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Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Are we seeing the end of the Johnson premiership?

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Are we seeing the end of the Johnson premiership?
Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the outlook for the Prime Minister in the wake of the vote of no confidence. He wonders when political gravity will take hold, thinking that the conference season could be critical. He considers who might replace Boris Johnson at the head of the Conservative Party and remarks upon the extraordinary connection between the vote and a bus stop in Parliament Square.
Guest:

Mike Indian


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: The Elizabeth Age, the Needy Being Failed by the System & NHS GP Services Collapsing

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: The Elizabeth Age, the Needy Being Failed by the System & NHS GP Services Collapsing
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University reflects upon the Second Elizabethan Age and the changes in Britain over the Queen's reign, believing we are now one of the most creative and diverse of nations. He is horrified by an article showing how the most needy in society, who will always need support, are being failed by the stringency of the system which is supposed to help them. And he is staggered by statistics showing just how near the NHS GP service is to a tipping point which could spell its collapse.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: The Sue Gray Report and Sunak's cost-of-living measures

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: The Sue Gray Report and Sunak's cost-of-living measures
Political commentator Mike Indian discusses the Sue Gray Report into Pandemic parties in Downing Street and how it reflects upon the culture there. Although he thinks that the PM might yet survive, he feels he's a two-dimensional figure in a world where 3,4 or even 5 dimensions are needed and wishes he was a student of history any later than Pericles. He also gives snap judgement on Rishi Sunak's measures to cope with the rising cost of living, the recording being made while the Chancellor was speaking.
Guest:

Mike Indian


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Democracy on the march, groupthink at the BofE & the 1990s and culture

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Democracy on the march, groupthink at the BofE & the 1990s and culture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University agrees with Andrew Neil that, around the world, democracy is on the march again. Putin's Ukraine invasion is actually helping to bring the rest of the world together and reconsider the attractions of autocratic rule. Tim wonders if the Bank of England is plagued by groupthink and, as a result, has boxed itself into a corner and could be about to crash the economy. And he ends by asking why modern culture is so dull in the UK and wonders whether the 1990s were the last golden cultural age.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: The Queen's Speech, cost of living, local elections & Northern Ireland

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: The Queen's Speech, cost of living, local elections & Northern Ireland
Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the Queen's Speech, with the Queen herself absent. What was in it and what wasn't? He also discusses the Government's response to the growing cost-of-living crisis before turning to the recent local election results and what they might mean for the three main political parties. Lastly, he turns to Northern Ireland, where Sinn Fein emerged as the largest party; dos their success increase the prospect of a united Ireland?
Guest:

Mike Indian


Published:
Simon Rose

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Are the MPC right to raise interest rates?

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Financial Outlook for Personal Investors: Are the MPC right to raise interest rates?
Russ Mould of A J Bell looks at the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee decision to raise interest rates to 1% with a statement dampening some expectations for future sharp rises. He asks if the MPC (and the Fed) have painted themselves into a corner and wonders whether more debt should have been the answer to a debt crisis. Indeed, can 9 people in a room, however smart and well-intentioned, really set the price of money? As always, he offers advice for investors about what lies ahead.
Guest:

Russ Mould


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Europe and energy, what do Conservatives stand for & the US divide on abortion

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Europe and energy, what do Conservatives stand for & the US divide on abortion
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University examines how Europe will cope as it tries to reduce its energy dependence upon Russia. He looks at an article on what those at the top of the Conservative Party profess to believe against their actions and whether Conservatism is ideological or pragmatic. And in the light of America's resurfacing divide on the subject of abortion, he considers why there is so little debate on the subject in the UK.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Should MPs continue to police themselves and looking ahead to the local elections

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Should MPs continue to police themselves and looking ahead to the local elections
Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the continuing macho culture of Parliament and the recent behaviour of some MPs and asks whether there's a need for a robust external body to police our elected politicians. He looks ahead to next week's local elections and what they might mean for national politics and considers in detail what might happen in Northern Ireland, where Sinn Fein are expected to do well. And he also considers whether there might be a General Election earlier than expected.
Guest:

Mike Indian


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Will China & the US go to war, could the Sahara solve our energy problems & Partygate

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Will China & the US go to war, could the Sahara solve our energy problems & Partygate
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University considers an article by ex-Australian PM Kevin Rudd about how war between China and the United States might be avoided. He looks at an apparently feasible project to transmit energy over 2,000 miles from Morocco to the United Kingdom. And he gives his thoughts on Partygate, wondering where the impressive politicians are we need in such difficult times.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Partygate and the future of the PM & Chancellor, UK local elections & Ukraine

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Partygate and the future of the PM & Chancellor, UK local elections & Ukraine
Political commentator Mike Indian reflects on the consequences of the two most senior members of the government breaking laws that they helped to implement and wonders how it might affect the forthcoming local elections. If they go badly, will the PM have to go and who could replace him? With no more than 750 days until a General Election, he assesses the two main parties' electoral prospects. And he looks at the situation in Ukraine, considering the responsibility of the West for doing nothing when Putin annexed Crimea. He feels that, hard though it may be, the West must do more than it is already doing to help Ukraine.
Guest:

Mike Indian


Published: