It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast

The UK is remarkably unequal.The richest 1% of Britons hold more wealth than 70 % of us combined.Wealth inequality is gendered, racialised, and extremely regional. Men have an average private pension wealth of £83,879 more than women, a gap of 90%. People in the black Caribbean, Bangladeshi and black African ethnic groups have more net debt (31%, 38% and 44% respectively) than individuals in the Indian ethnic group and the white British and Pakistani ethnic groups (11% and around 15% respecti...

In his recent book, Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How We Fix It, Sam Freedman lays out why people matter, but systems matter more. Having a run of incompetent, corrupt leaders is a problem. But our problems run deeper – and we will get nowhere until we fix our systems.It’s not enough to change who sits in Westminster and Whitehall – we have change the whole system.The change we need is no small feat – and it’s bloody complicated. But unless our systems and politicians give away power, t...

The 2024 general election result brought a welcome relief to British politics after 14 wasted years of Tory misrule. At last, some better people and ideas are at the helm.But, just a few months in, the challenges facing this new government are already beginning to pile up. Labour will need to be bold if it has any hope of rebuilding our crumbling public services, restoring trust in our democracy and tackling the climate crisis.To reflect on these challenges as Labour held its first conference...

The 2024 general election result brings a welcome relief to UK politics. But now, we find ourselves at a crossroads: things are either going to get very much worse or very much better. There is no middle way.Neither the state, nor business, nor civil society can go it alone and bring about a better world – we have to do it together. That means having a clear, shared vision of what this positive future might look like.Compass’ New Settlement project seeks to establish the guiding principles an...

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.

On the 4th July people across the country went to the polls for a long overdue, and bloody complicated, General Election. Labour ended up with a mammoth majority and the Tories were left with just 121 seats. But beyond the headline figures, there was a huge amount going on beneath the surface. This election produced one of the most disproportionate results we have ever seen, revealing a European-style multi-party politics struggling to break free from the straitjacket of our two-party system....

With Labour far ahead in the polls our attention turns to where the opposition from the Left will come from.We need to look no further than Nigel Farage and Reform UK – who could use the parliamentary base of Clacton to enact a shift to national populism of the kind we are now seeing in Italy, France and Germany.To discuss the very real threat of the Right we were joined on the podcast by one of the authors of a brand new publication The Little Black Book of the Populist Right: What it is, wh...

On this special general Election issue of Its Bloody Complicated we are delighted tobe joined by Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty. We’ve admired Aditya’s writing and reporting for years and have been keen to gethim on. Aditya doesn’t just critique what’s wrong in terms of the economy, societyand politics – he actively goes out and finds places and examples where things arebeing done better – finding places for hope. But it was his article last week on thethreat poised by Nigel Fara...

On Tuesday, 14th May we were joined by Ben Walker and Alison Lowe to analyse the campaigns and the results of the 2024 local elections, and reflect where we are coming up to a general election.Ben Walker is a senior data journalist at the New Statesman and writes extensively about elections and UK public opinion. He is the co-founder of poll aggregator Britain Elects, and since 2023 is also a Cheshire West and Chester Councillor.Alison Lowe OBE is the West Yorkshire Deputy Mayor for Policing ...

Over the last few years, the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform our society has become increasingly apparent. This comes with incredible opportunities – AI could help deepen our democracy and enable our politics to get closer to citizens to represent them more effectively – but is also fraught with risk. How can we take advantage of these opportunities while preventing AI from further destabilising our democracy with deepfakes and disinformation? To discuss all of this and...

It was a watershed moment in October 2022 when the Labour Party conference overwhelmingly voted to include in its manifesto a commitment to change the voting system to proportional representation after the next election. Just the year before, despite mass support in the membership, the motion failed because the affiliated Trade Unions opposed the motion.To discuss this historic shift, what the changing the voting systems means to the trade union movement, and where next, we’re excited to be j...

Support for Scottish independence is still strong but the SNP are clearly in a weaker position, institutionally, reputationally, and ideologically. They have become mired in scandal, their hegemonic grip on politics north of the border looks to be loosening, and yet the constitutional questions about who governs Scotland and how remain relevant and live. Labour’s position has clearly strengthened – albeit without ever addressing key questions of democratic renewal and constitutional change.Wi...

Citizens’ assemblies represent an alternative way of doing politics: a randomly selected group of citizens are convened to reason collectively, to consider evidence and to have discussions which should arrive at complex, nuanced decisions for the long term. As such, they’ve been called ‘democracy under good conditions’.They have been credited with tackling some of the toughest political and ethical questions – such as abortion, AI, hate crime and nuclear power –generating balanced and often s...

First Past the Post might block smaller parties from gaining representation at Westminster, but on this episode of It’s Bloody Complicated, we discussed how in spite of this they can still wield substantial influence and contribute meaningfully to our national political discourse.We were joined by:Gina Miller, True and Fair PartyCatherine Mayer, Women’s Equality PartySupport the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raisi...

Progressives face a dilemma; we want a change of government but know the country needs a big change of direction. In an essay published for the journal Renewal, Neal has set out the case for what he calls a Radical Pragmatic Left, i.e., a Left that recognises both the need to reconnect with voters and defeat the Tories but critically has a plan to transform the country within the context of the Poly crisis world we face. The need for such a Left is made more urgent by the looming threat of th...

In 2017, South West Surrey Compass organised and slashed Jeremy Hunt’s majority taking it from the 7th safest Tory-held seat to the 121st. In 2019, they took control of a local council. In 2023, they sued the government.In the beginning of a an election year, we brought old Compass friends Paul Follows and Steve Williams onto It’s Bloody Complicated to talk about their journey, lessons, and plans for cooperation in South West Surrey.For the past 8 years, they have been a leading light for pro...

The mainstream press in Britain has been in a state of managed decline for much of the 21st century. Once massive news outlets have suffered massive staff reductions as they have struggled to adapt to a digital age. But over the last few years, green shoots of growth have emerged. From the national level with publications like Byline Times and Novara Media to the regional level with the Manchester Mill, Sheffield Tribune, Bristol Cable and more, new media outlets are daring to do things diffe...

As another year comes to a close, we were excited to welcome Ayesha Hazarika and Andrew Grice to It’s Bloody Complicated to round up another year in politics.Ayesha Hazarika is a broadcaster, journalist and political commentator, and former political adviser to senior Labour Party politicians.Andrew Grice is a political columnist for The Independent, having been its political editor from 1998 to 2015. He has worked in Westminster since 1982.2023 was a year of strikes and protests, record-brea...

According to the Right to Roam campaign, 92% of the UK’s countryside and 97% of its rivers are not available to the vast majority of the public. For Episode 96 of It’s Bloody Complicated, we’ll be discussing land ownership and the Commons, and why democratising and sharing control of our land, rivers and seas could slash inequality and help calm political instability in this country.We were joined by :Guy Standing, a leading thinker and writer on this issue. In his book Plunder of the Commons...

Climate chaos is looming. The question of how to protect and preserve our planet for future generations is a conversation that’s not just timely, but absolutely essential.That’s why, for Episode 95 of It’s Bloody Complicated, we were joined by Areeba Hamid, co-Director of Greenpeace. When she took up the role last October, Areeba became the first woman of colour and first migrant to lead Greenpeace and, along with Will McCallum, the first to share the top job.From grassroots activism to globa...

After Labour came to power in 1997, Clare Short served as the UK’s first cabinet-level Secretary of State for International Development, a post she would go on to hold for six years. In this role, she secured large increases in the British government’s overseas aid budget and persuaded then-chancellor Gordon Brown to write off the debts to Britain of Africa’s poorest countries. A famously independent-minded politician, she stood down from her role over the Iraq war in 2003 and later resigned ...

Labour faces a huge challenge at the next election: first to win power, then to use it to change our country for the better. The polls suggest it will clear the first hurdle, but what of the second?The challenges our county faces have never been greater. We need a bold and reforming progressive government to rebuild our crumbling public services, restore trust in our democracy and tackle the climate crisis head-on. We brought you a live episode of It’s Bloody Complicated from Labour Conferenc...

In 1993, New Zealanders voted to replace First Past the Post with a proportional voting system. 30 years on, we discussed how this all-important electoral overhaul came about with two special guests:Max Rashbrooke, a New Zealand based writer on democracy and economic inequalityAnd Danna Glendining, a New Zealand Green Party activist and MMP advocateWe discussed the challenges and difficulties of changing the voting system, how a transition to PR has transformed politics in New Zealand and wha...

On this episode, we brought together an expert panel to discuss the threat of the far-right to democracy and how progressives are fighting for change.Nick Lowles, Hope Not Hate chief executiveHannah Rose, Hate and Extremism Analyst at the Institute for Strategic DialogueAnd Luke Cooper, author of Authoritarian Contagion: The Global Threat to Democracy.With the far right marching steadily into the mainstream in Europe and elsewhere, the endurance of progressive forces and their capacity to win...

The average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. If you live to be 80, you’ll have had about 4,000 weeks. But, to Oliver Burkeman, that’s no reason for despair. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals was a smash hit from author and journalist Oliver Burkeman. On 25th July, he’ll join us on It’s Bloody Complicated to talk time, reality, the delusions we hold about productivity, and how to focus on the ‘gloriously possible’ in a time of spiralling global crises.Oliver i...

What would a Fair Society actually look like? What are the feasible policy building blocks that could help us get there?In Daniel Chandler’s book Free and Equal he makes the case for a new progressive liberalism grounded in the ideas of the philosopher John Rawls – complete with democratic reform of the voting system for the House of Commons, a universal basic income, and the abolition of private schools.Listen back to this episode of It’s Bloody Complicated as we ask Daniel about these ideas...

Ahead of the 75th anniversary of the NHS this year, Julia Grace Patterson is publishing a new book, Critical: Why the NHS is being betrayed and how we can fight for it. After years of austerity, a global pandemic, and the looming threats of privatisation, the NHS is bad shape.She writes, “The NHS is an institution. But it’s also a political football, kicked back and forth between politicians for the past 75 years. It’s a burden to some and a potent vote-winner for others. It’s a construct, fr...

Vince Cable has been a Labour party councillor, a SDP coalition candidate, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, our Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, an academic, a civil servant in the Foreign Office, and a key minister and negotiator in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition government of 2010-15.We sat down with him and others with international experience of cooperation in politics on June 13th to talk about the why, where, and how of coalitions.If our ...

On this episode, Frances Foley, deputy director of Compass hosted two great movers and shakers of the community power movement:Andy Jackson, community leader at We’re Right Here, the campaign for community powerMohammed Afridi, Director of Organising at the Civic Power FundWe got into the complicated nitty and gritty of what terms like ‘community power’ actually mean, the links to physical infrastructure, and democratic innovation at the local level, from co-operatives to friendly societies, ...

With the Conservatives publicly announcing that they are expecting of loss of more than 1,000 councillors in the upcoming local elections, it looks to be a good year for progressive councillors. But we know that, especially when there are 8,000+ seats up for election with 25,000+ candidates, It's Bloody Complicated.Join us on May 9th as we dig into the results from the Local Elections in 2023, and what's going on beneath the surface.We're joined by journalist and former president of the...

On the 4th April 2020, Keir Starmer assumed office as the Leader of the Labour Party. He won that leadership election with almost a 30% winning margin.3 years on, Neal talks with journalists Rachel Shabi and Rafael Behr to look back, and forward to where Starmer's leadership is taking us.Sir Keir is a controversial leader. In the three months since the beginning of this year, he's come under fire for candidate selection processes that routinely block progressive and left leaning candidates, a...

On 21st April 2023, Extinction Rebellion are bringing 100,000 to protest peacefully outside the Houses of Parliament to demand an end to the fossil fuel era and for a citizen-led transformation towards a fair society that includes reparations.This is the Big One. After a "winter of discontent" that saw thousands gathered at picket lines and demonstrations, and hundreds of pages spent evaluating and criticising the tactics of protests in our streets or our museums, protest - and its power - is...

Zack Polanski has had an incredible year.Last September, he was elected the Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales. As a member of the London Assembly, he is the Chair of the Environment committee, and has worked with others across all parties and persuasions on an incredible array of progressive policies. From the fight to end new transmissions of HIV, campaigning for universal basic income, and bringing communities and civil society into making and informing climate policy to...

When people can't feed themselves and their families and the planet burns, it's clear democracy is not working. On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated, we're diving into the mechanics of how our political system makes our society more unequal and unstable.The structure of our parliaments changes what they can and will do, limiting the potential for the change this country needs. Voting justice would lead to social justice. Where votes are fair and equal across the UK, where people's voice...

On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated, Frances hosted a conversation between Anthony Barnett and one of the symbols of hope for British progressives - longtime Compass friend and the only Green Party MP, Caroline Lucas. At the tail end of 2022, Anthony Barnett caused a stir with an essay, "The Year of the Definite Left". He laid out why new movements on the Left across the world are challenging the political status quo, and what challenges lie ahead.His general diagnosis is hop...

Significant power is vested in Wall Street and Silicon Valley. How did we come to live in a world dominated by big tech and finance, where they hold considerable sway over the direction of politics and government? How do we understand this transformation in power? And what can we do about it?On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated, Jeremy Gilbert joined us to talk through how we might upgrade the concept of hegemony, the importance of passive consent, the complexity of political interests,...

It's fair to say that the events of the past few years still encroach on the everyday lives of people. Whether it’s the Covid pandemic, Brexit, economic instability or the cost of living crisis - how we all get through life and work has completely changed due to these major events.Nothing has changed as dramatically in our society and culture than the world of work. This is because we are experiencing a period where worker dignity is at the fore-front of public consciousness. The fight to own...

After the historic vote on the Labour Conference floor for a manifesto commitment at the next general election to implement proportional representation in the House of Commons, a group of the organisations campaigning for democratic renewal came to together to publish a petition together to call on Keir Starmer to take up the torch of electoral reform. Tens of thousands of you agreed.To start off 2023, we hosted some of the movers and shakers from the movement for change to our voting system....

Politics isn’t working. To do the big things, to transform our society and planet we have to transform the way we do politics. On this special episode of It's Bloody Complicated, our four guests helped us understand why and how our miserable political structures and culture deny the chance of big change in the areas they most care about, and why a better politics gives us hope that the system can make the desirable become feasible. They are: Gavin Esler, former Newsnight presen...

Join Frances in conversation with long time friend of Compass, Lisa Nandy MP about her new book "All In: How we build a country that works".This brilliant new book reveals how Britain can leave behind the mess in which we find ourselves. All In charts a course towards a fairer, more equal, more prosperous country by drawing on the greatest asset we have – each other.Get your copy of All In hereSupport the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want ...

As part of Win As One, we’re going round the country holding podcasts in key regions to talk to local activists about the issues they’re facing, and ask the golden question – what do you want to win for?During this special episode of the Compass podcast, we talk to activists working in Cumbria about the climate crisis.We speak to activists from South Lakes Action on Climate Change, Make Votes Matter, MP Watch, and the Compass group, as well as a local councillor.With the decision due on the n...

We need a leadership revolution if we are to reach our collective potential and address our complex challenges. Through her work as an activist and grassroots organiser, Clare Richmond is calling for leaders to shake off outdated leadership styles and seek instead a more inclusive, resilient and grass-roots methodology to find success for themselves and their teams.In this special episode, Neal Lawson talks to Clare about her new book The Scavenger Mindset: Rethinking Leadership to unloc...

Tuesday 8th November marked a decisive day in the US political calendar - the midterms elections - which set the scene for the rest of Biden's presidency and beyond. Following a summer of positive polling for the Democrats, some were cautiously optimistic that they would defy historic trends and hold on to their narrow majorities in both houses. The question now is not only whether Democrats will keep control of the Senate, but what the latest round of elections will do to the heal...

Perhaps the biggest reason we need to Win As One is the urgency and scale of the climate emergency, which impacts every one of us and demands a collective response like no other. On this episode of the Compass podcast, we discuss what on earth we are going to do to address this crisis to save people and planet. We know that we will need a united front between grassroots social movements, political parties and climate experts to get us there. To discuss how we get there, we're joined...

Roger hosts this special episode in conversation with activists fighting the cost of living crisis whilst working for a pluralist, progressive politics in Buckinghamshire.If you're curious about the work that Compass local groups do, and where we're at with the Win As One campaign, this is a must listen.Also, we get an update from our director, Neal Lawson, on what Prime Minister Sunak means for Labour's electoral chances.To find out more about our upcoming campaign, please visit www.compasso...

Our economy is in crisis. Ordinary people can’t afford even the basics – heating, eating and transport, mortgages are going up and pensions going down. Some of this is down to geo-politics, much of it is home grown. What’s happening, why, where does this go and what are the alternatives? Finally, what is the link between a failing economy and a failing democracy? To help us understand what happening and find a route map out – we are delighted to be joined by Richard Murphy.&n...

The Teal Independents are marking waves in Australian politics, finding electoral success by putting community and climate first.They're bringing difference and creativity into their political system that's bringing about tangible change to the political landscape.In this episode, Neal Lawson sits down with Byron Fay - chief executive of Climate 200 and a core supporter of the Teal movement - to discuss the story so far of the Teal Independents, and what we can learn from them in ...

Labour faces a huge challenge, not just to win power but to use it to transform the country. The old politics that allows the domination of elites and swing voters constrains what we can do in the face of huge challenges like climate change and economic instability.A new politics, unlocked in the first instance by proportional representation, disperses power to the people, communities and workers and puts our dream of a good society on the map. Yes, it means working with others, so we ca...

In this special edition of the podcast Neal talks to Andrew Murray, former advisor to Jeremy Corbyn, about the lessons of the Corbyn era and what that means for the future of socialism in Britain.Enjoyed 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? Become a member! Support our work and be a part of the Compass communitySupport the showEnjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next ep...

This podcast makes reference to slides presented by Ken Spours. To view these, watch the podcast video on our CompassTV youtube channel The right is shape shifting again - from Johnson to now Liz Truss. What a Truss premiership means is unclear - will she stick to desiccated Thatcherism or pivot to a new hybrid Toryism?We are joined live with Professor Ken Spours who through his work on the Osbourne Supremacy and shapeshifters had helped us place a Gramscian lens over the adaptation and...

Original recording of this special episode was on video, references to slides are mentioned throughout the recording.This episode is part 1 of 2 of a education series special. Part 2 of the education series is available on our Compasstv YouTube channel Covid-19 has exposed the vast inequalities baked into the way we educate children in the UK. But there’s a whole lot more that needs changing – and most politicians don’t like talking about it.Are we genuinely providing children and young ...

Stella Creasy is one of the most dynamic back-benchers in Parliament. She campaigns nationally on issues such as abortion rights, making Westminster a child friendly workplace, and how to deepen democracy. Locally, Stella put her constituency, Walthamstow, on the map with clever campaigns and even smarter social media.We were delighted to welcome her to It’s Bloody Complicated. We talked all things Labour Party and Tory Party, and what’s next for the future of democracy, E17, and indie rock.I...

Another world is possible. A professor of Collective Intelligence, Public Policy and Social Innovation at University College London, Geoff Mulgan is a prolific writer, thinker and doer. He was a strategy adviser to former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as well as governments around the world, with his expertise also running think tanks like Nesta and Demos.His latest book Another Word is Possible, released in June 2022, examines how we reignite social and political Imag...

Basic income is a regular payment everyone receives. Forever.Now, the Welsh and Irish governments have followed the examples of the United States and elsewhere, and are piloting basic income programmes for real.In this special episode Jonathan Williams, co-founder of UBI Lab Wales, gives us the inside track on the Welsh pilot.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guest...

On Monday 11th April we saw the consequences when progressives divide and centrists ignore the ground to their left. A rightward-shifting Emmanuel Macron finds himself in a second-round matchup with the far-right Marine Le Pen in France. Left-of-centre parties split the vote in the first round, allowing Le Pen to narrowly make the run-off. Current polling suggests that left-wing voters will only break to Macron fairly narrowly – with huge numbers set to abstain. What does it a...

This week on the Compass podcast we are joined by Helen Thompson, author of the book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, published by Oxford University Press. A chronicle of three recent political histories - in our geopolitics, world economy and todays western democracies, Helen shows us the ways that energy, global finance and democracy interact - forcing us to think hard about why and how we get a fit for purpose democracy to meet the challenges we face.Helen Thompson is a prof...

Across the nations, regions, towns and cities of the UK, a new way of doing politics is emerging.Far from the adversarial politics encouraged by Westminster’s first-past-the-post electoral system, politicians and people are working together across parties for progressive change.Joining us to discuss the art, benefits and challenges of progressive alliances are:Anthony Slaughter, Leader of the Wales Green Party, which recently announced an electoral alliance with Plaid Cymru in CardiffLucy Net...

This week on the Compass podcast we are joined by Matthew Brown and Rhian E. Jones, authors of the book Paint Your Town Red: How Preston Took Back Control and Your Town Can Too, published by Repeater. Against a national backdrop of austerity and privatisation, a city in Lancashire bucked the trend and created what is known as the Preston Model.Matthew is the leader of Preston City Council, where he has led pioneering efforts in community wealth-building – what has become known as the ‘Preston...

What would your life look like with less time spent at work?Across the UK, thousands at workers at 70 companies are taking part in the biggest-ever trial of a four-day working week.Joining It’s Bloody Complicated to discuss the trial and a potential future of reduced working hours are representatives from digital marketing firm Literal Humans and brewery Pressure Drop, both of which are participating in the pilot.And we’ll also hear from Will Stronge, co-author of Overtime: Why We Need a Shor...

From fines for the prime minister to shocking allegations of harassment, bullying and sexism in the workplace, Parliament has been bedevilled by scandal once again.We’re joined by Dr Hannah White, Jennifer Nadel and Darren Hughes to explore What about the structure and culture of our politics results in such awful behaviour – and how we build a new politics.Hannah White is Deputy Director of the Institute for Government and author of Held in Contempt: What’s Wrong with the House of Commons? (...

It’s Bloody Complicated brings you a special episode on a fascinating set of elections across the UK. Joining us is elections guru Professor Rob Ford.What were the progressive triumphs and tragedies – where did progressive alliances win out, and where could they have helped score wins?Rob Ford is Professor of Political Science at the University of Manchester. He is the author, with Maria Sobolewska, of the award-winning Brexitland and, with Tim Bale, Will Jennings and Paul Surridge, of The Br...

Orwell Youth Fellows Jamie See and Noah Robinson meet poet Tishani Doshi to explore protest, poetry and performance.Tishani Doshi is an award-winning poet, novelist, dancer and journalist.The episode begins with Jamie and Noah reading their poems.Read 'A Love Symphony to the World' by Jamie See (https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-youth-prize/2018-youth-prize/runners-orwell-youth-prize-2020/jamiesee/)Read 'Here There Are No People' by Noah Robinson (https://www.orwellfoundation.com/th...

After a year-plus on the job, having inherited a deeply divided country, Joe Biden and the Democrats are still facing multiple interlocking crises – from the war in Ukraine, to the ongoing impact of the pandemic, to climate catastrophe. But amidst all this, can we count some wins – on infrastructure, Covid and a once-in-a-generation Supreme Court nomination?Top Democratic organisers Sky Gallegos and Joe Sudbay join It's Bloody Complicated to help make sense of it all.It's Bloody Complicated i...

Chief Executive of Demos Polly Mackenzie joins It’s Bloody Complicated to look at what's gone wrong with our democracy and how we can fix it.Polly builds on the insights from her series of papers for Demos – Making Democracy Work.Polly Makenzie was Director of Policy to Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg from 2010–15, helping to write the 2010 Coalition Agreement. After leaving Government, Polly established the operations of the Women’s Equality Party and founded the Money and Mental Health Pol...

Orwell Youth Fellow Jessica Tunks joins Professor Donna Hall to discuss family, community, reimagining public services and her scorching essay 'Knifepoint'.Donna Hall is Chair of New Local and of Bolton NHS Foundation Trust.The episode begins with Jessica reading her essay 'Knifepoint'.Read 'Knifepoint' by Jessica Tunks (https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-youth-prize/2018-youth-prize/winners-orwell-youth-prize-2020/jessica-tunks/).The Future We Want is a new podcast series from the O...

Orwell Youth Fellow Rosaleen Tite Ahern joins Guardian journalist John Harris to discuss place; the successes, failures and hopes of social housing; and her brilliantly evocative essay 'Streets in the Sky' on Manchester's Hulme Crescents.John Harris is a columnist at the Guardian and host of the podcast Politics Weekly UK. (https://www.theguardian.com/profile/johnharris).The episode begins with Rosaleen reading her essay 'Streets in the Sky'.Read 'Streets in the Sky' by Rosaleen Tite Ahern (h...

Tommy Sheppard MP joins It’s Bloody Complicated to discuss the future of the Scottish independence movement, the prospects of the SNP supporting a Labour government and his remarkable political life.Tommy Sheppard is the Scottish National Party MP for Edinburgh and the SNP’s Spokesperson for Constitutional Affairs.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://a...

Jon Alexander, author of the new book Citizens, joins the podcast to tell us how can we start to think and act like Citizens, not Consumers. Joining Jon is conversation is author and political scientist Sue Goss.But first we hear from Luke Cooper of Another Europe is Possible for an update on the terrible events in Ukraine. Luke helps us think through what we can be doing about this awful war.Citizens: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us (https://www.jonalexander.net/) It's Bloody C...

Frances Foley goes behind the scenes of Labour–Liberal Democrat cooperation in the 1997 General Election with former Lib Dem Policy Director Duncan Brack, political commentator Peter Kellner, and Compass Director and 1997 Labour electoral negotiator Neal Lawson .In ’97 an informal arrangement between Labour and the Lib Dems helped drive tactical voting – and a landslide election victory for Labour, ending 18 years of Conservative rule.What are the lessons from 1997 today? What has changed in ...

We take a look at coalition governments – what they are, how they are formed, lessons from the new 'traffic light' coalition in Germany and why the UK’s progressive parties need to be thinking about them right now.Joining the podcast are Henning Meyer, Publisher of Social Europe, Fellow at the German Ministry of Finance and member of the SPD's Basic Values Commission, and George Peretz QC, legal expert, member of the Society of Labour Lawyers and author of the recent article Wargaming a Minor...

Political commentators and Guardian journalists John Harris and Zoe Williams join us to break down the political year that was and look ahead to 2022.From tackling the climate catastrophe to the state of the current Conservative party and challenges facing a progressive alliance – as well as some political reasons to be cheerful in 2022.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions t...

Author, journalist and political commentator Ece Temelkuran joins the podcast to talk about her new book Together: 10 Choices for a Better Now, faith vs. hope, the parallels between the UK's slide towards authoritarianism and her experience in Turkey, and the power of young women.Ece was in conversation with special guest host Jon Alexander of the Social Liberal Forum.Together: 10 Choices for a Better Now (https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/together-a-manifesto-against-the-heartl...

On a special bonus episode of It’s Bloody Complicated, the Compass podcast, we welcome First Minister of Wales Mark Drakeford MS.Mark spoke to Compass Director Neal Lawson about progressive alliances, his support for proportional representation, basic income and why he's vowed to stand down after five years.Under Mark Drakeford’s leadership, Labour in Wales bucked the party’s national trend in 2021, winning a working majority of 30 seats in the Senedd.Welsh Labour is currently in talks with P...

83% of Labour members backed proportional representation. So did 80% of the membership’s representatives on the conference floor. But the Labour machine didn’t, and the motion to make PR party policy fell at last month’s party conference.We welcome leading Labour for a New Democracy campaigners Laura Parker and Caroline Osborne to the podcast to get the inside track on the campaign for Labour to back fair votes.Why didn’t the leadership back PR? How can those unions who didn’t support PR be c...

The election in Germany has seen progressives surge and conservatives suffer at the polls.John Kampfner and Michèle Auga join It's Bloody Complicated to make sense of the SPD and Olaf Scholz's (relative) surge, the CDU's collapse, and the 'traffic light' (red/yellow/green) coalition talks.Will Scholz’s late embrace of the climate agenda be born out in practice? And what can we in Britain learn from German progressive electoral successes – and the alliance-building challenges to come?John Kamp...

Orwell Youth Fellow Tom Finlayson joins Labour MP Jon Cruddas to discuss impending environmental disaster, automation, AI and the future of work – themes brought vividly to life in Tom's dystopian short story 'Not So Welcome Break'.Jon Cruddas is the Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham and a leading thinker on the meaning of work. His book, The Dignity of Labour, is out now from Polity Books (https://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509540785&subject_id=89).The episode begins with Tom ...

In the face of global crises, how can communities attain better social, economic and environmental outcomes?Joining It's Bloody Complicated are Henry Tam, editor of the new book Tomorrow’s Communities: Lessons for community-based transformation in the age of global crises, and contributors to the book Marjorie Mayo and Diane Warburton.Henry Tam is a political writer whose books include Time to Save Democracy and Whose Government is it?. He was Head of Civil Renewal under the last Labour gover...

In the second episode of The Future We Want, a new series from Compass and the Orwell Youth Prize, Orwell Youth Fellows Lauren DeBruin and Hugh Ludford join Andrew Simms to discuss climate, dystopia – and how we encourage each other to want a better future.Andrew Simms is the co-director of the New Weather Institute, coordinator of the Rapid Transition Alliance and co-author of the original Green New Deal.The episode begins with Lauren and Hugh reading their pieces, 'What We Lost' and 'You Ar...

This episode of It's Bloody Complicated is brought to you from Labour Party Conference. At this year's conference, the Labour machine rejected the overwhelming wishes of party members, and the motion for the party to adopt proportional representation fell. We were joined by Labour MP Clive Lewis, Green MP Caroline Lucas, Labour for a New Democracy campaign head Laura Parker and Best for Britain CEO Naomi Smith to look at the necessity and strategy of a progressive alliance following Labour's ...

Compass and the Orwell Youth Prize have teamed up to bring you a special new series, The Future We Want.In this first episode, Orwell Youth Fellow Manal Nadeem joins Dawn Butler MP for a discussion of race, power and the pandemic. The episode begins with Manal reading her piece, 'The Poverty Pandemic'.Read 'The Poverty Pandemic' by Manal NadeemThe Orwell Youth Prize is an annual programme for students aged 12–18 culminating in a writing prize. The prize and programme introduce young people to...

We welcome writer, journalist and film-maker Paul Mason to the podcast to discuss his new book, How to Stop Fascism (Allen Lane).Paul spoke about how the rise of right-wing populism and authoritarianism has not acted as a 'firewall' against fascism, the online tactics of the new networked fascism and the lessons of the French Popular Front for a Progressive Alliance movement today.How to Stop Fascism: History, Ideology, Resistance is available now.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every sec...

Recently departed Green Party Co-Leader Jonathan Bartley joins It’s Bloody Complicated.Jonathan stepped down as Green co-leader in July. He is now focusing his energy on helping to build a progressive alliance, saying to the Guardian that ‘there is a progressive majority in this country but we will have Conservative governments as far as we can see because of first past the post’.He spoke about why we need a progressive alliance – and why there must be something in it for the Greens – as well...

John Denham joined It's Bloody Complicated to talk nation, identity and patriotism.Is there such a thing as ‘progressive patriotism’? And against the backdrop of Brexit and a potential second Scottish independence referendum, is it finally time for progressives to talk about England?John Denham is Professor and Director of the Centre for English Identity and Politics at the University of Southampton, and co-founder of the English Labour Network. He was the Labour MP for Southampton Itchen, an...

This episode was recorded immediately following the initial devastating flooding across western Germany. Our thoughts and solidarity are with all those affected.Compass has teamed up with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung to bring you a German election special.Germany is poised to pick its next leader. After 16 years at the helm, Angela Merkel is stepping aside – and what comes next is anyone’s guess.Will Germans elect Armin Laschet, her successor in the CDU, after he pledged to continue what Merk...

Policy innovator Anna Coote joined It’s Bloody Complicated to talk about a life at the cutting edge of policy thinking – from citizens' juries to a four-day week and universal basic services.We took a closer look at the idea of universal basic services (UBS) – and any tensions that may exist with universal basic income (UBI).And we surveyed the present state of progressive politics – and how we can advocate and implement transformative policies for a good society.It's Bloody Complicated is re...

On 23rd June 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU by a majority of 52% to 48%.The ensuing half-decade has seen rolling political turmoil, unprecedented realignments and questions over the future of the UK itself.To help make sense of these historic times, we welcome Labour MP Jon Trickett, Guardian journalist Zoe Williams, Zoe's dog Romeo, and writer Anthony Barnett to the show.Jon Trickett is the Labour MP for Hemsworth and a former shadow minister under the leaderships of Jeremy C...

What are the strategy, ideology and aims of the modern Conservative Party? To beat them, we have to understand them – and maybe even learn from them.Professor Ken Spours applies the thinking of Antonio Gramsci to help us get to grips with today’s shapeshifting Tories.Ken has provided some additional notes to accompany the show. Find them here: https://bit.ly/3xj0OnA.Discussed on the show:Antonio Gramsci – Prison NotebooksStuart Hall – 'New Labour's Double Shuffle'Ken Spours – Shapeshifte...

Jon Cruddas MP joins It’s Bloody Complicated to mark the launch of his new book, The Dignity of Labour (Polity).Does work give our lives purpose, meaning and status? Or is it a tedious necessity that will soon be abolished by automation, leaving humans free to enjoy a life of leisure and basic income?Jon Cruddas is Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham. The Dignity of Labour is available from Polity.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compas...

Election results across England, Scotland and Wales showed more than ever why progressives need to work together – and what can happen when they do. We're joined by a stellar lineup to survey the aftermath, and work out where we go next: Sir John Curtice, polling expert, Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde and Senior Research Fellow at the National Centre for Social ResearchCaroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton PavilionBeth Winter, Labour MP for Cynon ValleyLayla Moran...

Leader of the Women's Equality Party Mandu Reid joined the podcast to talk about why the pandemic has not been a gender-neutral crisis, how her 'politically polyamorous' party is shaking up the system and why she's working to put herself out of a job.Mandu Reid is Leader of the Women’s Equality Party, the party’s candidate for Mayor of London and the first Black leader of a national British political party.It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Becom...

Former leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Vince Cable joins It’s Bloody Complicated to share the lessons of his long and varied political life and tell us about his new book, Money and Power.In uncertain times for progressives of all stripes, not least the Lib Dems, it was great to get Vince's unique perspective.Vince Cable was MP for Twickenham from 1997 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2019, and as leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017–19. He served in the Conservative–Lib Dem coalition g...

It’s a year since Keir Starmer was elected leader of the Labour Party – a year that has seen the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, internal divisions within the party and vocal debates about the best way forward.We welcome writer, journalist and film-maker Paul Mason to It’s Bloody Complicated to discuss Keir Starmer one year on, the prospects for a Progressive Alliance, strategies for the left and his fascinating political life.Paul Mason is the author of six books, the most recent of which is...

Special guest host John Harris is joined by Marc Stears to discuss Marc's new book, Out of the Ordinary: How Everyday Life Inspired a Nation and How It Can Again.Joining John and Marc are Jon Cruddas, Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham, and Sue Goss, author of Open Tribe and the Compass report Garden Mind.In Out of the Ordinary, Stears describes how, in a period of intense political turmoil from the 1920s–50s, a group of British writers and artists showed a way forward by shining a light on t...

On this very special edition of It’s Bloody Complicated, we're joined by Clive Lewis, MP for Norwich South; academic and advocate for human rights Francesca Klug; and political theorist Stuart White to celebrate the launch of Belonging, Place and the Nation, Compass’s new report into nationalism and patriotism.Should we try to confront the Right with our own, more progressive, patriotism and nationalism? Or should we abandon these terms and instead try to build something else?In Belonging, Pl...

On this edition of It’s Bloody Complicated , we're celebrating a very special reunion. Neal Lawson is joined by 2017 Progressive Alliance veterans Andrée Frieze, Barry Langford, Stephen Clark, Remco van der Stoep, Jana Mills, Steve Williams and Frances Foley to look back on the successes and lessons of that election, and look forward to how we can build a formidable Progressive Alliance next time.Results analysis suggests that, in 2017, the Progressive Alliance made a difference in dozens of ...

On this episode of It's Bloody Complicated, Frances Foley is joined by another great double bill – this time Peter MacFadyen who has inspired the Flatpack Democracy movement and Indra Adnan one of the co-founders of the new politics champions The Alternative UK.Flatpack Democracy is an independent movement which started in Frome, inspired by frustration with missed opportunitities the way local government usually works. Since then, the group has taken control of the local council and in...

We’re diving straight into 2021 with a conversation about what the next year might hold for us and what it all means for progressive politics.Our guests, Tom Clark (Editor of Prospect Magazine) and Yasmin Khan (human rights campaigner), were on hand to help us chart a course through what is likely to be an extraordinarily challenging year for us all.We covered the pandemic, the economy, the Tories, Labour, Scotland, Biden, and more. And as ever, we took questions live on the call from Compass...

For the final podcast of 2020, we had an extra special Christmas treat for our members. Writer, economist, politician, and former academic Yanis Varoufakis joined us live on Zoom for an hour of hard-headed economic analysis, a few home truths for the European Left, and plenty of laughter too.A former academic, Yanis is perhaps best known for his tenure as Greek finance minister and his role in the country’s high stakes negotiations with the EU. But he is also a prolific author and...

This week, we spoke to Natasha Walter: feminist writer, founder and director of Women for Refugee Women and author of Living Dolls and A Quiet Life.We talked to Natasha about what motivated her to write Living Dolls, and how she moved out of journalism to found the charity Women for Refugee Women. After 14 years at WFRW, Natasha had plenty of stories to share with us and wasn’t afraid to dig into the frictions and frustrations of her work."It's Bloody Complicated" is recorded ever...