"Is there still a UK election happening? I hadn't noticed."
With apologies to Andie McDowall in Four Weddings and a Funeral, we could all be forgiven for losing focus on our own election as fireworks erupted across the pond when presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the first of two televised debates last night.
"Biden struggles and Trump blusters" was the New York Times's headline – a wholly accurate summary of an evening that saw Biden frequently offering up non sequiturs, while his Republican challenger put in a more confident performance, but one littered with misleading statements, if not out-and-out falsehoods.
However, it all arrived too late in the day (9pm Eastern Time / crack o' dawn, our time) for our fine news shows and podcasts to get distracted by it all. Instead, they have been focussing on these decidedly British election matters, as they jolly well should, what what:
New Statesman Podcast: Before the 2019 election the New Statesman refused to endorse a vote for Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour. However, this year they have plucked up their confidence to encourage all of their readers and listeners to vote for Keir Starmer's incarnation of the party. Today's podcast features a rare appearance by the magazine's editor-in-chief, Jason Cowley on why he thinks it is important to vote Labour or at least to vote tactically in order to remove the Conservatives. As George Eaton, who wrote the first draft of the endorsement and also joins the podcast, puts it: "the precondition for a better Britain is the removal of the Conservatives from office." Cowley also discusses his recent interview with Nigel Farage, whom he joined on the campaign trail in Clacton, and his feature on David Lammy, the self-described Christian conservative (small-c) who is looking likely to be Britain's next foreign secretary.
The Two Matts: Matthew d’Ancona and Matt Kelly of The New European chat to Simon Kuper, FT journalist and author of Good Chaps – a book that exposes the collapse of morality at the heart of British politics. The conversation looks at how things got so bad so fast from Thatcher to Truss. "The public has now given up. People now expect political corruption" is Kuper's depressingly accurate take.
Over The Top Under The Radar: Hosts Gary Younge and Carys Afoko discuss all things Kemi Badenoch. Is she in line to be the next Tory leader? Good discussion about what she represents, but also whether David Tennant's recent remarks were appropriate or not. In a debate as toxic as the one around gender "it doesn't help when people say 'shut up' and 'you shouldn't exist'" says Younge.
The Story: Nigel Farage is unquestionably a complex character. Today, The Times's Manveen Rana is joined by broadcaster Michael Crick to unpack that complexity, diving into everything from Farage's school days to how he made his money, the friends he’s made (and lost), his wives, his mistresses, and allegations of facism and racism, which he denies. Amid all that, they ask, "who is the real Nigel Farage?" Love him or hate him, this is an excellent overview of one of Britain's most potent – and polarising – political personalities.
Leading: Some big questions being tackled by Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell on their other show today. Could privatising areas of the NHS save it? How easy is it to reconcile one's faith and sexuality? What is Labour's plan for health and social care? They discuss all this and more with shadow secretary of state for health and social care, Wes Streeting.
Byline Podcast: Labour is set to win a huge landslide. That makes sense given their vote share. But some polls suggest that even though Reform is polling strongly, they may struggle to win more than a handful of seats. This is in part because of Britain's first past the post system. It is also Labour's landslide dilemma, says the Byline Podcast team: "does their leader accept this as a gift from the gods and take advantage of our first past the post system? Or does he take the opportunity to reshape politics once and for all by introducing proportional representation, to ensure there are no wasted votes?". Really good discussion about an issue that refuses to be put to bed.
For the Many: Allow me to quote briefly from a recent article by Daniel Boffey in The Guardian, who recounts this conversation Labour's Karl Turner had with a voter: "We met a guy who said he was going to vote Labour but wouldn’t now because he had just heard that we were taxing condoms," said Turner. "I said, 'condoms?' 'Yeah,' he said: 'I just heard on that [pointing to the TV] that you are taxing condoms, and I’m not having it.' 'We’re taxing non-doms, not condoms,' I said. 'Oh,' he said. ‘Like the prime minister's wife?'" Lol, I love that exchange so much. Anyway, Iain Dale and Jacqui Smith today discuss the important non-doms/condoms distinction, as well as Bangladeshi asylum seekers, Ed Davey wanting to ban smoking but legalise cannabis, video doorbells, and more.
BBC Newscast: Is it time for retrospectives already? The BBC Newscast team seems to think so. Today they look back at the defining moments so far. Adam Fleming talks to Lucy Fisher, Financial Times’ Whitehall Editor, John Stevens, The Mirror’s Political Editor, and Ben Riley-Smith, The Telegraph’s Political Editor about the moments they’ll remember from this general election, as well as what they hear about plans being drawn up for what could happen after the results are in.
Political Currency: Ed Balls and George Osborne, meanwhile, are looking forward rather than back. Keir Starmer "hasn't even measured up for curtains in Downing Street yet, but the attention is already turning to the headaches he will face in government", they say. Osborne thinks Labour's honeymoon might be over before it's even begun. Feels likely given things are about to get very real for Labour. As the great philosopher/pugilist Mike Tyson once said: "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face".
Today in Focus: Apathy and antipathy towards all parties is a growing trend in UK elections, says The Guardian's Archie Bland. But with a week to go, undecided voters could prove critical to the result. So, you know, make your minds up already, Britain.
Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards: This is TV presenter and political columnist Steve Richards' one and only Rock & Roll Politics live show of the election campaign. He recorded it at Kings Place in London a couple of nights ago and here it is! It is filled with "unreliable predictions, reflections on all the main parties and audience questions" and it is great fun – give it a listen.
And now for something completely different…
ADHD Chatter: In recent years there has been a huge surge in ADHD diagnoses in the UK and around the world. The rise has been attributed to everything from increased awareness and recognition, to changes in diagnostic practices, and even to pharmaceutical influence. Regardless, it has led to a huge potential audience for shows like this one from Alex Partridge, founder of UNILAD and LADBible, who chats all things ADHD with a variety of guests promising to give listeners "the wisdom you need to live your best ADHD life". In the most recent episode Partridge talks to Richard and Roxanne Pink, two-time Sunday Times best selling authors and founders of the globally recognised brand ADHD Love. This is a really nice, pacey show that has loads of great insight into the medical condition, that is fascinating whether you have ADHD or not.
