Share Sounds. presented by Georgie Frost related to Politics

The National Health Service is 70 years old this year and most of us are proud of the British institution, leaning on it in our times of need. However, we’re living longer with more complex problems and the service keeps crying out that it needs more money. Where does it come from? Do we make cost-cuttings or plough lots of money in, do we increase income tax, make the rich pay, or introduce a new special ring-fenced tax? Theresa May announced plans for £20.5billion-a-year cash boost – but was a little short on the detail. She hinted at tax rises and mentioned a ‘Brexit dividend’. This is Money editor Simon Lambert, along with consumer affairs editor Lee Boyce and presenter Georgie Frost look at ways to fix the NHS in the latest podcast.

Global financial markets have been flying up and down and all over the place this week, and it’s all to do with one boot-shaped country in the Mediterranean. Italy has found itself embroiled in a power struggle between Eurosceptic populists – winners of the March general election – and the pro-EU establishment. The ramifications have spread across the globe and will affect Britons from big-time investors to anyone building up a pension pot. Also in this episode, This is Money editor Simon Lambert, presenter Georgie Frost and personal finance editor Rachel Rickard Straus talk about what you can do to stop your dream house move falling through, and whether proposals to make tax on savings and dividends simpler will work – or just see savers pay more tax. And finally, in troubled times for the high street, the team look at one retailer bucking the trend.

From savings rates, to property prices and the prospects for the UK economy, this week we take a look at what will (might) happen to our finances in 2018. Predictions – as we all know – are a mug’s game, but as it is the start of a new year, it’s time to have a look at what could happen in 2018 in the world of money. Inflation is forecast to subside, while interest rates are only tipped to rise very gently. That would be a boost to people’s finances if wage inflation can get back up above the rising cost of living. A further boon could come from savings rates, which it is suggested could continue to rise. In the property market, house prices are predicted to be flat across the UK, but that will mask a continuing divergence in fortunes between regional cities, where sales are buoyant, and London and the commuter belt, where the market has suffered. Elsewhere in the economy, car sales are falling, consumer borrowing is rising but at a slower pace, and there will continue to be worries we aren’t saving enough for retirement. That’s what’s meant to happen. But will it? Simon Lambert, Sarah Davidson and Georgie Frost gaze into their crystal balls.

Facts are either right or wrong, right?...wrong? In this special episode of the This is Money podcast Tim Harford, presenter of the BBC series More or Less and all-round Undercover Economist makes a second guest appearance. We talk about facts and stats - checking them, debunking them, reporting them, baffling with them, battling over them. Tim argues that we think of facts as being either the truth or lies, but that actually factual claims can form part of our identity. We also discuss the impact of social media on the way in which we consume news and facts. And whether we're too dependent on numbers altogether. Don't believe us? You'll have to listen and see.

Have you ever really thought about what it is that creates the modern economy? These are the things that surround us and we interact with, or depend on, everyday but rarely think about. From credit cards, to shipping containers, batteries and double-entry book-keeping, there are a lot of things that are more interesting than you may think. And for this special Christmas edition of the This is Money podcast we have a treat for you. Tim Harford, author of Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy, presenter of the podcast of the same name, and Undercover Economist makes a guest appearance. He joins Simon Lambert, Rachel Rickard Straus and Georgie Frost in the studio to talk about what it is that shapes the world around us, why it matters, and how what are commonplace things now were dreamed up and then completely changed the way we live.

This week, Simon Lambert, Rachel Rickard Straus and Georgie Frost pick apart the Budget to try to find out who the winners and losers will be. Philip Hammond pulled a George Osborne-sized rabbit from the hat at the end with the abolition of stamp duty for first-time buyers, but was that enough to make us to forget the gloomy economic news and the gags? On the plus side, the Budget brought an income tax cut for most, the promise of more homes being built, and no more stamp duty for most first-time buyers. On the negative side, economists say we are due another lost decade, Philip Hammond’s own financial watchdog said he would drive up house prices, and cough sweet jokes might be catching on.

Georgie Frost is joined by financial heavy weights Lindsay Cook and Andy Webb. This week they take on the malfunctioning smart meters charging people as much as seven times their normal bill. Plus why insurance companies are getting the sucker punch this week and is it really a good idea to pay off your student debt?

Welcome to the This is Money Show on Share Radio. The UK parties are now getting into full election mode and already we’ve seen a range of policy suggestions, debates and u-turns appearing. From energy price caps to scrapping death duty hikes we’ll but looking at what all these could mean for the finances of voters. Also weighing in on the French election and GDP Georgie Frost is joined by Editor Simon Lambert and Personal Finance Editor Rachel Rickard Straus. Plus it’s your final week to spend the old paper five pound note.

With the clock ticking on Britain's two year negotiation period the Brexit debate is proving far from over. So what could the outcome mean for Britain's rural economy? In this special report Share Radio's Tom Hill looks at the hopes and fears of the country's farming and fishing industries.

In part 2 of our look at the impacts of Brexit on Britain's rural economy Share Radio's Tom Hill looks at the hopes of Britain's fishing industry.