SDPtalk

The Culture Transplant - is diversity really our strength? In this episode of SDPtalk, William Clouston is joined by Garett Jones, professor of economics at George Mason University and author of three books known as the Singapore Trilogy. In his latest book The Culture Transplant, Garett demonstrates that immigrants retain the socio-economic norms of their mother country across mul

Elections across the world are increasingly being won by parties described as ‘populist’, but what does the term actually mean? According to our national broadcaster, it means “far right-wing, neo-fascist, xenophobic, racist, anti-Islamist…(the list goes on)”. But they would say that, wouldn’t they? Parties described as ‘populist’ may be economically left-leaning, r

What the Left gets wrong about ethnic minorities In this episode of SDPtalk, William Clouston is joined by writer and research analyst Rakib Ehsan, who specialises in matters of social cohesion, race relations and public security. In his new book Beyond Grievance: what the Left gets wrong about ethnic minorities, Rakib highlights the growing tensions between the liberal-Left cosmop

In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss how the SDP would tackle the UK’s housing crisis. The shortage of affordable homes is the largest domestic problem facing the UK. It entrenches immobility between generations and between regions, stifles everyone’s potential and cuts the productivity of the entire country. The SDP have a suite of policies to tackle th

Keynote address delivered by Party Leader William Clouston at the SDP Conference on 14th October 2023 in London. The full transcript of the speech can be found here: https://sdp.org.uk/sdptalk/william-cloustons-speech-at-the-sdp-conference-church-house-westminster-saturday-14th-october-2023/ Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/ The opening and closing music for SDP Tal

William Clouston, Liam Halligan, Kristian Niemietz and Charlotte Gill discuss "The UK housing crisis - causes and solutions" in a debate organised by the SDP and held in London on 19th September. Learn more about the SDP at: https://sdp.org.uk/ The opening and closing music for SDP Talks is "Prelude in C (BWV 846)" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed un

In this episode of SDPtalk, William Clouston is joined by photographer, artist and author Laura Dodsworth. We are constantly bombarded with attempts to influence our behaviour, our speech and even our thoughts. Some are overt and transparent, such as advertisements which seek to persuade you to buy their product instead of a competitor’s. Others are more insidious, such as the �

In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss the Chinese economy. After decades of spectacularly rapid growth to become the world’s second largest economy, China now seems to be faltering. Local government debt has risen sharply due to over-investment in infrastructure, while income from land sales and land taxes has plummeted. Large corporations are defaulting o

In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss whether our leaders are acting in citizens’ interests. Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address concluded with the resolve that “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” This should be the crucial test of any government’s actions but is clearly a far cry from what we

In this episode, Michael Taylor and William Clouston discuss the Conservative Party’s proposals to abolish inheritance tax. Inheritance tax is paid at 40% on assets over £325,000. The tax-free threshold is inherited by a surviving spouse and rises to £500,000 if the beneficiary is a child or grandchild, meaning that no tax is paid on the first £1m inherited by direct descendan