The Power Test

Sep 27 2024 39 ep. 45 mins 332
The Power Test Podcast artwork

Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman present The Power Test, the weekly political podcast asking whether Labour can really change Britain for the better.

Follow @ThePowerTest on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThePowerTest

Follow @AyeshaHazarika: https://twitter.com/ayeshahazarika

Follow @SamFreedman: https://twitter.com/Samfr

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For more information head to thepowertest.co.uk.

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Labour's New Test: can public services be revived in gruelling economic conditions?

Sep 27 2024 54 mins  
Live from Labour Party conference, The Power Test returns to look at the Labour's first months in power. Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman are joined by Georgia Gould, Labour MP and Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office, Helen MacNamara, former Deputy Cabinet Secretary, and Marc Stears, director of the UCL Policy Lab, who supported this special episode, to discuss how Labou

Now for the Real Work: can Labour execute its vision for Britain?

Jul 11 2024 46 mins  
With Labour now firmly in the driver’s seat of government, Sam Freedman and Ayesha Hazarika are joined by Power Test co-founder and former Chief Executive of the Centre for Progressive Policy, Charlotte Aldritt, and Ryan Wain, the Executive Director of Politics at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, to look at where Britain goes next.How can Labour get Britain's creaky sy

Anatomy of an Election: are Labour prepared for the challenges of power?

Jul 05 2024 32 mins  
July 4th, 2024: the date that Labour returned to power. After 14 years in the political wilderness, Keir Starmer has led the party to a landslide victory. With the keys to No.10 Downing Street in his hands – and a crack team of ministers assembled – it's time to look back on how Labour has changed under the Starmer premiership, and ahead to how it, in turn, could change Britain

Can Labour pull off its Great British Energy plan?

Jun 27 2024 45 mins  
Just before we head hurtling into election week, Sam Freedman and Ayesha Hazarika are on hand to take you through the reality of Labour’s pledge on energy - together with think tank Third Way’s Josh Freed who leads its Climate and Energy work and Brett Christophers, author of The Price is Wrong: Why Capitalism Won't Save the Planet.Labour has made reforming a troubled energy ma

The Immigration Conundrum: does Labour have a positive solution for the UK's borders?

Jun 20 2024 46 mins  
As the issue drives Nigel Farage’s return and the Conservatives seek to sharpen attacks on Labour in a last ditch attempt to breakthrough in the campaign, this week Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman look into Labour’s pledge on immigration.Ayesha and Sam probe further into Labour’s policies on immigration with former Home Office adviser Matt Cavanagh and LSE economics professo

Manifesto Destiny: will Keir Starmer's 'Change' manifesto live up to its name?

Jun 13 2024 49 mins  
On this special manifesto episode of The Power Test, Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman are joined by two special guests: Nick Pearce, one of the authors of Labour's 2010 manifesto, and Claire Ainsley, who was Keir Starmer's policy guru from 2020 to 2022. Together, this quartet dissect and discuss the Labour party's 2024 manifesto (titled, simply, 'Change'). Does it live up to that n

Paying for Crime: can Labour reignite the "respect agenda"?

Jun 06 2024 39 mins  
The academic who inspired Blair’s “respect agenda" on tackling crime and anti-social behaviour urges Labour to ensure that there is effective investment in community support alongside law and policing.Talking to Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman, Professor Richard Sennett, Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics, says he recognises the similarities between the a

From Pledges to Prevention: can Labour fix the NHS?

May 30 2024 46 mins  
Sam Freedman and Ayesha Hazarika sit down with the Chief Executives of the The King's Fund and NHS Confederation, Sarah Woolnough and Matthew Taylor, to discuss Labour's health pledge on waiting lists and what lies ahead.This week as the general election campaign hits full swing, and The Power Test is focused once again on one of the top issues for the voting public: The NHS.To fin

Getting Schooled: Can Labour reform our schools?

May 24 2024 43 mins  
Schools expert, and Teacher Tapp co-founder, Laura McInerney, joins Sam Freedman and Ayesha Hazarika to speak about Labour’s commitment to recruit extra teachers by removing the VAT exemption on private schools - as well as the party’s other plans on education.With election fever setting in, The Power Test is not being knocked off course. With just six weeks until a new governm

The State of the Unions

May 16 2024 41 mins  
With Labour under pressure from trade unions to remain committed to its 'New Deal for Working People', this week Ayesha Hazarika and Sam Freedman look at the party's relationship with the unions and the future ahead.They're joined by the General Secretary of the Prospect trade union, Mike Clancy, to look at Labour’s relationship with the union movement and how any future governme