This week, we tackle the institution that’s cracking (the BBC), the leader who’s spending (Mark Carney), and the conservative premier who’s somehow breaking hearts and polling records (Doug Ford).

Also, Prince Harry makes a surprise appearance… in our Lipstick on a Gerbil segment.

🏚 1. BBC on the Brink

We break down the resignation of BBC’s Director-General, Tim Davie, following a firestorm of scandals — including:

• A Panorama edit that deceptively spliced Trump’s speech

• Allegations of editorial bias on the Middle East and trans issues

• A crushing internal report that reveals the public broadcaster has lost trust across the political spectrum

We debate whether the BBC has become the UK’s next great institutional casualty — and ask:

Is this the moment it becomes the CBC of British politics?

“You don’t just lose public trust with bias — you lose it with smugness.”

💸 2. Canada’s Budget Gets Derailed by… Polievre?

It was supposed to be the biggest budget in a generation — but you wouldn’t know it based on the political headlines.

Instead, the story has been:

• Two MPs leave Pierre Poilievre’s caucus

• Allegations his office used oppo research to threaten MPs

• A leadership review coming in January

“The budget is a footnote in a week of internal Conservative chaos.”

We ask:

• Does this damage Poilievre’s image as a PM-in-waiting?

• Why is no one talking about the record-breaking deficit?

  And is anyone in Canadian politics actually focused on cost of living?

Budget Season, Housing Scandals & Populist Snapbacks

Joseph’s in a bad mood. Andrew’s six minutes late. Holly’s podcasting from a cow-filled Cumbrian farm. And somehow, this chaotic start perfectly mirrors the week in politics we’re about to unpack.

In this week’s Issue Scan, we tackle three big stories⸻

💸 1. Carney’s Budget of Austerity (Without Saying “Austerity”)

We preview Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first federal budget, which the Liberals are billing as transformational — but may look a lot like a cutback budget with better PR.

• Spending cuts to government operations

• Big promises on defense, trade and climate

• An electorate with zero patience and plummeting expectations

“It’s starting to feel like Canadians don’t want change — they want certainty.”

We debate:

• Is this a red-tinted version of David Cameron’s ‘Age of Austerity’?

• Will progressive voters tolerate fiscal discipline?

• And what happens if the elbow-throwing on trade still doesn’t land a deal with Trump?

🏘 2. Rachel Reeves’ Rental Row: A Crisis of DetailThe UK Chancellor has a problem: two letters, one missed license, and a husband who didn’t “sort it.”

We break down:

• The timeline of the scandal

• What it reveals about Labour’s growing housing PR headache

• And why this is more than just “admin error”

Lipstick on a Gerbil Score: 🧴

1 coat — “She said she took responsibility. But mostly blamed everyone else.”“If this were a Tory, Labour would have eaten them alive. But now? Just more letters on Starmer’s desk.”

🇳🇱 3. Dutch Election Surprise: Populists Rejected?

Andrew brings us a European update as the Dutch electorate gives populism a timeout — rejecting Geert Wilders and rewarding centrist parties.

• What went wrong for the populists this time?

• Is this a snapback to the centre or a one-off?

• And what could it mean for Farage-style politics elsewhere?

Populists won power, disappointed voters, and got punished. So what comes next?”

From the UK’s disastrous week under Labour to a major trade gaffe (or not?) in Canada, and Doug Ford’s surprising turn as global spokesman for tariffs and Reaganomics — we unpack a week of political faceplants, media spin, and near perfect lipstick jobs.⸻🧨 1. A Week in the Life of a Labour PMOne tweet said it all.Six political scandals. One week. And a mounting sense that Keir Starmer’s government is spiralling: • Botched handling of the Maccabi fan ban • Immigration failures (again) • Rape gang inquiry collapses • Labour loses its own seat in Wales • Starmer caught in a China fib • An Epping sex offender goes AWOLWe ask: Is this just governing as usual? Or has Labour lost the plot just one year into its mandate?“This feels like third-term fatigue… but it’s only year one.”⸻🗳 2. Labour Gets Wrecked in WalesA shock by-election in Caerphilly saw Labour collapse to 11%.Plaid Cymru won, Reform surged to second — and Farage is claiming “main challenger” status.We break down: • What the Welsh result tells us about progressive alliances • Whether Reform has a hard ceiling • And why Labour MPs are already talking like they’ve lost“They’ve only got the cards they’ve got — and we’ve seen what’s in that deck.”⸻🇨🇦 3. Ontario’s World Series Ad Bombs Trade TalksPremier Doug Ford ran a $75M ad campaign during the World Series — using Ronald Reagan’s words to shame Trump’s tariffs.Trump responded by escalating tariffs. Negotiations collapsed. The Reagan Foundation called it misinformation.We debate: • Was this political genius… or tactical self-sabotage? • Who was the ad really for — Trump or Ontarians? • And did Mark Carney know it was coming?“It smells like genius… but I’m not smart enough to understand why.”⸻💄 Lipstick on a Gerbil: Doug Ford Defends the AdIn our favourite comms segment, we rate Ford’s CNN appearance defending the ad.Was he playing 4D chess, or just trying to out-Trump Trump?Our verdict:🧴🧴🧴 Three coats — Warm, confident, and weirdly likeable.⸻📩 Subscribe or listen at craftpolitics.fm🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube & Substack

🧨 1. Maccabi Tel Aviv Fan Ban: Judenfrei by Policing?

When Aston Villa banned Israeli fans from attending their upcoming UEFA fixture, citing security risks, it sparked outrage — and raised serious questions.

• Why did local UK officials capitulate to pressure from anti-Israel campaigners?

• How did Birmingham end up, as Andrew puts it, “effectively declared Judenfrei”?

• What does this mean for sport as a safe and unifying space?

“If you threaten violence, you win. That’s the message. It’s shameful.”

🇬🇧 2. Blaming Brexit — Labour’s Budget Pre-Spin

Ahead of the UK’s autumn budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves claims Brexit, austerity, and productivity slumps have created a deep funding hole.

We debate:

• Is this a smart preconditioning move — or a dangerous misread of voters?

• Are Labour making Reform’s case for them?

• And how long can you keep blaming decisions from eight years ago?

“They’re telling voters they were stupid. Farage couldn’t have scripted it better.”

🇨🇦 3. Poilievre’s RCMP Blunder — Just Off the Cuff?

Pierre Poilievre is on cleanup duty after comments he made accusing the RCMP of covering up Trudeau-era scandals. He says it was aimed at former commissioner Brenda Lucki — not the force itself. But the damage may already be done.

• Was it an off-the-cuff moment of honesty or a Trump-style overreach?

• Is it alienating swing voters just when the Tories should be widening their appeal?

• And what does it say about how Poilievre handles comfort-zone media?

“He needs to be most careful when he’s most comfortable.”

💄 Lipstick on a Gerbil: Penny Wong Defends Trump’s Takedown of Kevin Rudd

In our favourite comms segment, we rate Australia’s Foreign Minister as she tries to explain away Donald Trump’s brutal dismissal of Ambassador (and ex-PM) Kevin Rudd:

Our rating?

🧴 One coat — Barely concealed, pivoted well, but we’re not buying it.

“I don’t like him… and I probably never will.”

Guest: Dan Robertson, former Conservative strategist & founder of ORB Advocacy

This week, Joseph and Holly are joined by long-time conservative strategist Dan Robertson, who has an unconventional set of ideas: Canada’s Conservative Party can’t out-campaign a system rigged against it.

Dan’s solution? Structural reform. In a recent op-ed, he outlines three controversial but compelling ideas to level the playing field—and maybe even turn the Tories into a true national contender again.

1. Proportional Representation

• Why the “first past the post” system doesn’t actually benefit conservatives

• How PR could eliminate the Liberals’ advantage in voter efficiency

• And why Canada’s system keeps millions of centre-right votes from counting at all

  “I’d love to see conservatives champion competition everywhere—except in politics. It makes no sense.”

2. Mandatory Voting

• Why the right underperforms in low-turnout elections

• A civic case for participation as a duty of citizenship

• And what Australia can teach Canada about centre-right success in a compulsory voting system

  “This is the bare minimum of civic service. If we believe in responsibility, this is a no-brainer.”

3. A New Strategy for Quebec

• Dan proposes the unthinkable: Fold the federal Conservative brand in Quebec

• Instead, back a CAQ-style provincial-federal hybrid party

• And model a new electoral coalition—just like the CDU–CSU in Germany.

“In Quebec, we’re foreigners. It’s not ideological. It’s tribal. We need to rethink everything.”

🎧 Plus:

• Could these reforms actually help turnout?

• Why voter apathy might be structural, not cultural

• And how to build a cross-partisan case for political reform, even on the right

Joseph is back, Andrew has a cold, Holly has green tea — and the Craft Politics crew takes on three major stories reshaping the political map: peace in Gaza, Canada’s economic pivot, and Britain’s inflation problem.

🧭 What’s Inside:

🇮🇱 20 Hostages Freed — Can Trump Deliver Peace in Gaza?

• All living hostages have been returned after 738 days in captivity

• Trump takes centre stage in the peace process — with the kind of leverage few global leaders can summon

• Holly, Andrew, and Joseph debate whether this moment is a turning point or a temporary pause in a brutal conflict

“Let’s not underestimate what Trump has already achieved in returning the hostages. That’s a phenomenal and important win.”

🌍 Canada’s Climate Pivot & the India Reset

• Ottawa hints at a climate competitiveness strategy focused on jobs over targets

• Carney’s Liberals soften the climate line, downplay emissions caps, and seek Alberta buy-in

• At the same time, Canada and India agree to reset diplomatic relations after a two-year rupture

“You can feel the contrast with the Trudeau era. There’s a shift toward pragmatism—jobs, trade, and economic security.”

💸 Britain’s Inflation Warning: Highest in the G7 (Again)

• IMF says UK inflation will outpace every other G7 country through 2026

• Food, hospitality, and taxes are driving the pressure

• Kemi’s Tories pitch tax relief and spending restraint — but will anyone buy it?

“You’re paying more tax but getting worse services. That’s why inflation feels higher than it is.”

💄 Lipstick on a Gerbil: Melanie Joly Spins the Stalled Trump Talks

Canada’s Industry Minister tries to explain what the second visit to the White House has produced — and comes up short.

“One and a half coats. Solid performance, but there’s only so many times you can say we’re still talking.”

With Andrew Percy, Holly Mumby-Croft & guest roving reporter Antony Higginbotham

Joseph’s away, so the adults are off-duty — and the former MPs are in charge.

In this special Tory Party Conference edition, Andrew and Holly are joined by their old colleague (and flatmate) Antony Higginbotham — back from the ground in Manchester with gossip, grit, and grim assessments of where the Conservative Party stands post-election.

🧭 What’s Inside:

🚪 Low turnout, low energy, lower expectations

• This year’s Tory conference felt like a wake: fewer lobbyists, fewer ministers, and… fewer rumours

• Some MPs showed up to mourn; others showed up to rebuild

• Shadow ministers name-dropped Kemi, but were they really rallying around her?

“If the Tory Party has stopped producing good gossip… that may be the most dangerous sign yet.”

💥 Still relevant? Or a brand waiting to be rebought?

• Antony offers a brutal but honest diagnosis:
• The party may be down — but if the Woolworths model holds, it’s still salvageable. Eventually.

“No one trusts the policies or the people—but the brand still has residual value.”

📉 A generational void and the candidate drought

• Too few safe seats to attract serious talent

• Too many 2024 losers who only want to return if they get a guarantee

• A pipeline problem for any future right-of-centre government

“We’ll need to form a government with people who aren’t even MPs yet — and that’s a problem.”

💬 The reform shadow, Kemi’s moment, and leadership gossip

• May’s local elections could be the breaking point

• But scar tissue from years of churn might delay any internal revolt

• And reform continues to absorb “the laziest defectors” — in Anthony’s words — without a clear plan to use them

This week, we’re joined by Lord Daniel Hannan, one of the most thoughtful — and globally fluent — conservative voices in politics.

We go deep on the future of the right across the Anglosphere:

🇬🇧 Is the British Conservative Party dead or just regenerating?

🇺🇸 Has the U.S. abandoned the world it built?

🇨🇦 Why is Canadian conservatism still the sanest?

🗳 And is the UK heading toward a merger moment like Canada’s in 2003?

🧭 What We Cover

1. The Anglosphere’s Conservative Crisis

• How lockdown changed the role of the state

• Why “Trumpism” is reshaping the right in every country — including Iceland

  And why Canada may be the only place where centre-right politics still feel normal

• “Preserving the sanity and civility of Canadian politics is no small prize.” — Hannan

  
  

  2. Can Reform and the Tories Work Together?

  • Hannan lays out the most detailed case yet for a non-merger, non-coalition electoral pact — and explains why time is running out.
  • He also draws a direct line from Farage’s playbook to Canada’s 1993-2003 Reform-Conservative story — and suggests it may all play out again, faster than we think.

  
  

  “If we were all Dr. Spock from Star Trek, we’d have done this by now.”

  
  

  3. The Long History of Toryism

  Daniel is writing the first comprehensive history of the Conservative Party — from the 1600s onward.

  
  

  He reminds us why old parties shouldn’t be underestimated… and why “Toryism” might survive even if the Tory party doesn’t.

4. On Brexit: Not a disaster — just underused

We close the episode by tackling the narrative around Brexit’s so-called failure.

“Brexit didn’t make you richer or poorer. It gave you back the right to make different choices. Whether you succeed or fail depends on what you do next.”

🎧 This is one of our favourite episodes of the season. Whether you’re a political junkie, a student of history, or just trying to make sense of where the right goes next — don’t miss it.

We’re back with another Issue Scan — and we’ve got a full lineup:

🌍 A 20-point postwar plan for Gaza

🇬🇧 Labour’s conference drama (or lack thereof)

📬 And a Canada Post strike that’s gone… oddly unnoticed?

Joseph, Andrew, and Holly break down the headlines with just enough disagreement to keep things honest — and just enough beer to keep things friendly.

We had intended to explore this major foreign policy shift with a former G7 foreign minister, but unfortunately, schedules got in the way. Percy and Joseph share their thoughts on what is an incredibly sensitive topic.The conversation delves into the recent recognition of Palestine at the UN, contrasting Canadian foreign policy, and the implications of the October 7th attacks. We discuss the roles of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority, the two-state solution debate, and the rising antisemitism in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We explore the military strategy of Israel post-October 7th, its diplomatic isolation, and the political motivations behind the recognition of Palestine. The discussion concludes with a hopeful note for peace amidst ongoing conflict.

We’re back with another Issue Scan — and somehow, the world got messier again.

This week, we covered everything from Trump’s sudden about-face on Ukraine, to Keir Starmer’s high-stakes state visit with the same man, to Ed Davey’s surprisingly jazzy Lib Dem conference. And yes, we finally got Andrew back — fresh from California and full of strong beer opinions.

We also welcomed some new (and critical!) listeners. One thinks our intro banter is interminable. Sorry critics, the useless banter is not going anywhere.

Here’s what’s inside:

🌍 Trump’s Big Pivot on Ukraine“He gave Putin the red carpet—and got played. That’s personal for Trump.”

• 🇺🇸 After months of hedging, Donald Trump now says Ukraine can win back all its territory

• 🤔 Is this a genuine shift or just Trump being Trump?

• 🧠 The team debates whether U.S. aid policy is really changing — or just being rebranded

• ⚠️ Why NATO should be paying close attention to the timing, tone, and implications

🇬🇧 Trump’s UK State Visit“Success these days is: no Epstein questions and no one got deported.”

• 👑 Red carpets, royal banquets, and a tech prosperity pact

• 🎩 Starmer survives the visit unscathed—just barely

• 💥 Trump praises Britain by day, blasts Europe at the UN by night

• 🧾 Did any of it actually matter? Or was the goal simply to avoid disaster?

🇬🇧 Lib Dems vs Reform UK“If you’re trying to win back Tory moderates… they may not exist anymore.”

• 🎺 Ed Davey leads a marching band into conference season (literally)

• 📣 40+ references to Nigel Farage in one speech — is this strategy or desperation?

• 🧠 The crew dissects whether the Lib Dems are targeting the wrong voters in their anti-Reform push

(But don’t worry, we’ll have more maple-flavoured content next week.)

🇨🇦 Canada Skipped This Week…

💄 Lipstick on a Gerbil “When you’re picking up your bag before the interview ends… it’s not a great sign.”

🎙 This week’s entry: Liz Kendall dodges every hard question on immigration with a smile

• ✅ Did she defend an unworkable “one-in-one-out” policy? Not really.

• 🧃 Did she charm the press and survive the interview? Absolutely.

This week on Craft Politics, we kick off our latest Issue Scan with a Prime Minister in crisis, a Conservative Party in retreat, and a Canadian housing announcement that somehow manages to add more bureaucracy to solve… bureaucracy.

Plus, our favourite comms segment—Lipstick on a Gerbil—features an impossible task: defending Peter Mandelson.

With Percy mostly frozen on screen (literally), Joseph and Holly carry the show. Here’s what’s inside:

🇬🇧 UK: Mandelson, Epstein, and the Labour Meltdown

• ❌ Peter Mandelson is sacked as UK ambassador to the US after emails surface linking him to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein

• 🧨 Starmer’s judgment under fire—did he know more than he admitted during PMQs?

• 🗳 Backbench muttering begins. Is May 2026 the unofficial deadline for a leadership change?

• 📉 Labour infighting, ministerial fatigue, and growing pressure from Andy Burnham

🔁 Meanwhile, the Conservatives lose… to Reform

• 🧍‍♂️ MP Danny Kruger defects to Reform UK, declaring: “The Conservative Party is dead.”

• 🤷‍♀️ Holly isn’t so sure: is this the start of a cascade, or just posturing between conferences?

🇺🇸 US: The Shooting of Charlie Kirk

• 💥 A high-profile act of political violence rocks the U.S.—and spreads globally

• 📱 The power (and danger) of social media virality in shaping public fear

• 🛑 What it means for public office, political recruitment, and the future of civil discourse

🇨🇦 Canada: The PM’s Housing Blitz

• 🏘 Mark Carney launches Build Canada Homes, a new federal agency with a $13B mandate

• 📈 Goal: 4,000 factory-built homes across 6 sites, using federal land and Canadian materials

• 🏗 But is launching a new bureaucracy really the best way to fight bureaucracy?

💄 Lipstick on a Gerbil: The Matt Tapp Clip

• 🎤 Labour Minister Matt Tapp sent out to defend Peter Mandelson’s appointment… hours before the sacking

• 🐽 Did he even try to apply lipstick? Or did he wisely avoid putting his fingerprints on the mess?

When we last had Ginny Roth on the show, everyone assumed Pierre Poilievre would be Canada’s next Prime Minister. Much has changed in seven months.

This week, we ask Ginny:

• 🔄 Rebuilding the narrative: What should Poilievre say (and not say) in Question Period to shift the political terrain?

• 💸 Cost of living, crime, and immigration: Ginny argues that these remain the three most potent issues for Conservatives—and where Carney is most vulnerable.

• 🧠 Tone, authenticity & voter math: Is it a “likeability” problem—or a coalition problem? Ginny breaks down what the real issue is.

• 🧨 The TFW announcement: Why Poilievre’s stance on temporary foreign workers matters more than it looks.

• ⚖️ Keeping the base AND growing the tent: Can the Conservatives do what no other right-of-centre party has managed in the West—hold both the traditional right and new right together?

Poilievre faces a leadership review vote in Calgary this January. We ask:

• Is there a credible alternative if he stumbles?

• And what issues should the Conservatives own to change the math before 2026?

🎧 This is a must-listen episode for political observers looking to understand the next phase of Conservative strategy, and the dynamics reshaping Canadian politics.

🎙 Featuring:

Joseph Lavoie

Andrew Percy

Special Guest: Ginny Roth

🧠 Key insights from Ginny Roth:

“No one cares if you say ‘I told you so.’”

“Poilievre’s real risk isn’t likability—it’s losing the disaffected voters he brought into the tent last time.”

“The federal NDP and Western NDP are essentially two different parties.”

Plus: Canada’s economic blues, France’s fourth PM in four years, and Farage dodges a lipstick.

Joseph, Andrew, and Holly return with another Issue Scan—three stories, three jurisdictions, and one increasingly depressing outlook on the Western political economy. But don’t worry, we offset the doom with solid banter, questionable French pronunciation, and beer reviews.

🧭 Here’s what’s inside this week’s scan:

🇬🇧 UK: The Reshuffle That Changes Nothing

Angela Rayner is out as Deputy PM. David Lammy is in. Yvette Cooper moves to Foreign Secretary. And still, Starmer’s government looks… wobbly.

• 🤔 Does reshuffling help when the fundamentals remain unchanged?

• 🎯 Are Labour’s backbenchers already preparing for war?

• 🧨 Holly and Andrew reflect on just how hard it is to govern—even when the adults are in charge.

🇨🇦 Canada: The Economic Squeeze Tightens

The latest numbers are grim:

• GDP down 1.6%

• Unemployment at 7.1% (highest since 2016)

• Youth unemployment? A staggering 14.5%

• Export plunge led by a 25% drop in passenger vehicle sales

💸 Prime Minister Carney tries to counter with $5B in tariff relief and a freeze on EV mandates—but will any of it matter if affordability keeps getting worse?

🇫🇷 France: Chaos, Again

The curse of Craft Politics strikes again. Since last week’s episode:

• The French government collapsed.

• Macron appointed Sébastien Lecornu as the new Prime Minister.

  That makes four PMs in four years.

With Andrew MacDougall, former Director of Communications to Prime Minister Stephen Harper

This week, we’re joined by Andrew MacDougall, a fellow Harper PMO alum and one of the sharpest communications minds in the business. His latest paper for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute makes a bold case: that the attention economy, powered by Big Tech platforms, is actively undermining Western democracy—and that we’re letting it happen.

In this episode:

• 📱 What is the attention economy—and why it’s designed to addict, distract, and divide

• 🧠 Why today’s tech platforms are built to exploit your brain’s dopamine pathways

• 💥 Free speech vs. free reach: why more speech doesn’t mean better speech

• 🗞 How the collapse of traditional media business models is breaking political accountability

• 🗳 Why politicians like Trump and Farage thrive—and leaders like Harper and Starmer struggle—in today’s media environment

Also in this episode:

• 🧃 “The vegetable is the news, the dessert is content—and nobody’s eating their vegetables”

• 🧨 Why platforms like YouTube and TikTok aren’t neutral—they actively reward the worst takes

• 🤳 Why even good communicators struggle to compete with rage bait and algorithmic triggers

• 📊 What happens when every push notification must compete with Kim Kardashian, a war in Ukraine, and your local school board

And don’t miss:

• 🧾 Andrew’s proposal for an engagement-based tax to discourage addictive platform design

• 📉 How banning smartphones for kids—and showing users their “attention cost”—could help

• 🔌 What would happen if we unplugged the internet for just a month (hint: less Trump, more sanity)

Plus:

• 😬 Percy tries to warn us about AI-generated ‘80s nostalgia reels

• 📵 Joseph tries not to check his phone for a full 45 minutes (he fails)

• 💡 A very serious policy discussion… followed by a confession that we’re all still putting the clips on TikTok

It’s back-to-school, back-to-politics, and back to your feeds with Season Two of Craft Politics — now with a brand new format and a new co-host.

We’re thrilled to welcome Holly Mumby-Croft, former UK Member of Parliament, to the pod. She’ll join Percy and I each week for our Tuesday Issue Scan episode, adding deep political insight and a healthy counter-weight to Percy...

In this episode:

• 🇬🇧 Labour’s economic mess: Starmer sidelines Reeves, reshuffles advisors, and still can’t land the message

• 📉 Reform UK leads the polls—now ahead of Labour and the Conservatives combined

• 🏴 National flag protests, economic confusion, and the risk of a populist summer boil-over

• 🇨🇦 Canada’s Trump problem continues: no deal, no clarity, and no end in sight

• 📊 Carney’s super honeymoon: how long can he ride high on sky-high approval ratings?

• 🇫🇷 Why France’s looming debt crisis could become everyone’s problem

• 💸 What happens when both the left and the right promise unsustainable spending?

• 🚨 A special new segment: “Lipstick on a Gerbil” — where we rate the worst political comms moments of the week. This week we look at Angela Rayner’s stamp duty dodge and Stephen Kinnock’s weasel-worded defence

And of course:

• 🍺 Joseph and Percy drink one of BC’s finest Pilsners

• 🍷 Holly sips Ribena

Our cheeky half before we break for August

It’s our final episode before a short summer break—and we’re closing it out with a cheeky half pint and a big-picture scan of the trade and political chaos unfolding across Canada, the US, and the UK.

In this episode:

• 🇨🇦 Carney concedes “tariff-free” deal with Trump is unlikely

   • What the PM’s first public walk-back says about expectations management

   • Does accepting some tariffs help or hurt Canada’s leverage?

   • And what is a “win” supposed to look like?

• 🇺🇸 US inflation hits 2.7% as tariffs bite

   • Will Trump’s economic strategy come back to haunt him before the holidays?

   • Why tariffs are a slow burn—but a real one

   • And how Trump’s goldfish memory makes planning impossible

• 📉 White House calls for interest rate cuts while raising consumer prices?

   • We discuss the economic contradiction—and why it’s eroding confidence

Also in this episode:

• 📊 The super honeymoon continues: Carney approval hits 58%, Liberals lead by 13

• 🧠 What the Conservatives need to ask themselves about the Poilievre playbook

• 🔄 Can Carney hold his coalition together if Trump fades as the ballot question?

• 🚫 NDP leadership race kicks off—with a $100,000 entry fee. Is that populist?

Across the pond:

• 🇬🇧 Labour faces a new challenge—from the left

   • A hard-left breakaway party is forming. Could it fracture Labour’s already unstable coalition?

   • Why UK politics remains a mess—despite a massive Labour majority

   • And why the Conservative Party still doesn’t know what it stands for

We close with:

• 🍺 Tasting notes from our final craft beer of the season

• 🤦 Percy gets mistaken for a 30-year-old’s father

• 🔥 And a conversation about political anger, violent rhetoric, and the lines we should never cross

🔊 Listen now to wrap your week—and the political season—with insight, irreverence, and a few sips of lemon meringue beer.

With Hunter Knifton

We revisit the 2025 Canadian federal election—not with hot takes, but with hard data.

Our guest is Hunter Knifton, the analyst behind the Charting Canada Substack, who’s challenging two of the most commonly accepted narratives about the election.

In this episode:

• 🗳 The myth of the “NDP-to-Conservative switcher”: why it’s not supported by the numbers

• 📉 Why the collapse of the PPC—not a working-class revolt—may explain Conservative gains in key ridings

• 👥 Who actually switched votes—and where? A closer look at new voters, older swing voters, and Carney Conservatives

• 🔄 Why the left didn’t just coalesce around the Liberals—and why the right’s coalition might be more stable than it looks

Plus:

• 🧭 Hunter breaks down his five-part typology of Carney’s voter base—from downtown professionals to rural commuters

• 🧱 What the suburban and rural wins say about the Liberals’ long-term potential

• 🔍 Are the Conservatives targeting the wrong voters with their union strategy?

And don’t miss:

• 🔮 Could Carney’s voter coalition outlast the crisis that built it?

• 🧠 What Pierre Poilievre’s team might need to rethink before the next election

• 📊 A sneak peek at Hunter’s next analysis: are we entering a permanent two-party system—or was 2025 a one-off?

🔊 Listen now if you want a clearer picture of what actually happened in the last election—and why most of us probably got it wrong.

With Bridget Howe and Sarina Rehal

It’s been six months since Mark Carney smashed through the wall of Canadian politics and declared, “This is a crisis.”

He’s been elected. He’s governing. And he’s moving fast.

But how far can a technocrat push before political gravity kicks in?

To take stock of Carney’s first chapter as Prime Minister, we’re joined by Bridget Howe and Sarina Rehal—two Liberal insiders with deep experience in government, campaigns, and caucus dynamics. They give us an unvarnished read on the Carney style, the risks ahead, and what might break first.

In this episode:

• 🧭 How Carney governs—and why it’s a sharp break from Trudeau

• ⏱ The pace of change: real momentum or just top-down theatrics?

• 🧠 Why he’s (so far) been a political novice in name only

• 🤝 Caucus management, cabinet churn, and how long his honeymoon can actually last

Plus:

• 🇺🇸 Can Carney hold the coalition together once Trump fatigue sets in?

• 💸 From scrapping the carbon tax to cutting the digital services tax—how is Carney going to pay for this?

• 🧯 Is he raising expectations faster than government can meet them?

And don’t miss:

• 📉 Why Liberals aren’t missing Pierre Poilievre—or Justin Trudeau

• ⚔️ Can Carney avoid a BC-style fracture over major projects and pipelines?

• 💬 Why Bridget and Sarina disagree on who the Liberals really want to lead the Conservatives

Also in this episode:

• 📊 What Carney needs to deliver by fall to prove this isn’t just business as usual

• 🔮 Is he in it for the long haul—or just the crisis?

With Sam Coates, Deputy Political Editor, Sky News

This week, we’re joined by Sam Coates, co-host of Politics at Sam and Anne and one of the UK’s sharpest political analysts, to make sense of a government struggling to hold the line—on foreign policy, economic discipline, and party unity.

In this episode:

• ⚖️ How Starmer’s deference to legal advice is reshaping UK foreign policy—and what it reveals about his break from Blairism

• 🇺🇸 What it means when the UK is the only country warned in advance of a US strike

• 📉 And why the transatlantic relationship may be less stable than it seems

Then we go domestic:

• 💷 Labour’s looming rebellion on welfare reform:

   • Over 100 Labour MPs openly defying the PM

   • A government with a 165-seat majority on the verge of losing a key vote

   • And no clear plan for what comes next

• 🧨 Starmer’s political gamble: alienating his base to keep markets calm—and failing to please either

• 🗳 Could this trigger a leadership challenge?

And don’t miss:

• 📈 Reform UK’s surge: is Prime Minister Farage still far-fetched—or suddenly plausible?

• 🗺 The open question: what is the relationship between Reform and the Conservatives heading into 2028?

Also on the radar:

• ⚖️ Assisted dying and abortion: the social policies no one campaigned on—but that may define this Parliament