Ahead of Election Day, listeners send in questions about whether debates are dead, if polls are reliable for election coverage and how Trump might work with Democrats if they win control of Congress.
Can I trust the polls? And other questions from listeners about the 2026 midterms
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The Guardian
The real problem with Britain’s Political Traitors show is that no one is very faithful to anything for long | Robert Hutton
For Westminster’s special budget edition of the series, politicians have played to their strengths. Bombast, duplicity, distrust: it’s all second nature You join us on a steam train in Scotland as we head to the next episode of the BBC’s hit show Political Traitors. It’s like the celebrity edition, except that everyone is less comely – politics being the practice of show business for ugly people . For this week’s task, the players have to construct a “budget” of tiny crowd-pleasing measures, carefully balanced by invisible tax rises. What makes the show so compelling is that the players don’t know the whole story. Only those of us on the outside can see what’s really going on. While John and Andy run around shouting about how they have faithfully met their “fiscal rules” in the third year of the forecasts, on our sofas at home we know that this incantation is entirely meaningless. Robert
BBC Politics
Burnham 'open' to calls for slavery apology but not reparations
The British government has never formally apologised for slavery despite repeated calls from a number of Commonwealth leaders.
The Guardian
Why politicians chasing economic growth is a lie | Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty
What if someone told you the truth about the economy? For years, governments have tried spending more, spending less, cutting red tape, Brexit, levelling up – and still failed to increase growth per person in the UK. So what’s the lesson from the great British fairytale? On the latest episode of Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty, the rebel economists Karel Williams and Sukhdev Johal explain why they believe praying for growth is a fool’s dream – and why it won’t improve your life You can watch previous episodes of Radical Thinking here Aditya’s suggested reading list for this episode: As we say in the podcast, I’ve championed the work of Karel and Sukhdev and their colleagues for many years in the Guardian, and some of my columns are a good introduction to their approach. In our conversation we look at what life after growth looks like for towns and suburbs, and what it should lo
The Guardian
Nigel’s ‘chiselled cheekbones’ make the news – Reform’s the Reformer, digested by John Crace
Editor, agony uncle, crossword compiler – he even interviews himself. Our sketchwriter finds there’s no end to Farage’s talents Welcome to your new super, soaraway Reformer . The paper that aims to take you back to the 1950s with all the stories that the mainstream media don’t want you to read. Free to all patriots. And those who happen to have found a copy on the floor of the bus. Continue reading...
The Guardian
When you’re traduced, abused and gaslighted – believe me, Black History Month matters | Hugh Muir
There is always debate about the concept’s necessity and efficacy. But with nativists in their pomp, it’s good to focus on who we are and why What forces shaped four generations of Black Britons? | The panel Pity Black History Month UK , assailed on all sides. Those on the right seek to end the celebration on the basis that it amounts to special treatment for a group that doesn’t deserve it. History should be colour-blind: society should not differentiate, they say. We are not racist, we just want fairness. But often, they are – and they really don’t. On the other side of the argument are the progressives, notably minority progressives, who say the idea of a month to consider Black history is demeaning because it should already have a year-round place in our teaching and consciousness. There is a further view that any beneficial effect the month once had has been diluted by unimaginative
The Guardian
Massive Attack, Bob Marley, bell hooks and grime: the forces that shaped four generations of Black Britons | The panel
For Black History Month, figures from the arts, culture and sport reveal the people and ideas that made them who they are today When you’re traduced, abused and gaslighted – believe me, Black History Month matters | Hugh Muir Continue reading...