Podcast appearances and mentions of ken clarke

Late last summer, Darren Tierney stepped into the newly created role of Permanent Secretary at a pivotal moment for the organisation. In a new episode of Statistically Speaking our host Miles Fletcher sits down with Darren to talk about what happens next.    TRANSCRIPT   MILES FLETCHER Hello and welcome to another episode of Statistically Speaking, the official podcast of the Office for National Statistics. I'm Miles Fletcher.   Now, if you've followed the UK news much over the past year, you'll know the ONS has been under more scrutiny than at any point in its history, questions about trust, priorities, its core economic data and whether the organisation has simply been trying to do too much at once, have all been very publicly aired.   Today's episode is about what happens next. Late last summer, Darren Tierney stepped into the newly created role of Permanent Secretary at a moment when some of the UK's most relied upon statistics, especially those based on the Labor Force Survey, were under real pressure. In this conversation, we'll talk about Darren's background in government, running large, complex public services and helping to craft and enact key policies. We'll explore how data has shaped his career so far, and what he found when he arrived at the ONS. We'll also dig into some of the hardest questions facing the organisation, and what absolutely has to be fixed first, what may need to stop, how user expectations are being balanced with that and how full confidence in official statistics can be restored. This isn't just an internal reset. What the ONS does and how well it does it matters to policymakers, businesses and the public alike. So join us as we talk about focus, priorities, and the road ahead.   So then Darren, to begin at the beginning, you're not an economist or statistician by profession yourself. What motivated you to take leadership of what is the central organisation in UK statistics?   DARREN TIERNEY Sure, well look as a non-statistician you can imagine I was a little bit daunted when this prospect first came along for precisely that reason.  I was kind of worried that maybe not being a statistician or an economist might be a real drawback but as I thought more about the job, and more about what was needed for the organisation at the time, and with the split of the roles, I thought actually, I can really help. But what really drew me to the role was that although I'm not a statistician, Iv'e been an avid consumer of ONS products for the 25 years that I've been a policy wonk in Whitehall. And going from a good policy professional to a great one, requires both access to good data and also a real understanding of it and knowing how to use it. And it's that background that kind of helped me and really got me into it, and so I saw it as a real opportunity to come and help an organisation that really couldn't be any more consequential for the UK.   MILES FLETCHER The Devereux review said that what was needed was someone with really serious operational experience, having run serious civil service operations, and you bring plenty of that. Could you just detail some of that? You've had a very strong rise, you know, through the ranks of the civil service. Just trace that for us, if you would.   DT Yeah. So I started life in what was the old Prescott empire of DETR, which was environment and transport in the regions as a policy wonk working on aviation. I then went and joined the Ministry of Justice, where I spent three years in the private offices of Harriet Harman, Jack Straw and Ken Clarke, and that kind of real frontline policy making, as it were, is the thing that I did a lot of in the first half of my career.   The second half of my career, which is much more relevant to the ONS, was centred around transformation and change. And again, I spent about 12 years or so in the MOJ, and my senior career there was about transforming systems and running big programs. And I went from there to international trade, just after the Referendum, where like a lot of officials at the time, I was quite keen to run to where the energy or the fire was after Brexit. But I didn't fancy working DExEU, and this new department called Trade seemed quite interesting. So I went there, and again, this was a kind of brand new department, and it grew from a few hundred people to about four and a half thousand. And so that kind of building and running the department as a strategy director for investments and exports,  I guess those two experiences in justice and trade are the two that I rely on most in this role.   MF So you spent time in the corridors of power then, the ministerial heights of the civil service, but also having to try and make the machine run efficiently as well, and to deliver public services and achieve policies in the real world. What role has data played in that? And what sort of statistics were you using? What sort of insights were you getting? Can you share some experiences of how that's shaped your career, and your understanding, particularly of the job in hand here at the ONS.   DT Sure, I guess the job where it was most relevant was when I was in justice, where I worked in civil and family policy, Legal Aid and supporting on prison reform, and particularly on youth justice reform, and maybe that's a good example to pull out. Justice is one of those areas where people have very strong views about what the right policy prescription is, but there's often quite a lack of evidence that goes behind some of these strong policy positions, if I can put it like that, and one of the things that bedevilled us was trying to turn very strong ministerial desire for action across the human justice system into something that was evidence based, and where we could point to proof that these things would work, and we did that several times in the youth justice system.   Perhaps the one that I look back on most fondly in the youth estate...We were constantly telling ourselves, and indeed the world, that kids in the youth estate were getting thirty hours a week of education, and that was true in the sense that that's what we were buying. We were procuring thirty hours a week from providers, but the kids in the estate were not getting thirty hours a week and we didn't really know until we sent in a team of researchers from the MOJ analytical team to do some surveys, and then we also analysed some of the ROI coming out of that estate. And of course, what we discovered was that although we were buying thirty hours of education, it was always being disrupted by all the other services that these kids needed to access. So every dentist, every doctor, every lawyer that was coming in to interact with those kids, that was happening during what would otherwise be the school day, but we didn't really know that. And for years, we were kind of running this system and telling ourselves and indeed telling the world, that this was what was going on, but having analyzed that system and got ourselves some real data we were able to change that system so that it was education first, and all of those other ancillary services would take place outside of the school day. So sometimes it can be quite basic bits of analysis that can result in the biggest changes.   MF I guess the lesson there is, we always need to never totally trust the data we've got and find better insights and better ways of looking at things. And I guess that leads us into the challenge here at the ONS. What were your first impressions when you took the plunge in, suffice to say, quite interesting circumstances in the earlier part of 2025. What did you make of your earliest days here at the ONS and formulating what needed to be done?    DT  Your characterization of it is right. Before I even arrived, I was talking to a lot of the stakeholders, including Robert Devereux and others, and in doing that and in reading around the issues, I ended up getting quite a negative view of what was going on, perhaps understandably, because that was what was being reported. So I was expecting an organization that was perhaps much more kind of browbeaten than the one I found. And that's not to sound complacent at all, but the thing that I was surprised at when I arrived was just the desire for progress, for action, for us to kind of turn the page, and for us to get back to being a respected NSI. And that that sort of energy that I found amongst the senior team was great because I was expecting to have to do quite a lot of jigging up of the system to get us into that mode, but actually, when I arrived, people were already there. So that was my first impression. My second impression really was just the quality of the people here, the skills, the experience and the expertise here at the ONS is genuinely inspiring. And I said this to Civil Service World a few weeks ago. We abuse the phrase "world class" in Whitehall, we often claim things are world class when they're not, but we do have some genuine world class expertise in the ONS and I was genuinely inspired when getting to meet some of those people during the first few days and weeks.   MF It sounds as though people had a good idea of what needed to be done, what was coming out in the media, and of the various inquiries that took place last year, was that the general feeling was that ONS had become spread too thin, and needed to prioritize on those things that ONS is best known for. It does have a worldwide reputation for, crucially, what people most rely upon it to get it right, prioritizing those. Was that what emerged?   DT It really was. And that sense that getting back to the core business of an NSI (National Statistical Institute) was what people were people were really hungry for us to do. I think there is a danger when saying something like that, of sounding like no one valued that hugely innovative work that happened during the pandemic. And that's definitely not the case. I think the reputation of the ONS developed during the pandemic for innovation, for fleet footedness, and of doing some brilliant work in support of the country at a time when it was most needed, is genuinely well recognized across the system. But I think alongside that, there was a sense that perhaps the organisation took its eye off the ball on the core functions of an NSI. And certainly, in my first few weeks when I went to see the Governor of the Bank and the Chancellor, they were really clear that what they need from us right now, is a real focus back on those core economic statistics and population statistics. So yeah, that was a very strong sense in those first few weeks   MF But of course, that means stopping doing some things. What is being stopped so far? What do you think is going to have to stop? How is that process proceeding?   DT So alongside my arrival, and just before, the organization had done some useful internal things to prioritise. So we moved some money around from the IDP programme.   MF That's the Integrated Data Programe, bringing in data from other parts of government.     DT And as that programme was coming to an end, we moved some resource from that. We also moved some people from one of our specialist hubs, to get them behind the recovery plans. There was some kind of internal prioritisation as it were, that happened as I was arriving, which was essential really, just to get us on the front foot, to then begin the recruitment of 150 extra people to come and work behind the recovery plans, and we've got around one hundred of those in place, and in Q! This year we will hire the rest. But that wasn't sufficient, so alongside that we made plans for prioritizing our outputs and that resulted in the kind of engagement that we have been doing for the last few weeks. So that process is still underway, and we are hoping in the next few weeks to bring some of those elements to a conclusion. I mean, I think inevitably, as we've done that, there are lots of things that people would like us to keep doing, but I hope they understand, and in deciding what to de-prioritise, again, there's a risk that people think that no one values that work. And of course, that's not true. There are tonnes of people out there who really, really value the output that we might stop, but my message to them is that we really need to focus now, it's quite existential for us to focus on the recovery plans on economic and population statistics, to get those right. There won't be any new money coming our way, so we'll have to prioritize internally. None of that necessarily means that it will be forever, but it is important that we do it, so we're on top of what we need to be on top of for the next period.   MF It's clear that the pressure is ONS, particularly to get those core economic statistics right, and we'll talk a little bit more about the detail on that. But firstly, on this broad subject of user expectations. Parliament essentially asks the ONS to do two things; that's to provide the statistics to help policy makers, but also to inform the public as well on social and economic issues. Is there a danger in these circumstances, when demands from the bank and the Treasury are to get the first part of that right, is there a risk with the public interest, data which people access to form their own judgment. Is there a risk of that taking second place?   DT I think there is a risk of that, but we're very alive to it. And one of the good things that we did towards the end of last year is we were finalizing our mission statement. And in kind of doing that consultation on that mission statement internally, one of the phrases that we added at the end of our mission statement was to inform the public, and that was  a deliberate decision to remind ourselves about that statutory underpinning that we have, but also to remind ourselves that we can't just focus on one thing. So as much as we need to prioritize, I'm very clear that we have more than one function. We're not just an Economics Institute, we do far more than that, and we will continue to do more than that.  And that business to inform the public is absolutely core to what we're about. So your right to raise it as a risk, but I think it's one that we've clocked, and one that we're very clear about.   MF   Okay, let's focus on one aspect of the turnaround plans in progress at the moment, which has attracted more attention than any single issue facing the ONS currently, and that's the very important Labour Force Survey (LFS). That's how the employment figures for the UK essentially have been complied for some decades now. It's one of the biggest, if not the biggest, regular household survey in the country, depended on by policy makers, economic commentators and, of course, politicians as well. It got itself into a bit of a state, didn't it? The response rates, it's not too dramatic to say, collapsed during the wake of the pandemic. How important is getting that right among your priorities, and what is progress to date, and what still needs to be done?   DT You're right to raise that. I mean, I've been saying to people that there isn't one single thing that we will fix in the ONS where we will declare victory. This will be an ongoing effort and continuous improvement. But if there was one thing that is quite totemic in the recovery it will be the labour force survey and the transformed labour force survey. So there's a considerable amount of effort across the organization in getting behind both of those bits of work. So it is quite totemic. You're right. It's the single biggest thing that the bank and the Treasury would like us to get on top of, and it also does go to credibility, because of the credibility of the response rates. So it is hugely important. I've been really impressed by the quality of the work that's been going on to try and get on top of it. And the team that's there is absolutely laser focused, doing both of those things at the same time. So the first things is fixing the current labour force survey as far as we can, and they've made some real progress with that, so getting response rates back up to pre covid levels. We've now got a field force workforce at similar levels, and we're starting to see some real benefit from that. So the OBR at the budget included a reference to the LFS in their budget report where they said they now have more confidence in the survey and I think that's real testament to the amount of work that has gone into it. But alongside that, I think what we do recognize is that the current LFS isn't sustainable in its current setup, so that's why we are working, again, with laser like focus on the transformed survey, to make it more online, a bit shorter, a bit more focused. And I'm really hopeful that that, over the next year will prove itself to be a sustainable answer to this issue.   MF The long-term plan is to go out to people with a survey, which does take a lot less time to fill in. And that was one of the criticisms of the traditional one, that it represented a big time commitment for people and perhaps it wasn't surprising that there was a challenge around getting people to take part. But at the same time, we seem to have a particular problem in the UK, where we are on what evidence is available certainly, an outlier in terms of survey response rates. Have you got a sense of what the issue is there? Was it the ONS getting things wrong? Or is it something more profound about the culture now in the UK, that makes people suspicious about taking part in official surveys?   DT I think that you're right. We are a bit of an outlier now, because this kind of phenomenon happened everywhere across the globe in the pandemic but we seem to have been worse off than most. I think there is a kind of trust issue across our society in engaging with government agencies on data which is, I think, is more profound than some other societies. So I think we are fighting against that. I think it probably also suffered a bit from being quite a long-standing survey, having grown over time. I think one of the interesting things when you look across the globe though, where countries do this better than we do, at least in terms of response rates, is that most of those countries mandate their social surveys, and certainly their labour force survey equivalents. Now we don't do that here for our social surveys, but I think that's something that is a policy issue for ministers, something that we need to kind of resolve, to decide whether or not that is the long-term answer for a small number of social surveys.   MF So that's a conversation in progress at the moment, whether people might be required to take part in these surveys in future.   DT Yeah, it is. It was a recommendation in the Leivesley  review that we at least look at it,  so we're doing that to try and establish well what are the pros and cons of that sort of approach, so we can inform future policy decisions by ministers on this issue. I don't for a moment underestimate how tricky a policy issue that is, but I think we do need to confront it so that we can put it to bed, or we can progress it, because we are notable across the globe by not doing that.   MF So, there's a clear sense of urgency in the plan with action, as you've said already, to tackle really pressing issues like the Labour Force Survey. So we're getting more people into the field doing interviews and so forth. And in the meantime, a conversation about prioritizing core statistics. But what comes next in 2026, what should people who might be following the ONS look out for from the organization next?   DT I think 2026, I've been saying internally, is our year of delivery and action and recovery. So last year, we obviously had the crisis point in the summer. And since the summer, we've been doing a lot of work internally into our overall plans, our mission, how we want to lead the organization, what we want the culture to be, what are our plans for getting on top of the economic and population statistics, preparing for the Census...So there's been lots of planning, lots of strategizing, lots of structural changes, that sort of thing, that I think was absolutely necessary. But the focus for 2026 I think needs to be on execution and delivery. To spend this year delivering against the plans that we've made and that's going to be the focus of the top team for the next twelve months.   MF The ONS has enjoyed a reputation for innovation, and that really came out during the pandemic. Is there a risk that innovation will cease or are there new things happening on that front to really improve the overall offering?     DT So again, I think that is a risk, and it's something I've talked about within the organization. That because I've come in with such a sharp focus on the recovery plans, it could just be head head down and focus on those things for the next two years. And then wake up in two years time to realise we are vastly behind the times, on AI or some whizzy new ways of using admin data or whatever it might be, and that's why we've done some things internally to make sure we still have some space and some capacity to do that innovation. I'm really keen that we do that, it can't be at the expense of the recovery plans so that's still our number one priority, but we have carved out some expertise and some capacity to still challenge us on how we should be doing statistics in the future. A big part of that will be how do we learn from others on AI and on tech more generally. So watch this space, it's definitely still something that we're focussed on.   MF Yeah, the resistance that's out there on some people to take part in those surveys. What about all this data that government has been already it's been a persistent criticism that government collectively hasn't done enough to pool that data and to and to really get get value out of it and to make public services more efficient, policies more effective.   DT I think that is a legitimate criticism if I'm honest, you know, it's been a conversation live in Whitehall since I can remember - data sharing and the lack of it. Obviously, there's been huge advances in that recently, some really good innovation around data sharing, including in the ONS, but even more generally, but I still sense there's real risk averse culture around data sharing across government departments that I think we need to try and tackle. For me it's as much about culture and ways of working as it is about legislation and risk. And I'm quite keen that we play our part in pushing the rest of the system on that. I think it's going to be one of the benefits of the split of the role, so that we will have a National Statistician full time being the National Statistician who isn't worried about the running of the ONS. And I'm really keen that whoever that person is, in future, if they can help the system really galvanised around data sharing and data linkage, that will be a real benefit of the new approach.   MF What about the culture of the ONS itself? And as you just said, there are two people at the top of the system now, as it were, an incoming national statistician, a you as Perm Sec. Culture has got to be your department, hasn't it? And the Devereaux review talked about some really quite deep-seated cultural issues. What was the culture that greeted you on arrival? And what mechanisms do you think are going to help to create the right culture and deliver the dramatic changes that you're working towards?   DT Yes, I think what Robert set out in his report was accurate, and that's certainly what I discovered when I arrived.  I think it manifests itself in a range of ways, but perhaps the two biggest for me are probably a lack of trust across the organization. And that's trust as it was between the board and the executive team, trust between the senior civil service  and the rest of the organization, lack of trust between our trade union colleagues and management, lack of trust between some of the different teams themselves. And I think that that, having been left unchecked, is quite corrosive. I think it's led to some of the issues that Robert set out in his report. I think it also leads to a lack of collaboration, a lack of join up when that is the predominant culture. So we've spent quite a lot of time, of my personal time, has been focused on breaking through some of that. It's quite a hard thing to do within organizations - to change the culture. I've deliberately not had something called a cultural transformation program, I'm not sure they ever really work. I think what we can do instead is just start doing stuff differently, and that's what we've been doing. Some of that has been a bit managerial. We put in place a leadership statement, for example, something the organization could use to hold senior leaders to account. I 've started sharing performance panels for senior civil servants. We've put in place some slightly sharper performance management. We will start doing regular pulse surveys, just to try and instil some of that managerial approach to fixing some issues. But for me it's also about who do we reward and why. One of the things I've been banging on about since I arrived is the "three C's" - that's clarity, consistency and consequences, and these really speak to the culture. And just briefly for listeners, clarity is what are we for, does everyone know what that is, and does everyone agree with it. And that's why we've created a new mission statement. Consistency is, how do you apply that set of values to the things you do on a daily basis, and you don't let it go when times get tough. And then consequences...there has to be both positive and negative consequences for people in the organization for doing the right thing or not. And I think that that kind of framework has taken hold in the organization, and I'm quite keen that we keep using it keep using it as our bellwether for are we doing the right thing. Do we reward the right behaviours, are we all being held to account for how we want the ONS to be. I think that's how we are going to get the change here.   MF What would you say to someone who might be thinking of applying to a job at the ONS, they might think well what we do is really important and really interesting, but I've read this stuff in the news which suggests, well, they've got their challenges.     DT So this is a live issue. So we've been recruiting for some very senior posts in the last few months, and I've been really haertened by the response that we've had. So for example, we are interviewing later on this month for Director General for Technology in the organization, we had over 200 applications for that, and I spoke to quite a few people who were interested in advance. And, of course, the thing is that once you're away from the heat of the crisis that the organisation was in last summer, for people who want to come and work in this organization, if you're a technology leader, for example, coming to work at the ONS, which basically just does data, you know, we collect, analyse and publish data. That's hugely attractive if you're a senior leader in technology or data. And I think I've been able to persuade them that we've turned the corner on what it's like to work here. So I've been really kind of enthused by both the quality and the number of people who have wanted to come work for us for us in some of those senior roles that we've advertised, but similarly, at all levels of organization. So one of our campaigns to hire some junior analysts across the organisation attracted hundreds and hundreds of applications. So I still think that the core business of the ONSremains very, very attractive to lots of people out there. My job is to turn the page on the culture of the organisation and that remains the case.   MF And as we start 2026, what gives you the most confidence that ONS is now on the right path? And what are the main objectives ahead?   DT I think there were some emerging plans which were kind of credible, I think we've really strengthened those in the last four or five months. I think the quality of the people will take us a huge way in our transformation and I'm really enthused by that. I always think of Colonel Boyds aphorism of "people, ideas and machines. And in that order." And I think we have excellent people who are generating brilliant ideas, and I think we're getting on top of the machines, as it were, so that we can really transform ourselves. What I really want is for the ONS to be in the news for its outputs and not for the organisation itself, and this year is going to be all about making sure that's true.   MF Because of course some people might say, well, we've got AI that's going to revolutionize everything. We're not going to need the ONS anymore. Just how wrong, or indeed right, is that?   DT My sense is that AI will have a huge part to play, but it's not going to take over. So again, that aphorism of people, ideas and machines, in that order. And it's the "in that order", that I think is the most important thing. AI will be tremendously helpful to us, but it's never going to replace expertise. So I'm quite keen to harness it, and use it for our internal efficiencies and productivity of course. We should harness some of the great ideas that are emerging out there in the private sector on stats production and surveys, we should absolutely do that, but I don't think we should be naive in assuming that there's suddenly going to be this great fix, I just don't think that's true. So I'm quite keen to continue to kind of experiment with AI, and we've already been doing that in the organization with some success. We want to keep scaling that up, but I want to temper the enthusiasm with some reality, that at least for the foreseeable future, we're still going to be using surveys, we're still going to be using admin data from across the system, and then on top of that we will use some of our AI expertise to help us   MF And we're going to have a census in 2031, it survives for another time around...   DT It definitely does. The government's taken a very firm decision on that, and we're now ramping that up at quite some level, as we've got the senior team now firmly in place for the Census. This year will mark the ramp up phase in preparation for the test in 2027,  and it's obviously a hugely important thing for us, and I'm quite keen that we get the maximum benefit from ramping up the census at the same time as focussing on our recovery plans. So yeah, so I'm excited about the census     MF Darren, thank you so much for that fascinating tour of what you've been doing and what lies ahead. Just finally then, what's your message to everyone who relies on ONS data, or who might be interested in ONS statistics, for 2026?   DT My overall message is, work with us. This is a really important time for statistics in the UK. We need everyone's help. If you're a citizen, fill in the surveys that you're asked to fill in as that's hugely beneficial for your systems. If you work in the system, bear with us and lean in and help us, because we will need your help as we get through the recovery phase here. But I'm optimistic that we can turn the corner, and that the statistical system in the UK will be in good health by the time we get to the end of 2026.   MF And on that note, we come to the end of this podcast. I think it's fair to say we've heard a clear sense of direction, a renewed focus on the statistics people most rely on, a commitment to improving quality and resilience and the recognition that trust in official data has to be earned and re-earned over time.   My thanks to Darren Tierney for joining us, and to you for listening. You can follow developments on everything we've been discussing today by subscribing to future episodes of Statistically Speaking on Spotify, Apple podcasts and all the other major podcast platforms. You can also follow us on X, previously known as Twitter, via the at ONS focus feed and do check out the national statistical blog for updates on all things ONS. You can find that at blog.ons.gov.uk, all lower case.   I'm Miles Fletcher, and from myself and our producers, Julia Short and Alisha Arthur, goodbye.          

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There've been contrasting weeks for our two heroes. It's a non-stop all anecdote premiere for Elis. For he has as follows… met Hugh Grant, attended Ken Clarke's curry house, been to film screenings and had his greatest ever stag - apart from the one organised by John he stresses. *And* Mo Salah thinks he matters.John meanwhile has been asleep for half nine each night, talked about trauma and bought two sheds.We also have a guest who is perhaps the biggest mover and shaker in South Gloucestershire and also makes money out of small bowls of chips. Plus there are some incredible skiving emails.Do you have links with a mayor who John could grill? Well send it in to elisandjohn@bbc.co.uk or WhatsApp 07974 293 022.

Former Conservative MP and minister Mark Field speaks to host Alain Tolhurst about his new memoir The End Of An Era, which as the title suggests charts both his own time in politics as well as the waning fortunes of his party over the past 25 years. They discuss his reflections five years on from stepping down from the Commons, what the Tories got right as well as wrong in their time in office, how they might recover once more from last year's disastrous election, why he's voted for the losing candidate in every leadership contest stretching back to Ken Clarke, and the response to writing about his much-publicised affair with Liz Truss, and the incident at the Mansion House dinner in 2019 that led to the premature end of his ministerial career. To sign up for our newsletters click herePresented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Tháng 05/2024, cựu thủ tướng Anh Rishi Sunak đã gửi lời xin lỗi công khai đến người dân vì một bê bối truyền máu nhiễm bệnh, khiến hàng chục nghìn người nhiễm HIV và viêm gan C. Một bê bối từ những năm 70, 80 của thế kỷ trước, mà chính ông Sunak cũng phải thừa nhận rằng đó là “sự suy thoái đạo đức kéo dài hàng thập kỷ trong lĩnh vực y tế và chăm sóc sức khỏe” của chính phủ Anh.  Sự thật được phơi bày sau nhiều thập kỷ Bê bối bắt đầu từ những năm 1970-1980 tại Anh khi có hàng ngàn người cần truyền máu. Những người này được chia thành hai nhóm chính, một là những bệnh nhân thiếu máu trong quá trình phẫu thuật, trong các điều trị y tế, hay những phụ nữ vừa sinh con… Nhóm thứ hai là những người mắc bệnh máu khó đông, một căn bệnh di truyền do thiếu hụt Yếu tố VIII hoặc IX, những yếu tố cần thiết cho quá trình tạo cục máu đông. Theo hãng tin AP, vào đầu những năm 1970, các bác sĩ đã phát hiện ra một phương pháp điều trị mới, được gọi là Yếu tố đông máu 8 (Factor VIII) và được ca tụng là phương thuốc kỳ diệu. Đây là loại thuốc được tách ra từ huyết tương người, do vậy cần một số lượng lớn nguồn cung huyết tương để sản xuất. Nhu cầu sớm vượt quá nguồn cung trong nước, vì vậy các quan chức y tế Anh đã bắt đầu nhập khẩu huyết tương từ Hoa Kỳ. Tuy nhiên, điều đáng nói là lý lịch của những người hiến máu gây nhiều lo ngại vì vào thời điểm đó, Yếu tố VIII được lấy từ máu của hàng chục ngàn người hiến tại Hoa Kỳ. Những người này hiến máu để kiếm tiền. Họ thường là tù nhân, những người làm nghề mại dâm hoặc những người nghiện. Chính điều này làm tăng đáng kể nguy cơ huyết tương bị nhiễm bệnh, mà chỉ cần một người hiến máu bị nhiễm bệnh thì toàn bộ lô sản phẩm đều sẽ bị nhiễm bệnh theo. Theo ước tính từ cuộc điều tra kéo dài 6 năm mà chính phủ của thủ tướng Theresa May ra lệnh tiến hành năm 2017, hơn 30.000 người đã nhiễm virus viêm gan C hoặc HIV qua truyền máu hoặc do điều trị bằng Yếu tố VIII. Hơn 3000 người chết và hàng chục nghìn người phải sống chung với bệnh tật. Nhiều người còn lây sang gia đình và người thân của mình. Thẩm phán Brian Langstaff, người đứng đầu cuộc điều tra về bê bối “máu bẩn”, đã tố cáo rằng thảm hoạ này hoàn toàn “không phải một tai nạn” mà bắt nguồn từ sự tác trách, coi thường tính mạng của người dân. Giới chức Anh lúc đó đã bỏ qua các cảnh báo nguy hiểm, bỏ qua các phương pháp sàng lọc và xử lý nguồn máu vì lý do kinh tế, bỏ qua cả các quy tắc đạo đức. Sai lầm nối tiếp sai lầm. Sau khi phát hiện ra những ca nhiễm HIV và viêm gan C do được truyền máu, chính phủ của cố thủ tướng Magaret Thatcher thời điểm đó, những người phải chịu trách nhiệm chính cho vụ việc này, thay vì dừng lại, nhận lỗi và sửa sai thì lại cố gắng che đậy, đưa thông tin sai sự thật đến người dân và tiêu huỷ các bằng chứng. Để rồi hơn 50 năm sau, người dân Anh mới được nhận lời xin lỗi công khai đầu tiên tới từ chính phủ Rishi Sunak. Đáng tiếc là hàng ngàn nạn nhân đã không còn sống để được nghe lời xin lỗi mà họ vẫn mong chờ.“Vô hại” “Vô hại” là những gì mà chính phủ nói với công chúng. Theo nhật báo Anh The Guardian, tháng 11/1983, cựu bộ trưởng y tế Ken Clarke đã mạnh mẽ khẳng định trước báo giới rằng “không có bằng chứng thuyết phục” nào cho thấy HIV có thể lây truyền qua đường máu và nguy cơ virus viêm gan C gây bệnh là “rất thấp và không nghiêm trọng”. Để công chúng thêm tin tưởng, các bộ trưởng cũng liên tục nhắc lại rằng người dân Anh “đang nhận được sự điều trị tốt nhất hiện có”. Báo cáo điều tra của thẩm phán Langstaff còn chỉ ra rằng các bác sĩ cũng đóng góp một phần không nhỏ công sức vào việc lừa dối người dân. Các bác sĩ không những không thông báo cho bệnh nhân những nguy cơ tiềm ẩn trước khi bệnh nhân tham gia điều trị mà thậm chí cả khi những người này đã nhiễm virus HIV hay viêm gan C, các bác sĩ cũng che giấu thông tin về nguyên nhân và tình trạng bệnh của họ, dẫn đến những chậm trễ trong việc tiếp cận điều trị chuyên khoa. “Vô trách nhiệm” “Vô trách nhiệm” là những gì công chúng nói về họ. Họ ở đây là chính phủ Anh thời điểm đó, và cụ thể hơn là Hệ thống Y tế Quốc gia Anh (National Health Service - NHS). Nhiệm vụ chủ đạo của cơ quan này là chăm sóc, nâng cao sức khoẻ cho người dân, ưu tiên và tôn trọng sinh mạng của bệnh nhân. Thế nhưng họ đã làm gì? ... Họ làm ngơ trước những hiểm hoạ mà họ biết rõ. Theo đài BBC và tờ The Guardian của Anh, ngay từ những năm 1930, người ta đã biết rõ rằng việc truyền máu có thể làm lây nhiễm nhiều loại bệnh chết người. Virus gây ra bệnh viêm gan C đã xuất hiện ít nhất từ giữa những năm 1970, còn việc lây truyền HIV qua đường máu thì đã được giới khoa học xác nhận vào năm 1982. Không chỉ vậy, họ còn biết rằng việc nhập khẩu máu và các chế phẩm máu thương mại sản xuất tại Mỹ mang nhiều rủi ro và ít an toàn hơn so với các phương pháp điều trị trong nước. Vào giữa những năm 1970, một giáo sư đã cảnh báo rằng các sản phẩm máu này được lấy “100% từ những người vô gia cư ở các khu vực tồi tàn”, trong khi đó Tổ chức Y tế Thế giới (WHO) kêu gọi các quốc gia tự chủ về nguồn máu để bảo đảm an toàn. NHS cũng tiến hành tăng quy mô của các bể chứa để sản xuất Yếu tố VIII dù biết như vậy có thể làm tăng đáng kể nguy cơ lây truyền virus. Biết rõ là vậy nhưng giới chức y tế nước này đã không có những biện pháp cần thiết để bảo vệ người dân. Họ không những không đình chỉ việc nhập khẩu các sản phẩm máu thương mại từ Mỹ, mà cũng chẳng kiểm soát việc phân phối chúng. Việc triển khai xét nghiệm virus HIV và viêm gan C trong các sản phẩm máu được hiến cũng bị trì hoãn. Chính phủ cũng không đầu tư nghiên cứu các phương pháp làm bất hoạt virus, chẳng hạn như qua xử lý nhiệt. Họ làm ngơ trước tính mạng của người dân. Dù tôn chỉ hành động là “tôn trọng mọi sinh mệnh, không phân biệt đối xử, luôn mang lòng trắc ẩn và sự tử tế” nhưng NHS đã sử dụng các học sinh khuyết tật tại trường Treloar's College như những con chuột bạch để thử nghiệm Yếu tố VIII. Vẫn theo báo cáo điều tra năm 2017, từ năm 1974 đến 1987, 122 đứa trẻ mắc bệnh máu khó đông (haemophilia) đã được điều trị tại ngôi trường này bằng phương pháp mới, một thứ phương pháp “kỳ diệu” khiến ít nhất 72 trong số này tử vong. Họ đa phần đều chết vì nhiễm HIV và các loại virus viêm gan A, B, C.  “Vô vọng” “Vô vọng” có lẽ là cảm giác mà những nạn nhân của bê bối này phải chịu đựng. Theo chân thông tín viên RFI Emeline Vin tại Anh, chúng ta sẽ cùng lắng nghe câu chuyện của chính những nạn nhân và người nhà của họ. Rất nhiều người đã chết, trong đó có Collin Smith : “Collin Smith là nạn nhân nhỏ tuổi nhất bị nhiễm bệnh. Cậu bé được chẩn đoán nhiễm Sida ngay trước sinh nhật năm hai tuổi. Mái tóc vàng và khuôn mặt tinh nghịch, cậu bé đã mất năm 1990, khi mới chỉ 7 tuổi. Bố mẹ của Collin cho biết : “Trước khi chết, thằng bé rất gầy, nó chỉ còn da bọc xương. Khi đó nó nặng 6 kg, chỉ nặng hơn đứa trẻ mới sinh một chút. Hai tháng cuối dường như kéo dài vô tận với chúng tôi. Chúng tôi rất tuyệt vọng. Chẳng đêm nào chúng tôi ngủ được. Ít nhất bây giờ chúng tôi đã đủ dũng cảm để nhắc về thằng bé. Collin có tính cách rất đặc biệt. Là một đứa trẻ vui vẻ, thằng bé lúc nào cũng tươi cười, nó thường hay trêu chọc mọi người.” Với những nạn nhân đã qua đời, nỗi đau để lại cho người thân, gia đình của họ. Vậy những người may mắn vẫn sống sót thì sao? Vào những năm 80, Bob Naylor đã được truyền máu trong một cuộc phẫu thuật và đã bị nhiễm virus viêm gan C từ đó. Bob cho biết : “Tôi thường xuyên cảm thấy không khoẻ. Cảm giác mệt mỏi, uể oải khủng khiếp. Mỗi lần tôi đi ngủ, chân tôi lại bắt đầu bị chuột rút và co thắt. Tôi đau bụng và đau lưng, những cơn đau này chẳng bao giờ biến mất. Một hôm cô y tá đã nói với tôi rằng : Bob, anh biết không, cả đời này anh sẽ phải gặp chúng tôi. Tôi hỏi vì sao thì cô ấy trả lời : Gan của anh đã bị tổn hại nên anh sẽ luôn phải đi viện kiểm tra. Anh sẽ phải lấy máu 6 tháng một lần, siêu âm 6 tháng một lần, làm xét nghiệm Fibroscan 2 đến 3 năm một lần. Anh đã bị suy gan cấp tính.” Không chỉ có những nỗi đau về thể xác, tinh thần của nạn nhân cũng bị khủng hoảng nghiêm trọng. “Vào thời điểm đó, những người nhiễm HIV đều bị kỳ thị. Tại một thành phố nhỏ ở xứ Wales, Robert đã phải chịu sự phân biệt đối xử vì bị Sida. Anh cho biết : “Tôi đã kể việc mình bị nhiễm HIV cho chị gái mình và ngay sáng hôm sau, tất cả mọi người đều biết. Trên tường nhà của chúng tôi bị sơn chữ “Gia đình SIDA”. Cửa nhà thì bị vẽ chữ X. Gia đình tôi nhận được hàng tá cuộc điện thoại yêu cầu gửi tôi ra một hòn đảo hoang. Chúng tôi đã phải bỏ trốn, như thể là tôi đã giết người vậy. Thậm chí trong gia đình tôi, có người còn nói với con cái họ rằng đừng động vào đĩa của Robert, đừng động vào cốc của Robert. Nếu chính gia đình mình còn chẳng thể cảm thông với mình thì sao tôi có thể trông đợi là những người lạ ngoài kia sẽ hiểu cho tôi.” “Vô tội”Nếu nạn nhân cảm thấy vô vọng thì những người chịu trách nhiệm chính trong vụ việc này cảm thấy gì? Có thể họ cảm thấy mình “vô tội”. Ta cần quay lại vụ bê bối tương tự, diễn ra tại Pháp vào cùng khoảng thời điểm trên. Theo Viện Nghe nhìn Quốc gia Pháp (INA), khi đứng trước toà vào tháng 01/1992, cựu bộ trưởng phụ trách các vấn đề xã hội, bà Georgina Dufoix, vẫn không can tâm và phát biểu một câu “đi vào lịch sử” rằng : “Tôi cảm thấy mình có trách nhiệm nhưng không cảm thấy mình có tội.” Dù chưa khảng khái trả lời như cựu bộ trưởng Dufoix tại Pháp, nhiều người vẫn tự hỏi rằng phải chăng giới chức Anh lúc đó cũng đã không cảm thấy tội lỗi. Vì nếu thấy có tội, thấy cắn rứt lương tâm, họ đã đứng ra chịu trách nhiệm, họ sẽ không để người dân phải chờ tới vài thập kỷ mà vẫn chưa nhận được lời xin lỗi. Xin nhắc lại rằng lời xin lỗi hồi tháng 05/2024 đến từ cựu thủ tướng vừa miễn nhiệm Rishi Sunak, chứ hoàn toàn không đến từ những quan chức trong chính phủ Anh thời điểm đó, những người trực tiếp đứng sau thảm hoạ này. Có lẽ trong bê bối này, từ “vô tội” chỉ được dành cho những nạn nhân, những người đã chết, đã nhiễm bệnh vì tin tưởng vào các bác sĩ, vào hệ thống y tế quốc gia, vào chính phủ. “Vô tội” cũng là những học sinh khuyết tật của trường Treloar's College thời điểm đó, những đứa trẻ được đem ra làm thí nghiệm.Điều đáng ngạc nhiên ở bê bối máu bẩn là nó không chỉ xảy ra ở Anh, mà còn ở rất nhiều nước khác trên thế giới, từ Pháp, Nhật Bản đến Trung Quốc. Dù quy mô của thảm hoạ khác nhau, nhưng điểm chung của tất cả các bê bối này là các quan chức thời điểm đó đã làm việc tắc trách và không tôn trọng tính mạng của người dân.

The second annual Democracy Fest will be held in Ithaca on Tuesday, August 6. Organizers Jeff Furman of Rejoice the Vote and the Ben and Jerry's Foundation, and Rev. Ken Clarke of the Tompkins County Office of Human Rights join host Felix Teitelbaum to talk about this celebration and commemoration of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

In half a century just three opposition leaders have become prime minister. 45 years after Margaret Thatcher arrived in Downing Street, Matt hears from the people who knew her best - including Conservative colleagues Ken Clarke, Jonathan Aitken, and David Howell, aide turned author Michael Dobbs, her biographer Charles Moore, and her daughter Carol Thatcher.Plus: Manveen Rana and Matthew Parris discuss the SNP's leadership struggles, is noise in the Commons a good thing, and whether you should trust attractive politicians. The Columnists: (01:00)The Big Thing: (22:27) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ken Clarke is a national political treasure and this interview from 2019 shows why. Wise, pragmatic and superb company, it's the best way to enjoy his warm tones. Plus… a bit of personal news Buy tickets to Matt's tour Inside No. 10: https://www.mattforde.com/live Follow @mattforde on Twitter for the latest news Email the show: politicalpartypodcast@gmail.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the final time, pack your mosquito spray and come with us into the fake jungles of Rome's film studios in search of a mythical white goddess who has the kind of sex appeal that even the animals can dig. Yes, it's Tarzana, the beautiful heiress whose parents died in the plane crash that left her alone in Kenya to survive and thrive, learning such essential jungle skills as how to swing on vines, how to direct elephants, and how to weave tiny thongs.In the episode we discuss the lack of available interviews with star Ken Clark. Rod mentions some videos, but on post-episode examination it turns out these are interviews with British politician Ken Clarke. However, the fanzine European Trash Cinema did interview our Ken back in 1995. You can find part of that interview reproduced HERE. If you want to read the whole thing, the issue is currently for sale on eBay.The only decent online coverage of Tarzana can be found on the blog Spinning Image.We hope you have enjoyed this jungle-themed mini-season. We would love to hear from you if you have any favourite Jungle Girl films, or if you ever got lost in the jungle yourself and ended up befriending the animals or becoming a god to a local tribe. You can contact us on Twitter and Instagram or by email at wildwildpodcast@gmail.com. Please also remember to rate and review us on your podcast platform of choice!If you enjoy the podcast, why not buy us a coffee at ko-fi.com/wildwildpodcast? Espresso, naturally. Grazie mille! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Labour's Plan For Power: The Economy is the first episode of a special new i podcast series looking at what Sir Keir Starmer's party would do differently if it wins the next election.Hosted by Paul Waugh, i's chief political commentator, this is the first of a four-part series that will also cover the NHS, Brexit and the North-South divide.Ken Clarke reveals why he thinks Rachel Reeves' “responsible approach” to public finances would be “reassuring” if Labour won power. Peter Mandelson warns any new tax rises would deter business at home and abroad. Ed Balls explains why Labour adopted Tory spending limits in 1997. John McDonnell spells out the danger of not spending or taxing enough. And Rachel Reeves tells us just what it would mean to be Britain's first female chancellor - and why Labour is “on the cusp of achieving something remarkable” at the next election.Subscribe to Labour's Plan for Power, and listen to all four episodes today.Produced by Albert Evans and edited by Julia Webster. Music featured is composed by Slicebeats, Grand Project, Coma Media and AKTASOK, licensed via Pixabay. Check out their music in the links below. https://pixabay.com/music/synthwave-on-the-road-to-the-eighties-131722/https://pixabay.com/music/ambient-documentary-11052/https://pixabay.com/ru/music/tic-toc-suspenso-7312/https://pixabay.com/ru/music/nature-cinematic-documentary-159610/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Who's right? Are these really the biggest tax cuts since the 1980s? Or are we paying more tax than ever? Or might both things be true? Amol and Nick look through the headlines of a complicated Autumn Statement and ask whether these tax cuts are real. They talk to former chancellor Ken Clarke about economic credibility, and they examine the tax-and-spend dividing lines between Labour and the Conservatives ahead of the election. Plus they look to Europe where the controversial, inflammatory and populist politician Geert Wilders is heading to victory in the Dutch general election. The Today Podcast is hosted by Amol Rajan and Nick Robinson, both presenters of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the UK's most influential radio news programme. Amol was the BBC's media editor for six years and is the former editor of the Independent, he's also the current presenter of University Challenge. Nick has presented the Today programme since 2015, he was the BBC's political editor for ten years before that and also previously worked as ITV's political editor. The producers are Tom Smithard and Rufus Gray. The editors are Jonathan Aspinwall and Louisa Lewis. The executive producer is Owenna Griffiths.

Labour's Plan For Power: The Economy is the first episode of a special new i podcast series looking at what Sir Keir Starmer's party would do differently if it wins the next election.Hosted by Paul Waugh, i's chief political commentator, this is the first of a four-part series that will also cover the NHS, Brexit and the North-South divide.Ken Clarke reveals why he thinks Rachel Reeves' “responsible approach” to public finances would be “reassuring” if Labour won power. Peter Mandelson warns any new tax rises would deter business at home and abroad. Ed Balls explains why Labour adopted Tory spending limits in 1997. John McDonnell spells out the danger of not spending or taxing enough. And Rachel Reeves tells us just what it would mean to be Britain's first female chancellor - and why Labour is “on the cusp of achieving something remarkable” at the next election.Produced by Albert Evans and edited by Julia Webster. Music featured is composed by Slicebeats, Grand Project, Coma Media and AKTASOK, licensed via Pixabay. Check out their music in the links below. https://pixabay.com/music/synthwave-on-the-road-to-the-eighties-131722/https://pixabay.com/music/ambient-documentary-11052/https://pixabay.com/ru/music/tic-toc-suspenso-7312/https://pixabay.com/ru/music/nature-cinematic-documentary-159610/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Archbishop Ben Kwashi's plane was delayed, Bishop Ken Clarke stepped in to share during the Tuesday evening celebration at NH2023. He brought a powerful challenge for us to be a church that prioritises the Great Commission. "Whoever we are, if we are a disciple of Jesus, whatever we are facing, not least in this kingdom task of sharing the good news, He is with us. Paul said, 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.'"

Matt Forde is a comedian, writer, actor, broadcaster, podcaster and impersonator who is one of the countries most sought after satirist, having performed in sold out theatres all over the country and at the Edinburgh festival. He's been on the Royal Variety Show, Have I Got News For You, Mock the Week, 8 out of 10 Cats, and Jon Richardson Grows Up as well as a guest on Newsnight and Question Time. He hosted the political satire television series Unspun on Dave for four seasons. Matt has co-written Spitting Image the Musical, Idiots Assemble with Al Murray and Sean Foley which opens in the West End in May 23. He also voices Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer on Spitting Image. His podcast The Political Party has been a massive hit. In it he interviews such political giants as Tony Blair, Nicola Sturgeon, Michael Heseltine, David Davis, Ken Clarke, Nick Clegg, George Osborne, Emily Thornberry, Jacob Rees-Mogg, Jess Phillips, John Bercow, Ed Miliband, Nigel Farage and recently, Kier Starmer. in 2020, Matt wrote his memoir Politically Homeless.Matt Forde is guest number 284 on My Time Capsule and chats to Michael Fenton Stevens about the five things he'd like to put in a time capsule; four he'd like to preserve and one he'd like to bury and never have to think about again .For all things Matt Forde visit mattforde.com .Follow Matt Forde on Twitter: @mattforde .Follow My Time Capsule on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook: @MyTCpod .Follow Michael Fenton Stevens on Twitter: @fentonstevens & Instagram @mikefentonstevens .Produced and edited by John Fenton-Stevens for Cast Off Productions .Music by Pass The Peas Music .Artwork by matthewboxall.com .This podcast is proud to be associated with the charity Viva! Providing theatrical opportunities for hundreds of young people. Get this podcast ad-free by becoming a team member with Acast+! Your support will help us to keep making My Time Capsule. Join our team now! https://plus.acast.com/s/mytimecapsule. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does the Spring Budget mean for the economy, and for you? Adam and Chris dissect Jeremy Hunt's Budget with Claer Barrett, Financial Times columnist and host of the FT's Money Clinic Podcast, and former Conservative chancellor Ken Clarke. Today's episode was presented by Adam Fleming and made by Tim Walklate with Adam Chowdhury and Madeleine Drury. The technical producers were Mike Regaard and Andrew Mills. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.

Nick Robinson talks to the influential lobbyist and new chair of Stonewall, Iain Anderson, about how the case of Isla Bryson has brought gender politics to the top of the news agenda and how he thinks the heat can be taken out of the debate. Anderson, a lifelong Conservative who founded the lobbying firm Cicero and ran Ken Clarke's leadership campaigns, talks candidly about why he's now moving away from his political roots.

Business Secretary, Grant Shapps has introduced a bill proposing a minimum level of public sector work during strike action for six key industries. Labour's Angela Rayner told the Commons these plans are 'insulting and utterly stupid'. As a policy that Tories largely agree on, could this bill bring the party together? Also on the podcast, Isabel Hardman reacts to Ken Clarke's suggestion that the middle class should pay fees to use the NHS, and why has former minister Claire Perry O'Neill torn up her Conservative party membership?   James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman.    Produced by Natasha Feroze. 

Matt's back, and he's joined by political big beast Ken Clarke to discuss a career spanning more than 50 years in the Commons and some of the biggest jobs in government. The former health secretary thinks the well-off may have to start paying to see a GP. Columnists Rachel Sylvester and Libby Purves discuss whether the Duke of Sussex should be removed from the line of succession, and whether Labour can think the unthinkable on the NHS.Plus, Times Red Box Reporter Lara Spirit is counting down every election since the 1832 Great Reform Act. This week, it's Earl Grey vs the Duke of Wellington. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored, Piers speaks to former Conservative minister Ken Clarke who believes that rather than sack the Chancellor, Truss should start the mini budget again. Piers comments on Putin and the latest in Ukraine with former US Secretary of State Leon Panetta. Piers is joined by Nicole Hockley, whose son died in Sandy Hook, who shares how conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' lies have impacted her life as he's ordered to pay $965m in damages. Piers Morgan discusses masculinity with family lawyer Paula Rhone-Adrien as he asks: 'are men under threat?'.Watch Piers Morgan Uncensored at 8pm on TalkTV on Sky 526, Virgin Media 627, Freeview 237 and Freesat 217. Listen on DAB+ and app. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Michael Cockerell, the BBC broadcaster and political journalist whose award-winning political documentaries have taken viewers behind the scenes of British politics for nearly half a century. He has interviewed a dozen prime ministers from Macmillan to Johnson, and made films about leading politicians including Roy Jenkins, Enoch Powell Denis Healey, Barbara Castle, Ken Clarke and Alan Clark.   His documentary series have included the How to Be trilogy (How to Be Chancellor, How to Be Foreign Secretary and How to Be Home Secretary), The Great Offices of State and The Secret World of Whitehall. In conversation with IfG Senior Fellow Dr Catherine Haddon, Michael Cockerell discussed his memoir, Unmasking our Leaders, and share the stories and secrets – including clips from a number of his documentaries – of the politicians that he has met and interviewed. And with a new prime minister moving into 10 Downing Street, this event will also explore the qualities that make – and sometimes break – our political leaders. #IfGCockerell

The Institute for Government was delighted to welcome Michael Cockerell, the BBC broadcaster and political journalist whose award-winning political documentaries have taken viewers behind the scenes of British politics for nearly half a century. He has interviewed a dozen prime ministers from Macmillan to Johnson, and made films about leading politicians including Roy Jenkins, Enoch Powell Denis Healey, Barbara Castle, Ken Clarke and Alan Clark. His documentary series have included the How to Be trilogy (How to Be Chancellor, How to Be Foreign Secretary and How to Be Home Secretary), The Great Offices of State and The Secret World of Whitehall. In conversation with IfG Senior Fellow Dr Catherine Haddon, Michael Cockerell discussed his memoir, Unmasking our Leaders, and share the stories and secrets – including clips from a number of his documentaries – of the politicians that he has met and interviewed. And with a new prime minister moving into 10 Downing Street, this event will also explore the qualities that make – and sometimes break – our political leaders. #IfGCockerell

What a colossal mistake it was to invite China's Communist leaders to the Queen's State Funeral in Westminster Abbey on Monday............... Britain's fattest man who weighs 47 stone has complained that his human rights are being infringed by his doctors who have put him on a calorie-controlled diet in a battle to save his life.Jason Holton, 32, from Camberley, Surrey, has been housebound for seven years and recently came moments from death as he suffered a series of mini strokes and a suspected blood clot on June 4 this year. Extinction Rebellion protesters who brought London to a standstill and blocked London Fire Brigade HQ cannot use the Human Rights Act to avoid prosecution a judge ruled today.Emma Cooper, 31, Jamie Russell, 48, and Luke Mallett, 25, were part of a 300-strong march that blocked Vauxhall Bridge on April 10 this year, Westminster Magistrates Court heard today A teenage one-punch killer who walked off laughing after an unprovoked attack on his victim has been locked up for six years. Kieran Scott, 19, lashed out at defenceless Daniel Thomas, 53, while he was sitting on a bench in Hull on June 14 this year. Hull Crown Court heard that Scott was annoyed at Mr Thomas - known as Mark - for 'getting lairy' with him and being 'cheeky'. Michael Sheen has said the King and Queen Consort's recent visit to Wales could be seen as 'insensitive to the point of insulting'.King Charles III, 73, and Camilla, 75, completed their four nations tour with a stop in the country yesterday with a visit to Cardiff. A high school in Stoke-on-Trent has been accused of turning into a 'military camp' as new uniform rules meant pupils were put into isolation rooms and missed lessons. The crackdown at Moorside High School in Werrington has targeted make up, banned skirts being made of the wrong material and focuses on footwear - saying shoes must not look like trainers or have embellishments. Tory grandee Ken Clarke has leapt to the defence of Therese Coffey after critics seized on pictures of the new Health Secretary enjoying a smoke and a drink. Lord Clarke, who was health secretary himself between 1988 to 1990, called for a reduction in the focus on 'personalities and trivia' in British politics.

The fact that there is a need for student loan forgiveness really paints a picture of just how complicated education funding has become. So how did we get to this point, and why is the already huge cost of attending college continuing to increase?  To answer this, I interviewed my dad, Ken Clarke, who spent more than 35 years working as a financial aid professional. When he retired, he was the dean of financial aid for all Maricopa County community colleges in Arizona, and he had helped thousands of students navigate the financial aid process throughout his career. In this episode, my dad talks more about the ins and outs of student loans, including: The history of student loans. Where student loans came from. What happened in history that made student loans so expensive and have such high interest rates. This is actually the second half of the conversation I had with my dad about student loans. If you missed the first part, head over to listen to Season 7, Episode 3: “Real Talk: You Should Support Student Loan Forgiveness,” where we tackle four of the most common arguments against student loan forgiveness.   6 Characteristics of a Positive Community Anti-racism is a vital part of EVERY community. It's not something we should silo away from the other communities we are a part of, whether that's your neighborhood, church, PTA, craft circle, fitness group, etc. We should just focus on building healthy communities — where we strive for fairness, communicate when there's friction, embrace freedom of expression and celebrate traditions together. And First Name Basis is here to help you do it! Visit firstnamebasis.org/positivecommunity to get your FREE printable of the 6 characteristics of a positive community, adapted for the podcast from Dr. Nicole Celestine's work.   Ally Elementary and Ally Elementary Jr. We are opening the doors to both Ally Elementary and Ally Elementary Jr. on Sept. 20! Parents have been asking for a practical, interactive way to implement the anti-racist strategies that I lay out in the First Name Basis Podcast, so I created Ally Elementary and Ally Elementary Jr.  Ally Elementary is geared toward third-eighth graders, while Ally Elementary Jr. is for the smaller allies in our lives who are in preschool-second grade. During these programs, parents will work together with their children to create a culture of anti-racism in their home. We will use hands-on activities to teach our children about everything from the untold story of how race was created to how they can disrupt racism in their everyday lives to how they can learn more about their individual identity and culture. I am so excited to watch the families in our community make a meaningful transformation and improve their communities through anti-racist action. Click here to join the waitlist for Ally Elementary (for third-eighth graders)  Click here to join the waitlist for Ally Elementary Jr. (for preschool-second graders)   Articles, Studies, & Podcasts Referenced in the Episode First Name Basis Podcast: Season 7, Episode 3: “Real Talk: You Should Support Student Loan Forgiveness” with Ken Clarke First Name Basis Podcast: Season 2, Episode 5: “A Conversation With My Dad About Black History Month” with Ken Clarke First Name Basis Podcast: Season 3, Episode 14: “The Untold Story of Fried Chicken” with Ken Clarke First Name Basis Podcast: Season 4, Episode 10: “The Memory That I Can't Shake: The Why Behind Ally Elementary” First Name Basis Podcast: Season 5, Episode 16: “Age Appropriate Anti-Racism” “Fact Sheet: President Biden Announces Student Loan Relief for Borrowers Who Need It Most,” The White House Who is My Student Loan Servicer? Song credit: “Sleeper” by Steve Adams” and “Dive Down” by VYEN

It's been a few weeks since the White House announced a plan for student loan forgiveness, and in that time, you've likely seen all sorts of articles and social media posts pushing back against it. Watching these arguments unfold has been frustrating, and it can be hard to know what to say. To help all of us know how to respond, I interviewed my dad, Ken Clarke, who spent more than 35 years working as a financial aid professional.  I mean it when I say my dad is the perfect person to walk us through this conversation. When he retired, he was the dean of financial aid for all Maricopa County community colleges in Arizona, and he had helped thousands of students navigate the financial aid process throughout his career. The conversation I had with him was so good and full of information that I ended up splitting it into two episodes. In this first episode, we address four of the most common arguments against student loan forgiveness: The argument that the plan only helps the “elite.” The complaints about having to “foot the bill” for other people's education. The objections that the plan is “unfair” to people who have already paid off student loans. The criticism that the plan is too expensive. And be on the lookout for the bonus episode with the second half of this conversation where my dad and I talk more about the history of student loans and how college became so expensive.   6 Characteristics of a Positive Community Anti-racism is a vital part of EVERY community. It's not something we should silo away from the other communities we are a part of, whether that's your neighborhood, church, PTA, craft circle, fitness group, etc. We should just focus on building healthy communities — where we strive for fairness, communicate when there's friction, embrace freedom of expression and celebrate traditions together. And First Name Basis is here to help you do it! Visit firstnamebasis.org/positivecommunity to get your FREE printable of the 6 characteristics of a positive community, adapted for the podcast from Dr. Nicole Celestine's work.   Ally Elementary and Ally Elementary Jr. We are opening the doors to both Ally Elementary and Ally Elementary Jr. on Sept. 20! Parents have been asking for a practical, interactive way to implement the anti-racist strategies that I lay out in the First Name Basis Podcast, so I created Ally Elementary and Ally Elementary Jr.  Ally Elementary is geared toward third-eighth graders, while Ally Elementary Jr. is for the smaller allies in our lives who are in preschool-second grade. During these programs, parents will work together with their children to create a culture of anti-racism in their home. We will use hands-on activities to teach our children about everything from the untold story of how race was created to how they can disrupt racism in their everyday lives to how they can learn more about their individual identity and culture. I am so excited to watch the families in our community make a meaningful transformation and improve their communities through anti-racist action. Click here to join the waitlist for Ally Elementary (for third-eighth graders)  Click here to join the waitlist for Ally Elementary Jr. (for preschool-second graders) Articles, Studies, & Podcasts Referenced in the Episode First Name Basis Podcast: Season 2, Episode 5: “A Conversation With My Dad About Black History Month” with Ken Clarke First Name Basis Podcast: Season 3, Episode 14: “The Untold Story of Fried Chicken” with Ken Clarke First Name Basis Podcast: Season 4, Episode 10: “The Memory That I Can't Shake: The Why Behind Ally Elementary” First Name Basis Podcast: Season 5, Episode 16: “Age Appropriate Anti-Racism” “Student Loan Debt by Race,” by Melanie Hanson, Education Data Initiative Leslie Streeter on Twitter  Jon Schwarz on Twitter  “Jim Crow Debt: How Black Borrowers Experience Student Loans,” by Jalil B. Mustaffa and Jonathan C.W. Davis, The Education Trust “What will student loan forgiveness mean for Black students and families?" by Andre M. Perry and Adrianna Pita, The Current Podcast from Brookings  “Fact Sheet: President Biden Announces Student Loan Relief for Borrowers Who Need It Most,” The White House Who is My Student Loan Servicer?   Song credit: “Sleeper” by Steve Adams” and “Dive Down” by VYEN

A fresh look at God's vision for the Church at this time All churches are experiencing the huge task of refocusing, regrouping and rebuilding after the unique challenges of the past two years. This Seminar will be a reality check on where we are, a reminder of God's priorities for His people and a look at His vision of where He wants us to be. Bishop Ken Clarke grew up in Holywood, Co Down. He is married to Helen. They have four daughters and five grandchildren. Bishop Ken (often known as Fanta) is a well-known preacher and church leader.

UK heatwave live blog: Major incident declared in London after 'huge surge' in fires as temperatures top 40CWennington fire: Street goes up in flames as 40C heatwave scorches BritainIn pictures: Wildfires rage across Europe as heatwaves wreak havoc'Monster octopus': Wildfire in France burns area twice the size of ParisSuzanne Moore: Climate change denial is melting before our very eyesStruggling to cope: This cat keeping cool is everyone in Britain right nowTory leadership race: Kemi Badenoch eliminated in fourth roundJanet Daley: The Tories lost their nerve and failed to embrace the future‘The new Ken Clarke': Fears for Rishi Sunak if Tory leadership slips through his fingersOne giant leap: UK astronauts set to take part in next Moon landingRory Stewart: ‘MPs should be banned from looking at their phones in Parliament'Hidden coves: 10 secret spots in Cornwall to avoid the summer crowdsRead all these articles and stay expertly informed anywhere, anytime with a digital subscription. Start your free one-month trial today to gain unlimited website and app access. Cancel anytime. Sign up here: https://bit.ly/3v8HLez.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Liz Mair has one of the more unusual career arcs in politics. Raised in both Seattle and London, she got her start working in conservative politics for David Cameron in the UK before moving to the US to work for the RNC and GOP candidates including Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina, Rick Perry, Scott Walker, and more. In this conversation, she talks her unconventional path to working in politics, her ascent in the digital political space, her time working around some of the leading Republican figures of the era, her work to try to beat back Donald Trump in the '16 primaries, and lessons and insights from one of the most creative thinkers in politics.IN THIS EPISODE…Liz's unusual childhood bouncing between Seattle and London…The school project that exposed Liz to campaign politics…Liz's first professional role in politics working for David Cameron and the UK Tory Party…Liz talks similarities and differences between the UK Conservative Party and American Republicans…How Liz transitioned from UK to US politics, working for the RNC in the '08 cycle…Liz's experience with the McCain campaign, plus her memories of the Sarah Palin experience…Liz's take on GOP pols she's worked with including Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina, Rick Perry, and Scott Walker…The unsuccessful 2016 Republican presidential candidate Liz thinks will be president in her lifetime…Liz talks lessons learned from her anti-Trump efforts in the 2016 GOP primaries…The ad Liz thinks could've taken down Trump in '16…Rumors about the failed Rubio / Cruz alliance to stop Trump in 2016…The mistakes that Liz sees campaign make…Liz's career advice to campaign operatives…Liz's strangest work habit…AND Marc Ambinder, annoying bloggers, Joe Biden, billboards in Iowa, billing 110 hours a week, BlogHer, Cameronites, Ken Clarke, Kellyanne Conway, cranberry juice, Ted Cruz, Howard Dean, debt finance, deepest darkest Surrey, Danny Diaz, Elizabeth Dole, Mike Duncan, Euro skeptics, David Gauke, Rudy Giuliani, Maggie Haberman, Hewlett-Packard, the Hunt for the Red October, Amy Klobuchar, Cyrus Krohn, Medieval History majors, modern guys, NDAs, naps, National Review, Mike Nelson, Barack Obama, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Tim Pawlenty, Tina Podlodowski, Hercule Poirot, policy wonks at AEI, post-partum depression, RedState, the Republican Main Street Partnership, Tony Rezko, Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, Greg Sargent, Steve Schmidt, Allyson Schwartz, Sam Stein, stockbrokers and housewives, the stupidest person in the room, the Tea Party, Margaret Thatcher, Fred Thompson, token volunteering, Trump copycats, Elizabeth Warren, webcasts, the welfare state, Meg Whitman, Rick Wilson & more!

It was a huge privilege for this week's Nostalgia Interview to meet Nigel Nelson, the longest serving political editor in Fleet Street. Nigel works for the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People. We recorded our interview on the afternoon that the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer received fines from the Metropolitan Police for attending a party in Downing Street during lockdown. Nigel gives us his take on whether they should have resigned and how the removal of the Prime Minister affects the country's command structure. Nigel has worked with seven Prime Ministers, and he explains that he still has a frisson of excitement every time he walks into the House of Commons. He talks about how history can teach you lessons but that it can't tell you what will happen next. We discuss how the nature of news and politics has changed over the years and how it is now a 24/7 operation. Nigel talks about the things he sometimes can't publish and why he is irritated by political biographies, and how facts don't always tell the full story. From his teenage years Nigel has had an interest in politics and a talent for writing and he reveals how he has done things which he could only have dreamed about when he was young, including writing a political novel. I ask Nigel if he ever thought about being on the other side of the fence and he recounts the time he did toy with that idea at the time of the SDP in the 1980s. We learn why he would rather be on the sidelines than becoming one of the players. We find out about the events that Nigel has influenced through his work on The People, and we talk about why he admires Ken Clarke and Nigel Farage from the other side of the political spectrum and the importance for a political journalist of not becoming too friendly with politicians. Nigel shares his thoughts on how Prime Minister's Questions is really theatre and we learn that politicians often don't get along with politicians on their own side. We learn that Nigel's favourite film is Zulu and we discover why Muhammad Ali is such a pivotal figure and why Nigel has an interest in Gregorian chants. Nigel expresses his thoughts on organized religion, and we discuss whether politics and religion are similar. His mother was a spy and Nigel reveals his own experience of when the intelligence agencies tried to recruit him, too. Nigel explains that he would rather reveal than keep secrets. We also learn why he turned his back on university. Being a journalist, Nigel has a ringside view on history and he talks about his experience of being under fire at the time of war, how he and his wife have diametrically opposite political positions, and we learn why Nigel favours coalition as the best form of government. Then, at the end of the interview, Nigel reflects on his life and career and explains why he is a forward looking person. Please note: Opinions expressed are solely those of Chris Deacy and Nigel Nelson and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the University of Kent.

From a homegrown oasis to the public park, gardens provide the lifeblood to private lives and local communities. In this episode, learn how artists Marney-Rose Edge, Ken Clarke, Paula Barrantes, and Anaïs Lera each employ a unique approach to art in the garden.

Today we return to one of my favourite subjects, and one that we periodically visit: UK house prices measured in gold.As regular readers will know, I am firmly of the mind that unaffordable housing in the UK (and indeed across most of the developed world) is as much a consequence of our system of money and credit as it is of dumb, prohibitive planning laws.If interest rates reflected actual inflation, the story would be very different. I'm not talking about the consumer price index (CPI) measure targeted by the Bank of England (and even that now stands at over 6%). I'm talking about the inflation of the money supply, whether via debt expansion or quantitative easing (QE), and the resulting costs felt. House prices are currently rising at roughly 11% a year, and you're telling me inflation is only 6%? Pull the other one.The incremental effects of these rises – 7% one year, 12% the next – over many decades  have made house prices ludicrously unaffordable to young people. It's been going on since at least the early 1990s, and the days when Ken Clarke was chancellor, and before. Salaries have not kept up.If interest rates rose to reflect our current 11% house price inflation then the ensuing rush for the exit would pretty quickly make house prices affordable again. The entire house-of-cards economy would come crashing down too, but that's another matter.For this reason, we conduct the occasional exercise of measuring house prices in sound money. Gold has served this role since the Stone Age, and so we bow to the wisdom of Mother Nature, and use it here.The pound in your pocket has lost a lot of value compared to a house…The average price of a house in the UK is now £274,000 according to the Office for National Statistics and the Land Registry. The average salary is £31,285, so house prices are at roughly nine times earnings.The house-prices-to-earnings ratio in most big cities, especially in the south, is much more distorted than that. It was three times when I bought my first flat in London in 1993.We'll start with house prices in pounds. This chart goes all the way back to 1953, when mortgages barely existed. Debt is the big driver of house prices – if there is no debt in a market, prices will reflect local cash levels and be much lower. Introduce debt, and up go prices. (Debt, even with all that QE, remains the biggest supply of new money).On the other hand, debt makes it possible to do things now you would otherwise not be able to do – like buy a house. But keep debt costs low and more money enters the system, prices stay high and the economy “grows”. That's why the authorities prefer to keep interest rates down.“You've never had it so good”, was the government's cry at the time, as the Tories actively encouraged a “property-owning democracy”. Stamp duty was cut and the government lent money to building societies, so they could issue mortgages. Home ownership rose from 29% in 1951 to 45% by 1964, and the train of higher prices was put in motion. They rose by over 50% during that period. The above chart is astonishing in its relentless rise higher. It looks like bitcoin! The crash of the early 1990s, in which hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes amid surging interest rates, is a mere blip. Far fewer lost their homes in 2008, because rates were slashed.But looked at from another perspective, you can see just how much value your money has lost. In 1953, the average house cost £1,891. Today it's 150 times that. The pound has lost more than 99% of its purchasing power in 70 years. Money. Huh! It's a fraud. But you can't do without it.… but the gold in your vault has notNext we turn our attention to UK house prices measured in a much sounder form of money - one that central banks can't print. This is the same house prices measured in gold since 1953.As you can see, it's rather a different story.Back in 1953 the average house cost 150 ounces of gold. Same price as in 2020. Wait a minute, what?And today a house will cost you 205 ounces of gold. Wait a minute you're telling me house prices are only up 30% since 1953?If you measure them in gold, yup.In 1980 you could buy the average UK house for 50 ounces of gold. You could have done so in the 1930s as well (not shown on the chart). In 2004, with gold sitting at around $400 an ounce, and the average house at £150,000, it took over 700 ounces to buy a house. The noughties aside, the long-term “normal” price of a British house in gold terms ranges between 150 and 300 ounces.So what's next for the house price to gold ratio?I thought the end was nigh for the housing bubble in 2007. I was wrong. I didn't foresee interest rates being slashed like that. Woe betide anyone who calls the top in housing. The only thing that will send house prices lower is increased rates – though even at 3% or 4% there would be problems. No policy-maker wants falling house prices on their watch, partly because they own houses, partly because of the damage to their reputation and partly because they don't want to see people lose their homes (never mind those who can't afford). So I very much doubt that we will see rates reach the levels that real (and even CPI) inflation suggests they should be. Perhaps the Bank of England's hands will be forced, maybe by problems in the gilt market, spiralling food and energy prices, or the rising cost of de-globalisation. Even so, never underestimate the ability of central bankers to print and obfuscate.On the other hand, gold looks like it wants to go higher. It's gold – it has a propensity to disappoint (to put it mildly), but, from war to riots to inflation, it is not like there is currently a shortage of fundamental drivers to push it higher. So I would argue that that ratio will come back to 150 ounces a house before it goes to 300. And, who knows, a little bit of a crisis will send it back to 50 ounces.“Yes, yes”, my father used to say. “But you can't live in gold. And gold doesn't pay rent.”He has a point. But so do I. Central banking has left a generation homeless. Fiat money has done terrible things to society.Thanks very much for reading/listening. Sign up to my Substack if you haven't already. Lots more quality content coming. Share this article with a friend if you liked it and check out my paid letter - our stocks are doing pretty well at the minute.This article first appeared at Moneyweek.Here it is in video form: This is a public episode. 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In this episode, Dan Wootton is joined by Associate Editor of The Spectator, Rod Liddle to discuss if Boris Johnson is taking notes from the man tipped to become the next US President after diving headfirst into the debate over trans swimmer Lia ThomasThen, an entire London suburb faces erasure because its name has links to slavery, have the left lost the plot in their goal to cancel history? Dan & Ann Widdecombe try to get to the bottom of what on earth is going on there in Big Widdy Style.Finally, despite today's promise of a cut in the Spring Statement, Brits will actually be paying more tax. So how can Rishi Sunak claim to be a low tax chancellor? One of his Tory predecessors in the role Ken Clarke, who served under John Major from 1993 to 1997, gives Dan his verdict See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Gavin Esler talks with former Chancellor Ken Clarke & Baroness Shami Chakrabarti about the culture of contemporary politics, the need for action on wealth inequality, & the actions that can be taken to build a more respectful & honest politics. Across the Benches series brings together two MPs from different parties to discuss the values they have in common. Produced by Compassion In Politics in partnership with The Real Agenda Network. 

Former Chancellor Ken Clarke & Baroness Shami Chakrabarti talk with presenter Gavin Esler about the culture of contemporary politics, the need for action on wealth inequality, & the actions that can be taken to build a more respectful & honest politics. Across the Benches is produced by Compassion In Politics in partnership with The Real Agenda Network 

In this week's episode, host Steve Anglesey asks if Britain is getting buyer's remorse over Boris Johnson. He takes listeners' thoughts on this issue and on Ken Clarke ahead of speaking with Tim Walker who interviewed Clarke for The New European's latest edition. Walker then joins our host to delve into the interview in detail. Why is there a lack of talent at the top of the political ladder? Has the race to find the next Conservative leader already begun? And, are we nearing an elected dictatorship, or have we already reached one? These are all questions he answers. Plus, Nadine Dorries, Gillian Keegan and George Eustice all feature in the Hall of Shame this week. Enjoyed this episode and the podcast's new shorter, snappier format? Let us know by tweeting @TheNewEuropean

Across the UK, the NHS is struggling to cope, despite not experiencing the predicted surge of Covid cases. Today's Nick Robinson looks back and examines how the NHS has come to dominate our national conversation. He speaks to writer, Frank Cottrell-Boyce, about the tribute to the NHS in the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Nick also speaks to Ken Clarke, former Conservative Chancellor, as well as Alan Johnson, former Labour Health Secretary, and Jeremy Hunt, former Conservative Health Secretary, and Camilla Cavendish, former Director of Policy for Prime Minister David Cameron. (Image: Doctor wearing stethoscope, Credit: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire)

Sunday Morning at Hope Church, Craigavon

The Red Wall has been the backbone of Labour's vote in the Midlands and the North of England. But in 2019, it dramatically turned blue for the first time in living memory. So what do we get wrong about the Red Wall? Nick Cohen talks to the Financial Times' Sebastian Payne about his new book, Broken Heartlands, his time in ten constituencies across the North, and what Labour needs to do to recover regional electoral support.“The collapse of the Red Wall has been gradual, then sudden.”“Brexit broke the umbilical cord between collectivised communities.”“I couldn't tell you a single soundbite from Ken Clarke's career. But he told a convincing narrative.” “There is nothing inevitable about demographics in this country.” Presented by Nick Cohen. Produced by Andrew Harrison. Assistant producers: Jelena Sofronijevic and Jacob Archbold. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Audio production by Alex Rees. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Sebastian-Payne/Broken-Heartlands--A-Journey-Through-Labours-Lost-England/25842557 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Iain Dale talks to Steve Richards about his book THE PRIME MINISTERS WE NEVER HAD: SUCCESS & FAILURE FROM BITLER TO CORBYN which features chapters on 11 politicians who didn't quite make it to Number 10 – Rab Butler, Roy Jenkins, Barbara Castle, Denis Healey, Neil Kinnock, Michael Heseltine, Michael Portillo, Ken Clarke, David & Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn.

Iain Dale talks to Steve Richards about his book THE PRIME MINISTERS WE NEVER HAD: SUCCESS & FAILURE FROM BITLER TO CORBYN which features chapters on 11 politicians who didn't quite make it to Number 10 – Rab Butler, Roy Jenkins, Barbara Castle, Denis Healey, Neil Kinnock, Michael Heseltine, Michael Portillo, Ken Clarke, David & Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn.

Hilarious, winsome and profound, Fanta shares powerful stories from the troubles in Northern Ireland and lessons in leadership. Connect with me if you want to be put in touch with Fanta. --- For more from Simon go to: simonguillebaud.com --- Produced by Great Lakes Outreach - Transforming Burundi & Beyond: greatlakesoutreach.org

To celebrate our 50th episode, we're taking you down memory lane as we showcase some of the best bits with some of our favourite guests on The Hearing so far. Reminisce with Dame Fiona Woolf and Cherie Blair, who talk about the incredible women in the legal profession, as well as the ongoing challenges with gender inequality. Diversity and inclusion were the order of the day when Yasmin Sheikh joined us, while Brie Stevens-Hoare QC talked about a feeling of not belonging. Highlighting the diversity of discussion that we've had on The Hearing, World Bank Vice-President Sandie Okoro talked to Joe Raczynski about the benefits of working at an organisation that embraced multiculturalism, while former Blur drummer Dave Rowntree spoke about swapping the rockstar life for a career in criminal law. Criminal barrister Jonathan Goldberg QC regaled us with many a colourful tale about some of his more infamous clients. Alastair Campbell opened up about the Hutton Inquiry and his views on the government, while Ken Clarke talked to us about his posh accent and Cambridge education. We've got plenty more great guests—and some new ideas—to bring you. But for now, enjoy our celebratory 50th episode and, of course, stay safe! Find out more at tr.com/TheHearing

Some of the high profile names include Ken Clarke, Kate Hoey, Amber Rudd and Rory Stewart.

Tory MP Ken Clarke reveals why he has occasionally dressed up in women's underwear. The former Lord Chancellor and current Father of the House of Commons also tells Kevin what he thinks of his new-found fans – drawn by his outspoken views on Brexit. This episode won't disappoint. The pair also discuss: pressure to modify Ken's Nottinghamshire accent; attending Rushcliffe beauty parades for column inches; death threats; selfies; and Trump (the president, not the inflatable baby). Find out more at tr.com/TheHearing

Isabel Hardman is here with the best of Sunday's political interviews. Highlights today come from Sir Keir Starmer, Dominic Raab, David Lidington, Nicola Sturgeon and Ken Clarke. This podcast was prodced by Matthew Taylor.

Is Meghan Markle good news for the Establishment, and what do we make of her anyway? We also discuss the potential for Tory rebellion on the customs union, and ask, does economic research back up higher government spending? With Jan Moir, Sophia Money-Coutts, Ken Clarke, Tim Shipman, Liam Halligan, and Michael Jacobs. Presented by Isabel Hardman.

Is it futile to try and resist Brexit? Hardtalk's Sarah Montague speaks to one of the big beasts of British politics. Known as the Father of the House because he is the longest serving member of the UK's House of Commons, he has also held more cabinet posts than any other living British politician. And yet Ken Clarke says we are now in "the maddest situation" of his lifetime and talks of the political system being "broken". It's one of the reasons he couldn't quite bring himself to retire at the last election, staying on to fight against Brexit and for the Conservative Party. Is it a fight he can win?Image: Ken Clarke, Credit: Getty Images

Matthew Taylor takes you through the best of Sunday's political interviews. The final roundup of the year features contributions from Diane Abbott, David Gauke, Barry Gardiner, Nadine Dorries and Ken Clarke.

Isabel Hardman is back to bring you the best of Sunday's political interviews. This week's episode features Tony Blair, Sir Michael Fallon, Dominic Raab and Ken Clarke. Produced by Matthew Taylor.

Stephen Sackur asks veteran Conservative cabinet minister Ken Clarke if prime minster David Cameron is in danger of losing grip of his party. No one ever said it would be easy for the British prime minister - his government is an uneasy coalition, and his economic inheritance was disfigured by debt. But right now his biggest problems are coming from within. The Conservative Party is fractious; his authority has been challenged on everything from economic policy, to Europe, to his vision of progressive conservatism.(Image: Ken Clarke. Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)