The Herle Burly was created by Air Quotes Media with support from our presenting sponsor TELUS, as well as CN Rail, and Anthropic.Greetings, you curiouser and curiouser Herle Burly-ites! 20-some years ago, the PC Party of Canada disappeared federally, and over time was replaced by the modern Conservative Party of Canada. This episode is about exploring Canadian conservative political thought, the state of conservatism and the state of the Conservative parties in Canada today, and whether the Conservative Party of Canada can build a big tent winning coalition.Our guests today share their views about the current leadership of the Conservative Party, the current direction of the Conservative Party, the role of populism in the Conservative Party, the lack of a role for Quebec in the Conservative Party, and more.With us:Jason Kenney. He spent over 25 years in elected office. Federal MP and cabinet minister under Stephen Harper. Then 18th Premier of Alberta. He's now a senior advisor at Bennett Jones and a senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute. Kory Teneycke. Curse of Politics panelist. Founder of Rubicon Strategies. And a longtime conservative strategist who served as Stephen Harper's director of communications and has run Doug Ford's campaigns in Ontario. And, and Fred DeLorey. Recent guest on Curse of Politics. Chair and chief strategy officer at North Star Public Affairs. He was the national campaign manager for the Conservative Party in the 2021 election, and earlier served as director of field operations for Doug Ford and director of political operations for Stephen Harper.It's as good a banter about politics as you'll find. So join us for our conversation about the state of conservatism in Canada.Thank you for joining us on #TheHerleBurly podcast. Please take a moment to give us a rating and review on iTunes, Spotify, or your favourite podcast app.Watch episodes of The Herle Burly via Air Quotes Media on YouTube.The sponsored ads contained in the podcast are the expressed views of the sponsor and not those of the publisher.

Times Daily World Briefing
Andy Burnham wins Makerfield: what happens now?

Times Daily World Briefing

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2026 33:06


Andy Burnham's victory in Makerfield makes him Labour leader and prime minister in waiting. How will the next days and weeks play out?Keir Starmer has said he will stand in a leadership contest if one is triggered. So does that mean a bloody contest rather than a coronation?In a special episode recorded live on Times Radio with Ed Vaizey, we go through the possible scenarios.And if Andy Burnham does become prime minister, what will he do with power? Who will be in his cabinet? We're told that Shabana Mahmood has turned down the offer of chancellor and will stay as home secretary. Is Ed Miliband still a likely candidate for chancellor? And what to do about Wes Streeting?We also look at the Conservative win in Aberdeen South. Is this a green shoot for the Conservative Party?And will the Makerfield result prompt some soul searching in Reform UK?Ed Vaizey, presenter, Times RadioSteven Swinford, political editor, The TimesLara Spirit, deputy political editor, The Sunday TimesProducers: Harry Kitson, Erin CarneyExecutive producer: Molly GuinnessPicture: Getty Images00:00 - Intro: "They're Going to Have to Drag Him Out"00:20 - Welcome to The State of It: The Makerfield Shockwave00:56 - An Extraordinary Result: How Andy Burnham Defied Political Gravity03:00 - "Vote Burnham, Get Starmer Out" Campaign Strategy04:05 - Keir Starmer Strikes Back: Leadership Contest or Coronation?06:37 - Starmer's Response: "I'm Not Going to Walk Away"07:14 - Inside Starmer's Bunker: Refusing an Orderly Transition09:16 - The Secret List: 80+ MPs Backing Andy Burnham11:06 - Nigel Farage's Disappointment: Reform UK Share Drops12:00 - Kemi Badenoch's Tories Resurge in Scotland13:04 - Did Reform UK Choose the Wrong Candidate?14:04 - The Identity Schism Deepening Inside Reform UK16:00 - What Does an Andy Burnham Premiership Actually Stand For?17:48 - Tax Overhauls: Radical Land Tax vs. Council Tax18:38 - The NATO Summit and the Defense Investment Plan Dilemma21:00 - Tough Decisions on Welfare Cuts and Benefits23:16 - The Power Brokers: Louise Haig & Anneliese Midgley24:40 - Cabinet Secrets: Ed Miliband vs. Shabana Mahmood27:12 - Shabana Mahmood's Hardline Immigration Reforms28:22 - Wes Streeting's Defiance: Forcing a Platform Battle?32:38 - What Happens to the Hardcore Starmer Loyalists?This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast
Court Saves Wind Safe Harbor, Norway Pauses Utsira Nord

The Uptime Wind Energy Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2026 33:27


A federal court restores the 5% safe harbor for wind tax credits, Norway’s parliament pauses the 35 billion krone Utsira Nord floating wind program, and the crew digs into Australia’s battery boom and the looming blade technician shortage. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Uptime324 Matthew Stead: [00:00:00] The Uptime Wind Energy podcast, brought to you by StrikeTape. Protecting thousands of wind turbines from lightning damage worldwide. Visit StrikeTape.com. And now, your hosts Allen Hall: Welcome to this edition of the Uptime Wind Energy podcast. I’m Allen Hall here with Matthew Stead, Rosemary Barnes, and Yolanda Padron. And our week starts off in the courtroom. And if you’ve been watching the news lately, there’s a pretty substantial IRS case involving large-scale wind and solar having to do with the, uh, production tax credit and, uh, investment tax credit at the same time on the safe harbor, 5% safe harbor rule. Uh, a federal judge handed the wind industry and solar industry a pretty substantial legal win that could reshape how the [00:01:00] projects qualify for tax credits. So a judge up in, uh, the District of Columbia vacated IRS Notice 2025-42. So if you remember that, uh, from a- about a year or so ago, uh, f- it found that the, that notice was arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act. The notice, which was issued following a July 2025 executive order, had eliminated the 5% safe harbor for wind projects, uh, a provision developers have relied on since about 2013 to establish construction start dates without breaking ground. The court found the IRS failed to justify removing it, ignored industry comments, which I had read, and I agree with that, and gave no reason for treating wind differently f- than other clean energy technologies. So That his executive order came down and said, “Hey, we don’t like wind. [00:02:00] IRS, write a rule and make it hard for wind to get installed in the United States.” And so they dutifully did it, but a court is throwing it out. This has some pretty significant implications because if you hadn’t broken ground before this ruling, I think the– what was happening was be- if you hadn’t broken ground by July 4th, your project wouldn’t qualify for some tax credits. But now, if you have 5% safe harbor, you still are in the game, at least for now. Now, Wanda, that’s gonna make a big difference to asset managers and developers, won’t it?  Yolanda Padron: Yeah, it’s really exciting. I think it opens up the, the playing field for, for some of these projects that might be a little bit behind schedule. Um, of course, a lot of teams had to change their plans and their pipeline when, um, you know, the big, beautiful bill passed and, I mean, it’s– of course, it adds a little bit of additional volatility, right, to, to wind and, and solar in the US, but it’s exciting to see at least things for, [00:03:00] for those of us that are in the wind and solar side, the, it’s a little, little bit of, of hope there. Allen Hall: And Matthew, uh, even in terms of opening up o-o-operations and, uh, getting contracts signed, this should make a big difference in sort of opening the floodgates a little bit. Although there is a short timeframe. We’re, we’re recording on, what, what is today? June 10th. So you have, in theory, less than 30 days before the July 4th deadline, but hopefully this stays. You think there’s a chance this just gets completely, uh, wiped out, the executive order and the IRS notice and- It’s back to what we remember for the, for the last, ooh, 12, 13 years?  Matthew Stead: Uh, yeah. I’m, I’m, I’m hopeful, and I, I agree with Yolanda. I think you, you said it really well. Um, I think this is a, a glimmer of hope in, um, a sometimes gloomy, um, environment. So I think that’s great. In terms of going back to where it was, um, I mean, I guess my observation has been that, [00:04:00] you know, things in the US were a bit, um, distorted. You know, distorted through the, the PTC, um, and the whole repowering thing after 10 years is quite a distortion. So I think, um, you’re not necessarily going back to the good old days, um, might be the way, what will happen. Allen Hall: I think there is a lot of people actively trying to dig holes at the moment, and I, I’m sure they’re gonna continue to do that. Yolanda, do you th- you think anybody’s gonna stop and kinda say, “Oh, we have the 5% rule. We’re, we’re good”? Do you think, or you think they’re gonna still go ahead and really start construction and then just keep things continually moving on site? Yolanda Padron: I don’t think they, they can really stop, right? Because you, you don’t know if, if anything strange happens. A lot of people didn’t think the, a lot of the provisions in the big beautiful bill were gonna, were gonna see the light of day, and they did. Um, but it does, I really hope it brings at least a little bit of breathing room for some people. I know it’s, it must be… I mean, I have some friends in development, and they’re, they’re q- a little [00:05:00] bit stressed right now just with everything going on. Um, so, so I really hope for them at least they, you know, if, if they’re a little bit behind schedule, then it, it’ll be, it’ll still be fine.  Allen Hall: Delamination and bondline failures in blades are difficult problems to detect early. These hidden issues can cost you millions in repairs and lost energy production. CIC-NDT are specialists to detect these critical flaws before they become expensive burdens. Their nondestructive test technology penetrates deep into blade materials to find voids and cracks traditional inspections completely miss. CIC-NDT maps every critical defect, delivers actionable reports, and provides support to get your blades back in service. So visit cicndt.com because catching blade problems early will save you millions[00:06:00] Norway’s Storting has voted to pause the 35 billion Norwegian krone support program for floating offshore wind at Utsira Nord. The Conservative Party secured a parliamentary majority for the external quality assurance review, a socioeconomic analysis, and a technology development assessment, all before the Storting will authorize any commitments. Equinor and Vårgrønn, along with EDF and Deepwind Offshore, each hold allocated 500-megawatt areas and were preparing to compete for that subsidy. Equinor says the project will continue for now. I think everybody is saying that at the moment. But, uh, Equinor cannot rule out consequences as framework uncertainty compounds in the already challenging nature of floating offshore wind development. So Utsira Nord is a massive project. So it’s, it’s about three and a half billion US dollars [00:07:00] to go do this. We had Mads Furuseth and Anders Naslund about a year or so ago, maybe a little bit longer, talking about the project and how big it was and how important it was that Norway did this for floating offshore wind. But with this, uh, recent change in the parliament of Norway, it does seem like they’re slowly going to try to kill it by putting in a number of, uh, reviews, which is how bureaucracies tend to kill things. Is put it under six, seven, eight reviews, different committees. They all take time to get together. They have to put out a report. It could be two, three years from now. At that point, the world has completely changed, and everybody’s moved on. Does that seem like the outcome here at the moment?  Matthew Stead: Yes.  Allen Hall: In my mind, there’s really two big areas for floating offshore, which UK, right? That there, there’s some massive projects there, Green Volt being one of them, and then there was Sue & Nord. So between the two, I feel like the, the UK one was going to [00:08:00] happen. The question whether the world was gonna move towards floating offshore wind was gonna happen up in Norway. If Norway decided to do it and could get it developed, and it has the capability to do it because, because they have that skill set, uh, right there in Norway. If they could do it in Norway, everybody in the world would learn from it and figure out how to do it. Does this really set back floating offshore wind globally?  Matthew Stead: Yeah. I mean, going back to what I said before, and I, I’ll defer to Rosie on this as well, but, um, when I was at, at Blades Europe, um, one of the, one of my long-term contacts, um, y- was in floating wind, um, and had, um, left the industry. He basically said i- in his view that the offshore wind industry was slowly, um, in decline or slowly dying. Um, so I’m just wondering if this is just evolution of viability of offshore wind.  Rosemary Barnes: Is offshore wind in decline? I think if you look globally, it’s, it’s not in decline. I, I haven’t looked in, in depth at the figures just based on what, you know, [00:09:00] headlines I’ve seen and podcasts I’ve heard, but I think that globally it’s still on the rise. It’s just that- It’s only in Europe that things are really moving with speed, right? Like, people were expecting heaps of growth in the US and now no- nobody expects that. Floating offshore wind, it’s… I th- I still think it’s too early to say. There are plenty of countries that don’t have any good energy options besides, um, floating offshore wind, like Japan. What their energy transition looks like is gonna depend a lot on their culture and what people think, ’cause, like, if you go through, like, the engineering solutions that Japan could have, the ones that make the most sense from an engineering point of view are not popular at all, are not politically viable. Like, Japan could easily have a subsea cable connecting it with, um, with China, for example, or Korea, but I don’t think anybody, anybody thinks that that will ever happen because, you know, politically it’s, it’s very far from being possible. What else could they have? Geothermal. They’ve got heaps of [00:10:00]geothermal resources, like really good traditional geothermal resources, but my understanding is that it’s super unpopular because their onsen, um, community doesn’t want it. Uh, my understanding is that they’re worried that if you put geothermal, um, if you exploit geothermal resources, then the onsens will not be hot anymore, and again, my limited research understanding is that it’s not true. It’s different resources. The two aren’t connected in any way. Um, and yeah, there’s actually a community geothermal, um, facility near Fukushima. I’m trying really hard to get over there, but I’m, I’ve got a roadblock at the moment because, uh, n- no one there speaks English, so I need to find somebody to, to come with me and, you know, I’ll have one, one day to try and get there on the fast train and back to Tokyo in, in a single day. So it’s, it’s a bit of a stretch, but I’m gonna try. But anyway, so yeah, what have we… We’ve ruled out, like, subsea cables, ruled out geothermal. Floating wind is good.  Allen Hall: Well, speaking of Fukushima, [00:11:00] there’s been a more recent push in Japan to start up some of the nuclear facilities. So after the tsunami, was that 2012, 2014 when that happened? It was a while ago. Uh, when the tsunami happened and h- had that, uh, nuclear accident, they, they s- shut down all the nuclear facilities in Japan, but it does seem like they’re trying to restart some of them And, and maybe it’s just the demand for energy and, and they’re trying to weigh that off with offshore wind or floating offshore wind. At what point, you know, which one do you choose? It has to be driven by cost and availability.  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah. And so Fukushima, I just looked it up, it was 2011. Um, and yeah, so I mean, I think it is very fair that they had a reaction to that and they wanted to put the handbrake on nuclear at that time, or they did more than put the handbrake on, they did like a handbrake turn. Allen Hall: They shut it down.  Rosemary Barnes: So, and it, you know, it’s gradually ramping up. I think that their target for nuclear now is to, to regain, um, 20% of their electricity from [00:12:00] nuclear by 2040, something like that. It was 30% prior to that incident. Um, so that will be part of it, but it’s not, um, it’s not all of it. And then even if you think of, uh, okay, so forget climate change, just, you know, we want, Japan just wants energy and they don’t care about climate change, you know, ’cause that, that, that could be true. What are their ch- choices for that? They import a whole bunch of… They, they import nearly all their energy. Everything that’s not nuclear basically is, is imported. Um, coal, but a lot of LNG, and, you know, that is not exactly an appealing prospect at the moment either. It’s not secure. Prices are very volatile. We’ve had, like, two fossil fuel shocks in the last, what, like four years or something like that, and how many more, how many more are we g- are we going to have? You know, like energy security is important, totally separate from climate change issues. So I don’t think we need to rely on Japan, like, you know, [00:13:00] steadfastly staying the course because their, their existing o- opportunities are not, are not great for fossil fuels either. Allen Hall: I don’t know what country’s gonna stay the course right now, really. Maybe the UK?  Rosemary Barnes: Oh, I think it’s- Countries that have other reasons for going to renewables are the ones that are gonna stay the, stay the course. Um, and there are plenty of examples of countries where it just, it is by far the easiest, cheapest, fastest option to get more electricity. Um, you know, like all of Africa, for example, is, is facing that as a, uh, a better development path than trying to build big, um, fossil fuel power plants. But even that, you know, like in India, they’re making a huge transition, Pakistan, not to mention Australia, where now batteries are having more of an impact on electricity prices than gas is. So our electricity prices now finally are dropping, um, this year for the first time because of how many batteries have come on and are now, you [00:14:00]know… Like they’ve just flattened. The evening price peak used to be on average about, like, I think $400 or something dollars a megawatt hour, and now it’s like 100. In one year we had that, we had that change, yeah, just from the amount of batteries that have come on in the last year or two.  Allen Hall: Why does that make such a big difference in the price of electricity, the battery aspect?  Rosemary Barnes: Because, so the way that Australia… Australia’s electricity market is pretty similar to Texas, so if you understand that, then you can probably understand Australia’s. But, you know, at any five-minute interval, people, like, they know how much demand there’s going to be, and then people are bidding in how much they would supply electricity for in that five minutes, in real time as well. It’s not like day ahead or anything like that in Australia. The, like, last one they need is what everybody gets paid. So, like, solar power is gonna bid in at, like, you know, practically zero, um, or maybe negative prices actually if they’ve got power purchase agreements in place. And then, you know, wind a little bit more, and then coal, uh, you know, a, a bit [00:15:00] more than that, and then gas, the open cycle gas turbines, the peakers, they’re very expensive. They’re bidding in at 400, $400 a megawatt hour. If there’s enough batteries that that gas doesn’t need to bid in, then all of a sudden we don’t have the gas price that everybody has to pay. We have the battery price that everyone has to pay, and that is very, very cheap and will become cheaper as there’s more of them in the, in the system. So it’s like a threshold event. You, you know, um, even if you’re using only a tiny bit of gas, if you need any gas at all, even like, you know, one megawatt of gas, everybody gets paid the gas price. If you just get a little bit more battery in and you don’t need it anymore, bam, the price just falls. So that’s what we… We’ve passed that threshold now.  Allen Hall: Isn’t that where the UK is trying to get, is to get past that threshold where renewables are that last addition to the grid and kick off peaker plants and some expensive other- fuel sources. That’s I, I [00:16:00] think where everybody’s gone because they have the same system where the, the last one in is what sets the price for everybody. Rosemary Barnes: Yeah. The UK’s a little bit different because one, they’re connected to Europe, and two, they’ve got nuclear, so they do have that kind of base load.  Allen Hall: Let’s go down the rabbit hole just for a second. So if the peaker plants don’t come on, that means that the battery electricity supplying the grid is pretty low in price. It seems like they are losing money on their investment in the battery That they were hoping the price would be higher. Because if the peaker plants are still going on, that would be a $400 price and they’re gonna come in at, like, 350, so that would make sense. It, it helps pay off the battery investment. But if they’re dropping the price down from 400 to 100, it would seem like the battery investment may not be a, a wise decision.  Rosemary Barnes: For sure they’re making less money, but it was– they were making crazy profits for the first little, the first few, few years of, you know, grid-scale batteries. And even [00:17:00] home batteries, people were making a l- a lot of money off that, and it was crazy. Like, I’m on some, um, some Reddit subreddits about, uh, you know, people with home batteries and-  Allen Hall: Slash battery?  Rosemary Barnes: Matt probably is too. Matt’s a Beta G enthusiast, so I’m sure that he is just as excited as me. But anyway, so on one of these subreddits, you know, people used to talk about, “Oh, I made 100 bucks last night,” um, or, or whatever, you know, just a household. And now all the posts are complaining about there’s been no price spikes all year. You know, I thought that I was gonna make heaps of money off my battery, but people are really change- changing how they think of it. And now it’s like… And l- like I want– used to want to do this. I don’t have solar panels yet ’cause we need a new roof, and I’ve been waiting a few years to, one, live in a house that I own, and then two, get a freaking new roof. Um, and I thought I’m gonna just, like, cover it in solar panels, get a huge battery, and I’m gonna be an energy trader in my free time and make heaps of money, and now that is [00:18:00] not the strategy anymore. The strategy is to just reduce your bills to the m- the minimum that you can. Um, that’s basically, that’s basically it. So you are right that some of this arbitrage is, um, the opportunity’s over, and that it will be less, um, exciting for, uh, opportunity for people to put more, more batteries in.  Matthew Stead: Just to add to that, through the middle of the day quite often there’s, uh, negative pricing. So if you’ve got a battery, you’re being paid to charge through the middle of the day. So that actually takes away some of the pain from having a lower, a lower price, um, during the peak.  Rosemary Barnes: But the thing about negative prices is that you need coal power plants for them to be… Like, the only reason we have such pervasive negative prices is not because solar plants have PPAs that are, you know, make it worthwhile for them to generate even when the price is slightly negative. The real thing is that coal power plants don’t want to turn down below, I don’t know, yeah, like 20, 30% during the middle of the day. They have to be on if they want to make money in the evening, and that means that they bid in at, like, [00:19:00] negative 50, um, so that people– so that they can stay running. And that’s where the bulk of our negative prices come from. So As coal power plants close, those negative prices will go away. Um, and when they close, we should get some better evening price spikes again. So, you know, like nothing ever stays the same for long, which is why it is such a fascinating hobby to have, being interested in the electricity market, because it’s never the same from one year to another. You’ll never understand it, ’cause it’s never, it never stays the same long enough to really get your head around it.  Allen Hall: You need other hobbies. You really do.  Matthew Stead: A friend of mine works in trading, and, uh, he said, “As long as there’s volatility, there will be progress.” So much like what Rosie was saying is the more volatile it is, the more opportunity there is for people to come in, um, and change it. Allen Hall: I just don’t know how the battery thing plays out once that threshold is reached. When you have more batteries on the system and you knock down the price that [00:20:00] much, I think battery sales, industrial batteries really slow down because they’re all looking for that quick ROI And they’re not gonna get it. Rosemary Barnes: You have to wait for all of the coal to close before you would find out what’s the right amount of batteries to have in the, in the grid.  Allen Hall: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That, I totally agree there, yeah.  Yolanda Padron: You’d still get, like in extreme weather events and stuff, you’d still get a big price spike, right, for all these batteries. Allen Hall: Back to Matt’s point, more volatility.  Rosemary Barnes: If you want the market to respond, you need to give enough incentive to invest in assets so you’ll have enough when it’s needed. And because it’s really infrequent, then it has to be a super high price to, um, bring on enough investment. And will this system… The system has worked absolutely, you know, pretty well in Aus- Australia at least. Will it continue into the future with more variable prices and renewables? I, I don’t know, and the government is starting to do some things like, uh, you know, like a lot of [00:21:00] electricity markets have, um, not just energy markets but also capacity markets where you will pay a battery or a gas plant something to be on standby basically, um, so that if there is, um, if there’s a shortfall then they, then they have to respond. So in Western Australia they have that, but across the east of Australia th- they currently do not, do not have that. It’s energy only.  Allen Hall: Really? How do you not have capacity payments?  Rosemary Barnes: The majority of their profits are made in just a few hours a year when there are those price spikes, so that’s, that’s h- part of their business case. Allen Hall: I mean, there, there is arbitrage happening on the electricity grid. That’s not the best place to be arbitraging things because you will have players that won’t provide electricity just to drive up the price.  Rosemary Barnes: Uh, and it happens in Australia too, but, um, you know, because batteries are such a distributed resource, it, it will become harder and harder to do that when, you know, the, um, the ownership of these batteries is, you know, households as well as, um, yeah, as well as [00:22:00] big companies. Matthew Stead: So offshore wind, I was talking to an OEM a, a little while ago and, uh, talking about blade repairs for offshore wind, you know, floating, floating wind. Um, so specifically floating wind. The OEM was extremely concerned about floating wind, um, because it makes it very, very, very hard to change blades. So the story was that if you’ve got an offshore floating platform, you’re basically gonna have to tow the wind turbine back to port to change a, a blade. Rosemary Barnes: They see that as a, as a pro, not a con though. Yeah. That, that’s because it’s very hard to… Like, it’s not only floating offshore wind where it’s very hard to remove a, a blade out at sea, like fixed bottom offshore wind, that’s incredibly expensive to remove a blade. So floating is like, well, you can just tow it back to shore and then you can do it all in the port. I, I, you’re looking skeptical, Matt, and I’m also skeptical about how it actually plays out. I know that, um, what was it? The, [00:23:00] the one- An EOL project off the coast of Scotland. I can’t remember what it’s called now. Like what, the first big one, the big wind farm, a floating offshore wind farm  Allen Hall: HiWind Scotland  Rosemary Barnes: They had a, a problem. I don’t know if it was a serial issue or also, like it’s the first big wind farm, and there might have been like some operating condition they weren’t aware of that caused some problems. They had to tow back everything to port, and they stayed there for months and months. So like maybe, maybe close to a year or over a year, I’m not sure. It was a really long time. And so, um, yeah. But then, you know, like what’s the alternative? If that had happened out at sea, it would’ve been more expensive. If, it still would’ve been shut down, not doing anything, and you would’ve had like helicopters out there every single day bringing teams and, um, you know, huge vessels with cranes and yeah. So like it’s, maintenance at sea is never good.  Allen Hall: But the whole point of the HiWind project was to get some of these problems figured out, and one of them was just towing it back to port and [00:24:00] doing major repairs or component exchanges make sense. I think it’s a, it’s a lesson well learned, and we’ve moved on. I guess the question is, does offshore, floating offshore in particular, have much of a future if Norway’s not willing to do it?  Matthew Stead: I think it’s a good comparison with, um, data centers in space.  Rosemary Barnes: You know where else they’re planning to put data centers? Not just space and offshore, also like, um, underwater ones, like on the deep ocean floor, um, on the moon somewhat. Like there’s an actual company that is apparently developing a, a data center on the moon  Allen Hall: As wind energy professionals, staying informed is crucial, and let’s face it, difficult. That’s why the Uptime podcast recommends PES Wind magazine. PES Wind offers a diverse range of in-depth articles and expert insights that dive into the most pressing issues facing our energy future. Whether you’re an industry veteran or new to wind, PES Wind has the high-quality content you need. Don’t [00:25:00] miss out. Visit peswind.com today. Well, in this quarter’s PES Wind magazine, there are a number of great articles, and if you haven’t downloaded your copy, you should do that at peswind.com. There’s a good article from Global Blade Services USA, and it’s talking about the technician problem and how it’s not gonna, it solve itself, obviously. But Global Blade Service is putting some numbers to it. And Rosemary, this is really directed at you. Blades represent roughly 20% of the total, total turbine capital cost and are the leading driver of unplanned downtime.  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah, 40% of O&M.  Allen Hall: Right, and 75% of all blade repairs are already handled outside OEM warranty. That number seems really high, but maybe after the warranty expires?  Rosemary Barnes: Do you say 30% of, of repairs are repaired under warranty? That’s, uh, unexpectedly high from my point of view. [00:26:00] But, you know, how would I know? No one’s getting in touch with me if, you know, they’ve got a problem with their blades and it just got fixed under warranty. Then they’re not paying a consultant to come sort it out. I only, I’m, I’m only there when the warranty is nearly up or it’s already over.  Allen Hall: So they, they’re saying that the, the ratio’s even gonna grow more towards out of warranty repairs. But the problem is having technicians. And the deeper problem is developing all those technicians in time as that need grows. Uh, reaching full structural repair competency takes a rope access technician eight to 10 years. A basket technician is five to seven, and a factory technician is four to five years, meaning the workforce, uh, the industry needs for the next decade has to start training now. I, I think we’re seeing this in full force. I- the issue is keeping good people in the industry as it fluctuates up and [00:27:00] down all the time and is very seasonal. Because there are really good rope technicians out there who know what they are doing, and it does take a, a minimum of three years to be competent. And then to be that lead person, it takes four or five solid. And to be, uh, the, the relied-upon person, especially for some of the more complicated repairs, it’s gonna be six, seven, eight years before you’re there. It’s just an exposure thing. Are we in a technician crisis?  Rosemary Barnes: Crisis is maybe a little bit inflammatory, but, uh, we’re in a technician challenge  Matthew Stead: But it’s a pretty, it’s a pretty basic topic, Allen, isn’t it? Like, um, you know, there’s more and more wind turbines, there have to be more and more technicians. It takes time to train. So, you know, it’s, it’s just, it’s pretty much basic maths and, um, you know, it’s like te- you know, tradies to build houses. Um, you know, unless you’ve got the tradies, you can’t build houses in a cheap way. Yolanda Padron: Part of the issue is that, you know, say there’s [00:28:00] 10 technicians that are available in the area, right? Then you … maybe they work under two different companies, and then one company goes bankrupt, so then they all work with the same company. Another company pops up, or someone gets kicked off site from the OEM side, and then a month later they’re back with the third party. And then it’s just really difficult to keep track of kind of who’s still there and who’s not, because some people have the certifications and maybe they’re not really, really great at what they do, or other people have a lot of training and a lot of experience, and it’s just difficult to track exactly, you know, where they are now. I know that the, the strategy here oftentimes is you’ll find one person that you like and you kind of follow him around, or follow them around whatever company they’re, they’re with at the moment, and then just use that company.  Matthew Stead: The other point I was going to make is that there’s also the seasonality, isn’t there? So you know, if you’ve got a great, a great technician, when it’s cold, they can’t earn cash from [00:29:00] repairing blades.  Rosemary Barnes: Aren’t they hired as, like, seasonal workers in America and they just don’t get paid for part of the year? That’s not how it’s done here. I mean, I guess we don’t have the climate where you have to, like, totally shut down, so they’re not, like, sitting around getting paid for nothing. But, like, that’s a really unim- unappealing feature of the of the, um, field, isn’t it? If you’re deciding what you wanna, what kinda job you wanna do, you want one where you can get paid for 12 months out of the year, not just, I don’t know, like eight or whatever it is.  Matthew Stead: I know there’s been a lot of discussion between, like, Australian US repair companies of, like, shipping technicians down here during the Northern Hemisphere winter and vice versa, and it gives, you know, chance of exploring the world. But, you know, if you’ve got kids and family, you’re not gonna necessarily wanna do that either.  Rosemary Barnes: It’s such a tiring job, though. I don’t… Like, there’s, um, I think it’s fine if people do it for, like, a hard 10 years and then, um, yeah, move on to… Because you obviously learn a lot as a technician, so y- you know, like, there’s a lot of office jobs that you would be really good at [00:30:00] because you had that physical experience. But yeah, like, I, I do think that there’s heaps of young people that are traveling the world being wind turbine technicians.  Yolanda Padron: At least in Texas, I know a lot of rural areas where they don’t necessarily have a lot of opportunities to get higher education, and so going to be a technician is a good route for them to then go into a larger part of the industry, um, to, to kinda get a head start there. Um, and they get a lot of really valuable skills, and oftentimes, like you said, Rosie, they’ll, they’ll get picked up by, um, by the owners or the OEMs or someone, um, because of their experience there. But it, but it is quite a bit of, of hard work and, and physical, physical labor. I climbed one tower and I was sore for two weeks, so really, really not my cup of tea. Rosemary Barnes: I’m always, like, so excited to, to be climbing towers ’cause I only do it, like, you know, sometimes no times in a year, sometimes twice a year. Um, yeah, so, like, I’m really excited to go climb, and it’s really cool the first day, and then the second day it’s like, “Oh, this harness is [00:31:00] so heavy. Am I really putting this on again? Oh my God.” Yeah, so it’s, uh, it’s ob- obviously you get used to it if you, um, if you do climb a lot. The last, uh, last site that I was at, a lot of the technicians were just climbing the ladders so that they wouldn’t have to, you know, go to the gym afterwards. So there’s a lift there, but they use the ladder because then they get their cardio for the day. So, you know, they’ve obviously got some surplus energy.  Allen Hall: I think it is kind of a myth outside the US, uh, uh, seasonal workers, uh, at least in Europe, I haven’t seen a lot of seasonal workers. It doesn’t mean they don’t exist, of course. But in the United States, there’s a lot of seasonal workers from construction and all kinds of other industries. People figure it out And it, it’s a lot more common than I think y- being an engineer you think it is, but there are a lot of seasonal workers. So being a, a wind technician is not a bad job.  Rosemary Barnes: I guess they’re just getting [00:32:00] paid extra for the time that they’re working and they just know they’re used to budgeting to cover the few months off. Allen Hall: They have a winter job. They’ll, they have employment. They already have it lined up where when it gets cold outside, they have someplace else to go. Back into construction for a few months. They’re maybe driving a truck or doing other things that, that bring in income. They have it pretty well figured out. When– At least the technicians I’ve talked to seem to have a, a plan about it, and they’re not sitting by the television for six months. That’s not what’s happening. It, that there’s a lot of employment opportunities here in the States, and so they, they’re pretty nimble. So if you haven’t read this article or a number of our other great articles in PES Wind, you should go to peswind.com right now and download a copy today. That wraps up another episode of the Uptime Wind Energy podcast. If today’s discussion sparked any questions or ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us on LinkedIn, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. [00:33:00] For Yolanda, Rosemary, and Matthew, I’m Allen Hall, and we’ll see you here next week on the Uptime Wind Energy podcast.

The Lowdown from Nick Cohen
The death of conservatism

The Lowdown from Nick Cohen

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2026 53:54


UK needs a a strong liberal voice in the south to counter the predictable catastrophe of Farage and Reform In his latest Lowdown podcast, Nick Cohen talks to historian and author James Hawes about parallels between current political developments and fascist movements in the 1930s and 1970s. James compares Elon Musk's influence to that of Alfred Hugenberg in 1930s Germany, noting how both used media control to promote extreme right-wing parties. Nick and James discuss conservative establishment figures like Michael Grade at Ofcom were failing to enforce impartiality laws, how the government was unwilling to act against platforms promoting insurrection, and how the right-wing media landscape had shifted dramatically since the days when Enoch Powell was rejected by the Conservative Party. Hawes emphasises the need for a united liberal democratic front to oppose far-right parties like Farage's, warning that the first-past-the-post electoral system could allow Nigel Farage to become Prime Minister with less than a third of the vote if the left remained split. They conclude with calls for a "popular front" similar to those that successfully opposed fascists in the past, with both hosts expressing optimism that such a coalition could still be formed. The UK desperately needs a strong Liberal voice in the south to prevent Farage inflicting his second catastrophe on the UK after Brexit - a Reform government with the inevitable division, economic misery and national failure that would guarantee.Read all about it! James Hawes @jameshawes2 Renaissance man, historian, writer and novelist. James, the author of The Shortest History of England and The Shortest History of Germany. His latest in the series, The Shortest History of Ireland, is out next month.Nick Cohen's @NichCohen4 latest Substack column Writing from London on politics and culture from the UK and beyond. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chopper's Political Podcast
What happens to Starmer if Labour LOSE Makerfield by-election - ‘Beyond catastrophic!'

Chopper's Political Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2026 47:24


Beat the system with TallyMoney. Gold you can spend. Discover more here: https://click.tallymoney.com/A64P/df08xa5e #adChristopher Hope is joined by Olivia Utley and Katherine Forster to discuss the upcoming Makerfield by-election and the potential implications for Labour, Reform UK and the wider political landscape.They examine what a victory or defeat could mean for Keir Starmer, the growing speculation around Andy Burnham's future ambitions, and the challenges facing Nigel Farage's Reform UK.Plus, Labour MP Jess Asato discusses her concerns about AI and social media, while Father of the House Sir Edward Leigh shares his thoughts on the future of the Conservative Party, Reform UK and the prospect of cooperation on the political right.#Politics #GBNews #KeirStarmer #AndyBurnham #NigelFarage #Labour #ReformUK #Conservatives #Westminster #PoliticalPodcastThe purchase of gold and investment in bullion is not FCA regulated nor do they benefit from the protections of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Service. The value of your investment can go down as well as up. Consider the risks involved before choosing to invest. This card is issued by Transact Payments Limited pursuant to a licence by Mastercard International Incorporated Keep up to date with GB News at gbnews.com or on X @GBNEWSBecome a Friend of GB News: gbnews.com/friend Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

History Daily
Margaret Thatcher's Last Election Victory

History Daily

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2026 16:18


June 11, 1987. Britain's Conservative Party wins a third successive general election that ensures that Margaret Thatcher remains Prime Minister. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more. History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

Woman's Hour
Clare Connor, Archers BRCA storyline, Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Woman's Hour

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2026 57:32


The Women's T20 cricket world cup begins on Friday. Nuala McGovern talks to Clare Connor, former England women's captain, now the outgoing Managing Director of England Women. Over her 18 years in the job Clare has overseen the professionalisation of the women's game as well as a big boost in the grassroots participation.Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch is arguing that the Public Sector Equality Duty should be scrapped. This duty exists to make public authorities think about things like discrimination and the needs of people who are disadvantaged, or suffer inequality, when they make decisions about how they provide their services. This is in addition to their legal obligation not to discriminate against protected groups, including women, under the Equality Act. We speak to BBC political correspondent Alex Forsyth. The Archers on BBC Radio 4 has been exploring cancer genetics. When Pip discovered a lump in her breast, old fears were revived for her mother Ruth, who survived breast cancer many years earlier. BRCA genes can lead to a higher chance of developing cancer and Pip begins to worry she may be at risk. Felicity Finch, who plays Ruth Archer, joins Nuala along with Julian Barwell, Professor in Genomic Medicine at The University of Leicester.Sudanese-Australian writer Yassmin Abdel-Magied has written her first novel for adults, At Sea. It's set on an oil rig in the middle of international waters, and is so detailed on the lifestyle and logistics that it's perhaps no surprise that Yassmin worked in the industry after studying mechanical engineering at university. She joins Nuala.

The Winston Marshall Show
“The Criminal Justice System Has Been Corrupted” | Nick Timothy MP

The Winston Marshall Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2026 73:40


In this episode of The Winston Marshall Show, I sit down with Conservative MP and Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy for a conversation on the Henry Novak murder, two-tier justice, Islamism, and the growing crisis of confidence in Britain's institutions.We begin with the public reaction to the Henry Novak case and the riots that followed, examining claims of unequal treatment in policing, sentencing, and media coverage. Timothy argues that political correctness, multiculturalism, and identity-based policymaking have corrupted parts of the criminal justice system, undermining the principle of equality before the law.The conversation explores Islamism, integration, and the failure of successive governments to confront extremist networks. We discuss prison radicalisation, the influence of hardline mosques, the role of the Muslim Brotherhood, and whether Britain's political class has become too afraid to address difficult questions about culture, religion, and national identity.We also debate immigration, deportations, prison reform, free speech, and the future of the Conservative Party, with Timothy outlining his vision for restoring public trust, strengthening the rule of law, and defending Britain's way of life.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------WATCH THE EXTENDED CONVERSATION HERE: https://www.winstonmarshall.co.uk/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapters00:00 Introduction 02:00 Has The Justice System Been Corrupted?04:17 Is Two-Tier Policing Real?09:00 How Woke Ideology Entered British Institutions16:40 Can The Conservatives Be Trusted Again?19:29 Should Foreign Criminals Be Deported?22:47 Mass Immigration & Britain's Prison Crisis27:59 Should Britain Bring Back The Death Penalty?34:15 Islamism Inside British Prisons38:22 What Is Islamism?43:46 The Islam Debate Britain Refuses To Have49:10 Sadiq Khan, Trafalgar Square & Public Prayer58:07 Is Islam Compatible With Britain?1:04:51 Extremist Mosques & Police Failures1:08:30 How Political Correctness Corrupted Policing1:13:25 Final Thoughts

The Big Story
Poilievre's campaign against Alberta separation

The Big Story

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2026 28:17


It's been an interesting past few months for the Federal Conservatives, from several MPs crossing the floor, to reports of inner-circle fighting, to Pierre Poilievre questioning PM Carney's education in economics. In more recent events, the Federal Opposition leader has since claimed that Canada is in a 'full-blown' recession, and has called for unity among Alberta separatists. Host Maria Kestane speaks to Glen McGregor, political correspondent for CityNews to discuss what challenges Poilievre's caucus may return to after the summer recess, and what issues are currently dividing the party. We love feedback at The Big Story, as well as suggestions for future episodes. You can find us:Through email at hello@thebigstorypodcast.ca Or @thebigstory.bsky.social on Bluesky

As It Happens from CBC Radio
The Conservative Party's unity pitch in Alberta

As It Happens from CBC Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2026 62:15


Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre makes his case for Alberta to remain in Canada — and says Liberal governments should shoulder the blame for increasing separatist sentiment in the province where he grew up.The mayor of London, Ontario tells us why he believes the feds should treat addressing homelessness as a nation-building project — and fund it accordingly. A Michigan state highway is renamed in honour of a regiment of Indigenous soldiers who fought in the Civil War — when they weren't even considered U.S. citizens. British Prime Minister Kier Starmer gives tech companies three months to roll out features that would stop children from seeing or sending explicit material online. A Mohawk flight attendant tells us about getting ready to work on what she thought would be another routine commercial flight — and then learning that Rihanna would be on board. We hear from two Liverpudlian golfing buddies whose incredible feats on the course defied 17-million-to-one odds. As It Happens, the Monday Edition. Radio that knows they were not teed off after they teed off.

The Mike Smyth Show
Baldrey's Beat: Kerry-Lynne Findlay vs her Conservative party

The Mike Smyth Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2026 17:01


Conservative Leader Kerry Lynne Findlay going to see Danielle Smith. KLF's takeover of the Conservatives: half of her party members rejected her! Will we see the emergence of a free enterprise coalition party? Guest: Keith Baldrey - Global News Legislative Bureau Chief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guelph Politicast
Open Sources Guelph #572 - June 4, 2026

Guelph Politicast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2026 57:45


This week on Open Sources Guelph we boogey! And yet, there's not much time to celebrate because the news keeps on coming. We will see who won the B.C. Conservative leadership race and talk about what the next steps, and then we will look at a certain prime minister's weak spot when it comes to a very green issue. Closer to home, we have a guest from Guelph city council to talk about, among other things, the next council. This Thursday, June 4, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss: Findlay's Wake. Last weekend, Kerry-Lynne Findlay become the new leader of the B.C. Conservative Party, and there's a lot of hope that this former Harper government member and current subject of an Elections Canada probe might be the unifier that this upstart political party is looking for but, as we've seen, unifying a party of made of small 'c' conservatives and fringe-y cranks is easier said than done, so has Findlay got what it takes? Carney, Climate, Catastrophe? In the year since he's became prime minister, Mark Carney has undone a lot of the climate action policies by his predecessor Justin Trudeau, and we were reminded of that last week when all of Trudeau's old environmental ministers were together in the same room, including Steven Guilbeault who just quit the caucus. Does Carney care about his lack of a climate plan, and does he care about the growing number of objectors in his own party? Ward One is Enough. When it was announced that Mayor Cam Guthrie was not running for re-election, many people looked to Ward 1 Councillor Dan Gibson as a potential replacement. He's not doing it, but he is looking to run again for this current seat, and this week we will tell us why he made that call. Gibson will also talk to us about what he hopes to achieve these next four years, the realities of municipal budgeting and his thoughts on council's closed meeting politics. Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

PolitiCoast
Oldest and craziest candidate wins

PolitiCoast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2026 57:43


Kerry-Lynne Findlay is the new leader of the official opposition, we learn how much FIFA will cost and Carney goes in on AI and out on taxing Netflix and changing environmental assessment laws. Links Kerry-Lynne Findlay elected new leader of B.C. Conservatives | CBC https://conservativebc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/2026-05-30-Conservative-Party-of-BC-Leadership-Results.pdf B.C. MLA Jordan Kealy charged with sexual assault in Fort St. John | CBC News Province, Vancouver, PavCo update cost projections for FIFA World Cup 2026 Costs to host FIFA World Cup 2026 in BC $685M to $729M – Business in Vancouver FIFA releases thousands of Vancouver hotel rooms ahead of 2026 World Cup, but prices may not drop | CBC News Prime Minister Carney launches AI for All: Canada's new national artificial intelligence strategy Overview of Canada's National Artificial Intelligence Strategy: AI for All AI for All, Details to Follow: Government Releases a Big-Spending AI Strategy That Is Still Short on the Specifics That Matter – Michael Geist Carney government presses pause on new environmental-assessment legislation – The Globe and Mail After ‘feedback from thousands,’ Carney government slows down sweeping environmental changes | CBC News Government of Canada announces immediate support to strengthen Canadian culture and ensure Canadian content remains affordable – Canada.ca

In Search of Sanity
Episode #2 With Steve Hilton, Canidate for CA Governor

In Search of Sanity

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2026 53:04


 In Search of Sanity is back. We've started with a guest California's political class would rather we hadn't found. Steve Hilton is Oxford-educated, the son of Hungarian refugees, the man who made the Conservative Party in the UK electable again. Today he is the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for Governor of California. Which is, by any measure, quite a journey. We sit down with Steve for 60 minutes of biography, contradiction, and the question California's political establishment would rather not hear. Can the man who detoxified the Conservatives in Britain do the same for the GOP in America's most progressive state? Joe Tarica, editor of The San Luis Obispo Tribune, joins Mark and Clive. Three people. One conversation. No sacred cows.

This is Vancouver Island
The highs and lows of the spring B.C. legislative session

This is Vancouver Island

Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2026 20:20


There was a lot of news this week about David Eby's meeting with the western premiers, especially Alberta's Danielle Smith. But it was also the last week of the spring B.C. legislative session - so we ask our political panel to share their highs and lows of the session, plus weigh in on the latest interactions between Eby and Smith and the upcoming leadership transition at the B.C. Conservative Party. Our political panel is former Green Party MLA and Tsartlip First Nation member Adam Olsen, former BC Liberal and BC United staffer Andrew Reeve, and former NDP cabinet minister Elizabeth Cull, in conversation with CBC host Gregor Craigie.

Coffee House Shots
Why politics hasn't recovered from 2008 | with Lord Wood

Coffee House Shots

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2026 17:49


There have been a number of critiques of Tony Blair's 5,000-word intervention on Labour and the country this week, but none more astute than Lord Wood's. One of Labour's foremost thinkers, Lord Wood joins James Heale for this special edition of Saturday Shots to discuss where Blair is right, where he is wrong, and why neither the Labour or Conservative Party have recovered from the financial crash. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

POLITICO's Westminster Insider
Why the Conservatives are so cheery: inside the Tory reboot

POLITICO's Westminster Insider

Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2026 37:42


At the local elections, the Conservative Party lost hundreds of councillors and dozens of seats across England, Scotland and Wales, but Kemi Badenoch declared a comeback. So this week, Sascha O'Sullivan goes inside the Conservative Party's hopes for a renewal. She speaks to Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride in Solihull and James Cowling of Next Gen Tories about why they think the Tories can make a revival. Henry Hill, political editor at The Critic, who has spent years covering Conservative politics, and pollster Scarlett Maguire tell Sascha about the flaws in the Tories' plan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Julia Hartley-Brewer
Blair criticises Starmer's Labour for having no plan, the wrong policies on net zero, migration, and growth — and Reform in-fighting as Restore Britain improve in polls

Julia Hartley-Brewer

Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2026 36:17


Tony Blair has dropped a political bombshell on Keir Starmer's desk. In a scathing 5,700-word essay, the former Prime Minister and three-time election winner says Labour has no coherent plan to fix Britain, is governing from a "soft left comfort zone," and will lose the next general election unless it ditches net zero, slashes the welfare bill, stops the boats, and stops pretending that swapping leaders is the same as changing course.Julia Hartley-Brewer is joined by former Conservative Party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who finds remarkably little to disagree with in Blair's brutal assessment, despite their different parties. He breaks down exactly where this government went wrong — arriving with a historic landslide on just 33% of the vote and then standing completely still. No plan. No direction. Just a budget that hammered small businesses with national insurance hikes, a soaring minimum wage, and crippling business rates — the very engine room of British jobs and growth.IDS also reflects on his own record reforming welfare under Universal Credit — cutting between £28 and £32 billion from the budget and delivering the lowest number of workless households since records began — and why Labour's half-hearted attempts to repeat that are doomed to fail.Also: the Makerfield by-election is descending into farce, with Reform and the newly formed Restore Britain tearing chunks out of each other while Andy Burnham eyes the prize. Is this just a parade of oversized egos? Plus, Nicola Sturgeon and the motorhome that apparently nobody saw — for two years, on her mother-in-law's driveway.Julia Hartley-Brewer broadcasts on Talk from Monday to Thursday, 10AM to 1PM.Available on YouTube and streaming platforms, along with DAB+ radio and your smart speaker Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Decibel
An interview with Pierre Poilievre

The Decibel

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2026 30:11


Pierre Poilievre, the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, sat down with The Globe's editorial board for an interview last week. They asked him about a range of issues, from the current state of the Conservative Party to the Alberta separatism movement and tariff-free trade. Patrick Brethour is the editorials editor at The Globe, and he's on the show to discuss what they learned in this exclusive interview. Questions? Comments? Ideas? Email us at thedecibel@globeandmail.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Big Five Podcast
The OQLF's guide on how to cheer on the Montreal Canadiens. Plus: Loto-Québec's legal battle with a $3 million winner

The Big Five Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2026 31:08


Sue Smith is joined by Bonnie Feigenbaum, Conservative Party of Quebec candidate in last provincial election and a lecturer at Concordia & McGill University, media & government relations consultant, and Andrew Caddell, columnist for the Hill Times and President of the Task Force on Linguistic policy. After backing off on the Go Habs Go! message from the buses at the STM, the Office québécois de la langue française has decided to republish a short guide to encourage the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs. Albertans will vote on whether the province should remain a part of Canada when they head to the polls this fall. A group of sex workers in Montreal are calling for a general strike during the Grand Prix weekend to demand better working conditions. Loto-Québec is in the middle of a legal battle over a scratch card worth $3 million between.

Media Storm
Foreign interference: Who bankrolled Brexit and Britain's far-right?

Media Storm

Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2026 47:52


Care about independent and ethical news? Support Media Storm on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! In today's Media Storm, we dive into the shadow world of dark money and foreign interference seeking to take democracy out of our hands. Whether through think-tanks, bot farms, or all-expenses-paid MP trips, malicious actors have plenty of ways to influence our politics from outside. In theory, our politicians are supposed to work for us. They're also supposed to disclose where their money is coming from (and make sure none of it is dirty or sanctioned). But a new report from Open Britain reveals a system with loopholes built into it, and a stark refusal to patch them up by those who stand to profit. Why are US billionaires bankrolling Britain's far-right? Why do high-ranking intelligence officers describe Brexit as Moscow's most successful “active measures” operation in modern British history? And WHY – in light of that – has no government ever comprehensively investigated foreign interference in the 2016 referendum? This episode features Conservative Party fundraiser-turned-whistleblower, Sergei Cristo, who shares his experiences of Russian state attempts to buy British politics. But Russia is not the only culprit. Journalist and broadcaster Sangita Myska joins us to break down her investigations into US and Israeli wealth that is reshaping our political landscape. We also revisit our interview with investigative journalist Sian Norris, about the illiberal causes where moneyed interests of Russia, the US and European aristocrats converge. Dark money is a vast problem in the UK today, and it stems from a culture of financial corruption that is deeply embedded in the City of London. Private schools, football clubs, estate agents and news corporations regularly sell their services to launder dark money. And at the centre of the ‘London laundromat' are the Houses of Parliament. This episode should open your eyes to the dollar-shaped crack in democracy as it exists today. To learn more, visit open-britain.co.uk, where the full report will be published. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Open Britain, a grassroots campaign making democracy work for everyone (not just the rich and powerful)! This episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mathildamall⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) and Helena Wadia (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@helenawadia⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)  The music is by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @soundofsamfire⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us @mediastormpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Rest Is Politics
535. The Ebola Outbreak and the British Far-Right's Next Move

The Rest Is Politics

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2026 43:01


Are Xi and Putin playing Trump? How serious is the new Ebola outbreak, especially after Trump's and Britain's severe cuts to international aid? With Tommy Robinson explicitly telling his supporters to support Reform UK, the Conservative Party, and other right-wing parties ahead of 2029, is this a deliberate strategy to infiltrate mainstream politics and normalise far-right extremism? Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all these questions and more in this week's edition of Question Time. __________ The National Survey: To have your say on the country you want to see, just head to thenationalconversation.org.uk. Go deeper into the world of The Rest Is Politics by signing up for our free newsletter HERE, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis and weekend reads from Alastair and Rory. Join The Rest Is Politics Plus. Start your free trial at therestispolitics.com to unlock exclusive bonus content – including Rory and Alastair's miniseries – plus ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, exclusive newsletters, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Stop overpaying for energy. Switch at fuseenergy.com/politics and get a free TRIP+ subscription. Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restispolitics It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee ✅ __________ Instagram: @restispolitics Twitter: @restispolitics Email: therestispolitics@goalhanger.com __________ Social Producer: Celine Charles Video Editor: Vasco Andrade Assistant Producer: Daisy Alston-Horne Producer: Evan Green Exec Producer: Chris Sawyer General Manager: Tom Whiter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Two-Minute Briefing
Comrade Keir? Starmer's Soviet agenda laid bare at PMQs

The Two-Minute Briefing

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2026 32:23


After a tumultuous two weeks for the Prime Minister, not even an Arsenal Premier League win could turn things around for Sir Keir Starmer ahead of his first PMQs since Labour's devastating local election results.On Wednesday's Daily T podcast, Camilla Tominey and Tim Stanley delve into the fiery exchange in the Commons as Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, said his approach to foreign and economic policy was “like the Soviets won”.Camilla and Tim also look at the Green Party's newest MP Hannah Spencer's first question in the Commons, where she criticised her colleagues for “drinking on the job”, and the conveniently planted question for Starmer regarding Reform leader Nigel Farage's £5m donation from a cryptocurrency billionaire.Meanwhile, Wes Streeting gave his resignation speech in Parliament, warning that the Prime Minister's failures will put Farage in power.Producers: Georgia Coan and Emma WilliamsSocial Media Producer: Conor ClarkSenior Producer: John CadiganExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanVideo Producer: Will WaltersStudio Operator: Meghan SearleEditor: Camilla TomineyHighlightsKemi Badenoch slams Starmer in PMQs, saying PM is ‘hanging on by a thread'Starmer eases Russian oil sanctions, drawing fire over betrayal of Ukraine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

American Ground Radio
Iran Buys Time, Trump Buys Leverage

American Ground Radio

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2026 41:50 Transcription Available


Stay connected with us at americangroundradio.com, on Facebook, and Instagram. You're listening to American Ground Radio with Louis R. Avallone and Stephen Parr. This is the full show for May 19, 2026. We open with the Iran situation from every angle — President Trump paused another planned strike at the request of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE while negotiations continue, but Iran's latest peace proposal still doesn't address the one non-negotiable point: they will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. We dig into whether this pause is genuine diplomacy or strategic deception, why Trump's unpredictability is itself a form of deterrence, why Iran is almost certainly using the ceasefire to dig out its buried missile infrastructure — essentially handing the U.S. a fresh target list — and whether the Iranian people have any realistic chance of overthrowing a regime that will shoot into a crowd to disperse it. In our Top 3 Things You Need to Know, Trump paused a second planned attack on Iran at the request of multiple Middle Eastern heads of state while negotiations continue. Then in Los Angeles, 64-year-old Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong agreed to plead guilty to paying homeless people to register to vote at her personal address — meaning she collected their ballots and could vote them however she chose. We explain why this has nothing to do with whether homeless people can vote and everything to do with fraud. And President Trump dropped his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for a $1.7 billion anti-weaponization fund to reimburse people prosecuted for political reasons during the Biden administration — including January 6th defendants. We play a clip that the White House itself shared this week — a black woman in Cook County, Illinois at a voter board meeting who tells the panel directly that voting is not in danger, that she has voted since she was 18 without a single problem, that her parents could say the same, her grandparents could say the same, and that the constant narrative about suppressed black voters is being used to manipulate the Voting Rights Act when everyone in the room knows it isn't true. We call it one of the most clarifying moments in the entire voter ID debate. Our American Mamas Teri Netterville and Kimberly Burleson react to the Unite the Kingdom March in Great Britain — described as one of the largest peacetime demonstrations in British history, with over 2 million people taking to the streets to say they want their culture, their heritage, and their country back. Prime Minister Keir Starmer branded it a march of thugs, hooligans, and far-right racists. Reporters who showed up found grandparents walking dogs. We talk about what it means when a government criminalizes its own citizens for reposting patriotic content online, why Britain's Conservative Party collapsed and gave way to the new Reform UK movement, and why this is a roadmap — not a foreign curiosity — for what can happen here. We also cover James Comey lecturing Acting AG Todd Blanche about compromising institutional integrity for suggesting there is evidence worth investigating about the 2020 election. We ask the obvious question — where was Comey's institutional integrity when he lied to the FISA court, changed the legal standard for Hillary Clinton in the middle of a press conference, and leaked classified memos to the media? In our Digging Deep segment, we take a hard look at what Lee Zeldin is doing at the EPA — and make the case that it is not only justified but overdue. The EPA was created to solve real problems — air pollution, water pollution, toxic waste — and it largely did. But then it forgot its aim and became fanatical, redoubling its efforts long after the problems were solved. We walk through the Integrated Risk Information System that set formaldehyde standards lower than what the human body naturally exhales, and explain the critical difference between hazard and risk that the EPA abandoned somewhere along the way. For our Bright Spot, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured a landmark $10 million settlement with Texas Children's Hospital — which was illegally performing gender transition procedures on minors and billing Medicaid with false diagnosis codes. The settlement does more than extract a fine. It requires Texas Children's to create the first-ever detransition clinic in the United States — a multidisciplinary medical center designed to help patients reverse as much damage as possible from ideologically motivated procedures they received as children. We talk about what detransition actually looks like, why this clinic will likely become a national destination, and why it took this long. We also cover Kimberly Guilfoyle's enthusiastic promotion of the most technologically advanced McDonald's in Europe opening in Athens — and the Greek internet's very Greek response. And we close with Trinka and Mark Henderson of Gilbert Christian School in Arizona — 40 years and 18 years of teaching respectively, a combined 58 years in education, who walked into what they thought was a staff meeting and found their own retirement party. Trinka said she's had kids of kids. Mark said he'll probably be back as a substitute. May your pursuit of happiness bring you joy. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, visit AmericanGroundRadio.com, and join the conversation at 866-AGR-1776!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CapX presents Free Exchange
Mel Stride on the cost of instability

CapX presents Free Exchange

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2026 46:18


Britain is paying more to borrow than any other major Western economy. So why is Labour preoccupied with internal power struggles? In a special live address, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride delivers his account of Britain's fiscal predicament and the Conservative Party's plan to fix it.Our borrowing costs are the highest in the G7, higher even than Portugal, Spain and Greece – not primarily because of the deficit or the debt stock, but because Britain has become an inflation outlier, and markets are pricing in the risk that the situation gets worse. When Josh Simons stepped aside for Andy Burnham on a single Friday, yields jumped 18 basis points. Stride puts a number on it: Burnham penalty that if sustained would cost the equivalent of £300 per working household.The broader charge sheet against the current government includes: a deficit that ran 75% above inherited plans in Labour's first year and again in its second; a quarter of a trillion pounds in additional borrowing across a single Parliament; fiscal rules changed to permit more borrowing the moment they became inconvenient; and a Prime Minister too weakened by his own MPsto make the welfare reforms even his Chancellor admits are needed.Against this, Stride sets out the Conservatives' golden rule – for every pound of savings identified, at least half goes to deficit reduction – and makes the case that the Tories' plan is the only serious fiscal commitment on offer. Reform's numbers don't add up, he argues, and its representatives have said so themselves on air. Labour's leadership contenders are, in their different ways, each a version of the same problem.Following his speech, the Shadow Chancellor takes questions on quantitative tightening, the triple lock, the OBR's limitations, defence investment and the EU.Stay informed with CapX's unmissable daily briefings from the heart of Westminster. Go to capx.co to subscribe. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Intelligence Matters: The Relaunch
Special Episode - The Political Firestorm at 10 Downing Street: Dr. Alan Mendoza

Intelligence Matters: The Relaunch

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2026 52:55


Michael is joined by Dr. Alan Mendoza, Chief Advisor for Global Affairs for the U.K.'s Reform Party, to explain the political firestorm engulfing Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Labour Party. Dr. Mendoza provides an insider's look at the mounting pressure on Starmer and the momentum behind the Reform Party and firebrand Nigel Farage following recent local election results. He explores the last decade of tectonic shifts in British politics—from the decline of the Conservative Party to the potential for a radical hybrid coalition that could reshape the country's leadership. Dr. Mendoza also analyzes the "Special Relationship" between the U.S. and U.K. through the lens of the Iran war, discussing the growing consternation in Europe and the strategic role Britain must play as Washington navigates a volatile Middle East.

Standing For Freedom Podcast
The UK Just Sent a Message to the Entire West

Standing For Freedom Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2026 8:18


The Conservative Party in the UK lost because it stopped conserving anything. They opened the borders. Expanded government. Embraced globalism. Then acted shocked when voters abandoned them .Reform UK is rising because millions of Britons feel politically homeless.

Full Proof Theology
197 - Connor Tomlinson on Why Britain Is Collapsing and Who Can Save It

Full Proof Theology

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2026 71:54


Show NotesOrder "Offensive Christianity" here - https://offensivechristianitybook.com/jchasedavis.comSupport the show!! - https://www.patreon.com/chasedavisGo to ionlayer.com and use code FPT to get $100 off your first kit.Seven Titans Jeans - https://seven-titans.com/discount/PROOFLegacy Profits Club - https://www.skool.com/legacyprofitscl...Connor Tomlinson on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@ConnorTomlinsonConnor Tomlinson on Substack - https://connortomlinson.substack.com/Follow Connor on X - https://x.com/con_tomlinsonSummaryIs Britain finished, or is it finally waking up? Chase sits down with Connor Tomlinson — British commentator, writer, and former Lotus Eaters host — for a wide-ranging conversation on the collapse of the United Kingdom and the political insurgency rising to meet it. They cover Connor's path from Catholic revert and university free-speech fighter to independent commentator, the dilapidated state of British towns and the NHS, the demographic catastrophe of the Boris wave, and the Pakistani grooming gangs scandal that the state spent decades covering up. Then they dig into the recent local elections, the difference between Nigel Farage's Reform UK and Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain, why Keir Starmer is the most hated prime minister on record but refuses to leave, the House of Lords, and whether the King could actually do anything to save the country. If you want to understand what's happening across the pond and why Connor is more bullish on Britain than he is on America stick around to the end of the show. Support the showSign up for the Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/chasedavisFollow Full Proof Theology on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fullprooftheology/Follow Full Proof Theology on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/fullprooftheology/

The Jon Gaunt Show
KING'S SPEECH SICK PANTOMIME: Starmer Defeated | Kemi on Fire!

The Jon Gaunt Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2026 63:41


KING'S SPEECH SICK PANTOMIME: Starmer Defeated | Kemi on Fire!  #JonGaunt #jongauntTV #live #KingsSpeech #Starmer #KemiBadenoch #NigelFarage #UKPolitics #GeneralElection  What we witnessed today in the House of Commons wasn't a serious plan for the country—it was pure, unadulterated pantomime. A sick, useless waste of time that ignores the reality on our streets.  Keir Starmer looks like a man who won't even be in charge by the end of the week, let alone the end of the year. He's a squatter in Downing Street, presiding over a list of promises that we all know will never happen. The whole circus should have been cancelled. While Kemi Badenoch was absolutely on fire today, it's clear what the British public actually wants: REAL change. Not the scripted theatre of the main parties, but the actual agenda being set by Nigel Farage. He's the one speaking for the people while the "panto" season drags on in Westminster. It's time to cut the nonsense short.  Starmer is finished. We need a General Election, and we need it NOW. What did YOU think of the King's Speech? Was it a farce or a future? Let's get stuck in—have your say in the comments below! Jon Gaunt, jongauntTV, live, King's Speech, Starmer, Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage, UK Politics, General Election, Westminster, Pantomime, Reform UK, Labour Party, Conservative Party, Reaction  #JonGaunt #jongauntTV #live #KingsSpeech #Starmer #KemiBadenoch #NigelFarage #UKPolitics #GeneralElection #Westminster #Pantomime #ReformUK #Labour #Tories #Politics This is political blogging and hard-hitting social commentary from Triple Sony Gold Award-winning talk radio legend, Jon Gaunt — former host on BBC, Talk Radio, and Sky News. On Jon Gaunt TV, we cut through the noise and say what others won't. No political correctness. No censorship. Just real conversations that matter.

Conversations That Matter
Ep 602 - British Columbia Conservative Leadership Candidate Guest: Kerry-Lynne Findlay

Conversations That Matter

Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2026 48:45


Ep 602 - British Columbia Conservative Leadership Candidate Guest: Kerry-Lynne Findlay By Stuart McNish   Former Surrey MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay has put her name forward as a candidate for the leadership of the Conservative Party of British Columbia. Her campaign makes it clear: Findlay is a Conservative. Her website says, “BC Liberal insiders are trying to take over the Conservative Party of BC. The liberals want to steal the Conservative name… and push the same hidden liberal agenda.”    Findlay lays out the differences between liberals and conservatives saying, “BC Liberals voted for DRIPA. BC Liberals created SOGI in schools. BC Liberals created the carbon tax. And the BC Liberals voted to condemn and smear the Freedom Convoy. Let me be clear: Liberals are not taking over our Conservative Party. Not on my watch.”   Findlay served in cabinet in Stephen Harper's government and was the chief opposition Whip under the leadership of Pierre Poilievre. She says as leader she will unite the party and put forward an election platform in keeping with Conservative views.   We invited Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Conservative Party of BC leadership candidate, to join us for a Conversation That Matters about her vision for the party and the province of BC.    You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/ Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Let's Know Things
2026 UK Local Elections

Let's Know Things

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2026 14:04


This week we talk about Keir Starmer, Labour, and the Reform UK party.We also discuss Tories, the Lib Dems, and two-party systems.Recommended Book: Peak by K. Anders Ericsson and Robert PoolTranscriptFor more than 100 years, the British political system has been dominated by two parties: Labour and the Conservative Party, often called the Tories.In practice, that means these two parties, which are center-left and center-right in their leanings, respectively, have tended to shape the direction of British politics and the Overton Window of thinkable proposals—things that might actually happen because they get the requisite support from politicians and the public.These two parties have usually had to work with other, smaller parties in order to get anything done, because the UK has a parliamentary system that often leaves the party with the most representatives lacking enough support to run a functioning government, solo. As a consequence, the Liberal Democrats, which is a fairly centrist party, the Green Party, which focuses on environmentalism and more left-wing concerns, Plaid Cymru (plied KUM-ree), which is the Welsh nationalist party, and the Scottish National Party, which is exactly what it sounds like, have long influenced Labour and the Tories, aligning their votes with whomever gives them a seat at the table. This has given some influence to smaller groups that might otherwise lack representation, though that influence has typically been moderate to meager, at best—the folks in Labour and the Conservative party have run things in the UK, and that's been the case for generations.Things started to shake up a bit in the 20-teens, however, when anti-immigration and EU-skepticism in Britain led to the creation of the far-right Brexit Party, which was co-founded by politician Nigel Farage, who was the leader of the UK Independence Party in the early 2000s and 20-teens, and who was previously a Tory, and Catherine Blaiklock, a politician and hotelier who stepped down from her position as party leader the year after the Brexit Party was founded after anti-Islamic and racist comments she'd previously made online were rediscovered.The Brexit Party existed, almost exclusively, to push for a no-agreement exit from the European Union by the UK, which was considered to be a fairly fringe ideology back then, but which gained a lot of steam as other populists began to add their support to the general concept.Both the government and the existing political structure of the UK was then caught flat-footed, by all indications very surprised by the eventual success of that push, and the UK left the EU on January 31, 2020, after a whole lot of skepticism that it would ever happen, even after a vote in favor of Brexit took place. This represented a serious come to Jesus moment for British politicians, but also British society, and there's been quite a lot of self-reflection and naval gazing in the years since, as the Brexit pullout from the EU has caused quite a lot of economic and diplomatic damage, while also shining a spotlight on numerous simmering issues that were previously overlooked or unaddressed, including the bubbling resentment and at times outright xenophobia felt by a significant portion of the British electorate, and persistent economic issues faced by folks at the middle and lower rungs of society.What I'd like to talk about today is the recent 2026 UK Local Elections, and what they seem to tell us about how things are going in British politics, and what they portend for the current Labour-run administration.—On May 7, 2026, the UK held local elections for 5,066 councillors, 136 local authorities, and six directly elected mayors. Some of these elections were postponed in 2025 to allow for government restructuring, but most of these positions were last up for election in 2022.This election was generally seen as an unofficial referendum on the governing Labour Party, and in particular the current Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who has been in office for just under two years, and who stepped into the role of PM after the role was held by the Conservative Tories for 14 years; five different Prime Ministers taking the reins during that period, including David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and Rishi Sunak.All that changing in leadership is indicative of the chaos the UK government was experiencing at the time, the May 2010 general election leading to a period of significant austerity—the government cutting tons of social programs in order to reduce spending—which then fed into more support for Brexit when some members of the party positioned the economic issues people were facing as the consequence of EU-related immigration, and shortly thereafter, the world succumbed to the Covid-19 pandemic.There was a lot of truly significant political change from about 2010 onward, then, and a lot for the general population to be upset about. The Conservatives held onto power despite it all for those 14 years, but the shift back to Labour was the result of Starmer and his party saying, listen, we hear you, a lot has to change, and we can instigate that change. Trust us.This new election suggests that the majority of voters in the UK feel that the Labour Party hasn't lived up to that trust.In Wales, Plaid Cymru has taken the most seats, 43, but failed to achieve the 49 seat majority they would require to govern, solo.In Scotland, the SNP took the most seats, but also fell short of a majority, netting 58 seats, not the 65 required for a majority.Both of those results are not terribly shocking, though in Wales Labour lost a lot of power, down 35 seats and holding onto just 9. The Conservatives also lost in Wales, holding onto seven seats and losing 22.In Scotland, too, Labor lost some of their influence, losing 4 seats and retaining 17, while the Conservatives lost a whopping 19 seats, holding onto just 12.In England, the change in seat allocation was stunning, though.Labour lost 1406 seats, leaving them with 997, while the Conservatives lost 557 seats, holding onto just 773.Even considering those losses, the biggest story in England is the surge in support for previously small parties, in particular a far-right party called Reform UK, previously called the Brexit Party, and run by the aforementioned proponent of the British exit from the EU, Nigel Farage.Reform UK went from 2 seats to 1,444; a shocking outcome, and one that makes them the biggest winner in this election, by far. They also gained 17 seats, up from zero, in Scotland, putting them at an equal level there with Labour, and they went from zero to 34 in Wales, putting them in a competitive second place after Plaid Cymru, which again, claimed 43 seats.Other, non-Labour, non-Conservative parties also gained seats in this election, though not at the level of Reform UK.The Green Party gained two seats in Wales and six in Scotland, bringing them up to 15 there. They also gained 374 sets in England, bringing them up to 515 total seats, which leaves them in fifth place, but just 258 seats shy of the Conservatives.The Lib Dems, which are the local Centrist party, gained 151 seats, putting them in third. And there was a small surge in independent politicians winning elections, as well, that group now controlling 199 seats, up from 27 before this vote.In the wake of this absolute shellacking of Keir Starmer's Labour party—which again, lost 1406 seats in England, and their opposition, and in many ways their polar opposite, the far-right Reform UK party, gained even more than Labour lost, up 1442 seats—in the wake of that, Starmer has been asked to resign, and as of the day I'm recording this, at least, he's saying that he will not resign, and since there's no formal challenge to his leadership, he can stay in power if he chooses.There is a growing movement amongst Labour lawmakers to ask him to set a timetable for stepping down, however, and there's a pretty good chance that will happen, as the British political system allows parties to change their Prime Minister mid-term without requiring a new election, so they could swap him out for someone else, making him the face of this immense electoral failure, then they could try to change course before the next election, which will happen by mid-August of 2029, during which the vote will be for the 650 seats in the House of Commons, which is currently dominated by Starmer's Labour party.The big takeaway here, from political analysts at least, is that what used to be a reliably two-party system, for over a century that's been the case, is now a five-way race within a cultural context in which voters seem to be a lot less loyal to politicians and parties, and in which a whole lot of previously reliable infrastructure, social systems, and cultural expectations have been recently disrupted.People in the UK seem to be generally unhappy about all sorts of things, and that kind of broad unhappiness often results in more populism, which means general anti-establishment stances and us-versus-them ideologies, including racial, religious, and nationalistic versions of such ideologies, and typically a lot more support for charismatic leadership over leaders who are generally qualified and will probably be good at their jobs because they're experienced and knowledgeable.In other words, you're more likely to get loudmouths and celebrities running for office, successfully, in populist electoral contexts, and you're also more likely to see parties leaning into superficial race, class, and elite-vs-everyman issues, as opposed to running on well-defined approaches to dealing with more complex issues.In the meantime, until that 2029 election, it's likely Farage's Reform UK will bang the drum against the governing Labour party to gather more power in the lead up to 2029, and that other non-Labour, non-Conservative parties will attempt to do the same, newly energized by these results.And depending on how that non-voting-year rallying goes, this could represent a foot in the door for these smaller parties. And we could consequently see more former Labour and Conservative politicians and voters leaving for Reform, for the Lib Dems, for the Greens, and for independents. All of which will make UK politics a lot more chaotic, but also probably more diverse, with power less centralized and the government's makeup a bit less predictable.Show Noteshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_Kingdom_local_electionshttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/08/world/europe/uk-elections-local-takeaways.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/05/08/world/uk-local-elections-resultshttps://apnews.com/article/uk-elections-starmer-labour-what-to-know-eb11ff39b1b74bbaf9f4ef6abfd60f64https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/08/uk/uk-local-election-reform-farage-starmer-intlhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-08/how-bad-for-labour-britain-s-local-elections-in-six-chartshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_Kingdomhttps://www.bbc.com/news/live/c1428pev1n0t#election-englanhttps://www.politico.eu/article/nigel-farage-reform-uk-win-next-general-election/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_United_Kingdom_general_electionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Blaiklockhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_UKhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Faragehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brexit This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

The WorldView in 5 Minutes
Scammers swindled $16 billion from Americans in 2025; North Korea will use nukes if Kim Jong Un is assassinated; Virginia Supreme Court overturns Democrat redistricting

The WorldView in 5 Minutes

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2026


It's Tuesday, May 12th, A.D. 2026. This is The Worldview in 5 Minutes heard on 140 radio stations and at www.TheWorldview.com.  I'm Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldview.com) By Kevin Swanson and Timothy Reed Muslims severed hands of Christian convert Muslims are persecuting more Christians in Uganda, Africa even though Islamists make up only 13% of the population.    A Christian convert was subjected to the severing of both hands when his family found out about his attending Christian services.  Morning Star News reports that 40-year-old Kalegeya Faruku is still undergoing medical treatment from the ordeal that occurred at his family home in Jinja three weeks ago. Please, pray for the persecuted. North Korea will use nukes if Kim Jong Un is assassinated South Korea's National Intelligence Service has just disclosed North Korea's change in policy on the use of nuclear weapons.   As of March 22nd, the North Korean government revised its constitution to command a nuclear strike if the nation's leader, Kim Jong Un, is assassinated, reports the New York Post. The policy change came after Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed by a military strike on February 28, 2026. Big shake-up in the United Kingdom parliament The Reform UK Party made major gains in last week's regional elections in the United Kingdom.  Even though it was not a national election, the Reform Party came out with 30% of the seats while the Conservative Party represents 17%.  The remaining 53% are divvied up by the more left-wing parties:  22% for Labour, 18% for Liberal Democrats, and 12% for the Greens. The right turns more nationalist and populist. The left remains, well, I guess we can say -- left. For the record, the Labour Party lost 18%, and the Conservatives lost 7% in the political bloodbath. Reform Party leader Nigel Farage hailed the wins against both the Labour Party and establishment conservatives. Listen. FARAGE:  “This is a celebration! And what a remarkable couple of days this has been. We're seeing some truly historic shifts in voting patterns in parts of this country --  things, frankly, I could never have dreamt that we'd see. … “Getting elected to public office does carry a burden of responsibility, and that burden of responsibility is because people have placed their faith and their trust in you. And they've done it at a time when I don't think faith, belief and trust in our leaders and our politicians has ever been at a lower level in our country.” Let's all remember: “God is the judge: He puts down one, and sets up another.” (Psalm 75:7) Virginia Supreme Court overturns Democrat redistricting In a 4-3 ruling on May 8th, the Virginia Supreme Court rejected the state's new Congressional maps, which could have given Virginia Democrats ten seats, leaving the Republicans with only one in the U.S. Congress. Republican State Senator Ryan McDougle celebrated the decision, while also blasting Democrats for trying to go around the law. MCDOUGLE:  “You cannot violate the Constitution in order to change the constitution. The Supreme Court made that clear. Voters had a choice of what was on the ballot. Voters did not have a choice of whether the constitutional law was followed.” Virginia Democrats are planning to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is unclear if they will even get a hearing.  Value of gold and the price of an average home Back in 1971, when gold was $35 an ounce, you could pay for a median-priced home with 714 ounces of gold. Now that gold prices are hovering around $4,700 per ounce, a median-priced home would cost you about 85 ounces of gold. Does the number of mortgage lenders reveal troubled economy? Since 2022, employees working for non-bank mortgage lenders have dropped by 40%. That's the lowest level in recorded history, even lower than the 2009-2010 housing crash.  Wolfstreet.com reports that existing home sales have reached the lowest level since 1995. Democrat-run states are in worst financial condition American state governments are facing serious budget shortfalls. . . driving up their spending power per gross state income ratios. Nine of the 10 states in the worst financial condition are Democrat-run states -- the worst of which are California, Illinois, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and New York.  Scammers swindled $16 billion from Americans in 2025 And finally, here's a helpful update for you on financial scams. The U.S. scamming “industry” hit $16 billion last year, up 22% compared to the previous year.  That's four times the value of property stolen in burglaries. Be informed. Protect your family from this criminal activity. The most common scams include the “advanced fee” scam where you're promised some kind of benefit -- a government grant, an inheritance, or some prize with a catch. They ask for a payment up front before you can receive your benefit.  Or there is the “tech support” scam.  You receive a call or a message online from what appears to be a company like Microsoft or some anti-virus company. They tell you they can fix the problem for a fee lest you lose all your data. Some scams will phish for your data, asking for your Social Security number, credit card number, bank account info, or passwords. Whatever you do, do not give out that data, even if they claim to be from a trusted source, Emergency scams or grandparent scams. The voice pretends to be a grandchild or close relative with a problem.  . . They may use a familiar phone number on the caller ID, and drop some information they found about the person on the internet. Remember, caller IDs can be easily faked. Just ask a few questions. They will ask for money. Don't give it to them, without asking a few questions to confirm the identity first. Then there are the IRS and FBI scammers, the toll road scammers, the foreign money exchange scammers, the counterfeit cashier's check scam, and banking scams.  Customers are told to move their money to a safer account. Scammers are almost always working on emotions, getting you frazzled, so you will make a quick and imprudent decision. Micah 6:10-12 speaks of this: “Are there yet the treasures of wickedness in the house of the wicked and the short measure that is an abomination? Shall I count pure those with the wicked scales, and with the bag of deceitful weights?  For her, rich men are full of violence. Her inhabitants have spoken lies and their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.” Close And that's The Worldview on this Tuesday, May 12th, in the year of our Lord 2026. Follow us on X or subscribe for free by Spotify, Amazon Music, or by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldview.com.  Plus, you can get the Generations app through Google Play or The App Store. I'm Adam McManus (Adam@TheWorldview.com). Seize the day for Jesus Christ.

Conversations That Matter
Ep 600 - Conservative Party of BC Leadership Guest: Caroline Elliott

Conversations That Matter

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2026 40:12


Ep 600 - Conservative Party of BC Leadership Guest: Caroline Elliott By Stuart McNish   “We have an urgent need for change in British Columbia, and we need more people with the courage to make that change happen. That's why I've decided to seek the leadership of the B.C. Conservative Party,” says Caroline Elliott, one of the contenders for the leadership of the party. Her campaign is taking aim at the government of David Eby.   Elliott says, “Our province has been driven in the wrong direction for some time now. Not just slightly off-course, but drastically so. It is being pushed aggressively downward by a government on an ideological crusade that has constantly put its activist beliefs before the well-being of British Columbians.” That's a message she believes will resonate with party members and the general public.   At the core of her campaign is a message that being a conservative is something to be proud about. Elliott says, “This is a defining moment for the party. If you're going to lead the party, you have to be proud – not ashamed – to be a conservative.” Elliott goes on to emphasize that creating unity within the party is objective number one.   We invited Caroline Elliott to join us for a Conversation That Matters about her vision for the party and the province.   You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/ Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Conversations That Matter
Ep 598 - Conservative Party of BC Leadership Guest: Iain Black

Conversations That Matter

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2026 39:31


Ep 598 - Conservative Party of BC Leadership Guest: Iain Black By Stuart McNish   In an interview with Vancouver is Awesome in the lead-up to the 2025 federal election, Iain Black stated, “I thought my days as an MLA and Minister were behind me. But witnessing the decline of our community – due to rising affordability issues, increasing crime, and a relentless wave of overdose-related deaths – I could no longer stand idly by.” Despite coming up short in the April federal election for  Coquitlam–Port Coquitlam, Black has retained his passion to answer the call for public service.   Black's resume includes cabinet posts in the BC Liberal government of Gordon Campbell, serving as Minister of Labour, Minister of Small Business, Technology and Economic Development, and Minister of Labour and Citizen Services between 2005 and 2011. He left politics to take on the role of President and CEO of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.   During the early days of the internet explosion in the 1990s, Black spent his professional career in the tech sector. He founded internet companies. Following his eight years at the helm of the Board of Trade, Black returned to the tech sector as President and CEO of Maximizer, a Concord Group company.   We invited Iain Black to join us for a Conversation That Matters about his bid to win the leadership of the Conservative Party of BC.   You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/ Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Conversations That Matter
Ep 596 - Conservative Party of BC Leadership Candidate Peter Milobar

Conversations That Matter

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2026 39:39


Ep 596 - Conservative Party of BC Leadership Candidate Peter Milobar By Stuart McNish   He is one of four sitting MLAs running for the leadership of the Conservative Party of BC: Peter Milobar was first elected to the legislature in 2017 as a BC Liberal in the Kamloops-North Thompson riding and is the current Finance Critic for the BC Conservatives. Prior to running provincially, Milobar was a councillor for two terms in Kamloops before winning and sitting as mayor for nine years, from 2008 to 2017.   In an interview with Rob Shaw, Milobar said, “I have a demonstrated skill set to deal with diverse views around a large board of elected officials. And then I know how to interstitch all of that with a government bureaucracy. So I think that very much sets me up well for the challenges facing British Columbia.”   As he enters the race, 10 people have indicated they want the job. Milobar says, “I bring a level of seriousness to the big issues facing BC. The biggest being the economy and its direct impact on affordability, crime, education and real estate.” As well, Milobar says, “I am uniquely qualified to address reconciliation in BC, and the manner in which Premier Eby and his party are addressing it, is counterproductive.”   We invited Conservative Party of BC leadership candidate Peter Milobar to join us for a Conversation That Matters about his vision for the party and the province.   You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/ Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

Conversations That Matter
Ep 593 - Conservative Party of BC: Running for Leadership Guest: Yuri Fulmer

Conversations That Matter

Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2026 42:20


Ep 593 - Conservative Party of BC: Running for Leadership Guest: Yuri Fulmer By Stuart McNish   The race for Conservative Party of BC leader is on. “British Columbia stands at a crossroads,” says Yuri Fulmer, who was the first to put his name forward for the job. “After years of mismanagement and policies that have failed working families, it's time for a new direction,” states his leadership campaign website.   Fulmer was born in Australia and moved to BC after a backpacking trip. He says, “I fell in love with the gentle and equitable ethos of Canada.” He stayed and went to work at an A&W. By the time he was 22, he bought his first franchise and started to build a business portfolio. He went on to purchase the Mr Mike's Steakhouse and Bar.   Fulmer's company byline is “Business Nicely Done.” And it is clear his political lens is business-focused. His political chops are thinner – he ran in the last provincial election in West Vancouver - Sea to Sky, where he lost to the Green Party candidate. “A learning experience to be sure,” says Fulmer.   We invited Yuri Fulmer to join us for a Conversation That Matters about his bid to lead the Conservative Party of BC and lead the party into the next provincial election.   You can see the interview here https://www.conversationsthatmatter.ca/ Learn More about our guests career at careersthatmatter.ca

RealClearPolitics Takeaway
Virginia State Supreme Court Strikes Down Redistricting Plan

RealClearPolitics Takeaway

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2026 49:43


Andrew Walworth, Tom Bevan, Carl Cannon and RCP Senior Elections Analyst Sean Trende discuss today's decision by the Virginia State Supreme Court to strike down the state's recently passed redistricting plan designed to give Democrats more congressional seats in the 2026 midterms. Also, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) said on a recent podcast that it's impossible to “earn” a billion dollars in America, and that such a fortune could only be acquired through some sort of theft. Then, Greg Swenson, chairman of Republicans Overseas UK and cofounder of the Hamilton Society, joins the guys to discuss yesterday's local and regional elections in the UK, where the Reform UK Party made big gains against both the Labour and the Conservative Parties, and the implications of the election results for the future of the MAGA movement in the U.S. Next, they talk about the first-ever “Enhanced Games” to be held in Las Vegas later this month, where elite athletes will compete using performance enhancing drugs banned by other international sports federations. And then finally, they dish up their “You Cannot Be Serious” stories for the week. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Politicrat
"Reform" Of A Lifelong Forever Racist Party In The UK; Tennessee, Virginia, Louisiana Today....The Whole USA Tomorrow

The Politicrat

Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2026 128:06


On this new episode of THE POLITICRAT daily podcast Omar Moore on the UK council election results and the racism of multi-millionaire Nigel Farage and The Reform Party. Plus: The folly of Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch. And: Brexit, a brief history. Also: Tennessee, Virginia, Louisiana today....the whole USA tomorrow - the attack on Black people in the name of white power and consolidation. Extra: An incredible event involving a Black "Guy" and a white "Guy", exactly 20 years ago today, at the BBC.WARNING: This episode contains foul language. Listener discretion is advised.Recorded May 8, 2026.Subscribe on Substack: https://popcornreel.substack.comSubscribe on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thepoliticratpodPROGRAM NOTE: On Tuesday May 12 at 12pm Pacific on Substack Live (https://popcornreel.substack.com) please join Omar in conversation with author Scott Kurashige about his new book "American Peril: The Violent History Of Asian-American Racism"BUY MERCH FROM THE POLITICRAT STORE:https://the-politicrat.myshopify.comBUY BLACK!Patronize Black-owned businesses on Roland Martin's Black Star Network: https://shopblackstarnetwork.comBLACK-OWNED MEDIA MATTERS:(Watch Roland Martin Unfiltered daily M-F 6-8pm Eastern)https://youtube.com/rolandsmartin

The John Batchelor Show
S8 Ep838: 14/16: Simon Constable analyzes potential Labour Party leaders Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner. He notes that voters still find the Conservative Party untrustworthy despite Labour's internal turmoil and perceived failures.

The John Batchelor Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2026 6:46


14/16: Simon Constable analyzes potential Labour Party leaders Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner. He notes that voters still find the Conservative Party untrustworthy despite Labour's internal turmoil and perceived failures.1705

The John Batchelor Show
S8 Ep840: SCHEDULE THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 5-6-2026. 1903 PERSIAN EMPIRE

The John Batchelor Show

Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2026 5:01


SCHEDULE THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, 5-6-2026.1903 PERSIAN EMPIRE1/16: Mary Kissel discusses Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz as a tactic to divert negotiations from its nuclear program. She also addresses Vladimir Putin's paranoia and Ukraine's drone technology.2/16: Mary Kissel examines the Maduro regime's refusal to step down in Venezuela. She highlights Cuba's role in propping up regional autocrats while hosting Chinese intelligence facilities and maintaining ties with Russia.3/16: Professor John Yoo argues California's high energy prices result from sacrificing affordability for climate ideology. This approach ignores natural resources like the shale deposits in the middle of the state.4/16: John Yoo details organized attempts to intimidate the Supreme Court through leaks and threats. He also explains the President's constitutional authority to unilaterally terminate international treaties like the NATO alliance.5/16: Rebecca Grant highlights the US Navy's dominance in clearing the Strait of Hormuz and sinking Iranian fast boats. These operations signal to China that the US controls vital sea lanes.6/16: Charles Burton criticizes proposals for AI cooperation with China, calling it a one-way technology transfer. He warns of espionage, citing the demise of Nortel as a warning against sharing high-end technology.7/16: Scott Harold analyzes Prime Minister Takaichi's "proactive pacifism" and assertive regional security efforts. She must manage domestic concerns over a weakening yen and a declining population while shifting resources to defense.8/16: Scott Harold discusses Japan's $10 billion lending initiative to counter Chinese influence in Asia. He also explores Japan's efforts to diversify energy sources, including nuclear power and importing American LNG.9/16: Henry Sokolski critiques potential US concessions allowing Iran to enrich uranium, warning of rapid breakout capabilities. He also flags Turkey's ICBM development as a signal it is pursuing nuclear weapons.10/16: Henry Sokolski warns that Sentinel program delays could lead to a four-fold expansion of the US nuclear arsenal. He also urges honesty regarding Israel's nuclear weapons to allow for public discussion.11/16: Michael Bernstam predicts a global oil "tipping point" by late May due to the Strait of Hormuz closure. Shortages in refined products like jet fuel and diesel are particularly critical.12/16: Michael Toth attributes California's high energy costs to political ideology rather than global events. These "self-inflicted wounds" have caused a middle-class exodus and potential shortages of materials like asphalt.13/16: Simon Constable reviews surging commodity prices and the threat of famine in North Africa. He also discusses UK local elections, framing them as a protest vote against Keir Starmer's leadership.14/16: Simon Constable analyzes potential Labour Party leaders Andy Burnham and Angela Rayner. He notes that voters still find the Conservative Party untrustworthy despite Labour's internal turmoil and perceived failures.15/16: Bob Zimmerman explores rumors of SpaceX acquiring land in Louisiana to exit California. He also details technical delays for NASA's Artemis program and ongoing "technical issues" with Boeing's Starliner capsule.16/16: Bob Zimmerman reports on an unexpectedly weak solar cycle and its link to climate. He also covers China's new space regulations and Russia's recent test flight of a suborbital rocket.

Leading Boldly into the Future
"When Loyalty is the Real Betrayal" with Dr. Lisa Cameron in Scotland - UK Parliament

Leading Boldly into the Future

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2026 67:16


What happens when the core of your belief system clashes with the expectations of political power? The journey of Dr. Lisa Cameron, the UK's first clinical psychologist elected to Parliament, provides a visceral answer.In this powerful conversation, Dr. Cameron details the high-stakes moment that forced her to choose principle over party. Her decision to stand with an abuse victim—a conflict that led her to defect from the Scottish National Party (SNP) to the Conservative Party—came with a monumental cost. Discover how this political defection resulted in real threats to her family's safety, forcing them into hiding and installing steel doors in their home.Beyond the personal crisis, explore how Dr. Cameron leveraged her background in psychology and her focus on the greater good to shift her political mission toward AI regulation and frontier technology. Learn how she draws strength from her faith and the leadership of Nelson Mandela to define what it truly means to be a bold leader in a radically changing world—one who is willing to sacrifice everything for their convictions.Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review & share! https://anne-pratt.com

Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth
More Rosebud - Gyles's Diaries episode 40

Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2026 50:41


An action-packed edition of Gyles's diaries, from 1974 and 75. Gyles masquerades - very convincingly - as the European Monopoly Champion, and wows the crowds in New York City. He tosses the world's smallest pancake live on television. Margaret Thatcher is elected Leader of the Conservative Party, and on the domestic front, Gyles and Michele become parents for the first time. It's a momentous year, and it's why the Rosebud Family love tuning in on Tuesdays for Gyles's diaries! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Explaining History (explaininghistory) (explaininghistory)
The Death of Britain's Two-Party System – A Century in the Making

Explaining History (explaininghistory) (explaininghistory)

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2026 34:34


In this episode of the Explaining History Podcast, I examine the slow-motion collapse of the political order that has defined British politics for a century – and what is likely to replace it.The term "political earthquake" gets overused. What is happening in Great Britain is more like a once‑in‑a‑century end of a political order. It began in 2024 with the death of the Conservative Party – a party that is unlikely to restore itself. And it will continue over the next few years with the death of the Labour Party.The May local elections, just a week away, will mark a major step. Labour is almost certain to lose two of the places it has dominated for generations: Wales (for a century) and London (for half a century). But this isn't just about one bad election night. It is the culmination of decades of neoliberal economics, deindustrialisation, austerity, and the systematic destruction of any alternative vision within the mainstream parties.I draw a historical parallel with the last time Britain's party system realigned: the years after the First World War, when the Liberal Party – the party of 19th‑century capital, free trade, and limited government – collapsed, replaced by a two‑party system of Labour and Conservatives. That system, cemented in 1945, survived for nearly eighty years. Now it is dying.The culprits are not just individual leaders. Thatcherism broke union power, atomised communities, and left Britain poorer and more unequal. The 2008 financial crisis blew up the economic assumptions of that model. Brexit smashed Britain's role as a transatlantic bridge between Washington and Brussels. Austerity killed hundreds of thousands, collapsed public services, and turned the country into a nation in de‑development. The Labour right's merciless destruction of the Corbyn movement left the party in the hands of a centrist technocrat, Keir Starmer – a man who, despite his blandness, has gleefully embraced racist rhetoric on immigration, supported Israel's genocide in Gaza, and handed state functions over to private equity vultures.Starmer's Labour has tried to tack to the right, hoping that voters will hold their noses and vote for "not far‑right". But that strategy is failing. In recent by‑elections, voters ignored Labour's warnings and voted Green or Plaid Cymru – proving that the old "vote for us or you'll get the fascists" threat no longer works.So what comes next? The beneficiaries are two very different parties. Reform UK – funded by a reclusive Bitcoin billionaire, backed by the propaganda channel GB News – offers a populist, proto‑fascist nationalism. The Green Party – untainted by private donations, hostile to the tabloid press, and offering a genuine left‑wing economic alternative – has already won a stunning by‑election on an anti‑racist, cost‑of‑living platform.The next decade could see Britain's political landscape transformed. A two‑party system of Reform and Greens is possible – though each would feel like an enemy occupation to the other side's voters. What is certain is that the old order is being taken out to a field and put out of its misery. And what caused it? Five decades of neoliberalism – an economic project that both main parties embraced, whose contradictions they are now incapable of addressing.Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share.▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive ContentBecome a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory▸ Join the Community & Continue the ConversationFacebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcastSubstack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com▸ Read Articles & Go DeeperWebsite: explaininghistory.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Explaining History (explaininghistory) (explaininghistory)
The Transnational Far Right – Hate, Vigilantism, and the Mainstreaming of Extremism

Explaining History (explaininghistory) (explaininghistory)

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2026 40:20


**In this episode of the Explaining History Podcast, we are joined by Wendy Via of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism – a former Southern Poverty Law Center staffer – to discuss a new report on the transnational activities of far-right and anti-migrant groups around the world.**We often think of hate and xenophobia as local phenomena, but just like organised violence, the far‑right has become increasingly internationalised. The internet, political crises, and economic uncertainty have allowed extremist groups to learn from one another, share strategies, and normalise ideas that were once relegated to the fringes.Wendy explains how the movement has become more sophisticated in its branding. Neo‑Nazis still exist, but they no longer openly quote *Mein Kampf*. Instead, they speak of "protecting our culture" and "saving our families". The "great replacement" conspiracy theory – once confined to obscure writers – is now pushed by politicians and mainstream commentators, giving cover to unspoken reactionary ideas.We explore the alarming mainstreaming of far‑right politics. In Britain, the Conservative Party has moved from ostracising Enoch Powell to rehabilitating his ideas. In the United States, Trump's open demonisation of Mexican immigrants – "they're rapists" – did not end his campaign; it became a template for others. Across Europe, Latin America, and beyond, leaders have taken cues from Trump, turning immigration into an existential threat.The report also examines the rise of vigilante groups – self‑appointed militias patrolling borders and neighbourhoods. While there is no single centralised command, these groups communicate constantly, learning from each other's tactics. Political leaders who call immigrants "the enemy" provide implicit encouragement, and wealthy figures like Elon Musk amplify hateful rhetoric, attracting young men – the demographic most vulnerable to far‑right extremism.Yet there is hope. Hungary's recent election showed that people can push back against autocracy, even if the new leader remains conservative. A UK by‑election expected to be won by the far‑right Reform Party was instead won by the Green Party on an explicitly anti‑racist, economic populist platform. Across the world, countries are standing up to Trump and his allies, defending their sovereignty. By and large, people are decent – and the far‑right's gains are not inevitable.**Topics covered:**- The transnational nature of far‑right extremism- The mainstreaming of the "great replacement" conspiracy theory- From Enoch Powell to the modern Conservative Party- Trump's role in normalising hate- Vigilante groups and their cross‑border communication- Elon Musk's influence on young men- Hungary's rejection of Orbán's corruption- The UK Green Party's anti‑racist by‑election victory- Where to find hope in a dark political landscape---*Wendy Via is co‑founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. Visit globalextremism.org for resources and to support their vital work.**If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting us – we are migrating from Patreon to Substack. More details soon.*Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through critical conversations and expert interviews. We connect the past to the present. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and share.▸ Support the Show & Get Exclusive ContentBecome a Patron: patreon.com/explaininghistory▸ Join the Community & Continue the ConversationFacebook Group: facebook.com/groups/ExplainingHistoryPodcastSubstack: theexplaininghistorypodcast.substack.com▸ Read Articles & Go DeeperWebsite: explaininghistory.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coffee House Shots
Why is Starmer so unpopular? with Lewis Goodall

Coffee House Shots

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2026 28:22


Opinion polls consistently show Keir Starmer as one of the most unpopular Prime Ministers in history. His critics point to inertia and a lack of vision, while his supporters argue that media spin is harming the image of a decent man. Less than two years on from Labour's landslide victory, broadcaster Lewis Goodall joins James Heale to try to answer the question 'where did it all go wrong?' – a subject which Lewis explores in a Channel 4 Dispatches documentary. Lewis explains the factors at play, from Starmer's personality and Labour party politics to the effect that the Conservative Party's implosion had on Labour's preparedness for government. Is Starmer a politician from a bygone era? Or, following on from a run of unpopular Tory leaders, is modern British politics simply ungovernable?Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Megan McElroy.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Diary Of A CEO by Steven Bartlett
Pierre Poilievre, The Next Prime Minister of Canada?: The Economy Is About To Collapse!

The Diary Of A CEO by Steven Bartlett

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2026 115:39


The Man Who Could Lead Canada By 2029: Pierre Poilievre On Trump, Tariffs & Why You Still Can't Afford A Home Pierre Poilievre is the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and Leader of the Opposition. First elected to Parliament at 25, he has spent over 2 decades in Canadian politics - winning the Conservative leadership in 2022 with a record 68% first-ballot victory. If the polls hold, he could be Canada's next Prime Minister. He explains:  ◼️ Why you still can't afford a home, and the 1 policy change that would fix it overnight  ◼️How governments are quietly destroying your savings and his plan to reverse it before it's too late  ◼️Why the West is selling its resources cheap and who's really profiting from it  ◼️ Why self-sacrifice, not self-interest, is the shocking key to building a better society  ◼️ The lesson his mother's scars taught him about never hiding who you are 00:00 Intro 02:29 Is World War III Closer Than We Think? What The Power Shift Reveals 04:23 Why Is The U.S. Pulling Back From Allies—And What Happens Next? 06:44 What's Really Driving Tensions Between Canada And The U.S.? 08:36 U.S. Vs. Iran: How This Conflict Could Escalate Fast 12:08 If Trump Asked For Help—Would The Answer Change Everything? 12:53 How Does This All End? The Most Likely Global Scenario 14:58 What Would You Actually Do In Trump's Position? 17:00 Behind The Scenes: What Is Pierre's Real Relationship With Trump? 18:29 How Canada's Economy Could Be Fixed Faster Than You Think 19:27 What Happens Next Might Surprise You 20:19 From Adoption To Power: How Pierre's Story Shaped His Politics 23:16 Meeting His Biological Parents: The Moment That Changed Everything 30:43 Why He Chose Politics—And What Most People Get Wrong 35:55 Is The System Rigged? Socialism Vs. Capitalism Explained 38:32 Why You Can't Afford A Home—And Who's Really Responsible 46:05 Why Canada Is Falling Behind—And What It Means 49:03 What This G7 Country Gets Right (And Why It Matters) 53:26 The Silent Crisis: Birth Rates, Immigration, And Jobs Colliding 57:27 AI And Jobs: What Happens To The Next Generation? 01:04:36 If Elected In 2029—Here's How Pierre Says He'd Change Everything 01:08:40 Is Immigration Being Used To Win Elections? 01:13:19 Ads 01:16:06 The Biggest Threat To The Western World—No One Agrees On This 01:18:37 Canada And Nuclear Weapons: What's The Real Policy? 01:19:36 China, The Arctic, And The Threat Few Are Talking About 01:22:42 Why Conservatives Lost—The Real Reason Behind The Election 01:24:42 After The Loss: What He Learned When It Was Over 01:27:32 Did Trump Change The Election Outcome? Here's The Truth 01:28:46 How Stoicism Cuts Through Political Chaos 01:30:37 Reading His 20-Year-Old Self—Have His Beliefs Changed? 01:33:55 DEI And “Woke” Politics: Why He Says It's Dividing Society 01:42:52 Fatherhood And Politics: How His Daughter Changed Everything 01:45:41 Raising A Child With Autism - What It Teaches You About Leadership Enjoyed the episode? Share this link and earn points for every referral - redeem them for exclusive prizes: https://doac-perks.com  You can follow Pierre, here: Instagram - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/8FIkCAa  X - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/4L4gTnR  YouTube - https://link.thediaryofaceo.com/uscsft  The Diary Of A CEO: ◼ Join DOAC circle here - https://doaccircle.com/  ◼ Buy The Diary Of A CEO book here - https://smarturl.it/DOACbook  ◼ The 1% Diary is back - limited time only: https://bit.ly/3YFbJbt  ◼ The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards (Second Edition): https://g2ul0.app.link/f31dsUttKKb  ◼ Get email updates - https://bit.ly/diary-of-a-ceo-yt  ◼ Follow Steven - https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb  Sponsors: Stan - Visit https://coach.stan.store/?ref=stevenbartlett&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=episode3  Wispr - Get 14 days of Wispr Flow for free at https://wisprflow.ai/steven   Ketone - https://ketone.com/STEVEN for 30% off your subscription order

Joe Rogan Experience Review podcast
518 JRE Review of Pierre Poilievre

Joe Rogan Experience Review podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2026 35:40


Pierre Poilievre is a Canadian politician and leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, known for his sharp critiques of government spending, central banking, and what he calls the erosion of individual freedoms. Rising through the political ranks at a young age, Poilievre has built a reputation as a direct and highly disciplined communicator, often focusing on economic issues, inflation, housing affordability, and personal responsibility. In this episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Pierre Poilievre and Joe Rogan discuss the state of Canada's economy, the role of government in everyday life, free speech, media narratives, and the broader cultural shift happening across Western countries. The conversation explores the tension between government control and individual autonomy, as well as Poilievre's vision for restoring economic freedom and accountability. The Joe Rogan Experience Review breaks down the key themes, moments, and online reaction from this episode, helping you separate signal from noise and understand why this conversation is generating attention across political and cultural spaces. Thanks to this weeks sponsors: Go to RocketMoney.com/JRER to help monitor your spending, find and cancel unwanted subscriptions. Go to HIMS dot com slash JRER for your personalized ED treatment options! For more Rogan exclusives support us on Patreon patreon.com/JREReview www.JREreview.com For all marketing questions and inquiries: JRERmarketing@gmail.com Please email us here with any suggestions, comments and questions for future shows.. Joeroganexperiencereview@gmail.com  

The Joe Rogan Experience
#2470 - Pierre Poilievre

The Joe Rogan Experience

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 19, 2026 149:07


The Honourable Pierre Poilievre is a Canadian politician serving as the leader of the Conservative Party and leader of the Official Opposition. He has been the Member of Parliament for Battle River—Crowfoot since August 2025.www.conservative.ca/pierre-poilievre/www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/Pierre-Poilievre(25524) Perplexity: Download the app or ask Perplexity anything at https://pplx.ai/rogan. Visible. Live in the know. https://www.visible.com/catfished Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices