What does the surge of Farage's Reform mean for UK politics?
On today’s Inside Politics podcast Irish Times London Correspondent Mark Paul joins Hugh Linehan to discuss what Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is already calling “the beginning of the end of the Conservative Party" as Tories lost council seats all over England.And to add icing to Farage’s cake, Reform Party candidate Sarah Pochin dramatically won the Runcorn and Helsby byelection by just six votes, the narrowest margin of victory in a byelection since 1944.Labour didn’t fare well in Thursday’s local elections either - will they now view Reform as a legitimate challenger? And is the clock already ticking for Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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21:42
100 days of Government and very little to show
Pat Leahy and Harry McGee join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics:· Nama chief executive Brendan McDonagh almost became housing ‘tsar’ until Fine Gael blocked his appointment this week. It seems communication between the two main parties was not at its strongest when it came to Fianna Fáil’s push to have McDonagh head up the new Housing Activation Office.· Both the Government of the 34th Dáil and Donald Trump reach the milestone of 100 days this week, although it feels like night and day in terms of activity with the Government’s executive functions here barely getting off the ground. · But nobody could accuse Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan of inactivity as he has taken that portfolio and ran with it. Building strongly on the work of his predecessor Helen McEntee, could Fianna Fáil be looking at a potential future party leader?Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:· Has the EPP become a cold house for Fine Gael? Recollection of a soirée in Beijing, and Westminster’s long memory for its murdered MPs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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40:27
Can 'technocratic daddy' Mark Carney solve Canada's deep-rooted problems?
Canadian journalist Jen Gerson joins Hugh to talk about the results of Monday's federal election, which confirmed the once-unlikely comeback of the Liberal party led by former central banker Mark Carney. Gerson explains the unique challenges facing this vast, dispersed country whose relationship with its closest ally - the USA - has collapsed since the election of Donald Trump. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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40:48
Will there be a teacher’s strike in the autumn?
Pat Leahy and Jack Horgan-Jones join Hugh Linehan to look back on the week in politics: · Pope Francis passed away on Easter Monday at the age of 88. Thoughts now turn to the election of his successor and whether they will be viewed to be as tolerant and progressive as the late pontiff. · Minister for Education Helen McEntee has her work cut out for her to keep secondary school teachers onside with both the Teacher’s Union of Ireland and the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland voting to ballot on industrial action if plans to reform the Leaving Certificate from this September are not paused. · And the Government has told RTÉ that State funding of more than €60 million for its redundancy plan will hinge on the broadcaster hitting yearly targets as it reduces its headcount. Plus, the panel picks their favourite Irish Times pieces of the week:· Bill Clinton on a polarized America 30 years on from the Oklahoma bombing, Ireland needs to tread carefully with the EU on tariffs, and have we reached an empathy crisis? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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45:36
How the Dublin Riots can be traced back to the Blueshirts
Cork-based author Pádraig Óg O'Ruairc joins Hugh Linehan to discuss his new book 'Burn Them Out; a history of fascism and the far right in Ireland’. He argues a line can be drawn directly between the far-right and, in the case of the Blueshirts, openly fascist movements of the 1920s and 1930s and the Dublin riots of 2023. Ó'Ruairc objects to the Irish exceptionalism many feel in having largely escaped the xenophobic populism seen elsewhere in Europe, arguing we have a long history of 'looking the other way' when it comes to confronting a pervasive and enduring fascist undercurrent.'Burn Them Out' is available now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The best analysis of the Irish political scene featuring Irish Times journalists, political thinkers and the occasional politician. Hosted by Hugh Linehan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ireland