81. The Battle for Hartlepool: is Labour heading for disaster?

With a critical by-election looming there, I headed to Hartlepool in England's North East to find out if Labour are about to lose another crucial brick in the crumbling so-called 'Red Wall'. I meet with the party's candidate, candidates standing for the Northern Independence Party and Reform, the current and former leader of the council, Labour canvassers and voters on the ground to ask - why is a seat in which Labour won a crushing victory less than 4 years ago at risk of falling out of its hands, potentially providing Boris Johnson with a critical triumph?It's a complex mix: younger voters leaving towns like this as politics polarises by age, poverty sitting side by side with economically secure retired homeowners, the Tories ploughing investment into their favoured communities, and Labour lacking any coherent vision. Can Labour ever rebuild an electoral coalition to secure power - or are we doomed to indefinite Tory rule?Help us take on the right-wing media here: https://patreon.com/owenjones84Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

Owen Jones, journalist, author of Chavs and The Establishment, or "that left-wing idiot off the telly", is fed up with the establishment media. After all, it punches down, not up, blames minorities for all the problems in society, and, let's face it, often just parrots the government line. So this podcast is offering something different: speaking truth to power, giving the marginalised a voice, offering hope - and having a laugh along the way. From Michael Sheen to Judith Butler, Prof. Devi Sridhar to Noam Chomsky, Peter Hitchens to Chelsea Manning and Gary Younge to Stewart Lee, the interviewees couldn't be more eclectic. Expect documentaries, too, exposing injustice and going to enemy territory - and discussions with experts on everything from COVID dreams about the pandemic to the history of US-backed coups. We'll learn a lot - but above all else, have our optimism in a better world rebooted. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.