2025: Labour’s year of pain?

2025: Labour’s year of pain?

Author: Financial Times January 3, 2025 Duration: 44:02

After a rocky start in office for Labour, the next 12 months will prove pivotal for the UK government. Sir Keir Starmer must grapple with dismal popularity ratings, tough public finances, anaemic growth forecasts and a string of challenging policy decisions. Opposition parties also face key tests. Can Tory leader Kemi Badenoch silence critics’ warnings about her low visibility and output, and can Reform UK’s Nigel Farage prove his party’s momentum is real and not mere mirage? Host Lucy Fisher is joined by FT colleagues Robert Shrimsley, Stephen Bush and Jim Pickard to gaze into their crystal balls and consider the year ahead. They discuss the coming local elections, the spectre of Westminster by-elections, the impact of Donald Trump’s return to the Oval Office and more.


Follow Lucy on X: @LOS_Fisher, Jim @PickardJE, Stephen @stephenkb and Robert @robertshrimsley 


Want more? Free links: 


NHS, education, housebuilding… Labour’s progress so far and its plans for 2025 


Farage and why Kemi Badenoch does not have time to ‘watch this space’ 


UK heading for tax rises despite return to growth, economists say 


Keir Starmer promises year of ‘rebuilding’ for UK in 2025


Trump wants 5% Nato defence spending target, Europe told 


Sign up here for 30 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award. 


Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Lulu Smyth. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.


Every Friday, the team behind Political Fix gathers to make sense of the week's political turbulence. This isn't just a recap of headlines; it's a deep, often lively conversation that pulls back the curtain on how decisions are really made in Westminster and beyond. You'll hear from the Financial Times journalists who are actually there, in the corridors and committee rooms, paired with expert voices who provide crucial context. Together, they untangle complex policy debates, analyse the shifting alliances, and question the strategies defining Britain's future. The result is a clear-eyed, authoritative look at the forces shaping the nation, delivered with the FT's signature rigor and insight. Tuning into this podcast feels like gaining access to a private briefing, one that prioritizes substance over noise. It’s for anyone who wants to move past the soundbites and understand the real stories and personalities driving the political agenda. New episodes arrive weekly, offering a consistent and essential perspective on a landscape that never stops moving.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Political Fix
Podcast Episodes
Reeves sets Labour’s course – but what will it deliver? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:49
Labour’s long-awaited spending review dropped this week. Rachel Reeves unveiled funding settlements for government departments – and a newly upbeat tone after the gloomy promise of hard times in her previous Commons set…
Facing down a fiscal firestorm [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:51
UK chancellor Rachel Reeves has had an action-packed week. She made a U-turn on winter fuel payments, announced plans to spend billions of pounds on new transport schemes and, following the prime minister’s latest announ…
Coming soon: The Wolf-Krugman Exchange [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:08
In a special six-part series of The Economics Show, Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman discuss the economic events reshaping the world in the wake of US Pres…
Who’s afraid of Nigel Farage? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:19
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Reform party leader Nigel Farage clashed on economic issues this week. Farage said his party was the champion of the working class, while Starmer warned Farage’s proposed spending rises am…
Is Labour’s post-Brexit reset a victory or a betrayal? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:00
The UK and EU announced a historic deal to ‘reset’ their relationship this week. Keir Starmer called the deal a “win-win”, while a “gobsmacked” Kemi Badenoch labelled it a “surrender”. Who’s right? Host George Parker is…
Labour's immigration crackdown [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:38
It’s been another turbulent week for Labour after Keir Starmer announced a crackdown on legal migration. The prime minister gave what has since become a controversial speech suggesting the UK is at risk of becoming an “i…
Ask Political Fix: Trade, tax and leftwing pacts [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:56
Our first Q&A special episode is finally here! You sent in questions, now our panel answers them. Is the UK-US trade deal worth the paper it’s signed on? Could the UK benefit from a brain drain from the US? Is there any…
Local elections special: end of the two-party duopoly? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:28
This week, we’ve seen Reform UK trounce Labour and the Conservatives across England in local elections. Nigel Farage’s party has secured a fifth MP, clinched two mayorships and seized control of at least seven councils.I…
Reform on the march? Our local elections guide [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:51
Ahead of England’s local elections next week, the Political Fix team pick the races to watch and what’s at stake for the main parties, as voters head to the polls to elect 1,600-odd councillors, six mayors and one new MP…
What is a ‘woman’ in law? The Supreme Court ruling [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:11
The UK Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling this week about the legal definition of a woman in equality legislation. Judges ruled that a woman is someone who is born biologically female. Host Lucy Fisher is joined by t…