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PODCAST

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards

Based on his live one-man show Rock & Roll Politics, the broadcaster and author Steve Richards takes a weekly behind-the-scenes tour of UK politics and the media that shapes the way we view the epic political dramas. The future is ridiculously unpredictable and the past is so easy to misread. Subscribe to your weekly guide through seismic times.

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All Episodes

51:35

Will Starmer's reset make a difference?

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/09/02

With Labour languishing in the polls, Keir Starmer has reshuffled his top team… yet again. His leadership has been punctuated by changes in senior personnel, so does that tell us more about him or them? My book on Tony Blair is published next Thursday. You can pre-order it here. Rock & Roll Politics is live at Kings Place on Thursday September 25th at the end of the Labour Party Conference week! Subscribe to Patreon for bonus podcasts, the main podcast a day early and ad free… plus special

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62:45

Rock & Roll Politics Live at the Edinburgh Festival

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/08/26

Here’s a recording of the final show at this year’s festival, where there was a different show every day. The final one looked ahead via four political figures, but many other themes and characters were explored over the fourteen shows. It was great seeing so many of the co-operative in Edinburgh!Subscribe to Patreon⁠ for bonus podcasts, the main podcast a day early and ad free… plus special exclusive live events. Written and presented by Steve Richards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

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29:31

What's been happening at the Edinburgh Festival?

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/08/19

The run of Rock & Roll Politics shows is in full swing, with host Steve Richards delivering a different show each day. Here's an update for the co-operative on the various themes and the audience predictions, plus questions on the political drama being played out in Wales, and much more. Rock & Roll Politics is live at the Edinburgh Festival right now, with a different show every day. Tickets here. Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts and to get the regular podcast a day

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34:35

For all the storms, is Labour heading for a second term?

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/08/12

The Labour government has endured a traumatic first year on many fronts, but its opponents are in different ways extremely vulnerable. If its opponents cannot win next time Labour will secure a second term, yet the mood music suggests a government in near fatal trouble... Rock & Roll Politics is live at the Edinburgh Festival with a different show each day. Tickets available here. Subscribe to Patreon for bonus podcasts, the main podcast a day early and ad free… plus special exclusive live

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39:50

Is Labour Delivering on Transport?

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/08/05

In a Question Time Special the Rock N Roll Politics co-operative reflects on the 'pause' of some rail electrification schemes, the degree to which the UK's independent nuclear deterrent is not independent, and what's wrong with digital ID cards? RocknRoll Politics is live at the Edinburgh festival from this Sunday August 10th, with a different show every day. Tickets here. Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts and to get the regular podcast a day early and ad free. Learn more

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50:10

What does Britain get from 'The Special Relationship'...

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/07/29

Keir Starmer drops everything to meet Trump on the President's golfing holiday, but to what end? Post-war Prime Ministers, with two exceptions, assume Britain has a special relationship with the US, only to discover that the US has different views... Some context (our favourite word) for the co-operative! Rock & Roll Politics is live at the Edinburgh Festival from Sunday August 10th. Time to make sense of it all. Tickets available here. Subscribe to Patreon for bonus podcasts, the main podcast a

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51:55

Water Privatisation - why is Margaret Thatcher still...

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/07/22

The rushed water privatisation after the 1987 election was one of several calamitous policies launched by Margaret Thatcher –with the consequences still being played out today. Yet Tory leaders, potential leaders, and even their Labour counterparts still pay homage to Thatcher. Why?RocknRoll Politics is live at the Edinburgh festival from Sunday August 10th, with a different show every day. Tickets here. Subscribe to Patreon for live events, bonus podcasts and to get the regular podcast a day

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65:32

Can the government find a more effective media strategy?

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/07/15

Number 10’s media strategy is fairly old-fashioned: the morning round for the broadcasters, interviews with the TV political editors and placing articles in right wing newspapers. Does any of this do them any good? And if not, what should they do instead? And this is partly an excuse to look at the wild media landscape! Rock & Roll Politics is live at Kings Place this Thursday. There are only a few tickets left, and streaming tickets are available too. Get tickets here. Subscribe to Patreon for

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59:27

How deep a hole is Keir Starmer in?

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/07/08

Normally media frenzies exaggerate the scale of a government crisis - a distorting frenzy that feeds on itself. But this time, has it played down the significance of recent days?Rock & Roll Politics - The End of the Political Year Special is live at Kings Place on July 17th. Tickets here. Subscribe to Patreon for bonus podcasts, the main podcast a day early and ad free… plus special exclusive live events. Written and presented by Steve Richards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit

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55:05

Can Keir Starmer learn the lessons from the welfare...

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/07/01

Labour MPs flex their muscles, the government concedes, welfare reform is still in chaos and taxes will have to rise to pay for concessions. How has a landslide government landed on such rocky terrain just a year after its historic election victory?Rock & Roll Politics - The End of the Political Year Special is live at Kings Place on July 17th. Tickets here. Subscribe to Patreon for bonus podcasts, the main podcast a day early and ad free… plus special exclusive live events. Written and

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2:01

Patreon Live Tonight (Thursday 26th June)

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/06/26

Don't miss tonight's live Zoom event, exclusive for Patreon subscribers! Join Steve for an exclusive chat, live on Zoom and FREE to all Patreons. Steve will be covering hot topics from the current political news and answering your questions.For access to this event, plus all the other benefits like bonus podcasts and the main podcast a day early and ad free, subscribe on Patreon here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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57:56

Trump strikes Iran – What will be the consequences?

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/06/24

Not for the first time, a US military intervention triggers greater instability and many questions about what follows. It’s time for the co-operative to delve deep into the context and consequences! To join our exclusive live Patreon event on Thursday, and also get bonus podcasts and the main podcasts a day early and ad free, subscribe to Patreon here. Rock & Roll Politics - The End of the Political Year Special is live at Kings Place on July 17th. Tickets here. Written and presented by

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63:23

How does a government communicate to disillusioned...

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/06/17

Rachel Reeves’ spending review was a mixed bag, with some impossibly tight spending settlements combined with significant investment. But will voters make the connections between decisions at Westminster and their own lives, especially when conveyed through a hostile media?• Rock & Roll Politics - The End of the Political Year Special is live at Kings Place on July 17th. Tickets here. Subscribe to Patreon for bonus podcasts, the main podcast a day early and ad free… plus special exclusive

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58:10

What does Sarah Vine’s book tell us about the crisis...

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/06/10

Sarah Vine, the journalist and former wife of Michael Gove, has written a book that partly chronicles their lives in the court of David Cameron and the Notting Hill Conservatives. In doing so she is the latest insider chronicler to shine light on the shallowness of the Cameron project, with dark consequences for the Conservative party and the country.Rachel Reeves has a chance this week to reframe the government’s confused narrative. Will she take it? Plus brilliant questions and latest news of

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57:40

What is the key ingredient that makes a leader stronger?

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/06/05

Keir Starmer is an evasive leader but on one point he is clear: he is a pragmatist, has no time for ideology and there will be no ‘Starmerism’. But without strong ideological convictions can a leader flourish? Plus, brilliant questions from the Rock & Roll Politics co-operative.Rock & Roll Politics is live in the main concert hall at Kings Place on July 17th.. The End of the Political Year Special. Tickets here. Subscribe to Patreon for bonus podcasts, the main podcast a day early and ad

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54:22

Are there dark echoes from a distant Labour government?

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/06/03

While researching the 1929 Labour government for a new book I found myself thinking repeatedly “this reminds me of now”. The yearning to follow economic orthodoxies of the past, the desire to be agents of ‘change’ while being fearful of change etc… and then I came across a Tony Blair interview from the 2001 election. This week, we look at the many lessons for now from a distant and another more recent Labour government. Rock & Roll Politics is live in the main concert hall at Kings Place on July

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69:43

In conversation with Michael Heseltine

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/05/27

I spoke to Michael Heseltine at the Cambridge Literary Festival about his remarkable career, how he would have changed the Tory party’s approach to Europe had he won the leadership contest in 1990, his reflections on Thatcher, his radical ideas if he were prime minister now… and much more.The Cambridge Winter Festival is held on the 22nd and 23rd of November. Rock & Roll Politics is live in the main concert hall at Kings Place on July 17th. Tickets here. Subscribe to Patreon for bonus

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66:02

Can The Tories survive?

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/05/20

The Labour government has signed a deal with the EU that brings significant improvements to the agreement negotiated by Johnson and Lord Frosty Frost… their deal being a reminder of the many calamitous developments in the wild fourteen years of misrule. Can the Tory Party recover from such a record or is it doomed to be replaced by Reform?Rock & Roll Politics is live in the main concert hall at Kings Place on July 17th. Tickets here. Subscribe to Patreon for bonus podcasts, the main podcast

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61:20

Who will win the battle of the UK’s borders?

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/05/13

Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper have played their migration cards, but will they be enough to counter Farage’s populist policies? Will they work in practical terms? And if they do, what will be the impact on growth and any hope for the urgently needed National Care Service? So many questions erupt when moving on to this thorny terrain…Subscribe to Patreon for bonus podcasts, the main podcast a day early and ad free… plus special exclusive live events. Written and presented by Steve

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50:36

Do Starmer and co know what they mean by ‘change’ and...

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards ·

2025/05/06

Labour was elected to deliver ‘change’ but Starmer, Reeves and Morgan McSweeney have been cautious and vague about their ambition to move on from the recent past. Instead Labour communications use the term ‘reform’ as if it were a policy in itself.Now Labour faces the Reform Party, the Greens, the SNP and Lib Dems, all pitching bolder versions of change. Yet in government Labour is trapped by fiscal rules, the power of the Office for Budget Responsibility and a lack of clarity and coherence at the

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389 results

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