In this episode, I sit down with disability rights campaigner Matt Sertis to talk politics, power, and why Plymouth needs real change. Matt shares his backstory—six years inside the Labour Party, where he worked as a digital campaign coordinator and later as disability officer. He left after Labour, under Keir Starmer and Liz Kendall, proposed welfare reforms that would hit disabled people hard. For Matt and his wife, who both live with disabilities, it wasn’t just politics—it was survival. Matt explains how his efforts to raise concerns within Labour were ignored, both locally and nationally. He was told to stay quiet, and when he pushed back, he was branded a “troublemaker” by senior figures like Tudor Evans, the long-time leader of Plymouth City Council. That experience radicalised him—politically—and pushed him to support the upcoming vote for a directly elected mayor on 17 July. We dig into the dysfunction of local government. From £7.5 million shipping container bus shelters to the stalled airport revival and endless overspending, Matt paints a picture of a city let down by both Labour and Conservative leadership. We also draw comparisons to Andy Burnham’s success in Manchester, arguing that Plymouth could benefit from a similar direct mandate. Matt believes a directly elected mayor would be more accountable, more accessible, and more focused on the people—not the party. With over 50,000 disabled residents in Plymouth and a growing distrust in party politics, this episode explores what it really means to fight for change. Names mentioned: Keir Starmer, Liz Kendall, Jeremy Corbyn, Nigel Farage, Tudor Evans, Luke Pollard, Fred Thomas, Andy Burnham, Richard Bingley, Nick Kelly Topics: disability rights, welfare reform, Plymouth mayor referendum, local democracy, Labour Party, political betrayal, overspending, public accountability, Andy Burnham, council dysfunction, voter disenfranchisement, transport policy, public engagement.  

In this first episode of The State of Politics, I break down why British politics feels stuck and why leaders like Keir Starmer are failing to lead. He has a 150 seat majority. He could reshape public services, reform the NHS, overhaul the way government works. But he’s not. And I believe it’s because he lacks conviction, not power. I talk about how government would collapse if it were a business. It is bloated, inefficient, and full of career civil servants who have never worked in the real world. Bureaucracy rules everything. Ten people are paid to do what one person could manage. That’s not a political attack. It’s an operational failure. I share my own experience running for local council and seeing first-hand how the system blocks new ideas. Anyone who tries to fix it gets chewed up by the process. I also compare Starmer to past and present figures like Margaret Thatcher, Jeremy Corbyn, and Nigel Farage. Whatever you think of them, they had strong beliefs and stood for something. Starmer, on the other hand, comes across as a cautious manager. No bold moves, no big ideas. This episode also touches on the shocking waste in local government. I talk about £7.5 million spent on bus shelters in Plymouth that look like shipping containers, and the ridiculous toilet renovation that went from £1,000 to £6,000 because of bureaucracy. Names mentioned: Keir Starmer, Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Jeremy Corbyn, Margaret Thatcher, Rory Stewart, Alastair Campbell, George Osborne, Ed Balls, Fraser Nelson, Elon Musk, Liz Truss. Keywords: UK politics, NHS reform, Whitehall, local government, Labour Party, Reform UK, political leadership, civil service, public spending, government waste, bureaucracy, Westminster.