hs2

Coco and her special guest Femi Oluwole pore over the bin fire that was the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester. Was Sunak strengthened or weakened by the whole HS2 fiasco - and what was the thinking behind wheeling out his wife for a surprise appearance? With the likes of Braverman, Truss - and even Farage - being feted by the party faithful, Coco and Femi discuss the party’s lurch to the right. Plus Femi on playing real-life Pokemon Go in Manchester…only with Tory Ministers.

What’s it like for the people of Northern Ireland to be without a functioning government for the last 18 months? The SDLP’s Matthew O’Toole explains the real world effects of the collapse of power sharing - including on the country’s drinking water. He also tells us why being in Stormont right now is like being on the set of The Shining.

Plus Femi has some tips for budding activists, and reflects on the personal toll of putting himself in the firing line by calling out Brexit lies. You can find Coco and Femi’s Hero and Villain of the week on our social media channels.

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.

Contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk

WhatsApp: 07514 644 572 (UK) or + 44 7514 644 572

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Guests:

Femi Oluwole, journalist, political commentator and content creator 

Matthew O’Toole, SDLP member of the Legislative Assembly for South Belfast, and Leader of the Opposition in the Northern Ireland Assembly

Useful links:

Find Femi on X: @Femi_Sorry / or YouTube: Femi

Find Cariuma x Lovett Or Leave It at crooked.com/store

Audio credits:

@Femi_Sorry

Conservatives

The Conservative Party heads to Manchester for its Conference as rumours swirl that Rishi Sunak is going to axe the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the HS2 high speed rail line that was supposed to unlock the potential of The North - a bit awkward then! Coco and her special guest Grace Blakeley discuss why it’s all gone wrong and what it says about us as a country that we can’t seem to deliver big infrastructure projects on budget, on time, or at all.

With party conference season in full swing, Lib Dem MP Layla Moran (and her cat Murphy) joins us after their shindig in Bournemouth. She discusses tactical voting and tells us that her party definitely won’t be going into coalition with the Tories - although it doesn’t have any ‘red lines’ for working with Labour. Plus she reveals the Labour ‘diss’ track she sang at the infamous Lib Dem ‘Glee Club’ karaoke night.

Coco and Grace discuss the scandal engulfing GB News, amid calls for it to be taken off air, following an avalanche of complaints over Laurence Fox’s offensive comments about a female journalist. And Coco asks Grace if she would go on GB News.

Pod Save the UK is a Reduced Listening production for Crooked Media.

Contact us via email: PSUK@reducedlistening.co.uk

WhatsApp: 07514 644 572 (UK) or + 44 7514 644 572

Insta: https://instagram.com/podsavetheuk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/podsavetheuk

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@podsavetheuk

Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsavetheuk

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/podsavetheworld

Guests:

Grace Blakeley, economist and author

Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, and party spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and International Development

Audio credit:

Liberal Democrats