The CapX Podcast

While most of us in the West are pretty unequivocal about Vladimir Putin’s brutal campaign against Ukraine, in Russia itself a sophisticated infrastructure of deceit conditions the public to see and believe in a very different conflict.Few people are better placed to understand how this war came about than our guest this week, Dr Jade McGlynn.Unlike many of the armchair pundits who have emerged in recent months, Jade spent many years living in Vladimir Putin's Russia, as well as conducting groundbreaking research on how the Kremlin twists and exploits Russian history to its own nefarious ends.Jade is currentlya Senior Researcher at the Monterey Initiative in Russian Studies in California, and alongside a glittering academic CV writes regularlyfor publications such as the Telegraph, the Spectator and, most importantly, CapX. She also has two books slated for publication next year - Russia’s War and the Kremlin’s Memory MakersShe joined our editor John Ashmore down the line from Monterey to discuss why so many Russians still support the war, how secure the Putin regime still is and how best to rally support in the battle for Ukraine's survival. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Just last week Boris Johnson was bestriding the world stage, joking about showing his pecs to Putinat the G7 and Nato summit. Today he is Prime Minister in name only, having reluctantly agreed to leave office after more than 50 of his ministers resigned.It's an ignominious ending to a dramatic premiership, In just over 1000 days, Boris Johnson secured a historic election victory, persuading many to vote Conservative for the first time and defeated a dangerous Labour leader. He took Britain out of the EU, he presided over the pandemic, almost dying himself in the process, and lead the world in support for Ukraine. But he leaves the country facing a devastating cost of living crisis, unresolved problems with the Northern Ireland Protocol, an unfinished legislative agenda and no clear successor to sort it out.CapX Deputy Editor Alys Denby is joined by her Centre for Policy Studies colleagues Callum Price, Head of Communications, and Tom Clougherty, head of tax, to discuss where all this leaves us, See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Too often neglected and misunderstood by both politicians and commentators on this side of the Irish Sea, Northern Ireland has in recent years been thrust into the spotlight by the intense wrangling over post-Brexit trade arrangements,. Just this week, the Government's bill to change that arrangement passed its second reading in the House of Commons - much to the chagrin of those who accuse Boris Johnson of trampling over international law.For this week's episode of The CapX Podcast we decided to get the inside track from one of the province's most astute Unionist commentators, Owen Polley. Owen is a weekly columnist with the Belfast Newsletter and a regular contributor to CapX on all things Northern Irish. He's also the author of a pamphlet titled An Agenda for Northern Ireland after Brexit. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As if the British economy didn't have enough problems with soaring inflation, swathes of the countryliterally ground to a half this week thanks to massive industrial action from 40,000 rail workers. Like most of us, RMT members are feelingthe pinch as prices outstrip their wages and passenger numbers havestill yet to recover from their pre-Covid levels. But does that really justify a strike? And is this a sign that the UK is going 'back to the 1970s'?To discuss all that, John and Alys welcomed Tom Clougherty the Head of Tax at our parent organisation, the Centre for Policy Studies. Tom is one of Westminster's most authoritative commentators on all things tax-related, and just this week has co-authored a paper on why the idea of an Online Sales Tax is so thoroughly misguided.To cap off this week's episode, we head across the Channel to France, where a surge in support for Marine Le Pen's National Rally helped deprive Emmanuel Macron of a parliamentary majority and thrust his presidency into huge trouble. We talk to Paris-based journalist and CapX contributor Gavin Mortimer about what this electoral hammer-blow means for Macron's second term. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

You never have too long to wait before the SNP and its leader Nicola Sturgeon are beating the drum for another independence referendum. The dream of separation is the glue that holds an otherwise fractious coalition together, and this week Sturgeon has once again upped the ante by promising a fresh vote next year, come what may.Our guest this week, Tom Harris, is well placed to judge whether those dreams have the slightest chance of becoming a reality. Tom was a Labour MP from 2001 to 2015, before leaving the party in despair at its leftward turn under Jeremy Corbyn.Since leaving Parliament, he's established himself as a witty, authoritative commentator on all things Scottish and beyond, including as a regular contributor to CapX. I caught up with him from hs home in Scotland to discuss the fate of the nationalist cause, the travails of the Unionstsand how much better Labour could be doing if their leader was someone other than Keir Starmer. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's been a truly tumultuous week, even by the elevated standards of farce we've come to expect in British politics. Monday saw a vote of confidence called in and ultimately defeated by Boris Johnson, but it was - to use the kind of classical allusion he's so fond of - a Pyrrhic victory. Over 40% of the PM's own MPs voted against him in what can only be described as a huge blow to his authority.To discuss the fallout from that vote and the ensuing Tory policy blitz we welcomed Will Atkinson to this week's episode of the CapX Podcast. Will has been a contributor to the site for some time and was recently appointed assistant editor at ConservativeHome – the closest thing the Tory party has to a house magazine. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

So it’s finally here, the long awaited Sue Gray report was published this week and it was great stuff for journalists – with lurid details of excessive drinking, wine splattered up walls and Downing Street staff partying until the early hours during lockdown. But the question Westminster insiders will be asking is what the public make of all this, and how will it effect their party’s prospects in a future election?To discuss this, I’m joined by pollster extraordinaire James Johnson. As Senior Opinion Research and Strategy Adviser he ran polling for Theresa May, before pivoting to the private sector as a founder of JL partners. He spends his time travelling up and down the country talking to ordinary voters and digging into what they really think about the state of our politics.We ran the rule over public perceptions of 'partygate', the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis in a conversation that may make difficult listening for supporters of the Prime Minister. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

There’s only one story in town this week when it comes to British politics and that’s the soaring cost of…well, just about everything.Consumer price inflation jumped to 9% in the 12 months to April, up from 7% in March and the highest level it has reached since 1982.After spending two years stepping in to save whole sectors of the economy, support millions of people’s wages and borrow hundreds of billions of pounds into the bargain, there's now a sense of helplessness on the Government's part as it faces severe global pressures on areas like energy and food prices. Indeed, on Wednesday night Rishi Sunak said: 'There is no measure any government could take, no law we could pass, that can make these global forces disappear overnight.'Do not despair though, here at CapX and our parent organisation, the Centre for Policy Studies we’re here to help. This week the CPS has produced a briefing paper setting out all the things the Government could do to take the strain off household finances.For this week's episode we're joined by one of that report’s authors, CPS Senior Researcher Karl Williams, and James Heywood, the CPS' Head of Welfare and Opportunity. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As well as visiting untold horrors on the Ukrainian people, Vladimir Putin’s regime has launched a new wave of unprecedented repression in Russia itself, instantly jailing anyone who dares raise their voice in opposition to his despotic rule.One man who knows all too well the reality of standing up to Putin is our guest this week, Vladimir Ashurkov. Vladimir is a former financier, political activist and a leading light of Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation. He was forced to flee Russia in 2014, when he was granted political asylum here in the UK.Our editor John Ashmore spoke to Vladimir about the war in Ukraine, the malign influence of Russian money in the UK and his hopes for a democratic future for his homeland. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's been a bumper few weeks for political news. We've had endless 'Beergate' stories rattling the Labour leadership, soaring prices in the shops, dreadful economic forecasts from the Bank of England, Elon Musk's mooted takeover of Twitter and thehugely controversial leaked Supreme Court ruling on Roe vs Wade.To discuss those pressing issues, our editors John Ashmore and Alys Denby welcomed two of the stars of the Westminster wonk-world: Kristian Niemietz of the Institute of Economic Affairs, and the Adam Smith Institute's Morgan Schondelmeier. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.