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Gavin Oldham

The Bigger Picture: The UK Chancellor’s Spending Review

Gavin Oldham
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: The UK Chancellor’s Spending Review
The unabridged recording of Rachel Reeves’ speech in the House of Commons on 11th June 2025.
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Editors Pick

Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: The UK's Doom Loop, "Return To Growth" & Starmer's backing of nuclear power

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: The UK's Doom Loop, "Return To Growth" & Starmer's backing of nuclear power
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University believes that the UK is now in a doom loop. With no coherent strategy, Rachel Reeves is digging us ever deeper into a hole, borrowing massively with no attempt to improve productivity or encourage growth. No wonder capital and talent is fleeing. For anyone wondering how we might do things differently in a politically viable way, reducing the state and improving state services, Tim recommends Lord Moynihan's very readable work, Return to Growth. And he finds fascinating the 180-degree ideological shift by many in Labour when it comes to our civil nuclear programme.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans

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Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Winter fuel U-turn, the Spending Review and the Tories disowning the Truss Budget

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Winter fuel U-turn, the Spending Review and the Tories disowning the Truss Budget
Political commentator Mike Indian says that the Winter Fuel U-turn has undermined the position of the Prime Minister and Chancellor, with Labour MPs getting increasingly rebellious. But there is no obvious successor to Keir Starmer and Mike predicts that the PM will not only last till the end of this Parliament but stand again. In some ways, he feels, the forthcoming Spending Review is the biggest decision Labour will take in this Parliament. He approves of the money earmarked for improving transport in the north and the equipment detailed in the Defence Review. But it's clear personnel levels in the armed forces need to be raised. All this at a time when jittery markets no longer want to sustain growing government debt while growth is low.
Guest:

Mike Indian

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Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Will Reform face a new Project Fear, Are Western economies doomed & Railway renationalisation

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Will Reform face a new Project Fear, Are Western economies doomed & Railway renationalisation
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University says that Reform's rise in the opinion polls could see "The Blob" mounting a new "Project Fear". But it could backfire, particularly as some people like rebelling against the establishment. Will Labour fracture as the Conservatives did? With populations declining and welfare and pension liabilities mushrooming, the financial situation of western democracies is becoming increasingly unstable. With no incentive for politicians to explain how serious the situation is, are our societies doomed? And with the railways being renationaised, Tim considers the oscillation between state and private control over 200 years and wonders why we can't emulate the railway success of that other island state, Japan.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans

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Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: The winter fuel U-turn, the UK-EU reset deal & Angela Rayner's tax rise memo

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: The winter fuel U-turn, the UK-EU reset deal & Angela Rayner's tax rise memo
Political commentator Mike Indian discusses Labour's U-turn on the winter fuel payment, which would have been far less damaging if it had happened earlier. The party's communications, particularly on the domestic front, need to be considerably more savvy. The UK-EU reset deal should improve our relationship with Europe but it is inevitable we would become a rule taker after leaving. The biggest losers, yet again, are Britain's fishermen. He also comments on the leaked memo about Angela Rayne's suggested tax rises, exposing differences between her and the Chancellor. If rumours of a reshuffle soon are true, it could be a mistake and should happen later.
Guest:

Mike Indian

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Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: UK politics is at an inflexion point so what does it mean for party politics?

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: UK politics is at an inflexion point so what does it mean for party politics?
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University says that UK politics is at a crossroads. He explains that many of the themes of modern political discourse have their roots in 1647's Putney Debates; he discusses the ideas of four diverse academics on the shifting sands of our politics and governance. And what of the future? Will Labour become the natural party of government? Are Reform the new Thatcherite Conservatives? And, with the LibDems almost neck and neck with the Conservatives in some polls, which party will end up in fourth place?
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans

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Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Trade deals, local election results and Reform & the Australian and Canadian elections

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Trade deals, local election results and Reform & the Australian and Canadian elections
Political commentator Mike Indian discusses the predicted US-UK trade deal which is unlikely to be the full deal pursued by the UK for years but should still be a positive. The Indian deal is a significant one, given that India will be the 3rd biggest economy in the world. Both, however, are examples of how the world is becoming ever more complicated. Mike discusses the local elections, a bad night for both Conservatives and Labour. He doesn't think that Reform's success is a flash in the pan but feels there will be a ceiling on its level of support. He also discusses the remarkable turnarounds in the Canadian and Australian elections, both of which owe a considerable debt to Donald Trump's sabre rattling.
Guest:

Mike Indian

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Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Chinese economic problems, Blair's attack on net zero drive & Trump's 1st 100 days

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Chinese economic problems, Blair's attack on net zero drive & Trump's 1st 100 days
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University believes China's big problem is not Trump but its domestic economic woes. The extraordinary property bubble has left more vacant homes than the massive population. With high youth unemployment, China is potentially in a downward spiral, fuelled by widespread pessimism. Tony Blair has exposed the schism in Labour over the dash to Net Zero and with Trump's push for energy supremacy and oil prices falling, we may soon get the called-for "reset of the debate". While it's unclear if Trump's first 100 days will be judged a success, he has nonetheless pushed through some amazing reforms and changed global discourse in a way not seen since the days of Thatcher & Reagan.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans

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Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Ukraine, the Supreme Court gender ruling & the death of Pope Francis

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Ukraine, the Supreme Court gender ruling & the death of Pope Francis
Political commentator Mike Indian wonders what lasting settlement there can be in Ukraine given the capriciousness of the Trump administration. We are seeing a redrawing of global alliances, with the US returning to its former isolationist policy. In the wake of the Supreme Court gender ruling, he considers the divisiveness and politicisation of the topic and how nuance is being lost. We should be more considerate to those who feel they have been born in the wrong body. Whatever your view on the edicts of the Papacy, the Pope is still a political figure with a difference and an integral moral force in an increasingly turbulent world. The new Pope wiill have a difficult task ahead of him.
Guest:

Mike Indian

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Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: British Steel and statecraft, Trump's divisiveness & future military planning

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: British Steel and statecraft, Trump's divisiveness & future military planning
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University discusses the nature of political economy in statecraft in the light of the government taking over British Steel. Why are so many of Britain's important companies plundered? Tim discusses Donald Trump's divisiveness. Despite disliking the man, has to admit he has been proven right on some things. But are his heavy-handed tactics brewing a very fundamental currency crisis? And, given the rapid advances in technology which mean we are at another "Dreadnought moment", how can military and political leaders make sensible spending choices?
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans

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