The Downtown Den Politics Podcast

025 | 3rd April 2024

Whilst you were tucking into your Easter eggs and hot cross buns at the weekend, Rishi Sunak was having to digest the devastating results of a mega poll which shows that the Tory Party is on course to not just lose the forthcoming General Election - but get a thorough trouncing. Could the most successful election winning machine in Western Europe really be heading towards oblivion? Welcome to the Downtown Den politics podcast...

024 | Downtown Den Recap | Lord Michael Heseltine

This week we revisit a previous podcast episode, where Frank McKenna chats with Lord Michael Heseltine.
A political giant for more than five decades, the man who many believe to be ‘the best Prime Minister we never had’, Lord Michael Heseltine, joined DIB boss Frank McKenna in the Downtown Den this week.
‘Hezza’, also affectionately referred to as ‘Tarzan’ by Tory activists in the 1970s and 80s, has been at the forefront of public life since 1979 when he was given his first cabinet role by Margaret Thatcher as the Secretary of State for the Environment. He has also served as the Minister for Defence, the Minister for Trade & Industry, and Deputy Prime Minister.    
A staunch advocate of the UK remaining in the European Union, Lord Heseltine is President of the European Movement.
Despite a general antagonism towards Conservative leaders and politicians, the city of Liverpool have made Heseltine an ‘adopted Scouser’, following his pivotal role in helping to regenerate the city in the early Eighties, when he was given the title ‘Minister for Merseyside’. He was made a Freeman of Liverpool in 2012 and he is still a regular visitor to the city. 
In this wide-ranging conversation, the successful entrepreneur and politician discusses his role in Liverpool’s renaissance; his frustrations with Brexit; his time in government; and his vision for the future. 
In this fascinating discussion, Lord Heseltine chats to Frank about:
His role in the urban regeneration of Liverpool
Devolution
The overdominance of London
Levelling Up
Brexit and re-establishing EU relations
His impressive political career
Highs and lows of governments over the years
Local government reorganisation
His favourite Prime Minister

023 | 25th March 2024

Labours shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the Mis Lecture this week. Did she lay out a progressive programme of economic reform, or has her pragmatism taken her to a place where she is simply promising to be Continuity Jeremy Hunt? 
MPs salaries increased to £91K per year – is that too much, not enough, or just about right?
And mixed news for Rishi Sunak in the polls this week – one had the Tories on just 18% of the vote – but others showed that,  if the Conservatives decided to ditch the prime minister, the government would be even more unpopular. Have Tory MPs decided ‘better the devil you know?’

022 | 19th March 2024

Another challenging week for prime minister Rishi Sunak saw one of the party’s red wall champions defect to reform, a row over a Tory donor’s racist comments, and a further flurry of speculation about an imminent challenge from within for the leadership of the conservative party. Can Sunak really survive in downing street until the autumn – or is a summer election now inevitable.
Also, in the news this week – the news! Ofcom have tickled GB News over breaches to its rules & regulations, the row over the future ownership of the telegraph and the spectator has gone nuclear, and the press has been criticised in some quarters for its recent coverage of the royal family – what is happening to the mainstream media in the uk – and is the local and regional media industry dead?
Welcome to the Downtown Den Politics podcast.
https://downtowninbusiness.com/cml/cml24/#book

021 | 11th March 2024

Last week Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, tried to restart, reset, reshape the government with his budget. Did it work? That's what Jim Hancock and Frank McKenna will be discussing in this week's Downtown Den political podcast.

020 | 4th March 2024

George Galloway stormed to victory in the Rochdale by-election last week. We'll be asking if Gorgeous George’s return to Parliament is a threat to democracy, to Keir Starmer, or simply a fluke result in the strangest of polls.
The great and the good of the North of England came together in Leeds on Friday for the annual Northern Convention. Did the conference breathe new life into the Northern Powerhouse, or has this much trumpeted levelling up project finally ran out of steam?
And this week, Jeremy ‘I’ll only cut taxes if it's prudent to do so’ Hunt delivers his much anticipated budget. Will this be the moment when the government can finally reset and begin to claw back its 20 point poll deficit or is the Conservative Party done?
Welcome to the latest episode of the Downtown Den Politics podcast.

019 | 26th February 2024

Has British politics sunk to an all-time low? Shameful scenes in the commons this week, followed by Islamophobic comments from a senior Conservative MP, and a shambolic by election campaign now in its final ten days in Rochdale- how has it come to this?
Will the Speaker of the House Lindsay Hoyle keep his job? Will Lee Anderson have the Tory whip restored? And will ‘Gorgeous’ George Galloway return to parliament to calm things down a bit?
Less than a decade ago, the Liberal Democrats would have been front and centre on all these issues and more. Its leader was the Deputy Prime Minister, and many of its MPs served as government ministers in the Tory-led coalition administration as recently as 2015. Nick Clegg may have said ‘sorry’ – but the electorate never forgave him or his party – what has happened to the ‘third wheel’ of British politics, and will Ed Davey – who apparently struggles to say ‘sorry’- be able to turn his party’s fortunes around at the forthcoming General Election later this year? 
Welcome to the latest Downtown Den politics podcast.
Interested in Jo's latest book. Find out more.
https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/why-vote

018 | 19th February 2024

Whose ‘double whammy’ was worse?
Rishi Sunak suffered not one, but two humiliating be-election defeats last week- and rumours abound that a poor showing at the May local elections will likely see a batch of no confidence letters winging their way to the chairman of the 1922 committee, as anxious MPs conclude that giving us a fourth prime minister in as many years will not look like the lunatics taking over the asylum!
Meanwhile, Keir Starmer, basking in another couple of poll victories still has challenges to deal with- most of which are wrapped up in the Middle East conflict.
We’ll be asking if Sunak will survive, and how damaging the past fortnight has been to the Leader of the Opposition.
We will also be taking a look ahead to those local elections and in particular the mayoral contest in the West Midlands.
This week Frank and Jim are joined by Kevin Johnson owner of Urban Communications.
Website: http://www.urbancomms.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/urbancomms
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/urbancomms/