A casual look about all things Liberal Democrat in the weird and wonderfully sandalled world of LibDem Land. Started by Richard Kemp & John Potter but with guests from everywhere. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @libdempod
…
continue reading
LibDem Podcasts
Free Radicals is a new podcast brought to you by two left-leaning college students in the Blue-Red state North Carolina. We might have an accent but, we have opinions too. We're here to show you that just becaue we live in the south doesn't mean we're republicans, and just because we're college students doesn't mean we're apathetic either. Your hosts are KG and CHRZA, and DJ Sim brings you the mixes.
…
continue reading
Each week Phil Dobbie and Roger Hearing get to grips with one issue that impacts our lives. It could be economic, social, technological or geopolitical. Whatever the subject, they'll talk to the experts who can give help explain what's really going on. And Phil and Roger back it up with their own research and opinions. It's half an hour to get across one of the key issues of the time, and they promise, it'll never be boring. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
…
continue reading
…
continue reading
2020 Visions is a six part series presented by Rys Farthing and K. Biswas charting Britain's future. Episode 1: The Political Future. Guests: Labour’s Jon Cruddas MP; human rights activist Peter Tatchell; ConservativeHome editor Jonathan Isaby, psephologist Professor John Curtice; Dr Madsen Pirie, Director of the free-market Adam Smith Institute; LibDem Voice editor Stephen Tall; David Babbs of campaign organisation 38 Degrees, and the New Statesman’s Laurie Penny. Episode 2: Poverty, inequa ...
…
continue reading
Whatever happened to the LibDems? The largest number of MPs for almost a century. The country’s right wing in chaos. The government in meltdown. Surely the one confident, united party should break through? But the LibDems seem to be absent. Phil and Roger speak about this to Paul Whiteley, Professor of Government at the University of Essex. Hosted …
…
continue reading
The most successful political party in Europe is contemplating oblivion. The Conservatives, soundly rejected last year by voters, have a leader no-one likes, the fewest MPs in their history, and an existential threat from Reform UK’s rise. Is there a way back, as there was after 1997? Or is this the moment the Tories run out of ideas and time? Phil…
…
continue reading
The US president says paracetamol use can cause autism, and climate change is a giant con. A British GP tells the Reform party Covid vaccinations led to cancer in the royal family. Surveys show faith in conventional science is declining. So are fringe theories and fake medicines becoming mainstream? Is there a risk to our health and the planet as p…
…
continue reading
Keir Starmer has made a point of cosying-up to President Trump - even bringing him to the UK for an unprecedented second state visit - but does it actually make any difference to relations between London and Washington? Is the UK a useful ally? A client state? Or a quaint irrelevance in a world dominated by China, Russia and India? And is the rush …
…
continue reading
The chancellor has ten weeks to find a way to balance the books. But is she going to raise taxes - and risk harming economic growth? Or does she cut the welfare budget - and bring misery to many of those who voted her government into power? Has Keir Starmer now taken control of the process from Rachel Reeves - and these dilemmas? Kallum Pickering, …
…
continue reading
Flags are everywhere - Union Jacks and the Cross of St George going up on lamp posts, walls, street-corners and even roundabouts. Is it an attempt an intimidation by the far-right, or just a sign of patriotic spirit? Is a society that doesn’t usually wear its national identity on its sleeve, beginning to want to run it up the flagpole? And which fl…
…
continue reading
1
Asylum Seekers - Time To Change The Rules?
41:27
41:27
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
41:27
The anger around asylum seekers and small boat crossings is rising - and providing fuel for Reform’s surge in the polls. Governments of any colour seem unable to get control. Reform and the Tories say it’s time to withdraw from the human rights conventions that stop deportations. But, short of that, is there a way to update the rules, while still s…
…
continue reading
Lots of high-level diplomacy - handshakes for European leaders in the White House, the red-carpet for Putin in Alaska - but does any of this bring the end of fighting closer? Will a Russia/Ukraine summit ever take place? Can Zelenskyy get real guarantees of future security for his country? Stefan Wolff, Professor of International Security at Birmin…
…
continue reading
1
Palestine Action - Protesters or Terrorists?
45:55
45:55
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
45:55
Scenes few had expected in the UK - retired vicars carried away by the police for holding up a poster saying “I support Palestine Action”. The banning of the group by the Home Secretary has led to mass protest and mass arrests, the police and courts overwhelmed by dealing with those who do not accept that direct action and criminal damage constitut…
…
continue reading
Rage is on the rise. On social media, on our roads, outside migrant hotels - things are getting under our skin that once would have caused mild irritation, and now lead to blind fury. Are we a more aggressive society? Or do we just feel more able to express it? Or are there more things to be angry about? Dr Nadja Heym is associate professor in Pers…
…
continue reading
Donald Trump can’t escape the shadow of Jeffrey Epstein, and he seems to have fallen out with many of his closest supporters over the failure to disclose the Epstein files. So, after 6 months of whirlwind policy making and broad success, are cracks beginning to appear in MAGA? Is he rather too involved in the foreign wars his base wanted to get sho…
…
continue reading
Are committees of randomly-selected amateurs the best way to decide someone’s guilt or innocence? As the government studies a report that recommends the right to jury trial be restricted further, to ease the court backlog, is there a case for changing the justice system further? There have been many severe and tragic cases of people being wrongfull…
…
continue reading
Far away from the headlines, a war is raging in Africa that has taken at least 150,000 lives, has displaced 12 million people from their homes, and created what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Sudan is being fought over by two armies, with rape, bombardment of civilian areas and massacres a normal part of the conflict. There are…
…
continue reading
How did it all go so wrong for the Labour government? A massive majority of MPs, and a country yearning for change, but now, a year on: rock-bottom poll numbers and a seeming inability to get bills through parliament. Can Labour learn and improve? Can they roll back the growing disenchantment with both the main parties? Can they get some wins? Robe…
…
continue reading
Has the rise of new weight-loss drugs become a game-changer for the obesity crisis?Can we all now inject ourselves thin? Will restaurants and gyms go out of business as we don’t want to eat, and don’t need to exercise? The drugs are becoming available on the NHS and will soon be in pill form - and they seem to be safe. But does the medical treatmen…
…
continue reading
Why is it that we can't seem to run a railway project that's on time or affordable? Why do our trains also fail to turn up or charge reasonably? Is nationalisation going to make difference. Phil and Roger ask Paul Plummer, Professor in Rail Strategy, and Director of University of Birmingham Centre for Rail Research & Education,. Hosted on Acast. Se…
…
continue reading
The conflict between Israel and Iran shows no sign of easing and the threat of US involvement has heightened concerns about a war that is rapidly getting out of control. How does this end? Can Iran be forced away from building a nuclear bomb? Can Israel be reassured about its security? Is there a way to de-escalate when none of those involved seem …
…
continue reading
More than a quarter of UK voters back a party that’s only got 5 MPs. Labour won a stonking majority in parliament last year with just over a third of the vote. What’s happening to our democracy? Does the system still work? Or is the social media-fuelled clamour for instant policy-fixes not suited to going to the ballot box once every five years? Is…
…
continue reading
Is the Wild West of digital currency now becoming a respectable place to put your money? President Trump likes it, and his vice president, JD Vance, backs a US government digital reserve. Does that mean the crazy volatility of Bitcoin and the rest will calm down? Or is the essential ungovernability of blockchain money going to remain? Phil and Roge…
…
continue reading
1
Tanks, Troops or Drones? Spending the Defence Bonanza
41:45
41:45
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
41:45
Billions in new spending for the UK’s defence, but how to spend it? Does Britain need more soldiers? More shells for artillery? More tanks? Or are drones the future of warfare? What has Ukraine’s war against Russia told us about what weapons we need to stand up to Putin? Dr Bence Nemeth, co-founder of the Centre for Defence Economics and Management…
…
continue reading
1
Migrants - Not The Issue They Think It Is
36:52
36:52
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
36:52
Keir Starmer has launched his bid to claim back migration policy from the right - talking about the UK becoming an “island of strangers” unless the number of incomers is slashed. But is he correct that this is at the top of voters’ list of concerns? Is tackling this what will win back the Red Wall? Do most Britons really want big cuts in the number…
…
continue reading
1
Ep 273: The Future of UK Defence with Helen Maguire MP & Mike Martin MP
43:21
43:21
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
43:21
The podcast is delighted to welcome Mike Martin MP and Helen Maguire MP to the show to walk about the future of UK and European defence. It's a fascinating wide ranging discussion. Thank you to Mike and Helen for taking the time to speak to us. Keep up to date with the LibDem Podcast on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter - @LibDemPod Please like & subsc…
…
continue reading
The confrontation between the two south Asian neighbours this month seems to have been resolved into a ceasefire. It is almost certainly only a pause of conflict, in a toxic relationship that has lasted since 1947. And the stakes have risen - both nations now have their finger on the nuclear trigger. That’s why the world shudders when New Delhi and…
…
continue reading
1
Ukraine - Does The US Now Have Skin In The Game?
40:56
40:56
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
40:56
The minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv is pretty opaque, but does it at least give the Trump administration a reason to stick with Ukraine? Or will the president just walk away from the whole crisis, as he has threatened? And can Kyiv keep the war going with just help from the Western European nations? Plus - why is Putin so opposed to a lon…
…
continue reading
1
Ep 272: Local Election 2025: Reaction & Analysis
1:07:07
1:07:07
Play later
Play later
Lists
Like
Liked
1:07:07
OK...wow!!! John, Hannah, Richard and Shaff are joined by Mark Pack to talk about the local election results, why they happened, what the consequences could be and what Lib Dems need to do for the huge elections next year. Keep up to date with the LibDem Podcast on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter - @LibDemPod Please like & subscribe to the channel on…
…
continue reading
The leader of 1.4 billion Catholics is about to be decided by 132 men in red hats, locked away in a renaissance chapel beneath one of the greatest artworks in human history. The conclave of cardinals is supposed to be guided in its choice by the Holy Spirit, it will there also be some very secular political concerns dictating their votes? Do they w…
…
continue reading
