Is Labour facing a summer of unrest?
Political Fix
Financial Times
4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 2 August 2024
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Sir Keir Starmer has announced a new national policing unit to tackle violent disorder as he vows to “put a stop” to unrest on British streets led by far-right “thugs”. But will it be enough to prevent a summer of riots? And is the unrest symptomatic of wider concerns? Lucy Fisher discusses these questions with colleagues Miranda Green, Camilla Cavendish and Anna Gross. Plus, after the chancellor Rachel Reeves accused the last Tory government of “lying” about its spending commitments, the group get to the bottom of the matter. They also examine Labour’s willingness to take on pensioners.
Follow Lucy on Twitter @LOS_Fisher, Miranda on @greenmiranda, Anna on @AnnaSophieGross and Camilla on @CamCavendish
Want more?
Keir Starmer announces new violent disorder unit as police brace for more riots
Police make arrests after riot in UK town where girls died in mass stabbing
Who is to blame for the UK government’s overspending?
Rachel Reeves says she will raise taxes at the Budget
The volatile far right on UK streets is becoming more difficult to label
To take part in an audience survey, and get the chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones, click here. Click here to find T&Cs for the prize draw.
Sign up for 30 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award:
https://ft.com/insidepoliticsoffer
Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Leah Quinn and Josh Gabert-Doyon. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Audio mix by Sean McGarrity and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | What is it about unrest happening at summertime? Is it something to do with the heat, Miranda? |
| 0:06.0 | Yeah, it's rioting season, isn't it in a way? I mean, it's really awful, but even back in the 80s, |
| 0:16.6 | when there were riots during the Thatcher era, you know, it was pointed out that a certain proportion of people will do it for entertainment and |
| 0:21.2 | also because they have violence in them and it sort of bubbles up in the summer and so you need a grievance or a trigger and it's going to happen. |
| 0:29.0 | Welcome to Political Fix from the Financial Times with me Lucy Fisher. On the menu for today's |
| 0:35.3 | episode can Kistama grip the violent protests or are we facing a summer of |
| 0:40.5 | unrest? Plus is it a case of down with the old up with the young? |
| 0:44.4 | Labour appears willing to take on the pensioners and to reward the working age population |
| 0:48.9 | as it assesses what the Tories have left them in the state coffers. But what's the truth |
| 0:53.7 | about the fiscal inheritance anyway? To discuss it all I'm joined in the studio by |
| 0:58.0 | my F.T. colleagues Camilla Kavendish. Hi Camilla. |
| 1:00.4 | Hi Camilla. |
| 1:01.4 | Hi Camilla, Hi, I'm Miranda. |
| 1:04.1 | Hello Lucy. |
| 1:05.1 | And Anna. |
| 1:06.5 | Hi Anna. Hi, Lisa. |
| 1:07.6 | So let's kick off talking about the unrest we've seen since the horrific |
| 1:15.5 | Southport stabings on Monday. Of course we know that a 17-year-old boy has now been |
| 1:20.8 | charged with the murder of three young girls and that eight |
| 1:24.1 | other children were stabbed five of them in critical condition and two adults |
| 1:28.7 | also critically injured. There have been scores of arrests, police attacked with glass bottles, flares thrown at a statue of Winston Churchill, and reports of businesses having their windows smashed and cars burnt out. |
| 1:41.6 | Kistarma has been hardline in criticizing the far right thugs |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Financial Times, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Financial Times and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.