Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
In the light of so-called "Freedom Day" and the pindemic, political commentator Mike Indian discusses with Simon Rose whether the government is breaking its contract with the public, opining that many of the problems appear to be caused by ineffective leadership at the top. It's a view reinforced by the explosive Dominic Cummings' interview on the BBC. It is Mike's contention that the Covid crisis will see the end of Boris Johnson's premiership.
Guests: Mike Indian
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University asks if we are going back to the future, with users of Britain's roads paying as they go as they used to with turnpikes in the Georgian era. If so, why can't our politicians admit that's where we are headed? As United States forces leave Afghanistan, he points out that a new regional "Great Game" is looming. And, as unrest erupts in Cuba, he wonders if the regime there knows that its days are numbered.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the challenges being faced by Sajid Javid as the new Secretary of State for Health and what changes it is likely to bring in the Cabinet's response to the Covid pandemic. In the wake of Matt Hancock's resignation, he raises renewed concerns about those people who advise our senior politicians. And he explains why the result of the Batley & Spen by-election is more important to Labour than people think and why it should serve as a wake-up call to Keir Starmer.
Guests: Mike Indian
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
5 years on from the EU referendum, Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University asks if General de Gaulle was prophetic in realising that the UK would not be a good fit for the European Community. He considers how Brexit is changing the balance of economic power. 30 years since he arrived in Slovakia as adviser to the Prime Minister, Tim reflects on post-communist Central Europe and why tensions are mounting between the EU and Hungary & Poland. And he looks at the launch and impact of GB News.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian ponders what the consequences of the Chesham by-election could be for the major political parties. Is it a flash in the pan or a precursor of something bigger? With Covid rules appearing to be different for the G7 leaders and UEFA officials, is there one set of rules for most of us and a different set for the elite? What does the changing leadership of the DUP mean for Northern Irish politics? And he looks at the changes in Labour's backroom team.
Guests: Mike Indian
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
The news that Sarah Green has wrested the constituency of Chesham and Amersham off the Conservatives for the first time in its history merits a look back over the Liberal Democrat's long decline. The centre ground is not an easy place to be in politics, and the new MP has needed the frequent sight of HS2 bulldozers and stormtroopers to get her majority - but she's done it. This look-back over Liberal Democrat history with Simon Rose and Mike Indian was first published in October 2019, just before the last General Election.
Guests: Mike Indian
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian asks what the G7 meeting in Cornwall might mean for the so-called Special Relationship between the UK and the United States. He discusses Portugal being abruptly removed from the Green List and assesses what changes to personal freedom might happen on June 21st, asking if it's right that government should control our lives in such detail. And he looks at the High Court ruling that the Government acted unlawfully over the granting of a £560,000 Covid contract.
Guests: Mike Indian
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University delves into the Government's proposals for boosting housebuilding and reviving ideas of a home-owning democracy, wondering if it will come under attack from the Conservative Party's own MPs. He discusses why Germany is becoming ever more reliant on Russian energy and how it will constrain international relations in the future. And he questions the flexibility of the EU's outlook on trade after an eight-year attempt to do a trade deal with Switzerland collapsed.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Political commentator Mike Indian looks at the explosive claims made by Dominic Cummings, asking what his testimony tells us about the Prime Minister and the Government – and what it tells us about Cummings himself. He looks ahead to the Batley & Spen by-election and predicts what the result might be. He considers the political ramifications of the Martin Bashir scandal for the BBC. And he looks at Northern Ireland politics now that Edwin Poots has taken over the leadership of the DUP.
Guests: Mike Indian
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Original Broadcast: The Bigger Picture
Professor Tim Evans of Middlesex University looks at the volte-face from the International Energy Agency's volte-face and how the move towards net zero could make us richer. He also ponders some possible political implications of the end of the era of oil and gas. He examines the history of the role of the state in Britain's railways and asks if the government's shake-up of the UK rail system could usher in a new age of the train. And he wonders what the impact of GB News could be on TV's currently homogenised news output.
Guests: Professor Tim Evans
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