The Power Test

Political analyst, writer and former government adviser Sam Freedman steps into the cow shed this week to look at how Labour in the UK needs to continue to realise that competence and good intentions will be enough to change the state. He lays out how some criticisms from the political right about state inefficiency are valid and need engaging with and how the government must move on from naivety towards a real plan on reshaping the state, if it wants to deliver. Sam talks about decentralisation away from Westminster as a potential remedy the government should pick up - as well as boosting the Prime Minister’s office and creating stronger ministerial offices. We also hear from Sam, and reader Katy, about our last episode on progressive education, which got the comments section livened up. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

‘Progressive Education’ - the idea that education must be authentic, child-led, and discovery-oriented - actually leads to regressive outcomes for children and society. To secure progressive outcomes for kids and the future of our country’s, Kristopher Boulton and Daisy Christodoulou join the herd and lay out how the left is going to have to let go of some of its fallacies about the classroom and, most importantly, not allow ideas of the past take us backwards going into the future. Join us now for this special listener-submitted episode of No Sacred Cows - looking at the politics of and future of education, alongside a collection of tales from the classroom and lessons we can all learn about making schools work for kids and our society. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s time Keir Starmer dumps Trump - for the interests of the UK as well as his own and the Labour Party’s political skin.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The populist right is railing loudly against the decline in birthrates in the US and the UK - not always out of sincerity, and often with overtly racist reasoning. As a result the left has buried its head in the sand and refused to go near the issue. But there is no reason, Anna McShane from the New Britain Project argues, to do so.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keir Starmer biographer Tom Baldwin lays out why it's time for the centre-left to get over its timidity Brexit Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A year into the Labour Party in power in the UK and the loss of the Democrats to Donald Trump in the US, we round out 2025 with the crew giving a damning verdict on where the center left is at the end of this year, and give a tour de force of what what must be ahead if we are to win back trust, credibility and deliver change in 2026. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Co-author of the recent report ‘Inside the mind of a 16 year old’ for UK think-tank Demos together with Peter Hyman, Shaub details the journey of speaking with 700 young people across the country about their thoughts on politics - and why centre-left politicians need to get their house in order when it comes to talking to young people themselves. Now is not the time for timid grids of the past - it’s well past the moment for something new and different; politicians happy to go where voters are; unafraid of being authentic. It’s not just what young people demand - but what our politics, and democracy, needs. It’s time to slay the sacred cow that the centre-left is talking to young people - it’s not. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Centre-left governments are often few and far between. So when they lose their way - the renewal has to be done swiftly, and at times bloodily. Trapped in process and unable to communicate, McTernan says the left loses its way when it believes the state has became our friend, just because we are running it. Bureaucratic, talking about ‘delivery’, and using management speak, we forget who the enemy is and what the purpose of a centre-left government is all about. What is required, instead, is to junk the sacred cow that the state is the answer and offer a clear moral purpose as a progressive government - aligning ourselves with the people. Join as we dive head-first into a long overdue debate about the future of mainstream politics on both sides of the Atlantic - no holding back, no pulling punches. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week the herd is joined by Tone Langengen, Senior Policy Advisor at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, who argues that the centre-left must face economic and political reality and realise that people won’t back Net Zero unless it means cheaper energy and credible growth. Has this agenda become a moral badge rather than a workable plan and can that shift without abandoning climate ambition? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The political center and center-left needs to create new ways to protect our peace and prosperity, based on a clearer understanding of our mutual national interests, or else we risk slipping deeper into anarchy, towards World War Three - or even, armageddon. Join the herd as we dive into the future of foreign policy and where we’ve gone wrong in the last few years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us in this second episode where the herd are joined by Frank Sharry, a former Kamala Harris adviser and founder of US think tank America’s Voice, to look at whether the centre-left needs to ditch its timidity and how it can talk about and win on the issue of immigration. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're starting a much needed and overdue debate about the future of mainstream politics – no holding back, no pulling punches. In this our first episode, the herd are joined by Peter Hyman, a former adviser to Tony Blair and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to look at where the center left is going wrong. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded live at the Centre for Progressive Policy’s Inclusive Growth Conference on 28th November, this special episode The Power Test looks at where we are six months into the new Labour government and what it needs to do to deliver its promise of a decade of national renewal. Following the Budget, the reelection of Donald Trump in the US, farmer protests, and a rumoured government ‘relaunch’, Sam Freedman and Ayesha Hazarika, together with Chief Executive of the New Economics Foundation Dr Danny Sriskandarajah, CPP’s Director of Place and Practice Annabel Smith, and Power Test regular and Director of the Project on Center-Left Renewal at the Progressive Policy Institute Claire Ainsley, look at what Labour needs to do to deliver, restore trust in politics and survive. Most significantly, “voters need clear proof points on delivery that they can see in their own lives” said Ainsley, arguing that standard economic measures will not be enough to convince Britons to back Labour for a second term. “You have to improve living standards, not just infrastructure and GDP” - a lesson potentially that can be taken from Donald Trump’s victory in the US over an unpopular Democratic Party despite a booming economy on paper. Labour also needs to be telling a story about its approach on the economy - “you need to constantly tell people what you’re doing. The Tories tried several different explanations of their approach - but at least they tried” - with the panel pushing the government to toughen up argument, even on politically challenging issues including taxes on wealth. Smith also raised the somewhat untapped potential Labour mayors can offer the government - “we can reinvigorate Labour representation, with Labour mayors being part of how the government communicates its message”. Mayors are well-known, often well-liked and sometimes higher profile than new cabinet ministers. But Sam Freedman points out that with Andrea Jenkins defecting to Reform, it’s quite possible that Lincolnshire could well have a Reform mayor next year, and the party needs to get a move on - particularly with local elections and those in Scotland due within 18 months to two years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Live from Labour Party conference, The Power Test returns to look at the Labour's first months in power. Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman are joined by Georgia Gould, Labour MP and Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, Helen MacNamara, former Deputy Cabinet Secretary, and Marc Stears, director of the UCL Policy Lab, who supported this special episode, to discuss how Labour can reform and revive public services when the coffers are *cough* running low. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Labour now firmly in the driver’s seat of government, Sam Freedman and Ayesha Hazarika are joined by Power Test co-founder and former Chief Executive of the Centre for Progressive Policy, Charlotte Aldritt, and Ryan Wain, the Executive Director of Politics at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, to look at where Britain goes next. How can Labour get Britain's creaky systems moving in the right direction, and put together a positive, proactive plan for power? From AI in the civil service to Martin Lewis in the (fantasy) cabinet, this is a wide-ranging final discussion for the series. And no season finale would be complete without a few guest stars, so we've invited a few special contributors to send a message to this new government, making their requests and offering their advice. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

July 4th, 2024: the date that Labour returned to power. After 14 years in the political wilderness, Keir Starmer has led the party to a landslide victory. With the keys to No.10 Downing Street in his hands – and a crack team of ministers assembled – it's time to look back on how Labour has changed under the Starmer premiership, and ahead to how it, in turn, could change Britain. Ayesha Hazarika – fresh from a marathon broadcasting stint – and Sam Freedman – fresh from a marathon Excel stint – gather to debrief on a momentous night for Labour politics. But the story was not always a smooth one, and Ayesha and Sam are here to unriddle the subplots, expose areas of coming danger (the threat of Reform? the rise of independent candidates?) as well as celebrating triumphs in Scotland, the so-called 'Red Wall' and the defenestration of multiple Prime Ministers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just before we head hurtling into election week, Sam Freedman and Ayesha Hazarika are on hand to take you through the reality of Labour’s pledge on energy - together with think tank Third Way’s Josh Freed who leads its Climate and Energy work and Brett Christophers, author of The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet. Labour has made reforming a troubled energy market one of its six key pledges, with the creation of a Great British Energy company at the heart of that. But will this guarantee energy security going forward? Is it compatible with our long-term commitment to decarbonisation and Net Zero? And, as voters head to the ballot box, how will it answer their big question: will energy prices be going down? For more, visit THEPOWERTEST.CO.UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the issue drives Nigel Farage’s return and the Conservatives seek to sharpen attacks on Labour in a last ditch attempt to breakthrough in the campaign, this week Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman look into Labour’s pledge on immigration. Ayesha and Sam probe further into Labour’s policies on immigration with former Home Office adviser Matt Cavanagh and LSE economics professor, and former Chair of the Migration Advisory Committee, Alan Manning. For more visit THEPOWERTEST.CO.UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this special manifesto episode of The Power Test, Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman are joined by two special guests: Nick Pearce, one of the authors of Labour's 2010 manifesto, and Claire Ainsley, who was Keir Starmer's policy guru from 2020 to 2022. Together, this quartet dissect and discuss the Labour party's 2024 manifesto (titled, simply, 'Change'). Does it live up to that name? What are the big policy areas it covers, from housing to the NHS? And are there any notable omissions from the a document that could be foundational to how a Labour government does business? Looking at whether this is a bold statement of the party's intention to change Britain for the better – the key question that The Power Test has been asking for three seasons – or a cautious testament to Starmer's "safety first" mentality, this is your breakdown of the first clear indication of where the country is headed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The academic who inspired Blair’s “respect agenda" on tackling crime and anti-social behaviour urges Labour to ensure that there is effective investment in community support alongside law and policing. Talking to Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman, Professor Richard Sennett, Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics, says he recognises the similarities between the approaches taken by Keir Starmer and Blair on crime and anti-social behaviour but fears that the economic circumstances make effective action much harder today. For more, visit THEPOWERTEST.CO.UK Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.