With an exquisite sense of timing Downtown's Managing Director and chair of the Downtown Den podcast is not here. While Rishi Sunak was getting drenched in Downing Street announcing the General Election, our Frank was getting ready to slap on the sun cream in Florida. So in the absence of Florida Frank it is left to Jim Hancock and Jo Phillips to comment on the opening of the campaign and asking why the Prime Minister did it. Welcome to the latest Downtown Den politics podcast.

Prime ministers pledges, porn stars and polls. Welcome to the latest Downtown Den politics podcast.  To subscribe to DIBs weekly bulletin TFI Friday - CLICK HERE.

A controversial defection from the Tories to Labour, an upturn in the economy, and a new, old leader for the SNP. Plus, could global conflict actually be good news for the Conservatives electoral chances? Welcome to the Downtown Den politics podcast. To subscribe to DIBs weekly bulletin TFI Friday - CLICK HERE.

After a flying visit to Tees Valley, where Ben Houchen had secured another term as Tory mayor, the prime minister went to bed on Friday evening dreaming of a similar success for Andy Street in the West Midlands- and there were even rumours that the Conservatives could steal an unlikely victory in London! However, less than 24 hours later, Rishi Sunak’s dreams had turned to dust. Sadiq Khan won an historic third term in the capital - and Labours Richard Parker had narrowly defeated Street in Birmingham. Combined with the loss of almost 500 council seats, and a huge reversal in the Blackpool South parliamentary by-election, by Sunday morning the PM was waking up to a lecture from Suella Braverman. Two sleeps is a long time in politics... What next for Sunak and the Tory Party?  Welcome to the latest Downtown Den Politics podcast.

On Thursday (2nd May 2024), voters in England go to the polls to elect more than 2600 councillors and ten metro mayors, in what will be the last set of local elections and mayoral contests before the general election. If things go very badly for the Tories, then Rishi Sunak's leadership will once again be called into question by a sizable minority of conservative MPs at Westminster. Welcome to the latest Downtown Politics podcast.

Another one bites the dust- accused of embezzling party campaign funds, Lancashire MP Mark Menzies has resigned the Tory whip and announced that he will not be standing at the next General Election. Why are so many of our parliamentarians being caught up in bizarre scandals these days? And, with just over a week to go before a crucial set of local and mayoral elections, we take a look ahead to the London contest - could Sadiq Khan be under more pressure than commentators think? Welcome to the latest episode of the Downtown Den politics podcast...

999 indictments against him, an insurrection that he arguably led back in 2020 and a fear that he is closer to Putin than NATO, yet it is the issue of abortion that may, just may derail Donald Trumps presidential candidacy- what is the state of the Biden/Trump race at the moment? Closer to home, the local election campaigns are well underway- but what state is local government in England in? - And the Angela Rayner saga has gone to another level this week- how much trouble is Labours Deputy leader in? Welcome to the Downtown Den Politics Podcast.

Birmingham City Council went bust last year. The government commissioners are in, and they have announced a 9-point improvement plan. We’ll be looking at that, and reflecting on some of the personalities who have been part of the collateral damage, as one of the biggest local authorities in Europe fell foul of new equal rights legislation, austerity- and no doubt some mismanagement too.  Elsewhere in the West Midlands Andy Street seems to be fighting to retain his mayority by disassociating himself from the Tory party- is the tactic working? William Wragg and Angela Rayner- now there’s two names in ever thought I’d be uttering in the same sentence. However, both have found themselves in a bit of trouble this week. Can they survive their respective controversies. And, Easter break or not, the polls kept coming- and the results were more fair trade chocolate than cadburys for Rishi Sunak. Welcome to the Downtown Den politics podcast. Listen to the Deborah Cadman podcast: https://downtowninbusiness.podbean.com/e/season-4-episode-4-leaders-deborah-cadman/ Get your tickets for Change Makers Live 2024: https://downtowninbusiness.com/cml/cml24/#book

Whilst you were tucking into your Easter eggs and hot cross buns at the weekend, Rishi Sunak was having to digest the devastating results of a mega poll which shows that the Tory Party is on course to not just lose the forthcoming General Election - but get a thorough trouncing. Could the most successful election winning machine in Western Europe really be heading towards oblivion? Welcome to the Downtown Den politics podcast...

This week we revisit a previous podcast episode, where Frank McKenna chats with Lord Michael Heseltine. A political giant for more than five decades, the man who many believe to be ‘the best Prime Minister we never had’, Lord Michael Heseltine, joined DIB boss Frank McKenna in the Downtown Den this week. ‘Hezza’, also affectionately referred to as ‘Tarzan’ by Tory activists in the 1970s and 80s, has been at the forefront of public life since 1979 when he was given his first cabinet role by Margaret Thatcher as the Secretary of State for the Environment. He has also served as the Minister for Defence, the Minister for Trade & Industry, and Deputy Prime Minister.     A staunch advocate of the UK remaining in the European Union, Lord Heseltine is President of the European Movement. Despite a general antagonism towards Conservative leaders and politicians, the city of Liverpool have made Heseltine an ‘adopted Scouser’, following his pivotal role in helping to regenerate the city in the early Eighties, when he was given the title ‘Minister for Merseyside’. He was made a Freeman of Liverpool in 2012 and he is still a regular visitor to the city.  In this wide-ranging conversation, the successful entrepreneur and politician discusses his role in Liverpool’s renaissance; his frustrations with Brexit; his time in government; and his vision for the future.  In this fascinating discussion, Lord Heseltine chats to Frank about: His role in the urban regeneration of LiverpoolDevolutionThe overdominance of LondonLevelling UpBrexit and re-establishing EU relationsHis impressive political careerHighs and lows of governments over the yearsLocal government reorganisationHis favourite Prime Minister

Labours shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves delivered the Mis Lecture this week. Did she lay out a progressive programme of economic reform, or has her pragmatism taken her to a place where she is simply promising to be Continuity Jeremy Hunt?  MPs salaries increased to £91K per year – is that too much, not enough, or just about right? And mixed news for Rishi Sunak in the polls this week – one had the Tories on just 18% of the vote – but others showed that,  if the Conservatives decided to ditch the prime minister, the government would be even more unpopular. Have Tory MPs decided ‘better the devil you know?’

Another challenging week for prime minister Rishi Sunak saw one of the party’s red wall champions defect to reform, a row over a Tory donor’s racist comments, and a further flurry of speculation about an imminent challenge from within for the leadership of the conservative party. Can Sunak really survive in downing street until the autumn – or is a summer election now inevitable. Also, in the news this week – the news! Ofcom have tickled GB News over breaches to its rules & regulations, the row over the future ownership of the telegraph and the spectator has gone nuclear, and the press has been criticised in some quarters for its recent coverage of the royal family – what is happening to the mainstream media in the uk – and is the local and regional media industry dead? Welcome to the Downtown Den Politics podcast. https://downtowninbusiness.com/cml/cml24/#book

Last week Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, tried to restart, reset, reshape the government with his budget. Did it work? That's what Jim Hancock and Frank McKenna will be discussing in this week's Downtown Den political podcast.

George Galloway stormed to victory in the Rochdale by-election last week. We'll be asking if Gorgeous George’s return to Parliament is a threat to democracy, to Keir Starmer, or simply a fluke result in the strangest of polls. The great and the good of the North of England came together in Leeds on Friday for the annual Northern Convention. Did the conference breathe new life into the Northern Powerhouse, or has this much trumpeted levelling up project finally ran out of steam? And this week, Jeremy ‘I’ll only cut taxes if it's prudent to do so’ Hunt delivers his much anticipated budget. Will this be the moment when the government can finally reset and begin to claw back its 20 point poll deficit or is the Conservative Party done? Welcome to the latest episode of the Downtown Den Politics podcast.

Has British politics sunk to an all-time low? Shameful scenes in the commons this week, followed by Islamophobic comments from a senior Conservative MP, and a shambolic by election campaign now in its final ten days in Rochdale- how has it come to this? Will the Speaker of the House Lindsay Hoyle keep his job? Will Lee Anderson have the Tory whip restored? And will ‘Gorgeous’ George Galloway return to parliament to calm things down a bit? Less than a decade ago, the Liberal Democrats would have been front and centre on all these issues and more. Its leader was the Deputy Prime Minister, and many of its MPs served as government ministers in the Tory-led coalition administration as recently as 2015. Nick Clegg may have said ‘sorry’ – but the electorate never forgave him or his party – what has happened to the ‘third wheel’ of British politics, and will Ed Davey – who apparently struggles to say ‘sorry’- be able to turn his party’s fortunes around at the forthcoming General Election later this year?  Welcome to the latest Downtown Den politics podcast. Interested in Jo's latest book. Find out more. https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/why-vote

Whose ‘double whammy’ was worse? Rishi Sunak suffered not one, but two humiliating be-election defeats last week- and rumours abound that a poor showing at the May local elections will likely see a batch of no confidence letters winging their way to the chairman of the 1922 committee, as anxious MPs conclude that giving us a fourth prime minister in as many years will not look like the lunatics taking over the asylum! Meanwhile, Keir Starmer, basking in another couple of poll victories still has challenges to deal with- most of which are wrapped up in the Middle East conflict. We’ll be asking if Sunak will survive, and how damaging the past fortnight has been to the Leader of the Opposition. We will also be taking a look ahead to those local elections and in particular the mayoral contest in the West Midlands. This week Frank and Jim are joined by Kevin Johnson owner of Urban Communications. Website: http://www.urbancomms.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/urbancomms Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/urbancomms/

The past seven days have not been great for the prime minister nor the leader of the opposition. Rishi Sunak followed up his ill advised bet with Piers Morgan with a truly cringeworthy performance at PMQs. Meanwhile Keir Starmer finally ditched Labours £28bn green pledge - and was inevitably met with a chorus of criticism with accusations of traitor and flip flopper in equal measure. To add to his woes, disturbing words in respect of Israel and the Gaza conflict from Labours Rochdale by election candidate came to light, reminding voters of the party’s challenge with antisemitism. But, if you think it’s been a bad week for messrs Sunak & Starmer, then spare a thought for US president Joe Biden. His senility is becoming a real barrier to his re-election and a boost to his Republican opponent Donald Trump. Is it too late for the Democrats to select an alternative candidate before the November presidential poll? Welcome to the Downtown Den Politics podcast.

The woman who took less than 50 days to crash the British economy, sent interest rates spiralling, and lasted less time in office than a lettuce is launching her political comeback this week. Liz Truss’ new Popular Conservative movement- or PopCon - is the latest right wing grouping readying itself for the post election battle for the soul of the Tory Party- and among her guests at the launch event is one Nigel Farage. What does this mean for Rishi Sunak, one nation Tories, and the Conservatives? Meanwhile the Labour Party continued with its charm offensive of the business community last week, with a gathering of leaders from the world of commerce in central London. What are the odds on Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves convincing industry that it is they who can finally get the UK economy moving?  Some challenges on the foreign policy front for Labour though, not least in the Middle East. Has Starmer been outflanked on the Palestinian question by Lord ‘call me Dave’ Cameron? We’ll also be taking a look back at Downtowns parliamentary reception and as DIB gets ready to welcome not one, but two, regional mayors to our annual property conference this week, we’ll take a glance at the mayoral contests that take place in May- and, we take a quick saunter over to Rochdale where a couple of well-known personalities to the Downtown network are vying to win the forthcoming by-election in the Greater Manchester town. Listen to Frank McKenna in conversation with Simon Danczuk in the first ever Downtown Den podcast.  https://downtowninbusiness.podbean.com/e/episode-001-in-conversation-with-simon-danczuk/

Will Rishi Sunak survive until the next GE? The Daily Telegraph is after him, Simon Clarke is after him, and now a former advisor to the PM is apparently part of a group of Tories who are after him too. Would the Conservatives really give us our fourth prime minister in two years? The BBC has been in the news again- accused of bias- although the culture minister struggled to give any examples of the Beebs impartiality in an excruciating interview with Skys Kay Burley. Frank asks our former BBC man Jim Hancock if he thinks his former bosses have gone all woke. And across the pond Donald Trump, 99 indictments and all, looks a cert for the Republican nomination- what will that means for the UK and geopolitics generally, if he goes on and wins the presidency.

In the first Downtown Den Politics podcast of 2024, Frank and Jim discuss the post office scandal, another turbulent week for Rishi Sunak and whether Keir Starmer will be the next Prime Minister. Looking further afield than the UK shores, they also ask whether Donald Trump's return to The White House in inevitable?