Labour’s beef with farmers

Labour’s beef with farmers

Author: Financial Times November 21, 2024 Duration: 36:20

After winning swaths of rural seats in the general election, Labour’s relationship with the countryside has nosedived, amid a row over the government’s plan to impose inheritance tax on some farms. Host Lucy Fisher is joined by Political Fix regular Jim Pickard and political correspondent Anna Gross to discuss the changes to agricultural property relief and the wider political fallout. The team also dissects the row over Rachel Reeves’ CV edit and scrutinises her past remarks about her career. Plus, FT foreign editor Alec Russell joins to discuss what happens next in the Ukraine war after Kyiv fired US and UK-made long-range missiles into Russia for the first time this week. 


Follow Lucy on X: @LOS_Fisher, Jim @PickardJE, Anna @AnnaSophieGross, Alec @AlecuRussell


Want more?  

Thousands of farmers protest in London against tax changes

Ukraine fires British Storm Shadow missiles into Russia

Russia fires intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine for first time, Kyiv says

New book from UK shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves lifts from Wikipedia

UK government borrowing for October exceeds forecasts at £17.4bn


Join Lucy Fisher, Peter Foster, Stephen Bush and Miranda Green for a Political Fix Live session on December 5, where they will assess Labour's record after five months in office as part of the FT's Global Boardroom online conference. The three-day event features high-level interviews on the big issues of the day and is being held on December 4-6. Register for your free pass at ft.com/tgb


Read the FT’s Best Politics Books of the Year 2024 list, curated by the FT’s chief foreign affairs commentator Gideon Rachman.


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 Tamara Kormornick. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The broadcast engineers are Andrew Georgiadis and Petros Giumpassis. 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
Deals, donations and damage limitation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:34
Sir Keir Starmer started the week with not one but two speeches defending his party’s Budget decisions in the wake of claims that chancellor Rachel Reeves had misled the public and fellow MPs about the state of the natio…
Bonus: What does the 2025 Budget mean for your money? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:33
It’s been a rollercoaster week for both UK politics and our personal finances, with chancellor Rachel Reeves setting out tens of billions of pounds of tax rises in the Budget. But how will these new taxes be applied and…
Budget bonanza: tax highs and growth lows [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:53
After months of speculation, predictions and U-turns, Rachel Reeves finally announced her Budget this week. And, symptomatic of the chaos this Budget has wrought, there was one final twist: the entire Budget appeared on…
Coming soon from Tech Tonic: Defying death [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30
Investors are spending billions of dollars on novel ways to extend human life through inventive treatments, therapies, and even manipulating our genes. And increasingly, it seems as though anti-ageing efforts have moved…
Boats and the Budget: the battlelines are drawn [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:28
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood announced a tough set of measures overhauling immigration policy this week, in a bid to deter illegal boat crossings and tackle the thorny issue of asylum seekers that dominates the news ag…
Is Starmer’s leadership on the line? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:09
It has been a whirlwind week in Westminster with the BBC in crisis and a supposed challenge to the prime minister’s leadership. So, was there a putative coup from within Keir Starmer’s own cabinet? Is there a “toxic cult…
To tax, but who to tax, that is the question [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:49
With just three weeks to go until the Budget, Rachel Reeves gave a surprise speech to reset expectations on who she’s planning to hit with more taxes on November 26. This has fuelled further speculation about whether the…
Reeves’ £30bn treasure hunt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:44
With a month to go until the Budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves needs to find a projected £30bn to balance the books. And the forecasts are not in her favour, with the OBR’s bigger than expected productivity downgrade deal…
Budget, boats and a by-election [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:43
Chancellor Rachel Reeves received a rare bit of good news from lower inflation statistics this week, which could reduce government borrowing ahead of the November Budget. But the uphill struggle to improve Labour’s stand…
Britain: a beacon of economic stability? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:12
The countdown is on: Chancellor Rachel Reeves has just six weeks to finalise her Autumn Budget before the November 26 deadline. This week, she was in Washington DC for the annual meeting of the IMF, where she hinted at t…