Can The Tories survive?

Can The Tories survive?

Author: Steve Richards May 20, 2025 Duration: 57:47

The Labour government has signed a deal with the EU that brings significant improvements to the agreement negotiated by Johnson and Lord Frosty Frost… their deal being a reminder of the many calamitous developments in the wild fourteen years of misrule. Can the Tory  Party recover from such a record or is it doomed to be replaced by Reform?


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Each week, broadcaster and author Steve Richards draws from his acclaimed live performance to create Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards. This isn't a dry recitation of headlines, but a guided tour into the often-overlooked mechanics of British political life. Steve focuses on the interplay between power and perception, examining how the media narrative is constructed and how it, in turn, shapes our understanding of the unfolding drama at Westminster and beyond. The conversation in this podcast acknowledges a central paradox of our times: while historical events can seem deceptively simple in hindsight, the present moment feels wildly uncertain. Steve acts as a seasoned guide through that uncertainty, offering clarity without oversimplification. You'll hear analysis that connects cultural currents to political decisions, exploring the personalities, strategies, and occasional chaos that define the UK's political landscape. Tune in for a thoughtful, weekly perspective that makes sense of the seismic shifts in society and government, all delivered with the insight of someone who has spent a career observing the stage from both the wings and the front row.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Rock & Roll Politics with Steve Richards
Podcast Episodes
How will the government change in the post-McSweeney era? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:19
Morgan McSweeney and - we now discover - Peter Mandelson shaped the Starmer leadership in the run up to the election and beyond. Now they are both gone. Inevitably this will lead to change and the first meaningful ‘reset…
Will tactical voting block Reform? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:28
In the Gorton and Denton by-election Reform dares to hope it will win. Which party should opponents of Reform back to prevent such an outcome, and what are the wider lessons of the dilemmas for tactical voters?Rock & Rol…
Has Kemi Badenoch taken a fatal wrong turn? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:40
A new group has been launched within the Conservative Party aimed at reviving the much diminished ‘One Nation’ wing. Kemi Badenoch has been dismissive. Has she made a fatal strategic miscalculation?The first Rock & Roll…
Burnham is blocked - What are the consequences? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:58
Predictably Keir Starmer has blocked Andy Burnham from standing in the forthcoming by-election. Has Labour had enough of this unique style of party management where those seen as to the left of Starmer and Morgan McSween…
What are the differences between Reform and the Tories? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:18
Robert Jenrick’s defection highlighted the schism on the right, two parties battling it out as Labour and the SDP did in the 1980s. But there are significant contrasts between the schism on the left then and the divide o…
How big is the schism on the right? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:16
I was not planning another podcast on the theme of U-turn, not least when the schism on the right has been highlighted by the sacking of Robert Jenrick. But I sense there are huge lessons from the sequence that led to th…
What do U-turns tell us about a government? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:42
Since our last podcast on the risks of an unsubtle focus on the cost of living, the Government has carried out another U-turn to protect pubs from increases in business rates. Number 10 says this is a sign of an increasi…
Is Starmer’s focus on the cost of living more risky than it seems? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:38
Keir Starmer has proclaimed the government’s entire focus is on the cost of living. But to what degree can he control price rises, and will voters feel better off in the coming months? Should governments intervene to con…