Podcasts about Labour government

Defence Minister Chris Penk opened the door, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon slammed it shut. Chris Penk was at the Shangri La Dialogue, an annual security forum held in Singapore where defence ministers and military chiefs from across the Asia Pacific gather every year. Asked whether New Zealand might ease its rules to allow nuclear powered submarines into its waters, given that Australia's slated to get three nuclear powered subs as part of the AUKUS deal, Chris Penk said, “We don't have any official shift in our no nukes policy, but the subject," he said, “is worth chatting about." He said New Zealanders are sceptical of nuclear weapons, but it's quite a different proposition when it comes to nuclear propulsion. And that is quite true. New Zealand doesn't allow nuclear propelled vessels into its waters, whether they carry nuclear weapons or not. We don't allow nuclear weapons, we don't allow nuclear propulsion, but we do allow nuclear technology in this country. Radioactive isotopes are used to diagnose conditions and treat cancers. Our universities and research centres use small scale radioactive sources for research, and various industries use nuclear gauges and X ray technology for quality control, safety testing, and measurement. So it's not like we're as pure as the driven snow. We don't allow nuclear weapons, sure, but nuclear propulsion, surely you'd put that in the same category as X ray machines. We seem to be okay with a little bit of nuclear energy and technology – what about a little wee bit more when it comes to propulsion? No way," says Christopher Luxon. We're going to remain purer than the driven snow and we will maintain our no nuke stance." CHRISTOPHER LUXON: Essentially, we've got a long-standing position from '87. It's across the political spectrum. All New Zealanders feel very strongly about the nuclear free position. HEATHER DU PLESSIS-ALLAN: No, they don't. LUXON: No, they do. They do. And whether it's nuclear propulsion or nuclear armed, that's something that we're not up for and we won't be changing. Right. So this gentleman's not for turning, to misquote Margaret Thatcher. “All New Zealanders feel strongly about this," he said. “No, they don't," said Heather, filling in for Mike. No, they don't. I'm kind of with Heather. I couldn't have been more proud as a kid when New Zealand took on this David and Goliath stance against America. “No nukes," we said. And the world applauded and we took the moral high ground and caused strains with our relationship with the United States, the UK, and Australia. There were tensions, but my god, we were noble and we were holy and we were righteous. David Lange and the fourth Labour Government put us on the world stage with our no nuke stance. All very well and good, but there will be some of you who weren't even born when that was happening. The world has moved on. The world is a vastly different place than it was 40 years ago. I think we have to be open to a discussion about, A, our stance around nuclear weapons, B, around our stance on nuclear propulsion when it comes to armed forces around the world, and C, when it comes to nuclear energy. It makes sense. If the Greens are putting up roadblocks to more hydro dams, we cannot depend on solar energy alone. Open your curtains, look out the window. We need to have a constant, steady, reliable source of energy and we need to be able to discuss where that comes from. We need in this crazy world to have strong defensive alliances. And if that means allowing nuclear propelled ships, submarines into our waters, I'm okay with that. I'm not as righteous as Christopher Luxon seems to think New Zealanders are. Where do you stand on this one? A little bit more nukes? I mean, we already have some because we understand the value it brings. We understand the good it can do. What about a little bit more? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thirty years ago, I was the station manager and breakfast announcer at a very small experimental talk station in Auckland called ‘The Point' on 1476 AM. It lasted for about three years. It was a lot of fun. Now I mention this because I clearly remember 30 years ago a morning when we discussed what happens to New Zealand when the Maui and Kapuni gas runs out, because even then scientists were warning that supplies were limited and they were dwindling. That was 30 years ago, and the alarm bells were already ringing. Our failing gas is not some new problem and yet you have to say in the 30 years that have passed, as a country we have done little to pre-empt the impact. In the years since then we have become more efficient at using the gas we've got, we've become more efficient at extracting the gas we've got and so the deadline has been extended, but now it appears we're coming to the pointy end. The end of gas in New Zealand. In the past 30 years we've not found more and we have, you could argue, used our remaining stocks willy nilly. Industries have become more dependent not less. Now the last Labour Government was part of the problem. Yes, they curtailed gas exploration, but at the same time nobody found gas for the last 30-50 years and we've been looking. But what the Labour Government did do was suggest a gas transition scheme, and if you've forgotten about it, it was called the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry fund, GIDI, otherwise known as Giddy. It directly subsidised large businesses using fossil fuels like natural gas and coal to help them switch to renewable electricity or biomass. But when the latest government came in two years ago, they scrapped that. They didn't like the way it was sheeted home to the emission reduction plans because that was far too green for them, and they didn't like the way the taxpayer was directly funding industry so they cancelled it. And they banked $640 million that had been set aside for it. But they didn't have anything to replace Giddy with two years ago. Now they do and it's called the Gas Transition Loan Guarantee Scheme. It's worth about $1.2 billion. It will only directly cost the Government about $48 million. They guarantee the loans, right? Well, I'll tell you how it works. They underwrite 80% of each loan which allows banks to offer lower interest rates. The loans can be up to $50 million, must be new lending, it'll run for 10 years, and the budget has set aside $48 million to cover potential costs and losses. So it's much cheaper than the Labour scheme. It depends on the commercial banks to loan to businesses. My question to you is will they, would they, can they? The goal of course is to help firms switch to alternative fuels, to protect jobs, and to leave remaining gas —because there is some there— to help the industries that are absolutely dependent on it. The scheme sits within the Government's broader budget focus. They've got four pillars of national security: international security, energy independence, social cohesion, and financial security. And the Prime Minister when announcing all this yesterday said New Zealand cannot compete globally without abundant affordable energy, obviously. To qualify a business must use natural gas and consume at least 1,000 gigajoules a year. That's about 40 times the usage of a typical household. That would be a commercial kitchen in a restaurant, wouldn't it? That'd basically be everybody except those people using gas at home to cook and to heat their water. Eligible sectors include food processors, brewers, hotels, aged care facilities, greenhouse growers. Some of the country's largest gas users they use 300,000 gigajoules annually. The Energy Minister is Simeon Brown and he says the loans will help businesses switch to electricity or bioenergy or other efficient technologies. “We are running out of gas very quickly. We have had a 23% reduction in New Zealand's gas reserves in the past year and production this year is now expected to be 15% lower than expected at the beginning of this year. And so that is a significant reduction. That means for those businesses that rely on gas there's less of it going around, prices are increasing, it's harder to get contracts and a lot of this is due to the last government you know putting the one the ban on oil and gas exploration in place and diminishing its role in our economy. And so we've a role to make sure we support those businesses through this transition to make sure that we can protect jobs and industry.” He's not wrong. The ban on oil and gas exploration put a bit of a tiahoa on everything, but to find a bit of gas and then to get it out into your into your cooker, that's a 10 to 20 year infrastructure job. So really we should have found the gas ages ago, and as I said right at the beginning, we were warning about this 30 years ago. Alongside the local program, the loan program, the Government will introduce new legislation requiring gas companies to tell us exactly how much gas we've got, and surely that makes sense. Regulations could be in place by the end of the year. Are you using gas and if so, why? Why when we knew 30 years ago that it was finite, why weren't we rationing it out from that point of time? What are your thoughts about this the way the scheme works? The previous Government, the Labour Government basically said here's a billion, change. And that was money straight out of your and my pocket as taxpayers. This Government doesn't like doing that and they've said okay commercial banks you loan them the money, we'll underwrite that and we'll put aside some money for those loans that go a little bit south, and that's about $48 million. That's a very crucial difference between two different types of governments. One socialist, the other a bit more capitalist and market based. What do you feel about that? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let's start with the big story of the day: the Finance Minister yesterday unveiling a major plan to shrink the public service. It's putting thousands of jobs on the line, but it is booking, potentially, billion-dollar savings into this year's Budget. So the interesting thing about her announcement —there were precursors to this, so this is stuff we knew, but it's all brought it into focus— is the pure numbers that we're talking about. So the Government wants to reduce the size of the core public sector. At the moment it's at 1.2% of the population. 1.2% of working New Zealanders work for the Government – they want to bring that down to 1%. So as we learned the other day, New Zealand's population sits at around 5.3 million. That, if you do the maths, means about 6–8,000 roles should go. The actual number they mentioned though was closer to 9,000. The savings will come from trimming staff numbers. They want to merge departments, and they want to increase the use of AI to improve efficiency. Now, of course some of us had thought that the cull of the public servants had already started. Wellington's economic stagnation has been blamed on that first round of efficiency cull, but it appears that not much was achieved. And here again, the numbers tell the real story. Back in 2017 there were 48,000 public servants. This ballooned under the Labour Government to 63,000. But despite all the angst in Wellington about bureaucratic redundancies over the past two years, the fact is there has not been a dramatic reduction in head count. In 2023, there were 63,000 public servants in this country. Today, in 2026, there are still 63,000 public servants. It's a dynamic world, the world of business and employment, and it's a bit like whack-a-mole. You cut here, but then you have to increase the cohort there every time you launch a new programme. If David Seymour gets his immigration policy over the line and we're going to crack down on overstayers more, they're going to need a whole lot more immigration workers – but they just fired a whole lot of those. Our search for 500 extra police officers was proof of how difficult all this can be. As fast as we hire a new cop, an old cop quits. So, we're running as fast as we can to stand still. These 63,000 people in the core public service, guess how much they cost the country? Guess how much? $11 billion a year. On average, and wait for this, each role costs about $175,000. I know. Well actually, the average wage is more like $100,000, but there's a whole lot of guys who are paid a whole heap more, so that brings that up a bit. Also it's the cost of disestablishing the role. But anyway, the fact of the matter is reducing those numbers will save hundreds of millions of dollars annually and potentially billions of dollars over the Government's four-year forecast period. Here's the thing, it's forecast over four years and even though these job cuts won't happen immediately, the Government plans to count these savings in this year's Budget, which is a week away. Based on the firm target that they're going to reduce head count by 9,000. So they're already talking about it. They're already saying before they've done a thing, hey, we've got an extra $2.4 billion and we'll be able to buy more services with that. And they're going to be doing that this election campaign; they'll be doing it next week over the course of the Budget. That's a very pretty $2.4 billion, isn't it? It sounds really good, but it'll take four years to achieve it if they achieve it. And I would ask you, is that counting your chickens before they hatch? So the process is easy to say, but I think you'll find it's much harder to do. And if you lay down an arbitrary target, we're cutting 9,000 jobs, that doesn't necessarily mean that the target will be met or met appropriately. So look, it's your show. What do you have to say about it? Are you confident that this can be done? Are you confident that this can be done and our services won't be unnecessarily reduced? There's another little debate we can have about the cut to the public service right now and that's the political fallout. This is an election year. Now many on the right will congratulate the move, and indeed they already have. And indeed, they're already asking why did this not happen two years ago? We thought the cull had started. I think the number you'll find that they've done is around about 2,000. Now they're talking about 9,000. Why didn't they talk about 9,000 two years ago? But anyway, the right will say great, good job, we need this. How will swinging voters feel about a cull? It's hard times and suddenly neighbours, family, friends are losing their job. And remember with every job cut, the ripples spread out, affecting the private economy. There's an old rule that says every job lost affects three more down the economic chain. So if we've got 9,000 jobs cut over the next four years, we've got nearly 40,000 other jobs that will be economically affected. So the political fallout, will this just harden the dislike for the Coalition among swinging voters who chop and change? And of course, the left, well they detest it immediately, don't they? They just hate this stuff. So the question politically, in doing this and doing it hard and doing it like this and doing it with such fanfare, is the Government shooting itself in the foot? Or will they be rewarded for finally stepping up their game? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Labour Government has had a bruising start to the Parliament. It is trailing badly in the polls and is expecting a battering in the local, Welsh and Scottish elections in early May. Another relaunch and plan for a comeback in the second half of the Parliament is expected soon. But the parameters of this relaunch are hotly disputed. With:  Sir John Curtice, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University Yuan Yang MP, Labour MP for Earley and Woodley Tom McTague, Editor in Chief of the New Statesman James Smith, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation (Chair)   To read the report: See it. Say it. Sort it. • Resolution Foundation

I'm 100% convinced this election is about the economy. Do people blame the Government in any way for the economic fallout from war? Does the economic grind make you look to other political answers? If Labour promises more money, was the lesson of the last Labour Government not learned? Or do enough not care and will take the money and worry another day, if they worry at all? Polls will show the usual nonsense around health and education and crime. These are just headline thoughts people drum up when a pollster asks a question. It's the same question and same answer, forever. But potentially, if there's an issue outside the economy this time it's immigration. Mainly because it's been used successfully before to stir the pot. The trouble this time is immigration, in terms of facts, isn't a thing. When 130,000 newbies arrive, sure, there is a debate. But when it's 24,000 it's no longer an issue. The brain drain is basically over. Sadly, those that were leaving have largely gone and those that have replaced them are here. Now, if you don't like the cultural make up of New Zealand that's fine, but the election will contain no polices that will change the current make-up. No one is booting anyone in any numbers out of this country. A lot of the immigration noise is a political ploy picked up from offshore where immigration is a real touch point. But that is illegal immigration; boat people, gangs on beaches, etc. We don't have that. Never have, never will. Our system is points based – you get points for skills. You can argue around the edges on what those skills are and you can argue around the edges over what countries those skills come from. You can also argue, with Auckland being the best example, that the cultural landscape has materially changed. I see it, you can't miss it. Personally, I like it and, sure, not everyone does, but no politician is going to change what we already have. And that's the trouble with this election – if immigration is an issue, and if it's divisive, that's a ploy. If we were being overrun, fine, have the debate. But we aren't. In fact, it's the opposite. As long as employers still can't find talent, and that's real, where do the workers come from and why would you vote not to solve that problem? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Professor John Nilsson-Wright talks with Sir Robin Niblett, former Director of the leading British think-tank Chatham House, about the key foreign policy challenges and opportunities facing the Labour Government of Sir Keir Starmer. They discuss the legacy of previous Conservative governments' foreign policies, key bilateral relationships with the United States, China, and Britain's European and Indo-Pacific partners, and the perennial challenge of balancing strategic priorities against the economic constraints associated with slow growth and rising national debt. At a pivotal time in domestic politics, following Labour's poor performance in Britain's recent local elections, they also consider the Prime Minister's political future and the prospects for British foreign policy of a change in the Labour leadership or a future transition to a new UK government.

Join the team for a look at the latest aviation news from around the world and across the UK.  UK refineries are asked to maximise jet fuel production amid on-going supply fears; the UK    Labour Government are under pressure to tackle airport parking charges with new rules amid spiralling costs; and one man is injured after a United 767 hits his delivery truck whilst landing in Newark.   As usual we will have a military segment from Armando as his continues to explain the air operations to us during the US/Iran war.  RAAOTW also: This week we go back to 1983 and to an airline that's taking you to Europe for a bargain! Then just for a change this week we go all SNL & comedy for an alternative airline ad.  It's just over 2 weeks to go until our 600th show, so Nev will give us an update as to how we are getting on with the preparations.  Remember that we're going live at 7pm UK time (1800UTC) and that daylight savings has gone into effect in the UK.  You can get in touch with us all at : WhatsApp +447446975214 Email podcast@planetalkinguk.com or comment in our chatroom on YouTube.

STARMER: NO MORE LECTURES ON ST GEORGE! PROTECT OUR BORDERS NOW  #Starmer #Brightonrape #JonGaunt #JonGauntTV #asylum #Dover  Another Saint Georges Day and another lecture from STARMER about our flag and patriotism. Why doesnt he just keep quiet , he is the fake patriot not us!  He seems to be on a mission to kill our great country.  Three Asylum Seekers have just been found guilty of a brutal gang rape in Brighton. Two of these animals were Dinghy boy illegals!  Meanwhile this lousy Labour Government have just agreed to give France many more millions to stop the small boats! Why can't we just rip up the ECHR and just put the Navy in the channel, the Army on the beach and DETER DETAIN AND DEPORT. Starmer's political career is finished but he must be removed before he finishes off our country.  Join me  to give me your views.  Jon Gaunt, JonGauntTV, live, Starmer, Keir Starmer, Jonathan Brash, PMQs, Labour Revolt, Lame Duck PM, UK Politics, Cost of Living Crisis, Parliament, Prorogue, Men in Grey Suits, Resignation, British Government, Breaking News, Political Analysis, Common Sense  #JonGaunt #JonGauntTV #live #Starmer #KeirStarmer #JonathanBrash #PMQs #LabourRevolt #LameDuckPM #UKPolitics #CostOfLiving #Parliament #Prorogue #MenInGreySuits #Resignation #BritishGovernment #BreakingNews #PoliticalAnalysis #commonsense  This is political blogging and hard-hitting social commentary from Triple Sony Gold Award-winning talk radio legend, Jon Gaunt — former host on BBC, Talk Radio, and Sky News. On Jon Gaunt TV, we cut through the noise and say what others won't. No political correctness. No censorship. Just real conversations that matter.

Peter Mandelson's career is an object lesson in how the ruling class controls all bourgeois political parties, Labour included. What we get from these revelations is not only a tale of large-scale human trafficking and paedophilia, but also an insight into the backroom mechanisms of the billionaire financier class. Subscribe! Donate! Join us in building a bright future for humanity! www.thecommunists.org www.lalkar.org www.redyouth.org Telegram: t.me/thecommunists Twitter: twitter.com/cpgbml Soundcloud: @proletarianradio Rumble: rumble.com/c/theCommunists Odysee: odysee.com/@proletariantv:2 Facebook: www.facebook.com/cpgbml Online Shop: https://shop.thecommunists.org/ Education Program: https://thecommunists.org/education-programme/ Each one teach one! www.londonworker.org/education-programme/ Join the struggle www.thecommunists.org/join/ Donate: www.thecommunists.org/donate/

On May 7th 2026, the Scottish people go to the polls to elect a new Scottish Parliament. In and amongst what look like seismic losses for the Labour Government across the English local elections and in the Welsh Senedd, Scotland stands out: it had its reckoning with the Labour Party back in 2011.If the polls are to be believed then the SNP look set to retain their place as the biggest party in Holyrood, but with a diminished seat number as Reform, the Greens and the Lib Dems look to capitalise. So with a fraught relationship with the Green Party after their recent coalition woes, an ideological opposition to Labour and a minority of MSPs, the question needs to be asked: what next for Scotland?To discuss this with Compass Director Neal Lawson we were delighted to be joined by two true standout voices in Scotland:Stephen Flynn, MP for Aberdeen South, and Leader of the SNP in the House of CommonsTommy Sheppard, SNP MP for Edinburgh East between 2015-2024.Support the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice. 

At the end of last year the Labour government introduced the Courts and Tribunals Bill. In this bill, the government are proposing to reduce the use of juries and have some criminal cases decided by a judge alone. Some very big changes. This week we unpack key parts of this bill, and look at the implications it will have IF it is passed. The Lammy Review - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/lammy-reviewPrison Reform Trust - Works to create a fairer and more effective criminal justice system, focusing on improving conditions in prisons and reducing unnecessary imprisonment. They conducts research, influences policy, and advocates for reforms that support rehabilitation and reduce reoffending.This podcast is also available as a video – just search Life After Prison on YouTube. Contact us:If anything you've heard in this podcast has inspired you to make a positive change in your life, or you'd just like to get in touch, please contact us.

"It's the economy, stupid," is a catchphrase that means the primary concern of American voters is the state of the American economy and how that economy affects their personal finances. It was a phrase coined by a strategist in Bill Clinton's successful presidential campaign, and it's pretty much what Christopher Luxon campaigned on in 2023. The Labour Government were, and I paraphrase, incompetent economic vandals who had done incalculable damage to the New Zealand economy and only by electing a National Party into government could New Zealand's fortunes be restored. That was pretty much the narrative going into ‘23. Add to that a little bit of light law and order and education and you had the election campaign. Three years on we're heading into another election, and the economic headlines are grim. Example: ASB economists have joined Westpac in forecasting that the economy will contract in the second quarter of the year. Households are only just starting to feel some relief according to ASB's chief economist Nick Tuffley. Higher fuel prices are now squeezing budgets again. That pressure will be felt right across the economy. Here's another headline: Finance Minister Nicola Willis has revealed inflation is set to go much higher this year and sit outside the Reserve Bank's target band of 1 to 3%. Here's another: Prospects for a recovery in the labour market this year appear to have dimmed with any decline in the unemployment rate looking more like a story for next year. Infometrics said any signs the economy was starting to recover would most likely be put on hold. Here's another: Wattie's factory closures, boss blames soaring manufacturing costs. Contrast that with Christopher Luxon back in 2023 and his bullish promises that help was on the way, first when he was speaking to me in July. “It's going to be a big turnaround job because I think actually we've got a great country but a lot of it is going to be pretty decayed by the time we get there in terms of health, education, housing, the economy, law and order. But that's why I've got my team working on that right now because when we get there, we're not forming steering review, you know we had what was it, 230 working groups to do reviews of stuff. We're going to be ready to go on day one and we're going to have to move at 100ks an hour. “So we will have to be really, really clear about the things that we need to transform and actually step up and change a lot and it is going to be education, it is going to be healthcare, it is going to have to be the economy, making sure we're making every dollar count and get a payback for it.” And this was Christopher Luxon in November: “I don't want people to give up hope. You know, we can actually get to a better and a different place from where we sit today, but we do have to go to work now and we have to go sort out the challenges and we have to realise the opportunities we've got in front of us, and we have to be straight up about it and get it done and get the country turned around.” Hmm. Have they? No. They won't be able to campaign on that. Is some of it due to external forces like the fuel crisis? Absolutely. But there were no caveats in the promise that things would turn around and things would get better. Could Labour have done any better? Hell no. I mean they'd already shown they can't cope in a crisis other than throwing money around and locking people up. They simply have no answers. Thank God they're not the government right now otherwise we'd all be working from home and homeschooling the kids because of the fuel crisis or strong winds. But when you look at the polls and you wonder to yourself how on earth could anyone possibly see Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori as a viable government, what you're seeing are voters who were promised much and have yet to see the delivery. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every time a Labour Government gets into power, the UK gets weaker! We now see this being played out as centuries of tradition are being erased!   DO JOIN MY SUBSTACK HERE! BUY ME A COFFEE HERE AND SUPPORT MY WORK ON THIS PODCAST

Federated Farmers thinks it's unlikely the live export ban will be reinstated, now the Government's backtracked. A campaign promise for National and ACT vowed to return the $370-million-dollar trade with improved animal welfare. The Labour Government banned it in 2023. Animal Welfare Minister Andrew Hoggard says there were more pressing matters this term. Federated Farmers Dairy Chair Karl Dean says it's going to be very hard to overturn it now. "There was a big industry behind it, that's very much now diminished. The international players, they've gone elsewhere." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Some simple observations on part two of the Covid Inquiry. 1) It's cheaper than the British equivalent finished last week that cost over half a billion dollars. 2) It says pretty much what you thought it would. 3) I'm convinced it's a waste of time because a pandemic response is about the ideology and Government of the day, not medical process. 4) Why do I say that? Read the report. It says numerous times good advice was ignored. 5) Did the Labour Government, broadly, cock it up? Yes. 6) Badly? Yes. 7) The report says, at its heart, people tried hard. They wanted to do the right thing. 8) Is that an acceptable answer? Sort of. But wanting to do well isn't the same as actually doing well. 9) It's hard to work out what's worse – the medical cock-ups or the financial ones. 10) Grant Robertson and his economic vandalism come out of it probably as bad as Jacinda Ardern and her megalomania. 11) They were too slow, I would argue because they were lazy. They sat in Opposition for nine years not expecting to get to Government, they weren't sharp or ready, so not only did Winston hand them a lifeline, they got a pandemic. They never stood a chance. They weren't match fit. 12) It's as much our fault as anyone. A party that gets about 30% support in an MMP election got 50% in 2020. Too many of us loved being told how to wipe our bums and too many of us were too lazy to think and work out where it was all heading. 13) The tide turned and (given any response whether it be a pandemic, war, or just plain policy is reliant on public goodwill) once it did turn Labour were done for. 14) The fact Ardern can't live in the country tells you very clearly how badly the tide turned. 15) I am no more confident today that we are any more ready for a pandemic, although if we can take anything from the report; 16) It's the recommendation that public debt needs to drop so we can be more ready for an unpredictable world. War, anyone? 17) Neither of the reports were really needed. We are the experts because we lived through it. Some of us still bear the scars. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We all seem to be suffering from Long Covid. It's lingering as the findings of the second phase of the Covid-19 response inquiry were released yesterday. And what its findings were pretty much depends on what media you read. According to RNZ, it found the Government's response was effective but late and not communicated well enough to people. From Newsroom: ‘Lockdown, vaccine decisions considered and appropriate, Royal Commission'. So looking at that headline, you'd think nothing to see here, no criticisms, excellent, well done. ‘Covid-19 inquiry commission criticises length of Auckland lockdown and government spending' – that's from the New Zealand Herald. Maybe read it yourself and see what you think. It's on publicly available on websites. There are video explainers, there are findings there. See for yourself. If you were anti-the infantilisation of the country, as I was, you will read it and wonder why the commission was so temperate in its findings. If you believed the Government was your saviour and without their instructions you would have died, you will read the excuses and the findings and nod along and say, “Yes, didn't we do well?" The second phase of the inquiry tested whether the Government took a balanced approach and found overall it largely did, but said the public was not brought on board —maybe they didn't want to be on board, maybe they could start to see through the nonsense— and the public must be brought on board in the next pandemic. One of the 24 recommendations made yesterday said that there should be more open decision making in future around the impacts on people's isolation, health, and incomes. And that's really, really important because surely, we must be allowed to question decisions, we must be able to debate them and argue against them without being considered treasonous or a conspiracy theorist or a granny killer. Look what happened when then leader of the National Party Simon Bridges grilled Ashley Bloomfield over the Ministry of Health's decision-making transparency and data at the Covid Response Select Committee hearing. In effect, just by daring to question the Director General of Health, just by asking him some tough questions, he lost his job. Cost him the job as leader of the National Party. We have to be able to question and debate, even if the decisions are ultimately the Government's based on the best possible advice. The report confirmed, as reported at the time, that the Auckland lockdown in late 2021 went on six days longer than recommended by Ashley Bloomfield. I think Aucklanders would argue it went on six weeks longer than it should have, but hey ho, there we go. That's what they found. It also found that advice from health experts that under 18s in work shouldn't be mandated to have two vaccine doses because of the risk of cardiac myocarditis wasn't followed. Another finding was that the Auckland Northland border stayed in place over the 2021/22 Christmas period when it was advised it could be reopened. There was also criticism of the then Labour Government's economic approach, saying policies around stimulus and inflation became unaligned from mid ‘21. For unaligned, I'd have put unhinged, but again, hey ho, it's their report. And that was despite the best advice from Treasury that spending must be temperate, timely, and targeted. The people of New Zealand are now vulnerable for at least the next 40 years to another shock, another pandemic, an earthquake. We're built on the shaky isles, you know, there's bound to be another, and we are now really vulnerable because too much money was not just spent but wasted by the previous Labour Government. And it's not just Treasury or the Inquiry that have pointed the finger at Labour for their financial sloppiness. Auditor General John Ryan, as he was then, heavily criticised the $15 billion infrastructure spend up during the pandemic. He said he decided to look at the funding because of the scale of the investment and the potential intergenerational impacts. His criticism and list of failings by officials and ministers are many. This is from a man who could ask the hard questions and get the answers that he needed to get, unlike journos who had to go through the OIA to get any kind of answers to any pertinent questions. They were far too busy saving lives to give answers to genuine questions around lockdowns, around vaccinations, around mandates and the like. But even with the hard data in front of them, Chris Hipkins and the like just recycle the “it's hard to be sorry when you've saved lives" trope. The inquiry finishes: “These lessons do not detract from the overall success of the pandemic response. Indeed, our findings, lessons, and recommendations are offered in the hope that they will assist decision makers to be as successful in fighting a pandemic in the future." Well, with what you know now, do you believe that the response was a success? Do you believe that when all is said and done and you look at other countries and they've done their reports, it was a success? I'll be talking to an economic policy analyst from Sweden, I spoke to him before the show and we'll be playing that next hour. They've conducted a rigorous review of their response and, you know, given the choice next time, I think that's the one we should be following. And certainly, Europe would be looking long and hard at it. Despite Sweden coming under so much criticism and heavy fire for having a light touch and open policy, they had the lowest death rate amongst all the European countries. So, there are alternatives, there are options. This is not the way, the truth, and the light. And I don't think it's treasonous or misogynist or conspiracy theoretical to say there is another way of doing things and, do you know what, it might actually be better.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I don't think there'll be too many complaints about the report from phase two of the COVID inquiry. Because, for $14 million, we've all got something out of it. That's $14 million for this phase. Phase one cost us about $17 million. If you're anti-vax or vaccine-weary, you've got the bit in the report about officials not telling ministers that 12 to 17-year-olds shouldn't really have been getting two doses of the vaccine. Because of the risk of myocarditis. That was an absolute shocker that one. If you think Jacinda was a saint and saved us all, you're probably having a bit of a “told you so” moment. Irrespective of how patronising she and her ministers got the longer the pandemic went on, you'll be having your “told you so” moment because the report says, overall, New Zealand's approach was good. If you think the Government got it wrong thinking that the team of five million would stick together no matter what, you'll be happy with the report too. Because it says some of the mandates went on too long, and the Government failed to communicate well enough with us. In fact, i can't think of anyone who won't feel they've got at least something out of it. Except NZ First Leader Winston peters, perhaps. He says many people think the inquiry has been one-sided and the damage is done. The damage he's talking about there is the damage from the mandates. He says: “The employment and wage-scarring impacts of the mandates were significant. The Labour Government made no attempt to monitor these impacts and the devastating results that would come to our country. “These mandates and lockdowns cost thousands of jobs and had a devastating effect on our economy and people's health and livelihoods - all of which were avoidable.” And I agree with him that not enough thought was given about the long-term consequences of the mandates. Which, at the time, I supported. Winston Peters says: “the report brings questions that need to be answered by Hipkins and Verrall and all those other former ministers. They cannot brush this off.” One of those former ministers, Chris Hipkins, said on Newstalk ZB this morning that he doesn‘t think his involvement in the COVID response and the findings of the inquiry will put people off voting for him. And I agree with him. Anyone who holds a grudge now will always hold a grudge. And there's nothing Chris Hipkins can do to change that. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr Luke Middup and Will Cooling return to talk the latest resignation of Peter Mandelson, the latest scandal involving the former Duke of York, the latest shock defeat of an unpopular Labour Government by a left-wing rival, and the latest idiotic American-led war in the Middle East. Stranger Things is finished so I guess we're doing noughties nostalgia, now. 

There's growing speculation as Labour appears to be mulling over their Reserve Bank policy ahead of the election. The previous Labour Government changed the bank's remit, ordering it to focus on keeping inflation low - and ensuring maximum employment. The current Government scrapped the changes. NZ Herald political editor Thomas Coughlan explained what Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds could be considering. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Credit to those 120 business people who went along to hear Chris Hipkins' State of the Nation address yesterday, hosted by the Auckland Business Chamber. Credit to those few people who watched it live, like my colleague Mike Hosking. My word, it was dull. And that is not me being a lickspittle mouthpiece for the Tory overlords. Have a listen to this: “I know we didn't get everything right when we were in government last time. Many of you have been very clear on what you think we did wrong. But one thing is clear, we were trying to do too much, too fast, and we weren't focused enough. We're going to be making further announcements later in the year as we get closer to the election. But I want to be very, very clear on this. I want to know that I can deliver on any promises that I make. That's the standard that I'll be holding myself to and our next Labour Government to. “Because frankly, Kiwis have had enough of promises that aren't kept. And I don't want to repeat that cycle. We won't try and do everything in our first term. We'll be focusing on what matters the most and delivering on those things. I'm not promising perfection. Where we make mistakes, I'll take responsibility for those. But I'm promising this: a government that puts the cost of living first, a government that partners with business to create jobs and raise wages, a government that invests in our people and backs our potential. Not just managing the country, building it.” Yes. So there was another 20 odd minutes of the same, 20 odd minutes. He banged on about affordability, that word was used a lot. Repeated the mantra I first heard when he came in for the quarterly catch up, and which we will no doubt hear throughout the campaign: jobs, health, homes. He went big on renewable energy, promised Labour would scrap the Government's proposed gas import terminal. Also went big on his future fund. As speeches go, he was no JFK. It is not one for the history books. But commentators say that was by design, like Tim Murphy from Newsroom. Tim says this was Labour trying to convey maturity, a little contrition, humility, and to claim it could be the adult in the room now and after the November 7 election. Luke Malpass from The Press says the speech was to present as a calm port in a cost of living storm, to be dependable, reliable, and boring even. That was the aim. Well, that's something Labour's achieved. Above all else, says Luke, at this stage of the game, to not change the strategy that has served Labour well so far, which is not say much, not do much, not announce much. And it has worked for them. When there is nothing that you can argue against, it's steady as she goes. They're just letting the Coalition Government make mistakes, or not work fast enough, or not be snazzy enough for the electorate, and they're just sitting there and collecting the votes of the centre, who are underwhelmed by the Coalition Government. Basically, they're saying vote for this Chris because he's not Christopher Luxon and we're not National. But that works both ways. You might not be wowed by the Coalition Government and the Prime Minister, but the message could be at least they're not Labour, Greens, and Te Pāti Māori, and at least Christopher Luxon isn't the Chris that was in charge last time. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guest: Joseph Sternberg. Sternberg warns that revelations linking Peter Mandelson to Epstein reinforce narratives of elitism, damaging Starmer's already unpopular Labour government among working-class voters.1859 CHARLES II

It's thought the fees-free university scheme was theory vs reality. New data suggests the previous Labour Government policy failed to reach the students it meant to. Of the 26 thousand students who went straight from Year 13 into study in its final year, just 1.3% came from the most disadvantaged schools – around 230 students. Universities NZ Chief Executive Chris Whelan told Mike Hosking in their hearts Labour believed it would make a difference, but it hasn't. But he says but it's been very popular with students because it means there's less of a financial burden on students as they enter the workforce. LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

​‪@RichardJMurphy‬, political economist and tax campaigner, joins Kamran Abbasi, Editor in Chief of The BMJ. In the UK an ongoing dispute between resident doctors and the Labour Government saw doctors go on strike in mid-December. With Winter pressure piling on and cost-of-living on the rise, do doctors have a credible case of pay rises? And more broadly, how can the economic situation of the NHS be improved? 00:00 Introduction 01:30 Doctor Pay Claims 04:33 Inflation Measures 07:29 Affordability Crisis 09:48 Market Forces Arguments 12:52 NHS Affordability 15:00 Youth Unemployment 19:14 Political Priorities 23:10 Neoliberal Capitalism 27:35 Mixed Economy Alternative 32:32 Prescription for NHS

STARMER'S 3AM MIGRANT DROP — 500 ILLEGALS BUSSED IN, BRITS IGNORED #KeirStarmer #UKPolitics #IllegalMigration #LabourGovernment #BritsFirst #Crowborough #JonGaunt #JonGauntTV #LIVE #OpenBorders #ArmyBase #CancelElections

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ongk6NssNzQ Premiered on 9 Jan 2026 The IHRA definition of antisemitism was 'declared adopted' by Wes Streeting, UK Health and Social Care Minister in November 2025. Right to Protest Ltd. has launched a judicial review to stop this measure, and defend the ability of all who support Palestine, and opposed genocide to speak freely. Please donate to the legal fund: https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/def... The IHRA 'working definition' was NOT designed to be a tool to fight racism. Just the reverse. It is a tool to make ILLEGAL the criticism of Israeli racism: Israeli apartheid, occupation, ethnic cleansing, torture, and mass-murder amounting to genocide. All of which is carried on with full backing of US and Britiain, and our own Labour government. These are the most dreadful and heinous international crimes, in which Wes streeting himself is complicit. The definition is therefore a corrupt tool of political repression behind which he can hide HIS OWN, and the LABOUR GOVERNMENT's complicity in genocide. 1.4 million NHS workers will be subject to its political censorship and repression. The target will be all pro-Palestinian British workers (60-70% of British workers are in sympathy with Palestine, despite the years of incessantly hostile media), and particularly Palestinians, Arabs and muslims. Therefore the IHRA definition, is in fact a RACIST tool of repression, which is already being used to attack pro-Palestine activists, and facilitate the Zionist attacks on progressive, pro-Palestine, anti-genocide British workers. Subscribe! Donate! Join us in building a bright future for humanity! www.thecommunists.org www.lalkar.org www.redyouth.org Telegram: t.me/thecommunists Twitter: twitter.com/cpgbml Soundcloud: @proletarianradio Rumble: rumble.com/c/theCommunists Odysee: odysee.com/@proletariantv:2 Facebook: www.facebook.com/cpgbml Online Shop: https://shop.thecommunists.org/ Education Program: Each one teach one! www.londonworker.org/education-programme/ Join the struggle www.thecommunists.org/join/ Donate: www.thecommunists.org/donate/  

'Keep a hold of those 99 balloons, tear down this wall Mr Gorbachev and make a shelter of your internal doors, we're diving into the Cold War in Britain'. Sean is joined by Imperial War Museum employee and author of Cold War Britain: 50 Years in the Shadow of the Bomb, Fraser McCallum.A two-hour exploration of the Cold War from a purely British stand-point, this begins as a discussion of Fraser's book and rapidly becomes an in-depth, humorous and passionate discussion between two lads who love history.References:-The parade that Sean was talking about was the "Victory Celebration" Parade in London on 8th June 1946, which omitted the Polish Forces.-The Channel Four programme Sean was talking about was the 2010 documentary 'Bloody Foreigners: The Untold Battle of Britain'.Our Guest:https://shop.iwm.org.uk/blogs/news/cold-war-britain -A blog about the book on the Imperial War Museum Website, with a link to the shop. This podcast is not an advertisement, and the link is here for you to do your own research on the book. You can buy it from whatever seller you want, we're not trying to influence you. Sean and Sarah highly recommend the book though!Podcast Sting:Marv from Pods Like Us podcast. Find It Here: https://marvsmooth.podbean.com/Chapters: 0:05 Welcome to Cold War Britain0:27 The Role of the NHS3:13 Labour Government and Idealism versus Reality5:32 Making History Accessible6:30 The Lack of books on Britain's role in the Cold War8:17 The Cold War and British Identity8:47 The Challenge of Academic History9.40 A book with Winston Churchill and David Bowie0:05 Welcome to Cold War Britain0:27 The Role of the NHS3:25 Historical Context and Modern Politics5:32 Making History Accessible8:17 The Cold War and British Identity8:47 The Challenge of Academic History12:48 Did Churchill under-estimate Stalin?16:44 The Dilemma of Poland18:13 The Suez Crisis19:10 The Vietnam War and British Involvement23:45 The UK/US 'Special Relationship'25:20 The UK/USSR relationship-A Marriage of Convenience?42:09 Protests and Changing Attitudes44:15 The Cultural Impact of the Cold War50:23 Cinema and Cold War Narratives56:16 Reflections on History and Film59:00 The Evolution of Britain's Nuclear ArsenalThanks for Listening!Find us here: X: @YourselfReviewInstagram: reviewityourselfpodcast2021 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

FFS! RIGHT MUST UNITE TO BEAT STARMER  #Starmer #Farage #BenHabib #RupertLowe #TommyRobinson #ReformUK #JonGaunt #Live  Starmer is clinging on and is determined not to resign so the Right of politics need to stop their playground squabbling and unite to prevent and obstruct Starmer's determination to wreck the UK.  We can not wait another 4 years to remove this lousy Labour Government we need an united opposition.  Farage and Rupert Lowe need to "kiss and make up." Ben Habib's considerable intellect needs to be employed and of course Tommy Robinson has the ability to get people out on to the streets. All of these leaders claim they are Patriots so now they need to prove that with their actions by uniting and opposing all the social engineering that Starmer will want to implement: ID cards, illegal migrants, rejoining EU, and FREE SPEECH restrictions and much more. Starmer and Lord Hermer have already shown their intent with their attacks on Farage and his alleged comments as a 13 year old boy!  Farage today the rest of them tomorrow?  Join me and tell me what you think.  #Starmer #Farage #BenHabib #RupertLowe #TommyRobinson #ReformUK #JonGaunt #Live #KeirStarmer #LabourParty #ReformUK #UKPolitics #jongaunttv #JonGaunt #TalkRadio #FreeSpeech #CancelCulture #Brexit #UKPolitics #NoCensorship #CultureWar #PoliticalCommentary #AntiWoke  Starmer, Farage, Ben Habib, Rupert Lowe, Tommy Robinson Reform UK, Jon Gaunt, Live This is political blogging and hard-hitting social commentary from Triple Sony Gold Award-winning talk radio legend, Jon Gaunt — former host on BBC, Talk Radio, and Sky News. On Jon Gaunt TV, we cut through the noise and say what others won't. No political correctness. No censorship. Just real conversations that matter.

The UK's embattled Labour Government has unveiled a tax-raising budget - after its full contents were leaked half an hour early. The plan's designed to lift economic growth and ease cost-of-living pressures. UK correspondent Enda Brady says Chancellor Rachel Reeves acknowledged ordinary people would have to pay more, and it's prompted backlash. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

UK Finance Minister Rachel Reeves will present her second annual budget to parliament this Wednesday, promising to plug a spending gap of at least £30 billion (€30.4 billion). Reeves has been under pressure both from her Labour Party backbenchers and investors to deliver a financial plan that delivers on her campaign promises, while shoring up public finances. We take a closer look in this edition.

The UK Government has confirmed it aims to ban people from reselling tickets from live events to make a profit. Restricting ticket scalpers was one of the Labour Government's election pledges, and it comes after Sam Fender, Dua Lipa and Coldplay urged Sir Keir Starmer to take action. UK correspondent Gavin Grey says more details of this plan will be revealed soon. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For most people, the process of buying a house can be quite disheartening. The lack of housing supply across the country means houses often sell for way above asking price and usually after an excruciating bidding war. While the Government promises to address the supply issue, is there anything that needs to change about the way we buy houses? In the UK, a major reform of the house-buying system has been proposed by the Labour Government. The plan aims to cut costs, reduce delays and make the whole process more efficient for buyers and sellers. Under the new plan, sellers would have to provide key information about the house upfront. Binding contracts could also be introduced earlier. It would cut the costs for first time buyers and speed up the process by up to four weeks - so should Ireland follow suit?In today's episode, Ciarán Mulqueen, who runs the social media account Crazy House Prices, takes a look at how the process works in other countries and whether something similar could be introduced here.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week's special episode is a live recording in front of an audience in the newly revamped main gallery at the Building Centre in London. My guest is Baroness Hilary Armstrong of Hill Top, Chair of the Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods and life-long advocate for communities and regeneration and the conversation explores one of the most important – yet often overlooked – questions in public policy: “how do we reestablish the concept of decent neighbourhoods as a means to renew the country from the ground up?”Some background: Baroness Armstrong has spent her career at the intersection of politics, policy and community life and today – from her work as a social worker in Sunderland ..to her time as a Cabinet Minister in the last Labour Government shaping the New Deal for Communities. A great platform to talk about what's gone wrong in the past decade, what can be done now to bring new hope across Britain's neighbourhoods.The Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods - ICON - is a cross-party initiative dedicated to understanding how neighbourhoods can drive national renewal and in the Spring is set to publish Think Neighbourhoods, its new report in why and how investment and focus on neighbourhoods can revitalise lives across the UK.And it certainly is a really interesting moment for housing. The government is pressing forward with its target to building 1.5 million new homes and – as we heard on the podcast last week - has just given the thumbs up to the New Towns Taskforce's plans for 12 communities across the UK. Meanwhile, the post Grenfell fire challenge to build and retrofit homes to be safer, warmer and more carbon efficient, continues to grow.A tough brief for sure and ICON's interim report - published last March - makes a compelling case for investment in and focus on neighbourhoods as part of this journey. It identifies over 600 ‘mission-critical neighbourhoods' across the country – places where disadvantage, disconnection and declining social infrastructure are holding people back and calls for a radical shift in how government works, arguing that “thinking big means thinking neighbourhoods.”“if Britain wants to deliver the government's missions and rebuild trust in politics,” it says, “it must start by investing in its neighbourhoods.”ResourcesThe Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods - ICONBaroness Hilary Armstrong of Hill TopInterim Report – Think NeighbourhoodsICON's summer progress reportICON's lates research on what is happening in England's neighbourhoodsThe Building Centre, Store Street, London 

There's growing calls to evaluate the future of fees-free university after a recent review labelled the policy 'deadweight'. The policy was originally introduced under the Jacinda-led Labour Government in 2017, with the current coalition moving the policy to cover a student's final year of university instead of the first. AUSA president Gabriel Boyd says dismissing the policy is 'unfair', as it's helped students save money. "I think the $12,000 that students saved, that they can then put towards accommodation, food, transportation, with this cost of living - does make a huge impact." LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is some angst in some media circles at the moment over funding for Māori TV news. A couple of programmes are facing some sort of cut, or cancellation, or realignment because of changes in the way money is handed out from the Māori funding agency. This is not new. Media in this country post-Covid has gone through a fairly major overhaul with many a casualty and a pile of significant change. The reality for media that is funded by the state is you are beholden to the purveyor of the purse string. Under the Labour Government, the amount of money handed out to media was ridiculous. The trouble with that sort of largesse is it can never last. Fill your boots while you can, because as sure as night follows day, reality, or reckoning, will come. In terms of Māori news programmes, here is the part that eludes me: how is it, as we have seen this past week, that all we ever get when funding gets adjusted is a complaint-athon? All we hear is people bemoaning their lot and fearing change. Here is the solution: if these programmes are of value, as they claim they are, what is stopping, and what has ever stopped them, from going to the commercial sector to get advertising or sponsorship support? Why is the Government i.e. the taxpayer, the only source of income? If the Māori news programmes are so valuable, then where is the Māori economy? I have read any number of times that the Māori economy is booming. There are any number of success stories in the Māori economy. It is a growth sector, and it is, by some reports, booming. Investment has led to expansion, reinvestment and riches - where are they? Why aren't they advertising or sponsoring these Māori products? Can they not see the synergies? How is it the connection has not been made? Business is always looking for advertising or marketing outlets. Why are the makers, producers and hosts of these programmes not looking to the commercial sector for an ongoing and stable level of support? Why is the taxpayer the sole provider of their paychecks? If you have a product worth its salt and if you are what you claim (relevant, popular and good at what you do) then there is always an answer. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Become a Client: https://nomadcapitalist.com/apply/ Get our free Weekly Rundown newsletter and be the first to hear about breaking news and offers: https://nomadcapitalist.com/email Join us for the next Nomad Capitalist Live event: https://nomadcapitalist.com/live/ Mr Henderson is joined by Kwasi Kwarteng, former Chancellor of the Exchequer under Liz Truss and the Head of State business within the Boris Johnson government. They discuss the declining state of the UK, how the West continues to push away its wealthiest entrepreneurs and how the emerging markets in Africa are continuing to become more attractive Nomad Capitalist helps clients "go where you're treated best." We are the world's most sought-after firm for offshore tax planning, dual citizenship, international diversification, and asset protection. We use legal and ethical strategies and work exclusively with seven- and eight-figure entrepreneurs and investors. We create and execute holistic, multi-jurisdictional Plans that help clients keep more of their wealth, increase their personal freedom, and protect their families and wealth against threats in their home country. No other firm offers clients access to more potential options to relocate to, bank in, or become a citizen of. Because we do not focus only on one or a handful of countries, we can offer unbiased advice where others can't. Become Our Client: https://nomadcapitalist.com/apply/ Our Website: http://www.nomadcapitalist.com/ About Our Company: https://nomadcapitalist.com/about/ Buy Mr. Henderson's Book: https://nomadcapitalist.com/book/ Disclaimer: Neither Nomad Capitalist LTD nor its affiliates are licensed legal, financial, or tax advisors. All content published on YouTube and other platforms is intended solely for general informational and educational purposes and should not be construed as legal, tax, or financial advice. Nomad Capitalist does not offer or sell legal, financial, or tax advisory services.

In a move you could have seen coming from the moment it was first announced, or if you couldn't see it coming you hoped it would come, Auckland University has decided its Waipapa Taumata Rau course will now be optional instead of compulsory. For a generation who have been appallingly let down over the Covid period by Government and education decisions, the Auckland University desire to force you into Māori courses seemed not just ill advised, but cruel. Kids of the past half dozen years have been soaked, to the point of drowning, in Māori issues and doctrine in their schooling and they are sick of it. The Labour Government's obsession with race has had the opposite effect intended. It didn't cajole and encourage, it rammed and forced and overwhelmed us with condescending overlord-type instruction. University is not about being told what to learn, it was supposed to be the opposite. From our personal experience this year it appeared to us that the course was not just ill conceived, but shonkily run by people barely qualified to deliver a curriculum that seemed largely made up with no real focus or discipline. Students hated it, resented it, and were dragged kicking and screaming through it. Not just that, but to add insult to injury you had to pay for it. They forced you into it, then sent you a bill. As in all these areas of race the trick has always been that if you seek it, want it, desire it, whether broader study or the specific language, it's freely available and fill your boots. But the determination to square peg it only ever led to pushback and resentment. The last thing I would have thought universities wanted to do was put people off study. Once again from personal experience, we know people who not only avoided Auckland University, but in fact ended up studying offshore. None of this is a desirable outcome for the country. The upside is when asked by the university the feedback was as you would have expected. And to their credit they have at least read the room and backed off. But not before another year for thousands has been lost in a whirlpool of woke-enforced nonsense that never had to be. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Highlights from Talkback. William Crawley and guests discuss the news headlines.

It is with real enthusiasm that I see the Public Service Commissioner potentially doing what the main Government should have done two years ago. What the Government did two years ago was say they were going to rectify the absurd size of the public service. It had blown out to gargantuan proportions under the Labour Government, who knew no bounds in terms of fiscal largesse based on debt. What the new Government actually did with the public service, sadly, was tinker. It peaked at a bit over 65,000 and it sits at over 63,000. In fact in the ensuing period, it's gone up again. So rough math will tell you they got rid of about 2,000 jobs. As a raw number it's a lot of jobs. A percentage it's tiny. As an effective exercise in efficiency and savings, it's a joke. The shame of it was the new Government of the day had licence. Yes, it was controversial. Yes, the unions bleated and moaned. Yes, the media went to town on a Tory slash-and-burn exercise. But the trick was always simple – if you're going to dish out the bad news go hard, DOGE it, blow it up, do it once and do it properly. The fall out, headlines, and anger will be exactly the same whether you trim a couple of thousand for no effect or 6,500 and make a difference. So they blew it. They took the heat but got few, if any, results. In an odd way it's symbolic of the weaker parts of this Government; the ideas, rhetoric, and execution are never quite aligning. But now the Commissioner Brian Roache looks to be having another crack by merging departments. The Ministries of Women, Pacific peoples, disabled peoples, and Māori Development could all be in for an upending. I'd go further. The never-ending series of commissioners and their offices that have no actual power and really only write reports would not be missed. But ministries for ministries sake is what holds this country back. They all fill a space to meet their budget and so-called mandate. If this is on, and I pray it is, wait for the bleating. Every one of them will tell you the critical nature of their existence but I defy anyone of you to list me the profound and productive change they have made to all our lives. Given you can't they then fall into the category as largesse, waste and tokenism. Do it once and do it right. That's how change should happen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's part 2 of the GLP 1 deep dive! In this episode, we are covering “food noise,” the weird things that people are reporting happening to their bodies on GLP-1s, horrid stuff that's happening in the UK, lawsuits, safety planning for those taking the drugs, and whether taking GLPs goes against fat liberation. TW: for British anti-fatness, side effects, and mental health. Episode show notes: http://www.fiercefatty.com/200 Support me on Ko-Fi and get the Size Diversity Resource Guide: https://kofi.com/fiercefatty/tiers Ragen's 3 bullet points on GLPs: https://www.instagram.com/p/DKa5xdovYxa/?igsh=bHh1Nml0NW82bG83 https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/02/health/wegovy-weight-loss-drug-new-prescriptions Changes smell: https://www.instagram.com/p/DL0fFPER4QX/?img_index=7&igsh=Mmttb3Y4cG10dHUx The Community Ozempic Stole: As Influencers Lose Weight, Their Followers Feel "Abandoned": https://www.teenvogue.com/story/community-ozempic-stole-influencers-lose-weight Ozempic's Origin Story is Insane: https://youtu.be/9dMpY-ZALXc?si=lb6r-d08fEo9XVKB Dr Rachel Millner: Some thoughts about GLP-1s for intentional weight loss versus fat liberation as a value: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLzrBuuRqfW/?img_index=6&igsh=ODZpMmwyemlhdmxt Another post from Rachel she describes the side effects of GLPs when taken at a higher dose for weight loss and anorexia side effects/complications: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLOUiFKI8TB/ Retatrutide study: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2301972 Ragen's blog: https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/p/weight-loss-drug-cage-match-part The Race Is On to Stop Ozempic Muscle Loss: Gym chains, nutrition startups and drugmakers all want to solve a common issue among people who take weight loss drugs. Non paywall link: https://archive.ph/l25L9 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/well/live/ozempic-muscle-loss-exercise.html?utm_source=pocket_mylist The Race Is On to Stop Ozempic Muscle Loss: Gym chains, nutrition startups and drugmakers all want to solve a common issue among people who take weight loss drugs. Non paywall link: https://archive.ph/l25L9 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/well/live/ozempic-muscle-loss-exercise.html?utm_source=pocket_mylist Changes smell: https://www.instagram.com/p/DL0fFPER4QX/?img_index=7&igsh=Mmttb3Y4cG10dHUx Hannah from Queenbeastsays, The Labour Government wants Britain to be "fat-free" by 2035: https://queenbeastsays.substack.com/p/the-labour-government-wants-britain?utm_source=app-post-stats-page&r=2qfqs8&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true Contraception warning over weight-loss drugs after dozens of pregnancies: UK watchdog has had 40 reports relating to pregnancies in people using drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/05/contraception-warning-over-weight-loss-drugs-after-dozens-of-pregnancies NPP Weight Loss Medications and Safety Planning: https://www.patreon.com/c/nalgonapositivitypride/home 7,000 potential claims already under active investigation Lawsuit Legal News+2Doyle APC Law Firm+2Darrow AI+2.

Wegovy, (often referred to as Ozempic) was approved by the FDA in June 2021. Now that we have lived 4 years of a GLP frenzied hellscape, there must be new data on how well GLP1's work and how many lives they have saved. The numbers must be pretty impressive right? Hint: It's not impressive…not at all. Join me for part one of this deep dive into these (not so) new weight loss drugs where I share exactly how much weight people lose, if it improves their health (or worsens it), and all sorts of other nonsense that has been happening in the ensuing years after the press heralded Wegovy as a “game changer” that will “end” fatness. TW: for mentions of weight, mentions of children taking the drug and other general anti-fat ideas. Episode show notes: http://www.fiercefatty.com/199 Support me on Ko-Fi and get the Size Diversity Resource Guide: https://kofi.com/fiercefatty/tiers Ragen's 3 bullet points on GLPs: https://www.instagram.com/p/DKa5xdovYxa/?igsh=bHh1Nml0NW82bG83 https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/02/health/wegovy-weight-loss-drug-new-prescriptions Changes smell: https://www.instagram.com/p/DL0fFPER4QX/?img_index=7&igsh=Mmttb3Y4cG10dHUx The Community Ozempic Stole: As Influencers Lose Weight, Their Followers Feel "Abandoned": https://www.teenvogue.com/story/community-ozempic-stole-influencers-lose-weight Ozempic's Origin Story is Insane: https://youtu.be/9dMpY-ZALXc?si=lb6r-d08fEo9XVKB Dr Rachel Millner: Some thoughts about GLP-1s for intentional weight loss versus fat liberation as a value: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLzrBuuRqfW/?img_index=6&igsh=ODZpMmwyemlhdmxt Another post from Rachel she describes the side effects of GLPs when taken at a higher dose for weight loss and anorexia side effects/complications: https://www.instagram.com/p/DLOUiFKI8TB/ Retatrutide study: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2301972 Ragen's blog: https://weightandhealthcare.substack.com/p/weight-loss-drug-cage-match-part The Race Is On to Stop Ozempic Muscle Loss: Gym chains, nutrition startups and drugmakers all want to solve a common issue among people who take weight loss drugs. Non paywall link: https://archive.ph/l25L9 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/well/live/ozempic-muscle-loss-exercise.html?utm_source=pocket_mylist The Race Is On to Stop Ozempic Muscle Loss: Gym chains, nutrition startups and drugmakers all want to solve a common issue among people who take weight loss drugs. Non paywall link: https://archive.ph/l25L9 https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/well/live/ozempic-muscle-loss-exercise.html?utm_source=pocket_mylist Changes smell: https://www.instagram.com/p/DL0fFPER4QX/?img_index=7&igsh=Mmttb3Y4cG10dHUx Hannah from Queenbeastsays, The Labour Government wants Britain to be "fat-free" by 2035: https://queenbeastsays.substack.com/p/the-labour-government-wants-britain?utm_source=app-post-stats-page&r=2qfqs8&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true Contraception warning over weight-loss drugs after dozens of pregnancies: UK watchdog has had 40 reports relating to pregnancies in people using drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/05/contraception-warning-over-weight-loss-drugs-after-dozens-of-pregnancies NPP Weight Loss Medications and Safety Planning: https://www.patreon.com/c/nalgonapositivitypride/home 7,000 potential claims already under active investigation Lawsuit Legal News+2Doyle APC Law Firm+2Darrow AI+2.

The Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said Britain could recognise a Palestinian state as early as September, but only if Israel takes “substantive steps” to end the crisis in Gaza. He has made four specific demands of Israel: end the “appalling” situation in Gaza and allow 500 aid trucks in a day, reach a ceasefire, “make clear” there will be no annexation in the West Bank and commit to a long-term peace process that delivers a two-state solution. But Israel, the US and even hostage families argue that such a move “rewards Hamas” and “validates terrorism.”Camilla and Gordon examine whether Britain's recognition would carry real weight on the global stage and hear analysis from former Home Secretary Priti Patel who has accused the Labour Government of not playing a leading role in key negotiations to free the hostages, get aid into Gaza or advocate for a proper peace plan or process.Meanwhile, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Egypt have urged Hamas to disband to enable the creation of a Palestinian state. We ask The Telegraph's Jerusalem Correspondent Henry Bodkin how likely it is that Hamas will step aside as the humanitarian crisis worsens. Producers: Lilian Fawcett and Georgia CoanSenior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineyVideo Editor: Will WaltersExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanEditor: Camilla Tominey Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when you step in the intellectual quicksand of the entire internet? The gang talks about two recent further examples of people getting completely oneshotted by encountering overly supportive LLM's. Then, Gareth Fearn joins Riley to talk about the planning, energy, and infrastructure changes that the Labour Government are hoping will transform Britain (but probably won't) Get more TF episodes each week by subscribing to our Patreon here! *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo's tour dates here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/liveshows *TF LIVE ALERT* You can get tickets for our show at the Edinburgh Fringe festival here! Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

He is just the latest in a growing number of disaffected Tories turning to Nigel Farage's party.Former Conservative chairman Sir Jake Berry tells The Daily T why, after 25 years of Conservative Party membership and 14 years as the Tory MP for Rossendale and Darwen, he has decided to join Reform.As well as acknowledging his role as a senior Tory in the failure of “broken Britain”, Berry attacks the Labour Government, accusing Starmer of gross incompetence: “the Conservative Party failed to sort it out over 14 years. I think the Labour party's done a worse job in 14 months.” Berry also explains why it took him losing his seat to realise that Nigel Farage is the only man who can fix Britain and why Kemi Badenoch is “toast”.The former MP also tells all on migration, taxation, spending and why he has changed his tune on net zero.Producers: Lilian Fawcett and Georgia CoanSenior Producer: John CadiganPlanning Editor: Venetia RaineyVideo Editor: Will WaltersExecutive Producer: Charlotte SeligmanEditor: Camilla TomineyStudio Operator: Meghan SearleProduction assistance from James Keegan Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

PREVIEW: UK TAXES Colleague Joseph Sternberg comments on the Labour government's plan to raise taxes, including a tax on pensions—living or not. [MORE] 1653 REGICIDE

Starmer Is Killing UK Pubs – Rick Cressman Slams Labour's Hospitality Wrecking  #UKPubs #Starmer #LabourParty #RickCressman #JonGaunt #HospitalityCrisis #UKpolitics  Jon Gaunt interviews Rick Cressman, owner of Nailcote Hall in Warwickshire, to expose how Keir Starmer's Labour government is destroying British pubs and hospitality.  

John Curtice, Professor of Politics at Strathclyde University and Polling expert, discusses the poor ratings that Keir Starmer and his government currently have.

Eleanor Janega stops by to talk about her new project on the history of The Crusades with American Prestige, and how these largely failed military campaigns against basically everyone East of the Italian peninsula transformed into the iconography of Islamophobia at home. But first, we look at more flailing from the Labour Government, a plan to sentence criminals to bins, and reflect on Scott Adams' ass. Get more TF episodes each week by subscribing to our Patreon here! *MILO ALERT* Check out Milo's tour dates here: https://www.miloedwards.co.uk/liveshows *TF LIVE ALERT* We'll be performing at the Big Fat Festival hosted by Big Belly Comedy on Saturday, 21st June! You can get tickets for that here! You can also get tickets for our show at the Edinburgh Fringe festival here! Trashfuture are: Riley (@raaleh), Milo (@Milo_Edwards), Hussein (@HKesvani), Nate (@inthesedeserts), and November (@postoctobrist)

PREVIEW: Colleague Simon Constable tells how the sloppily imposed 20% VAT on private school fees has backfired for the clumsy Labour Government -- and for the PM's approval rating, now at 23%. More later. 1690 ´Eton College

PREVIEW: BRITISH AIRWAYS: Colleague Joseph Sternberg comments on the report that British Airways will reduce its onboard menu and meal services in order to save money -- and how this suits the gloom of the Labour Government. More later. 1825 Thames and Windsor