Chris Addison: Is Westminster withering?

Is Westminster's political power fading? Anoosh and Armando are joined by actor and director Chris Addison and former independent parliamentary candidate Claire Wright to discuss the distribution of political influence in the parliamentary system, whether it's possible to influence politics at a local level without buying in to a central party line, and why so many MPs start out as SpAds.GuestsChris Addison is a comedian, writer, actor and director who, among other notable roles, played the special advisor Ollie Reeder in Armando Iannucci's hit political satire The Thick of It.Claire Wright fought the constituency of East Devon as an independent candidate in three general elections, coming second each time.--This episode was originally published in the New Statesman podcast feed on August 9, 2021. Listen to the New Statesman podcast here: https://podfollow.com/new-statesmanSubscribe to the New Statesman for full access to all our reporting and analysis. Get your first month free: www.newstatesman.com/30daytrial Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Politics is broken. How do we fix it?Armando Iannucci and Anoosh Chakelian meet policy makers, activists, special guests and actual, real-life *people* impacted by political failures to ask: can politics be different?Armando Iannucci is the renowned satirist, broadcaster, writer and director behind hit shows including Veep, The Thick of It, and The Day Today. He was the co-creator of the long-running comedy character Alan Partridge. His movies include In The Loop (2009), The Death of Stalin (2017), and The Personal History of David Copperfield (2020). He's a regular contributor to the New Statesman magazine.Anoosh Chakelian is Britain Editor of the New Statesman and host of the award-winning New Statesman Podcast. She's one of the UK's leading political and social affairs journalists, specialising in the impact political decisions have on people and services around the country. She's a regular commentator on TV and radio, including Politics Live and Radio 4 political programmes.Westminster Reimagined was originally published in the New Statesman podcast feed. Hear more of our political analysis, commentary and interviews on the New Statesman podcast here: https://podfollow.com/new-statesman Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.