The Mandelson Files: Chaos Inside Labour? Plus: Sabah Choudrey on the Culture War over Public Spaces
6/4/20261 hr 10 min
This week, Nish and Coco dig into the latest release of files around Peter Mandelson’s appointment as UK ambassador to the US, and what the hundreds of emails and WhatsApps reveal about Labour’s internal panic, Keir Starmer’s leadership, and a government that seems increasingly unsure of itself.
They also unpack Alan Milburn’s major review into youth unemployment. Is Britain dealing with a generation that doesn’t want to work, or a broken system that has stripped away routes into jobs, training and support?
Plus: Nish and Coco are joined by Sabah Choudrey, speaker, consultant and founder of Trans Pride Brighton, to discuss the EHRC’s new guidance on single-sex spaces, the worsening climate for trans people in the UK, and how a small network of gender-critical organisations has helped push trans rights into the centre of the culture war.
GUESTS
Zoë Crowther
Sabah Choudrey
USEFUL LINKS
Updated EHRC Code of Practice: GI’s response | Gendered Intelligence
Join the trans lobby on the 25th June: Mass Lobby for Trans Equality
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsNish Kumar· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Hi, this is Pod Save the UK. I'm Nish Kumar.
Coco Khan· Host0:03
And I'm Coco Carr.
Nish Kumar· Host0:04
Deja vu alert, Peter Mandelson is back in the headlines. Shocking. Uh, there's been a fresh release of files and messages which has raised more questions about his appointment and what he really thought of Keir Starmer's government. We will be getting into it all with political journalist, Zoe Crowther.
Coco Khan· Host0:17
Also on the show, a major review has warned that more than a million young people in the UK are not earning or learning, so we'll be asking how Britain ended up with a generation being told to get on in life while the routes to work, training, and support have been quietly stripped back.
Nish Kumar· Host0:33
We'll also be looking into the EHRC's announcement that it would exclude transgender people from single-sex toilets and changing rooms. We'll be joined by Saba Choudhury, speaker, consultant, founder of Trans Pride Fighting, to unpack it all. We've got a great show today, but before we get into the meat of it, we want to talk about the news that on Tuesday, Vikram Digwa was sentenced to at least 21 years in prison for the horrific murder of Henry Nowak, an 18-year-old Southampton student.
Coco Khan· Host0:59
The full horror of Nowak's last moments after the release of police footage showing him pleading for help was only just sinking in when Reform UK served notice that Nigel Farage would be making an emergency address.
Nish Kumar· Host1:12
He paid tribute to the extraordinarily dignified response of the family, but then waded in with remarks of his own, suggesting, "I suggest the rest of us respond to this with pure cold rage."
Coco Khan· Host1:24
Politicians are now dealing with the fallout of thuggish rioting after hundreds of people gathered outside