Starmer Resigns! Listen up, Labour: Lessons learned from the Trump trap w/ Ben Rhodes

As Ben Rhodes says on this week’s episode, “we’re in a revolutionary moment globally”. Joining Nish and Coco from sister show Pod Save the World, Ben shares (and despairs) about the state of UK and US politics, and tells us what we can take from the Democrats’ disaster of 2024. Isn’t it time that progressives got their own populist?

Plus, we hear about Ben’s new book, ‘All We Say’, tracing American history through some of its most famous–and infamous–speeches. We talk to him about the similarities between Britain and America both losing their way when it comes to national identity, and how our leaders need to tell it like it is. We can handle the truth!

Also on the show, New Statesman Editor Tom McTague dissects Starmer’s swan song, his last minute decision not to challenge Burnham for leadership, and sets out why it all went wrong for a man who won a landslide victory less than two years ago.

USEFUL LINKS
Grab a copy of Ben’s new book, All We Say: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/470622/all-we-say-by-rhodes-ben/9781847928887

Ailbhe Rea’s recent piece in the New Statesman: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/labour/2026/06/what-happens-now

Tom McTague’s interview with Keir Starmer: https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2025/06/what-keir-starmer-cant-say

GUESTS
Ben Rhodes
Tom McTague

CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS

SAILY: https://www.saily.com/podsave
HRF Power Plays: Search Power Plays wherever you get your podcasts.
VANTA: https://www.vanta.com/PSTUK
WISE: https://www.wise.com
BT: Search ‘Why BT’ to find out more.

Pod Save the UK is an Intelligence Squared production for Crooked Media.

Get in touch - contact us via email: podsavetheuk@crooked.com we’d love to hear from you as we plan to do a mailbag episode soon: end any questions, thoughts, or musings our way!

Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK
Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk
X: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(169)

‘The Sleaze By-Election’: Farage Resigns…and Runs Again?! Plus, World War Three is here w/ Hannah Lucinda Smith

This week, we cancel our early celebrations at the news of Nigel Farage’s resignation, given that he announced in the same breath he would be standing in the very by-election he triggered…Another one?...

9 Juli 1h 15min

No10 in the North: Andy Burnham’s Manchester mission... Plus, is ‘free speech’ just a free pass for tech bros?

“Are you ready for this?” Following Andy Burnham’s first big policy speech since becoming an MP, and with his sights set firmly on the top job, Coco & Nish dig into his promises of regeneration, reind...

2 Juli 1h 19min

Makerfield decides, Labour holds its breath…Plus, Palestine Action & Social Media bans w/ Akiko Hart

As Makerfield goes to the polls today, Nish and Coco take a look back at the campaign, interrogate Andy Burnham’s ‘King of the North’ brand, and dig into what ‘Manchesterism’ actually is–and how it co...

18 Juni 1h 5min

Hasan Piker: “Not Conducive to the Public Good”?

This week, as the far-right continues to fan the flames of violence and division, Coco and Nish are joined by Hasan Piker: Twitch streamer, influencer, and left-wing political commentator who was rece...

11 Juni 1h 4min

The Mandelson Files: Chaos Inside Labour? Plus: Sabah Choudrey on the Culture War over Public Spaces

This week, Nish and Coco dig into the latest release of files around Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US, and what the hundreds of emails and WhatsApps reveal about Labour’s inter...

4 Juni 1h 9min

We Read Tony Blair So You Don’t Have To. Plus: Who Really Owns Britain? w/Hettie O’Brien

This week, Nish and Coco head back to Makerfield, where the by-election campaign is already turning into a political demolition derby; Andy Burnham is just ahead of Reform, the far right is fighting i...

28 Maj 1h 6min

Starmer clings on, Burnham steps up w/ MP Nadia Whittome

This week, Nish and Coco make sense of another chaotic week in Westminster, as Keir Starmer clings on in Downing Street, Wes Streeting resigns, and Andy Burnham’s route back to Parliament suddenly bec...

21 Maj 1h 6min