Thangam Debbonaire

Thangam Debbonaire is a Labour member of the House of Lords

Reviewing Andy’s report card – with Baroness Debbonaire

From our UK edition

One month on from Andy Burnham entering Downing Street and a lot has changed at the top of government. Starmer's old guard have been reshuffled or replaced, and Burnham's government have announced dozens of new projects, but the big challenges that he faces are largely the same. Noa Hoffman is joined by Baroness Thangam Debbonaire, the former shadow culture secretary, to review Andy's report card. Produced by Henry Lloyd.

Reviewing Andy's report card – with Baroness Debbonaire

100 Days of Starmer: the verdict

From our UK edition

25 min listen

Today marks Labour’s 100th day in office. But they are unlikely to be popping champagne corks in Downing Street – even if Lord Alli offered to pay for the Dom Pérignon. This has been a disheartening time for the government and those who wished it well. The promise of dramatic change has been overshadowed by a series of errors, misjudgments and scandals that one would associate more with an administration in its dying days than a government enjoying a fresh mandate, a massive majority and an absent opposition. Former shadow culture secretary Thangam Debbonaire and former deputy prime minister Thérèse Coffey join The Spectator's Katy Balls to discuss what went wrong and – if we think hard enough – what went right?  Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson.

Losing my seat is a painful part of democracy

From our UK edition

As excitable new MPs are escorted around comfy offices in Portcullis House, we ‘departing members’, as we’re known, are guided around small, unglamorous rooms in Richmond House, the scruffier Westminster neighbour, to be told about the winding-up period. I’m the only Labour MP here. I hug one of my favourite Tories and swap loser anecdotes with another former MP. At least the pain of losing is softened by my party’s win. A woman pointed at me and shrieked: ‘Everything’s awful! It’s time to leave parliament. The staff of an MP friend carry things I don’t want to risk putting in the removals van. I take a different route from my office, lowering the chance of bumping into newbies.

What’s the solution to unaffordable housing?

From our UK edition

28 min listen

Over the last year of intermittent lockdowns, most of us have spent more time staring at the four walls of our living room than we ever thought possible. One of the biggest factors affecting someone's pandemic experience is the type of accommodation they're in, and 8.4 million people in England are living in unaffordable, insecure or unsuitable homes. There are, however, attempts being made to help fix the problem, with promises to build new homes, a stamp duty holiday, and a new mortgage guarantee system.