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Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: The Tory party leadership contest & conference and Labour freebie controversy

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: The Tory party leadership contest & conference and Labour freebie controversy
Political commentator Mike Indian discusses the surprisingly upbeat tone at the Conservative Party conference. He takes Simon Rose through the four leadership contenders, explaining who he thinks will be the pair party members will vote on. He also talks about the interventions of three former leaders, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and Boris Johnson. Turning to the controversy about freebies given to Labour ministers, he considers the ethics of lobbying. While feeling Keir Starmer is right to return £6,000 of gifts, the PM must address the giving of gifts, as well as tackling MPs' second jobs and the issue of Sue Gray.
Guest:

Mike Indian


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: The AI revolution, Labour heading to the market right & Cronygate

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: The AI revolution, Labour heading to the market right & Cronygate
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University says that we are living through the days of immense change and that AI is an evolving technology without end. While imperfect and with moral challenges that need to be faced, everyone should get to grips with it. From non-doms to university fees and housing, he returns to the subject of Labour moving to the market right of politics with little challenge from the directionless Conservatives. And with Labour's honeymoon well and truly over and talk about links between Lord Alli and Syria's Assad, how damaging will Cronygate be?
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Sue Gray's salary & Starmer's freebies, the LibDem conference and the nation's health

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Sue Gray's salary & Starmer's freebies, the LibDem conference and the nation's health
Political commentator Mike Indian discusses the increase in salary of Downing Street Chief of Staff Sue Gray to £170,000, £3,000 more than the PM. Only time will tell how valuable her role is. Given Labour's attack on sleaze when in opposition, how serious are the revelations about freebies given to Keir Starmer and other politicians? What do donors expect in return? Mike also discusses the optimism of the LibDem conference. But they aren't a cohesive parliamentary group yet and are very much a party of southern England. And he looks at the Darzi review into the NHS. What could reforms look like and how can Labour seriously reduce the number of people who are off work sick?
Guest:

Mike Indian


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Starmer's trap for the Tories, Labour's private housing & the AI revolution

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Starmer's trap for the Tories, Labour's private housing & the AI revolution
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University says that Labour, beginning with the means testing of the winter fuel payment, has moved to the right of the Conservatives and begun a barrage of welfare cuts. He believes the Tories have fallen into Starmer's trap and do not know how to react; they need a more sophisticated approach to opposition. He discusses how Labour intend to drive growth with a housebuilding spurt but will central planning work? And he marvels at the inflexion point that is AI, particularly withthe news that AI will be able to detect early signs of over 1,000 diseases.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: The Grenfell Tower inquiry, Labour and worker rights and UK arms to Israel

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: The Grenfell Tower inquiry, Labour and worker rights and UK arms to Israel
Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the Grenfell Tower inquiry report which damns governments and the private sector and discusses what has to happen next. Labour's push on workers' rights is, he says, the biggest change in employment law for 40 years. Its ambition is radical but it is a ragbag of measures with no unity of thought behind it. He also considers the part suspension of arms sales of Israel and the complexity of such decisions.
Guest:

Mike Indian


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Starmer's downbeat tone, the Tory leadership & the de-growth movement

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Starmer's downbeat tone, the Tory leadership & the de-growth movement
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University considers the pessimistic tone adopted by Keir Starmer in his Downing Street garden speech. Will things get better after they get worse or is there something fundamentally wrong with the UK economy? With the right disunited and the Conservatives badly bruised, Tim considers the Tory leadership race and who is supporting each candidate. And he looks at the ideas behind the de-growth movement which suggests that we should abandon GDP as a measure of society's wellbeing.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Can Kamala Harris win, UK riots and Labour's public sector pay deals

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Can Kamala Harris win, UK riots and Labour's public sector pay deals
Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the Democratic nomination of Kamala Harris for US President and how the likely outcome of the election has changed since Biden stood aside. Back in the UK, he discusses the recent riots, asks where it might lead and ponders whether we currently have a justice system we can be proud of. He also looks at Labour's pay deals with the likes of the train drivers and whether it will embolden other public sector workers.
Guest:

Mike Indian


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: The university crisis, China's economy is in trouble & demand for EVs is faltering

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: The university crisis, China's economy is in trouble & demand for EVs is faltering
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University explains why the UK's world-class universities sector is in crisis and that it ought to be no surprise to economists, given that it has effectively a politically-imposed price control system. There are solutions, though, if the will is there. In China there is a huge glut in industrial production, with 30% of industrial firms operating at a loss. China's GDP could be at least 40% smaller than we're being told. And, he says, it is now clear that EV demand is not behaving as the politicians would wish, with some companies now developing new types of petrol engines.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: Investing in an uncertain political & economic environment

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: Investing in an uncertain political & economic environment
Tim Price of Price Value Partners offers a guide to investing in uncertain times and why it is important not to judge your performance against others but in absolute terms. He explains why his fund avoids bonds but instead invests in: trend-following funds (all TFF funds made money in the dreadful markets of 2008); profitable, debt-free value stocks following the strategies of Benjamin Graham; and tangible, real, non-financial assets. He discusses the under-reporting of inflation and the problems caused by the US national debt of $35 trillion, increasing by $1 trillion every 100 days, pointing out that the UK situation is comparable. Tim's weekly commentary is available at https://www.pricevaluepartners.com/
Guest:

Tim Price


Published:
Simon Rose

The Bigger Picture: How is Labour doing, Who will be Tory leader & Can Reform be a professional party?

Simon Rose
Original Broadcast:

The Bigger Picture

The Bigger Picture: How is Labour doing, Who will be Tory leader & Can Reform be a professional party?
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University says that Keir Starmer feels more like a Prime Minister than Rishi Sunak. The big themes emerging from the new government are wealth creation and growth, reducing debt and building homes. Labour's competence could pose problems for the Conservatives. Tim runs through the candidates for the Leadership, with Badenoch and Jenrick the frontrunners. But the new leader may need to purge its left wing, as Labour has, if it is to see off Reform. Reform, for its part, has huge opportunities and challenges and must modernise and professionalise if it is to become a proper, grown-up party.
Guest:

Professor Tim Evans


Published: