What do the Trans & Non-binary community need most right now?
Nish and Coco are joined by Abigail Thorn (actress, writer and host of PhilosophyTube) and Freddy McConnell (writer and journalist) to examine the issues facing the trans and non-binary community in the UK today.  In recent news, the current Tory government has proposed new guidelines for education in schools across England. Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said that gender identity should no...
49m May 26, 2024
49m
Are these the last six weeks of Rishi Sunak and the Tories?
Nish and Coco bring you a hot off-the-press special look at the announcement of a UK general election. On Wednesday 22nd May - Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the next general election will be on Thursday 4th July 2024. It appeared to be a sudden decision that surprised even his own Conservative MPs. But this announcement brings a whole host of questions with it. What key issues will this ...
45m May 23, 2024
45m
The economy is growing, so why are we feeling poorer?
The UK is officially out of recession - Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt have been banging the drum of the 0.6% GDP growth in the Jan-March quarter, but are things actually getting better? George Monbiot drops into the studio to demystify Neoliberalism - the invisible economic doctrine that has influenced UK politics and policy since the Thatcher years. George also brings some fresh ideas...
45m May 16, 2024
45m
Abortion rights & ending hunger with Aisling Bea
“A hung Parliament” - it’s not quite admitting defeat, but the new media lines from Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party suggest that even the Government knows its days are numbered. Nish and Coco unpack Sunak’s shock admission and some of the highlights from the local elections.  Comedian, actor and activist (and old colleague of Nish) Aisling Bea drops in to talk about campaigning against f...
50m May 09, 2024
50m
Are the Local Election results the beginning of total Tory annihilation?
While the results from elections across England & Wales are still rolling in - the signs so far are pointing to a disastrous outcome for the Conservative party. So Nish & Coco have jumped on for this special bonus episode to pop the champagne - asking exactly what it means ahead of the General Election - whenever that will eventually be called!  Liz Bates from Sky News joins Nish and Coco to ex...
41m May 03, 2024
41m
Humza Yousaf's Shock Resignation: Are the Greens Seizing Power in Scotland?
The Westminster rumour mill went into overdrive last weekend peddling an ultimately incorrect rumour that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was due to call a summer election. With suggestions that this rumour was started by the Labour Party, Nish and Coco ask whether progressives might be starting to control the narrative. And might that change in power balance towards the Left also be coming to the f...
47m May 02, 2024
47m
Nish dismantles Sunak's attack on disabled people and Coco meets Caroline Lucas
Rishi Sunak finally ‘got Rwanda done’ after a long and dramatic night as his Safety of Rwanda Bill ping-ponged between the Common and the Lords. Our guest, the Green MP Caroline Lucas, tells Coco what it was like to be in Westminster that night and criticises Rishi Sunak for holding a drinks party while the Bill - which she describes as “a piece of performative cruelty” - was still being debate...
55m Apr 25, 2024
55m
Jess Phillips on Angela Rayner tax story: scandal or smear?
On a busy week of news as MPs return to Parliament, Nish and Coco are joined by the Labour MP Jess Phillips. She gives her take on the investigation into Angela Rayner’s tax affairs, and reveals the toll it’s taking on her party’s deputy leader.  A discussion on Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel leads Jess to reveal her family links to Iran, and there’s some rare praise for Rishi Sunak for ...
53m Apr 18, 2024
53m
Scandal and cyber security in Westminster
Coco is back from holiday and the first order of business is for Nish to explain the Westminster “honeypot” scandal, which has seen the vice-chairman of the 1922 committee resign. But beyond a salacious story about MPs texting, what are the broader security issues this raises? Nish and Coco also take issue with Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting attacking “middle-class lefties” in a tabloid ...
48m Apr 11, 2024
48m
Fighting the Rwanda Bill + Mr Kumar goes to Westminster
With the Government’s controversial Rwanda Bill currently stuck between the Commons and the Lords, this timely special episode focuses on the UK’s asylum policy. Nish takes up an invitation to speak about the issue at the House of Lords. The event has been organised by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees, in conjunction with the makers of a new film called Io Capitano - which follows ...
39m Apr 04, 2024
39m
A China crisis, a dodgy attack ad, and Titchmarsh’s trousers
As Westminster goes on its Easter holidays, Nish and Coco reflect on a busy end of term that saw a couple of ministerial resignations and a diplomatic row with China. Nish asks if Lord Cameron’s post No.10 activities leave him compromised in dealing with China as Foreign Minister. Coco also raises the plight of the WASPI women, who lost out due to the change in pension age - will they ever see ...
48m Mar 28, 2024
48m
Democracy for sale, Europe’s first black leader + tea with Obama
This week Nish and Coco ask if our politics is on sale to those with the deepest pockets? The Conservative Party would love us all to move on from the row around the £15 million donation from Frank Hester, but it’s a story that highlights the often murky world of political funding. Nish and Coco talk to investigative journalist Peter Geoghagen about what the rules are, what donors get for their...
50m Mar 21, 2024
50m
Tory donor racism row, plus the Princess and the pic
Another shocker of a week for the Conservatives which saw their biggest donor caught up in a race row, and their former Deputy Chairman defect to Reform UK. Beth Rigby, Political Editor at Sky News, tells Nish and Coco that the Tories don’t want to give back the £10 million they received from Frank Hester last year, despite the racist language he’s alleged to have used about the MP Diane Abbott...
51m Mar 14, 2024
51m
Jeremy Hunt’s election budget for big earners and big owners
Did the Chancellor’s much anticipated pre-election budget fall flat? Nish and Coco pick over the details and wonder why our public services are being sacrificed for the sake of tax cuts. There’s reaction from Westminster from political journalist Kiran Stacey, who says that there are signs of the budget unravelling already. Rachelle Earwaker from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation says it does noth...
48m Mar 07, 2024
48m
The man who would be PM: who is the real Keir Starmer?
With a huge lead in the polls, all the signs point to Keir Starmer moving into Downing Street by the end of the year, so how well do we know the man who would be PM? Guest co-presenter Liz Bates attempts to get behind the rather dull public image, by interrogating Tom Baldwin, who spent hours talking to Starmer for his new authoritative biography of the Labour leader. The conversation takes an ...
52m Feb 29, 2024
52m
Will Young: popstar to politician? Plus Westminster ceasefire row
Nish and guest co-presenter Liz Bates set the scene on what went on to become a chaotic night  in the Commons, that put speaker Lindsay Hoyle’s job at risk. They call out the “pathetic and petty” political game playing that sought to use the suffering of people in Gaza to embarrass the  Labour Party. There are also harsh words for Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch for using the Commons to settle...
51m Feb 22, 2024
51m
Rochdale row tests Starmer’s leadership, plus the woman who helped take down Weinstein
A week that was supposed to bring more woe for Rishi Sunak has turned into arguably the biggest test of Keir Starmer’s leadership. Labour has had to suspend two of its parliamentary candidates for making comments about Israel. For Starmer, who’s staked his reputation on ridding Labour of anti-semitism, it’s been hugely embarrassing. Nish and Coco reflect on the farcical situation in Rochdale, w...
51m Feb 15, 2024
51m
Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf: Sunak, Starmer and samosas
Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf joins Nish and Coco to reflect on the highs and lows of his first year as leader. He takes us back to the fateful Valentine’s night phone call with Nicola Sturgeon that changed his life, and tells us how he felt watching his former mentor shed a tear at the Covid Inquiry last week. The First Minister talks about the helplessness he felt when his family mem...
52m Feb 08, 2024
52m
The MP who gives away part of her salary, hope for Northern Ireland and Nish Kumar takes on the evil plotters
After nearly two years without a functioning Government, are the people of Northern Ireland finally about to see the power-sharing executive return to Stormont? Nish and Coco reflect on a dramatic week with journalist Amanda Ferguson. The Labour MP Nadia Whittome talks of her frustration at her party’s stance on calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict, but says Labour’s position is ...
48m Feb 01, 2024
48m
Why are our councils going bust?
1 in 5 local councils in England is in danger of going bankrupt within the next two years - it’s a growing crisis that Westminster has done its best to ignore. With their budgets continually slashed, council leaders are faced with sometimes impossible choices about which services can be funded and which have to be axed. Nish and Coco discuss the crisis with a council leader, Joe Harris, and a ‘...
47m Jan 25, 2024
47m
Rwanda, Reparations and Romance
It’s groundhog day at Westminster as Rishi Sunak’s Safety of Rwanda Bill returns to the Commons - will all the talk of rebellion come to anything this time? Nish and Coco discuss whether an opinion poll in the Telegraph was used to try to influence the debate and encourage the rebels. Plus they ask how it is that the UK has granted asylum to Rwandans AFTER signing a deal that deems the country ...
52m Jan 18, 2024
52m
The Horizon Post Office scandal and Lionel Rishi
Why did it take a TV drama to wake politicians up to what’s been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British legal history? More than 700 sub-postmasters were convicted of theft, due to accounting discrepancies caused by the Post Office’s faulty computer system. ITV’s Mr Bates vs The Post Office caused public outrage and has forced the Government into taking unprecedented...
52m Jan 11, 2024
52m
Nish and Coco’s predictions for 2024, plus would you kiss a Tory?
Comedians Andy Zaltzman and Catherine Bohart return to help Nish and Coco try to predict what politics has in store for us in 2024.  There’s much debate about the possible date of the next general election…with arguments made for both November 5th and December 25th! The panel also considers whether the electorate will warm to Keir Starmer. Plus there’s also the prospect of another Trump preside...
32m Jan 04, 2024
32m
Just Stop Politics! Nish and Coco’s review of 2023
Comedians Andy Zaltzman and Catherine Bohart take up Nish and Coco’s challenge, to find the laughs in another chaotic year in British politics. Is it cheating that they had to deploy novelty Christmas hats? You decide. Our review of 2023 starts with a fresh-faced and optimistic Rishi Sunak making his five pledges, and ends with the Conservatives tearing themselves apart over Rwanda. In between,...
59m Dec 28, 2023
59m
Sunak survives, plus the long wait for Grenfell justice
Rishi Sunak endured one his toughest weeks yet as Prime Minister, as he faced the Covid Inquiry and tried to placate rebellious MPs. But he lived to fight another day - as does his controversial Rwanda Bill. For Westminster watchers it was all about the mooted rebellion that didn’t materialise, but for Nish and Coco, the real story was the death of an asylum seeker aboard the Bibby Stockholm ba...
50m Dec 14, 2023
50m
Bereaved families’ verdict on Boris Johnson at the Covid Inquiry
Please note: This podcast includes a description of a death from Covid, that some may find distressing.  This week saw arguably the most anticipated moment of the Covid Inquiry so far, the first appearance of Boris Johnson, who was Prime Minister during the pandemic. Over two days at the hearing, he offered an apology and  admitted some mistakes were made, but defended his overall approach. In ...
25m Dec 08, 2023
25m
Tory Immigration crackdown, plus Ben Rhodes on following the Queen into the toilet
It’s been a big week in the Tories’ war on foreigners. While efforts to resuscitate the Rwanda plan continue, Nish and Coco pick over the Government’s five-point plan to reduce legal immigration. For Nish, these are measures produced by people who clearly have no lived experience of relying on the NHS or on social care. Coco points out the cruelty of minimum income plans that could split famili...
51m Dec 07, 2023
51m
Sunak’s big fat Greek blunder, plus will COP28 be a COP out?
Rishi Sunak’s decision to publicly snub the Greek Prime Minister in a row over the Parthenon Marbles, has left Nish and Coco wondering whether he possesses any of the skills to be a global statesman? Worrying then, that his next stop is the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. Politico’s Karl Mathiesen joins us to talk about the UK’s place in the climate debate, and the contradictions of a COP hosted...
54m Nov 30, 2023
54m
The Tories’ back-handed budgeting
This week the attention of British political journalists was firmly fixed on Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, who unveiled big tax cuts in his much-anticipated Autumn Statement on Wednesday. The Conservative government’s cuts to National Insurance will put a few more pounds into UK payslips starting January– but at what cost? The Guardian’s Kiran Stacey joins Nish and Coco to explain what these cuts mea...
50m Nov 23, 2023
50m
Judges block Rwanda plan, plus who broke Britain with James O’Brien
A frantic week in UK politics, that started with the sacking of Suella Braverman and the shock return of David Cameron, took another huge twist as the Supreme Court ruled that the Government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful. Rishi Sunak however came out fighting, announcing an emergency bill to keep the policy alive. Plenty then for Nish and Coco to get their teeth stuck int...
52m Nov 16, 2023
52m
Bye bye Braverman, hello Cameron
Nish and Coco jump on for an emergency bonus episode to reflect on a day of high political drama. Rishi Sunak reshuffles his top team, with the axe finally falling on his controversial Home Secretary Suella Braverman. That was followed by an even bigger shock…the appointment of former Prime Minister David Cameron as Foreign Secretary. Nish and Coco reflect on Cameron’s questionable legacy since...
29m Nov 13, 2023
29m
The King’s Speech: Milli Vanilli in a gold hat
King Charles’ first State Opening of Parliament as monarch, provides plenty of pomp, pageantry and politics for Nish and Coco to get stuck into. It’s a spectacle that throws up lots of questions, including who is Black Rod, and why does an MP get taken hostage by the Palace? As the Government presents its legislative agenda for the year ahead, we ask why is it so slim? Could it signal an early ...
51m Nov 09, 2023
51m
No.10’s shameful Covid WhatsApps, plus is AI a threat to humanity?
The latest hearings at the Covid Inquiry reveal chaos and dysfunction at the heart of Government during the pandemic. Did Boris Johnson really think Covid was nature’s way of dealing with old people? Nish and Coco sift through the swearing and the gossip to get to the heart of what really matters about the latest revelations. Coco tells Nish about her experience attending the huge rally, callin...
49m Nov 02, 2023
49m
A year of Sunak, and why housing is eating our economy
As the Israel Gaza crisis continues, pressure grows on both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer to back calls for a ceasefire. Sacha Deshmukh, Chief Executive of Amnesty International UK, explains why he supports it and what else needs to happen for it to be meaningful. He also has advice for how you can help, either through safe protest, or through donation. Nish and Coco also ‘celebrate’ Rishi Sunak...
52m Oct 26, 2023
52m
Sunak in Israel, by-elections and back to Bibby
The crisis in Israel and Gaza presents a huge challenge for our politicians, both internationally and at home. With protests on the streets and spikes in religious hate crimes, every word uttered by our leaders is diplomatically loaded. Nish and Coco discuss the difficulties of Labour’s position, and then return to record a fresh section at the start of this podcast in reaction to Rishi Sunak’s...
59m Oct 19, 2023
59m
Sparkles with Starmer plus Rob Delaney, NHS champion
Despite being an American, who can’t even vote in this country, Rob Delaney has become an outspoken champion of the NHS. His love for our health service was born from tragedy: losing his young son Henry to cancer. He tells Nish and Coco why we have to fight for the NHS, and compares it to an American system which enriches CEOs and advertising execs. Find out why he thinks Joe Biden is the best ...
1hr 1m Oct 12, 2023
1hr 1m
Tory conference sh*tshow + Stormont stalemate
Coco and her special guest Femi Oluwole pore over the bin fire that was the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester. Was Sunak strengthened or weakened by the whole HS2 fiasco - and what was the thinking behind wheeling out his wife for a surprise appearance? With the likes of Braverman, Truss - and even Farage - being feted by the party faithful, Coco and Femi discuss the party’s lurch to ...
50m Oct 05, 2023
50m
Cancelling HS2 and GB News + Lib Dem Layla Moran
The Conservative Party heads to Manchester for its Conference as rumours swirl that Rishi Sunak is going to axe the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the HS2 high speed rail line that was supposed to unlock the potential of The North - a bit awkward then! Coco and her special guest Grace Blakeley discuss why it’s all gone wrong and what it says about us as a country that we can’t seem to deliver ...
56m Sep 28, 2023
56m
The Russell Brand scandal and fixing the police
In the wake of the allegations of rape and sexual assault against Russell Brand, Nish says his behaviour was an open secret, and Brand’s TV work dried up as people refused to work with him. Nish also reveals that there are others still working in the industry about whom production staff will say “oh we don’t send young women into their dressing rooms”. Coco highlights the wider cultural issues ...
1hr 5m Sep 21, 2023
1hr 5m
China spy scandal rocks Parliament + David Lammy
Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy reveals what it was like in Westminster when the news broke that a parliamentary researcher, with close links to leading Tory politicians, had been arrested on suspicion of spying for China. Mr Lammy tells Nish and Coco that the atmosphere at Westminster is “febrile”, with MPs having to think carefully about who they rely on for advice and research....
49m Sep 14, 2023
49m
Fixing Britain’s crumbling schools and broken politics
Nish and Coco reflect on a scandal they think is a perfect metaphor for Tory-led Britain. Schools have had to close because they’ve been built using cheap and unstable concrete (called RAAC), while there are also concerns over hospitals and other public buildings. So as the country crumbles around us, who’s to blame? Labour leader Keir Starmer has reshuffled his top team ahead of next year’s ex...
1hr 5m Sep 07, 2023
1hr 5m
Exposing Andrew Tate and saying goodbye to Nadine Dorries
More 16 to 17-year-old boys recognise Andrew Tate than Rishi Sunak - have we been guilty of underestimating the influence of Tate’s brand of toxic masculinity? Nish and Coco speak to journalist Matt Shea, who has spent years investigating the notorious misogynist. His new documentary uncovers the truth behind Tate’s ‘War Room’ club, and investigates claims members are taught how to groom women ...
57m Aug 31, 2023
57m
Men in suits spoiling women’s football
With the headlines dominated by Lucy Letby, the most prolific child killer in modern British history, Nish and Coco reflect on the proper role for politicians in cases like this. While we crave reassurance from figures in authority, should they resist the urge to wade in with an easy soundbite? Plus we also reflect on the other big story of the week, the women’s World Cup final, and ask why it’...
51m Aug 24, 2023
51m
Tories war on 'lefty lawyers', and Sunak's Disney dinner
Returning from their summer holidays, Nish and Coco reflect on the failure of the Government’s ‘small boats week’. It was supposed to showcase progress but, instead it ended in the tragic deaths of a number of people trying to cross the Channel. An interesting time then for Tory HQ to step up their war on so-called ‘lefty lawyers’. We hear from immigration lawyer Jacqueline McKenzie, who was th...
1hr 2m Aug 17, 2023
1hr 2m
How to have difficult conversations - with Gina Martin
In a politics increasingly dominated by ‘wedge issues’ and the ‘woke’ divide, Nish and Coco explore whether it’s possible to have constructive conversations on social issues with people with whom you disagree. The activist and author Gina Martin reveals the lessons she’s learnt from her career as an activist, which started when she was a victim of upskirting. Her campaign ended up changing the ...
40m Aug 10, 2023
40m
Tactical voting, Tory traps and Labour purges
Is a combination of a progressive alliance, tactical voting and proportional representation the way to save the UK from Tory rule? Neal Lawson, founder of the pressure group Compass, argues that there would have been no Boris Johnson or Liz Truss if left-leaning parties had been able to work together. Neal, who’s been a Labour member for 44 years, also explains why he’s facing possible expulsio...
50m Jul 27, 2023
50m
By-election special: Tories trounced in two, scrape home in one
Nish and Coco can’t resist popping up for a special bonus mini-episode to discuss the Super Thursday by-election results. A revolt against Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Ulez low emissions policy hands the Tories a lifeline to hang on to their seat in Uxbridge and Ruislip - Coco hopes that doesn’t encourage Labour HQ to sideline their green agenda. Better news for Labour in Selby and Ainsty where Ki...
14m Jul 21, 2023
14m
Is Keir Starmer a Kid Starver?
Nish and Coco ask “what’s going on with Labour?” Sir Keir Starmer caused consternation within his own ranks, by saying he wouldn’t abolish a two-child limit on claiming some benefits - a Tory policy that many of his frontbench colleagues have condemned. Nish and Coco wonder why politically tough decisions only ever seem to come at the expense of the poorest in society.  SNP MP Mhairi Black tell...
1hr 3m Jul 20, 2023
1hr 3m
Tea with Biden, scandal at the BBC and drugs with the Greens
While the UK was losing its senses over a sex scandal, the BBC and a tabloid newspaper, Nish brings some sanity. His advice to journalists and politicians: if you know nothing, why not shut up? What we learn from the story is that the UK needs more facts and less speculation. In Nish’s crosshairs is Tory MP Lee Anderson. He called the BBC a “safe haven for perverts” while his party and Westmins...
54m Jul 13, 2023
54m
Does Rishi Sunak give a sh*t about the climate?
Does Rishi Sunak care about the climate crisis? A former minister accuses him of apathy, and a leaked memo suggests he’s considering rolling back one of the UK’s key financial climate pledges. Just Stop Oil’s Chloe Naldrett joins Nish and Coco with a personal message for the Prime Minister. While we’re recording, Wimbledon becomes the latest sporting event to be hit by protestors, so we drag Ch...
58m Jul 06, 2023
58m