127 | Brexit Time

As Theresa May gets closer to putting her Brexit deal before parliament, we discuss the chances of success. Was this really the best deal available?  What will MPs be weighing up when they get their chance to vote on it? Have its opponents missed their chance? Plus we try to make sense of the choices facing the DUP and we consider the larger question of what this version of Brexit would mean for the future of the Union. With Kenneth Armstrong, author of Brexit Time, Helen Thompson and Chris Bickerton.

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118 | Brexit Choices

Back to Brexit: as decision-day approaches we try to work out what might happen next.  Did Labour patch up its differences? Can anyone really start the negotiations again?  And what would it take to get the EU to deviate from its script? Plus we explore some of the ideological roots of Tory opposition to Chequers and we ask what happened to the good old British by-election. With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Wassem Yaqoob.

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117 | Moneyland

We talk to Oliver Bullough about his acclaimed new book Moneyland: Why Thieves and Crooks Now Rule the World and How to Take it Back.  Where is Moneyland?  How did London become its capital?  And will Brexit, or a Corbyn government, or another financial crash change how it operates?  A conversation about tax havens, money-laundering, the politics of corruption and the corruption of politics.  With Jason Sharman, author of The Despot's Guide to Wealth Management, and Helen Thompson.

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114 | Labour's Fault Lines

Summer's over: politics is back!  This week we return to the mystery inside the enigma that is Brexit to ask where Labour now stands.  What is the big divide in the Labour movement: Is it MPs vs leader? Members vs voters?  Young vs old?  And what could a second referendum achieve anyway?  Plus we try to make sense of the fraught fight over the definition of anti-Semitism.  With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Waseem Yaqoob.

103 | The Next Referendum?

With more Brexit chaos on us, we cut through some of the noise to talk about a new report on the future of referendums.  How can we run them better in future?  When is it appropriate to have a second referendum?  What else can we do to reconnect democratic politics with the voters?  With Gisela Stuart, former Labour MP and Chair of Vote Leave; Jenny Watson, former Chair of the Electoral Commission; and Alan Renwick of the Constitution Unit at UCL.  Plus at the end some thoughts from David on where we are now.  You can read the full report here: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/electionsandreferendums/icreferendums
 

97 | Socialism in this Country?

After John McDonnell said he was still committed to the socialist transformation of Britain, we ask what that might mean.  Does socialism really require the overthrow of capitalism?  What's the difference between socialism and communism?  And with successful Democratic candidates in the US starting to use the s-word in public, what does socialism have to offer in America?  Plus we talk about whether social media and social networks offer the possibility of a new kind of socialism for the twenty-first century.  With Helen Thompson, Chris Bickerton and Chris Brooke.