Pod Save the UK

This week, Nish and Coco head back to Makerfield, where the by-election campaign is already turning into a political demolition derby; Andy Burnham is just ahead of Reform, the far right is fighting itself, Elon Musk has wandered into the discourse, and Nigel Farage has reappeared after questions over his £5 million gift.
Plus: they’re joined by Hettie O’Brien, journalist and author of The Asset Class, to break down how private equity quietly bought up the services we rely on, from nurseries and care homes to vets and water companies, and why that matters for the broken economy we’re all living in.
GUESTS 
Hettie O'Brien, journalist and author of The Asset Class: How Private Equity Turned Capitalism Against Itself
USEFUL LINKS
Amnesty Report | Like a snowball: the growth and impact of the gender critical movement in the UK
Tony Blair Article | The Labour Party Is Playing With Fire Over Its Future and the Future of the Country by 
CLIP CREDITS
Carol Vorderman via Instagram, (@carolvorders)
CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS 
VANTA: https://www.vanta.com/PSTUK 
SHOPIFY: https://shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk
AURA FRAMES: https://www.auraframes.com Code: PSTUK 
BT: Search ‘Why BT’ to find out more.
Pod Save the UK is an Intelligence Squared production for Crooked Media.
Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected]
Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK
Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk
X: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

This week, Nish and Coco make sense of another chaotic week in Westminster, as Keir Starmer clings on in Downing Street, Wes Streeting resigns, and Andy Burnham’s route back to Parliament suddenly becomes very real.
They’re joined by Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East and one of the earliest MPs to call for Starmer to go, to unpack the mood inside the Labour Party, whether Burnham is really the answer, and what Labour needs to do to win back progressive voters. 
Plus: after Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, aka Tommy Robinson’s latest rally in London, how should progressives respond to the far right without simply echoing its politics?
And: Nigel Farage faces questions over a £5m gift from a crypto billionaire. Does the man of the people have some very expensive explaining to do?
CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS 
BT: Search ‘Why BT’ to find out more.
VANTA: https://www.vanta.com/PSTUK 
INCOGNI: https://www.incogni.com/podsavetheuk Code: podsavetheuk
SHOPIFY: https://shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk
GUESTS 
Nadia Whittome MP
USEFUL LINKS
@Femi_Sorry: Tommy Robinson supporters expose themselves so fast! - Unite The Kingdom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBdc_HsSA5Y 
CLIP CREDITS
Femi Oluwole
Nigel Farage Interview: The Sun
Pod Save the UK is an Intelligence Squared production for Crooked Media.
Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected]
Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK
Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk
X: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

This week, as Labour reels from a brutal set of election results, Nish and Coco try to make sense of Keir Starmer’s fight to stay in Downing Street, a story moving faster than political journalists can refresh their phones. 
They’re joined by Helena, aka NoJusticeMTG, Twitch streamer, YouTuber and Novara Media contributor, to break down Labour’s post-election meltdown, the rise of Reform, and whether the Greens’ surge points to a more hopeful progressive future. They also dig into who might replace Starmer, from Angela Rayner to Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting.
Plus, what should we take from Plaid Cymru’s win in Wales, Reform’s new foothold, and the Greens breaking through in places Labour once took for granted?
And former Google executive Mo Gawdat joins to discuss Chasing Utopia, the new documentary asking whether AI is about to transform our lives, our politics, and possibly the future of humanity itself.
Watch Mo Gawdat in Atlantic Studios new release Chasing Utopia from Friday 15th May 2026 at Everyman Cinemas. Book tickets at everymancinema.com.
GUESTS 
Mo Gawdat
NoJusticeMTG
USEFUL LINKS
Raphael Behr 
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/13/labour-battle-of-ideas-no-10-keir-starmer-leadership  
CREDITS 
BBC ONE: Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg
Youtube: Novara Media
Pod Save the UK is an Intelligence Squared production for Crooked Media.
Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK
Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk
X: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

This week, Nish and Coco make sense of a bruising local election week, as Labour braces for heavy losses, Reform eyes major gains, and the Greens look to break through in London.
They’re joined by Will Hayward, award-winning investigative journalist and expert on Welsh politics, to break down what’s happening in Wales, where Labour’s century-long dominance could be coming to an end. He explains the new Senedd voting system, the rise of Plaid and Reform, and what this election could mean for the future of devolution.
Plus: Zoë Grünewald joins to unpack Reform’s latest migrant detention centre proposal, Green hopes in the capital, and what a bad night could mean for Keir Starmer.
And: should MPs be allowed to drink on the job, or is Parliament’s bar tab finally becoming a political problem?
GUESTS 
Zoë Grünewald, political journalist
Will Hayward, Cardiff-based investigative journalist 
USEFUL LINKS
Guide to Senedd voting system: https://senedd.wales/senedd-now/senedd-blog/how-will-the-new-voting-system-work-at-the-next-senedd-election/
CREDITS
Radio 4, Today Show 
Tiktok, Zia Yusef (@ziayusufuk) 
Instagram, Hannah Spencer (@hannahtheplumbermcr)
Pod Save the UK is an Intelligence Squared production for Crooked Media.
Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK
Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk
X: https://x.com/podsavetheuk

British politics was shaken to its core this week when we all realised that, maybe, Keir Starmer isn’t as quite across the detail as he tries to make out. He had to explain exactly what he did and didn’t know about the developed vetting carried out for Peter Mandelson’s appointment as the UK’s Ambassador to the US.
Right on the heels of that, came Olly Robbins, who was sacked last week from his role as the chief official at the Foreign Office. In a very civil servant way, he revealed the internal pressures and machinations that were happening during the appointment process.
Both men had serious questions to answer about what they did but Coco and Nish are joined by political journalist Zoë Grünewald to ask why everyone is obsessing over the process while almost totally ignoring the larger, moral decision to make the appointment in the first place.
Plus the comedian Rosie Jones arrives to totally derail the whole podcast with a mix of funny jabs at Nish while still telling us about the work of her brilliant foundation which is celebrating its first birthday! 

Don’t forget to leave a review - it gives the show a boost and we love to see your comments.
**Warning: use of a racial slur during the Labour May election segment**
CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS 
INCOGNI: https://www.incogni.com/podsavetheuk Code: podsavetheuk
WISE: https://shopify.co.uk/podsavetheuk
AURA FRAMES: https://www.auraframes.com Code: PSTUK 
SHIPSTATION: https://www.shipstation.com Code: PSTUK
GUESTS 
Zoë Grünewald - Journalist, broadcaster and political commentator
Rosie Jones - Comedian
USEFUL LINKS
The Rosie Jones Foundation: https://www.rosiejonesfoundation.com/
CREDITS
Sir Keir Starmer MP - Parliament TV
Emily Thornberry MP - The Mirror, YouTube 
Sir Oliver Robbins - Parliament TV 
David Miliband MP - Mornings with Ridge and Frost, Sky News 
Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.
Get in touch - contact us via email: [email protected]
Like and follow us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PodSavetheUK
Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/podsavetheuk.crooked.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk
X: https://x.com/podsavetheuk