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The Grenfell report is damning. Will there finally be justice for Grenfell?

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After seven long years the Grenfell Inquiry has published its damning verdict: the 72 deaths caused by the Grenfell Tower fire were completely avoidable.

The 1500-page report names and shames companies and government bodies who’s choices and actions led to the deaths.

In this episode, Andrew Marr and Rachel Cunliffe join Hannah Barnes to discuss the findings of the inquiry and why justice must finally come for Grenfell.

They also review the Conservative leadership race following the first vote which saw former Home Secretary Priti Patel fall at the first hurdle. Andrew and Rachel report on view within Westminster of the remaining candidates, and why one in particular divides opinion among MPs in the Commons tea rooms.

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Read more: 

Megan Kenyon on the Grenfell report: failure on an industrial scale https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2024/09/grenfell-inquiry-failure-on-an-industrial-scale

George Eaton: the Grenfell report is damning for David Cameron

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2024/09/the-grenfell-report-is-damning-for-david-cameron

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Noel and Liam Gallagher have managed the impossible. They've apparently buried the hatchet and announced that Oasis is coming back in 2025. Is this the return of Cool Britannia?

Rachel Cunliffe, associate editor, is joined by George Eaton, senior editor, to answer listener questions about ex-MP's jobs, SPADs, and the politics of Britpop.

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This weekend, far-right riots and violence have continued to spread across the country after the killing of three young girls in Southport last week. Hundreds of people have been arrested following violent altercations and the destruction and burning of hotels in Rotherham and Tamworth where asylum seekers were living.

Nazir Afzal was a Chief Crown Prosecutor in 2011 during the August riots that began in London and spread across the whole country. 

He joins Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor, on the New Statesman podcast, to discuss how the far-right violence we have experienced in recent days is “reminiscent” of 2011, what has changed since then, and how the deaths of the young girls have been overshadowed by this political agenda.

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From Lee Anderson’s rant against Sadiq Khan on GB News, to Liz Truss’s appearance with Steve Bannon, this week has been nothing short of a conspiratorial catastrophe for the Conservative Party.

Anoosh Chakelian is joined by Andrew Marr and Rachel Cunliffe to discuss why Rishi Sunak and senior Conservatives are “too scared” to call out islamophobia – while Reform and GB News are “driving them a bit demented”.

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The world is currently facing multiple crises, from geopolitical conflicts to pandemics and climate change. But amidst this turbulence, international aid budgets are being stretched as domestic issues take precedence. The UK has cut its overseas aid budget significantly, from 0.7 to 0.5 per cent of gross national income. Meanwhile, low-income countries need more support than ever, as they deal with the fall out of wars, extreme poverty, natural disasters and humanitarian issues. The costs involved are huge, and while aid still has a role to play, we need to look beyond grants to unlock funding on a bigger scale to fix these problems.

In this sponsored podcast, host and freelance journalist Emma Haslett is joined by Sarah Champion, Labour MP for Rotherham and chair of the cross-party international development parliamentary committee; James Mwangi, founder of Climate Action Platform for Africa, an organisation working to unlock Africa's potential as a global hub for climate action; and Hannah Ryder, CEO at Development Reimagined, an Africa-led and women-led international development consultancy.

Focusing on the African continent, they explore the need to reform global financial institutions, and how the UK can develop new models of financial support that rely less on aid and more on partnership and collaboration with low-income countries.

This podcast is sponsored by ONE, a not-for-profit international development organisation which campaigns to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030.

Join the fight for a more equal future: visit one.org.

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From opaque contract awards, to cosy relationships between politicians and business elites, the idea of a ‘chumocracy’ has long been making headlines and raising eyebrows. But just how endemic is the issue? And how does it affect the functioning of the state?

Harry Clarke-Ezzidio, policy correspondent at the New Statesman, is joined by business editor, Will Dunn, to explore the links between peers and politicians, and the awarding of government money. 

Read Will's cover story: The rotten state

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"I've heard speculation that the Tories' election strategy is not really about "culture war and wedge issues" or evoking fear of Labour spending plans. It's about showing Starmer as indecisive and untrustworthy, and the Labour Party as divided." - one listener writes in to ask if the Conservatives election tactics have changed in recent months.

Another listener writes in to ask if Labour "have got away with the 28 billion thing"; this being the u-turn the previous promise to spend £28 billion a year on kickstarting a green industrial revolution if they win the election

Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor, is joined by Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor, and Freddie Hayward, political correspondent, to answer these questions.

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Almost five months on from the beginning of the conflict, Labour appears to have shifted its position - calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza. This culminated in a chaotic debate in parliament last night with SNP and Tory MPs walking out and this morning Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the house, is facing calls to resign.

Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor at the New Statesman, is joined by Rachel Cunliffe, associate political editor, and Freddie Hayward, political correspondent, to discuss how this breakdown in order reflects the current state of British politics.

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The UK is one of the biggest plastic polluters in the world. According to Greenpeace we produce more plastic waste per person than almost any other country, with our supermarkets creating roughly 800,000 tonnes every year.

We need to find ways to minimise waste through keeping products and packaging in circulation for as long as possible. This is where the circular economy comes in - a more sustainable model of production that reduces, reuses, repairs and recycles. With a general election coming up, creating a circular economy will be a crucial component of the next government’s net zero agenda, and businesses will need to play their part.

In this sponsored podcast, host and freelance journalist Emma Haslett is joined by Julian Hunt, vice president of public affairs, communication and sustainability of GB and Northern Europe at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners; Ruth Jones, Labour MP for Newport West and shadow minister for environmental protection and animal welfare; and Dr Costas Velis, a lecturer in resource efficiency systems in the School of Civil Engineering (SoCE), at the University of Leeds. They explore how the UK can move towards a circular economy, and the role businesses play in enabling that shift.

This podcast is sponsored by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

To learn more about Coca-Cola Europacific Partners' work in making its packaging more sustainable, you can check out its This is Forward packaging commitments or for further information about the company head here.

Listen to the podcast in full here or on the Spotlight on Policy podcast channel.

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More councils have gone bust in 2023 than in the 30 years before 2018, with eight effectively declaring bankruptcy since that year: Northamptonshire, Croydon, Slough, Northumberland, Thurrock, Woking, Birmingham and Nottingham.

 But why are councils going bust? Anoosh Chakelian, Britain editor, is joined by policy correspondent Megan Kenyon and Jonny Ball, associate editor of the New Statesman’s policy section, Spotlight, to delve into what’s happening in townhalls across the country.

Read Anoosh's report on Thurrock: The town that was gambled away

Follow the council bankruptcy tracker

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