New Economics Podcast

Feb 25 2025 243 ep. 28 mins 2.7k

New Economics Podcast artwork

Award-winning podcast about the economic forces shaping our world, with Ayeisha Thomas-Smith and guests. Brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the independent think tank and charity campaigning for a fairer, sustainable economy.

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Are we falling for the myth of minority rule? With Ash Sarkar

Feb 25 2025 46 mins

We are living in a time of contradictions. For the last forty years, our politics and media have been dominated by neoliberal, right-wing voices - yet pundits insist that the UK is dominated by a woke, left-wing elite. Our politicians claim to champion the voices of the forgotten working class - yet working-class people are not seeing better wages, housing or healthcare. And the

Is the Labour government delivering on its promises?

Feb 20 2025 48 mins

Half a year ago, the Labour Party swept into power with a huge parliamentary majority and Kier Starmer celebrated by saying that the country could “get its future back”. Today, Labour are dogged by low approval ratings, having upset everyone from environmentalists to pensioners, farmers to small-business owners. And just last week Reform overtook both the Conservatives and

Why should the left care about central banks?

Feb 12 2025 38 mins

The price of your food shop rocketed because of inflation and now your mortgage is going up hundreds of pounds because the Bank of England decided to increase interest rates. You might be struggling to make ends meet and wondering why our central bank has made your life more difficult. Across the pond Donald Trump is putting pressure on the American central bank to lower its inte

What's new in the fight for workers rights

Jan 30 2025 35 mins

Do you work from home? Then you’re probably not doing proper work, and you’re causing the UK’s economic decline! At least that’s what the former boss of Asda and M&S said last week. Meanwhile, gig economy Deliveroo riders have launched a new campaign for greater openness around the opaque algorithms that rule their working lives. It’s clear with new technology comes ne

What are we getting wrong about tax

Dec 18 2024 37 mins

Last week hundreds of tractors drove through Parliament Square. It was the latest protest by UK farmers against changes to inheritance tax announced by the chancellor. From farmers’ protests to the poll-tax riots in the 90s, the amount of tax we pay to the government churns up intense emotions. We want to rescue our cash-strapped public services - but most of us are reluctant to

Can BlackRock save the UK economy?

Dec 08 2024 40 mins

From housebuilding to sewage systems to the NHS, private companies are deeply intertwined with our essential public services. But is partnering with big corporations the only way of improving people’s lives? Is private investment a vital ingredient in economic renewal? Or will it just lead to price gouging for us and soaring profits for corporate execs? This week Ayeisha Thomas-

Are oil and gas workers the coalminers of our generation?

Nov 19 2024 37 mins

The International Energy Agency has said that the world cannot develop any new oil and gas fields if we are to stop climate breakdown. Keir Starmer has promised that the UK will slash its emissions faster than ever before and his government is banning new licences to drill for fossil fuels in the North Sea. Drilling in the wild waters of the North Sea has been a major Scottish indu

What to make of the Labour government's first budget?

Oct 31 2024 31 mins

The Autumn Budget was the most significant since George Osborne implemented austerity in 2010. Rachel Reeves announced one hundred billion pounds for infrastructure, forty billion in tax rises and a whole host of policy changes, which she hopes will deliver Labour’s mission of national economic renewal. But what does an extra hundred billion pounds mean for the UK? Are we finally

100 days of Labour: great success or bit of a mess?

Oct 14 2024 40 mins

By the time this episode comes out, the new Labour government will have been in charge of the country for one hundred days. So what do we know about how they’ll run the economy? Can they rescue our threadbare public services while promising a tight grip on government spending? And will their focus on growth deliver real change for those who need it most? Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is

Lessons for the left after the far right riots

Aug 23 2024 43 mins

A few weeks ago, far-right rioters gathered outside a hotel hosting asylum seekers in Rotherham and tried to set it on fire. Across the country this horrific act of violence was replicated, as mosques, libraries and people driving home from work came under attack. But in the face of this racist and Islamophobic violence, people gathered to protest the presence of the far right in