Planet Normal

This episode was recorded before president Trump announced a pause on some tariffs.

With co-pilot Pearson taking a well earned break, Tim Stanley steps into the cockpit as a trusted controller of the rocket and there’s certainly no shortage of tariff talk to get through…

Liam thinks President Trump is acting like a ‘unipolar president’ whereas Tim Stanley thinks there is a method to Trump’s madness, but how long can the World’s economy hold on for?

Hopping onto the rocket for a return mission this week is Economist Catherine McBride who delivers some truths about what’s really going on with US trade tariffs and what it means for the rest of the world.

And there is a bulging Planet Normal mailbag to contend with…

It’s a new month with the same old madness on Planet earth, with rises in capital gains tax, council tax, energy fees and transport costs, April Fool’s is feeling all too close to home…

Is there another ‘bucket of woe’ for Chancellor Rachel Reeves and will there be more tax rises on the horizon to plug the public finances?

This week’s Planet Normal stowaway is Conservative councillor, Ray Connolly, who discusses his family’s experience after his wife, Lucy, was jailed over a tweet she briefly posted on the day three girls were killed in Stockport.

And your co-pilots weigh in on the political drama from across the Channel. Is there a new French boyfriend on the horizon for Allison?

As Chancellor Rachel Reeves unveils her first ‘Spring Statement’ your co-pilots are joined on the rocket by not one but TWO very special incumbents. Calculators and spreadsheets at the ready…

Co-pilot Pearson is less than impressed with what she calls the ‘nothing to do with me guv', Budget.

Stowaway economist Roger Bootle was both ‘depressed’ and 'amazed’ by the Statement but reveals an overwhelming feeling that the Labour Party aren’t actually doing anything all that bad…

And after watching the Budget co-pilot Halligan is concerned the Labour front bench is lacking in business and economic knowledge. 

Also on the podcast, Mike Calvey straps in for a very special interview to discuss his new book ‘Odyssey Moscow’ which details his harrowing ordeal as a prisoner of the Russian State.

And co-pilot Pearson has won an award…

As Prime Minister Keir Starmer strays further Right in his policy decisions on defence spending and benefit cuts, your co-pilots strap into the rocket once more to journey into the madness orbiting Planet Earth. Are Labour finally talking sense when it comes to reforming the welfare system?

After breaking down the figures Liam thinks the cuts from Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Liz Kendall won’t even touch the sides, whilst Allison reveals some shocking truths about so-called ‘benefit influencers’...

Cashing in on a return fare to the rocket is economist Julian Jessop, who gives his predictions ahead of the upcoming Spring Statement, and just how ‘nasty’ things could be…

And co-pilot Pearson isn’t short of words for the Shakespeare birthplace trust after their recent decision to ‘decolonise’ the playwright's birthplace.

As the internal ‘punch up’ in Reform UK rumbles on, your co-pilots give their take on the latest fumblings. But whose corner are they fighting for?

Allison is unimpressed and thinks the last thing the country needs is to see one of its newest parties in a ‘willy wanging contest’.

Whilst Liam thinks the fractions could be due to possible ego inflation happening in line with the party’s expansion. 

And both co-pilots ponder if Reform can really reform itself?

Strapping in for a return voyage on the rocket is investigative journalist Charlotte Gill who explains all about her campaign to clean up ‘‘woke waste’ and why the taxpayers in this country are ‘funding their own demise’…

And Liam shares more from his recent journey… up a chimney!