It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast
Hear from the widest range of voices in the progressive movement. Every week, host Neal Lawson, speaks with progressive thinkers, writers and politicians from the UK and beyond about current affairs and how to build the Good Society. Visit compassonline.org.uk to learn more about Compass.
Episodes
131 episodes
The impact of wealth inequality | ep 114
The UK is remarkably unequal.The richest 1% of Britons hold more wealth than 70 % of us c...
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Season 1
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Episode 114
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59:31
In Conversation with Sam Freedman | ep. 113
In his recent book, Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How We Fix It, Sam Freedman lays out why people matter, but systems matter more. Having a run of incompetent, corrupt leaders is a problem. But our problems run deeper – and we wi...
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Season 1
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Episode 113
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40:40
Live from Labour Conference | ep. 112
The 2024 general election result brought a welcome relief to British politics after 14 wasted years of Tory misrule. At last, some better people and ideas are at the helm.But, just a few months in, the challenges facing this new governme...
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Season 1
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Episode 112
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1:02:08
A New Settlement for a Better Society | ep. 111
The 2024 general election result brings a welcome relief to UK politics. But now, we find ourselves at a crossroads: things are either going to get very much worse or very much better. There is no middle way.Neither the state, nor busine...
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Season 1
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Episode 111
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1:11:36
Election Results Special w/ John Harris and Laura Parker | ep. 109
On the 4th July people across the country went to the polls for a long overdue, and bloody complicated, General Election. Labour ended up with a mammoth majority and the Tories were left with just 121 seats. But beyond the headline figures, the...
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Season 1
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Episode 109
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1:03:38
How will populism shape the next parliament w/ Jon Bloomfield | ep. 108
With Labour far ahead in the polls our attention turns to where the opposition from the Left will come from.We need to look no further than Nigel Farage and Reform UK – who could use the parliamentary base of Clacton to enact a shift to ...
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Season 1
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Episode 108
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1:02:32
General Election Special | ep. 107
On this special general Election issue of Its Bloody Complicated we are delighted tobe joined by Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty. We’ve admired Aditya’s writing and reporting for years and have been keen to gethim on...
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Episode 107
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57:37
Local Elections w/ Ben Walker and Alison Lowe | ep. 106
On Tuesday, 14th May we were joined by Ben Walker and Alison Lowe to analyse the campaigns and the results of the 2024 local elections, and reflect where we are coming up to a general election.Ben Walker is a senior data journalist at th...
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Season 1
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Episode 106
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1:02:23
AI and Democracy | ep 105
Over the last few years, the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to transform our society has become increasingly apparent. This comes with incredible opportunities – AI could help deepen our democracy and enable our politics to get close...
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59:34
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The Trade Union campaign for PR w/ Lynn Henderson and Nancy Platts | ep. 104
It was a watershed moment in October 2022 when the Labour Party conference overwhelmingly voted to include in its manifesto a commitment to change the voting system to proportional representation after the next election. Just the year before, d...
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1:00:46
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The role and opportunities for a democratic movement in Scotland | ep. 103
Support for Scottish independence is still strong but the SNP are clearly in a weaker position, institutionally, reputationally, and ideologically. They have become mired in scandal, their hegemonic grip on politics north of the border looks to...
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Season 1
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Episode 103
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1:02:25
Citizens' Assemblies | ep. 102
Citizens’ assemblies represent an alternative way of doing politics: a randomly selected group of citizens are convened to reason collectively, to consider evidence and to have discussions which should arrive at complex, nuanced decisions for t...
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Season 1
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Episode 102
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1:04:28
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Small Parties, Big Ideas | ep. 101
First Past the Post might block smaller parties from gaining representation at Westminster, but on this episode of It’s Bloody Complicated, we discussed how in spite of this they can still wield substantial influence and contribute meaningfully...
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1:02:08
Radical Pragmatism | ep. 100
Progressives face a dilemma; we want a change of government but know the country needs a big change of direction. In an essay published for the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 100
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1:02:51
Fighting fracking, factionalism, and Jeremy Hunt | ep. 99
In 2017, South West Surrey Compass organised and slashed Jeremy Hunt’s majority taking it from the 7th safest Tory-held seat to the 121st. In 2019, they took control of a local council. In 2023, they sued the government.In the beginning ...
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Season 1
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Episode 99
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1:01:41
New Media | ep.98
The mainstream press in Britain has been in a state of managed decline for much of the 21st century. Once massive news outlets have suffered massive staff reductions as they have struggled to adapt to a digital age. But over the last few years,...
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Season 1
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Episode 98
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1:01:36
The Big Fat Podcast of the Year 2023 with Ayesha Hazarika and Andrew Grice | ep. 97
As another year comes to a close, we were excited to welcome Ayesha Hazarika and Andrew Grice to It’s Bloody Complicated to round up another year in politics.Ayesha Hazarika is a broadcaster, journalist and political...
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Season 1
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Episode 97
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1:03:05
Land Ownership and the Commons | ep. 96
According to the Right to Roam campaign, 92% of the UK’s countryside and 97% of its rivers are not available to the vast majority of the public. For Episode 96 of It’s Bloody Complicated, we’ll be discussing land ownership and the Commons, and ...
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1:01:48
In Conversation with Areeba Hamid, co-Director of Greenpeace UK
Climate chaos is looming. The question of how to protect and preserve our planet for future generations is a conversation that’s not just timely, but absolutely essential.That’s why, for Episode 95 of It’s Bloody Complicated, we were joi...
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58:37
In Conversation: Clare Short | ep. 94
After Labour came to power in 1997, Clare Short served as the UK’s first cabinet-level Secretary of State for International Development, a post she would go on to hold for six years. In this role, she secured large increases in the British gove...
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Season 1
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Episode 94
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52:57
Live from Labour Conference 2023 | ep. 92
Labour faces a huge challenge at the next election: first to win power, then to use it to change our country for the better. The polls suggest it will clear the first hurdle, but what of the second?The challenges our county faces have ne...
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58:45
New Zealand: The Route to PR | ep. 91
In 1993, New Zealanders voted to replace First Past the Post with a proportional voting system. 30 years on, we discussed how this all-important electoral overhaul came about with two special guests:Max Rashbrooke, a New Zeal...
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Season 1
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Episode 92
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1:02:37
