She was the Tory saviour. Now, by November, she could be gone.

Where did it all go wrong for Kemi Badenoch?

--

For this week's New Statesman magazine, Will Lloyd has written a powerful and revealing profile of the Nigerian immigrant who rose to lead the Conservative Party.

Will joins Tom McTague to discuss what he discovered in the course of his reporting, including why Conservative grandees first celebrated, then turned against, Kemi Badenoch.

They explore whether racism plays a role in the way Badenoch has been treated, and whether the woman who some cast as a new Thatcher was ever as able as the Conservatives wanted to believe.

--

Read Will Lloyd's profile of Kemi Badenoch in the New Statesman magazine, or online: Kemi Badenoch isn't working

Listen next: How to defeat reform - exclusive polling with analyst Steve Akehurst

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could Donald Trump’s plea to his support base to “not waste time and energy on Jeffrey Epstein” finally drive a wedge between the US president and his MAGA faithful? And what are Trump and Vice President JD Vance doing in the UK this summer?

Katie Stallard is joined by the New Statesman’s US correspondent Freddie Hayward to discuss.

READ

A conspiracy theory that Donald Trump can't control - Freddie Hayward

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Water regulator Ofwat is to be abolished - but Labour should go further.

***

On Monday the results of an independent review of the water industry were published. The results were damning for the regulator, Ofwat, which will be abolished in response to the report.

Megan Kenyon attended the announcement for the New Statesman and joins Anoosh Chakelian and George Eaton on the podcast.

They argue that while provision of water in the UK clearly needs drastic reform, the government needs a more radical plan to address the core issues - including the "radicalising" problem of sewage in Britain's lakes and waterways.

They also discuss the proposed appointment of Tim Allan as Keir Starmer's permanent secretary for communications. Does the PM really need another member of the New Labour team on his staff?

LISTEN NEXT:

What does "Blue Labour" really mean? - Morgan Jones interview

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.