Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian unpacks Rishi Sunak's Northern Ireland Protocol deal and explains what the Prime Minister has achieved. He believes Matt Hancock's political reputation has been trashed for good with the WhatsApp messages exposing what went on at the heart of the Pandemic response. And he gives us the lowdown on the three candidates for the SNP leadership election.
Guests: Mike Indian
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University discusses whether Nicola Sturgeon's resignation presents Labour with the opportunity to restore its power north of the border while support diminishes for independence. Sixty years after Beeching's axe fell on the railways, are the railways dying all over again? And with cash being used less with every year and some bank branches not even accepting it, is the cashless society almost with us and what might it mean?
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the ramifications of Nicola Sturgeon's surprise resignation as Scottish First Minister, speculating what might happen now and whether this will be seen as a great opportunity for the Labour Party. He explains why he thinks that Keir Starmer's decision to ban Jeremy Corbyn from running as a Labour candidate is not a smart decision. And he crosses his fingers that there is a possible NI Protocol deal in the offing.
Guests: Mike Indian
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University explains to Simon Rose why, if Emmanuel Macron can't raise France's retirement age, Europe's fiscal union could be doomed. He ponders what the role is now for the UK's trade unions in a new age of industrial action. And he marvels at the enormous yawn factor of Rishi Sunak's cabinet reshuffle. With Volodymyr Zelensky's UK visit showing up our own politicians, he wonders why we no longer seem to have great Parliamentarians.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the political lie of the land after Rishi Sunak's first 100 days as Prime Minister. While believing he did the right thing when it came to Nadhim Zahawi, Mike feels that the Prime Minister needs to show more ruthlessness when it comes to his own party. As for the country as a whole, the current batch of strikes simply feed into the picture that nothing in Britain is working as it should.
Guests: Mike Indian
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University wonders where and what are the benefits of Brexit, three years after the UK left the European Union. He looks at a fascinating set of numbers analysing housing trends over the past two hundred years. And, 100 years since the founding of the BBC, he explains why he admires the BBC, despite – or because of – its ability to irritate all sides equally at once.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University says that we must face the fact that Britain is going the way of Argentina and becoming a poor country. The war on the ultra-rich, he points out, will spell disaster for the UK's public finances. And it is surely time we recognised that the NHS is in a state of permanent crisis and that a Royal Commission should be set up to find a solution.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Politicial commentator Mike Indian analyses the New Year's addresses of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. Will the PM be able to deliver on his 5 pledges? Is Starmer being ambitious enough, channelling the likes not just of Blair, but also Wilson and Callaghan? With the May elections expected to give the Conservatives a massive drubbing, could Boris Johnson yet make a comeback as leader?
Guests: Mike Indian
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans looks back at the challenging year that was 2022, taking us through learning to live with Covid, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US mid-terms and the Trump revelations, the passing of the Queen, the rapid turnover of Prime Ministers and the cost-of-living crisis. Looking ahead, he wonders how China will cope with Covid, wonders if the current industrial unrest might rebound on Labour and wonders what will become of Russia as the war grinds on.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
Published:
Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the nurses' strike. When all solutions to the NHS's problems are difficult, he feels emphasis should be on patient outcomes. He looks at the new bullying claims against Dominic Raab, wondering why the relationship between government and the civil service has deteriorated so markedly. And he summarises an extraordinary year which, he says, shows just how the Conservatives have thrown away most of the advantages they held.
Guests: Mike Indian
Published:
