It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast

Hear from the widest range of voices in the progressive movement. Every week, host Neal Lawson, speaks with progressive thinkers, writers and politicians from the UK and beyond about current affairs and how to build the Good Society. Visit compassonline.org.uk to learn more about Compass.

It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast is a society podcast hosted by Compass, with 188 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Compass hosts It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast, a society show with 188 episodes published.

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  It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast

  Red Herring or Red Line?: The Politics of the Rosebank and Jackdaw Oil and Gas Field Decisions

  Oct 2, 202651 min

  In 2024, Labour's manifesto explicitly ruled out any new licenses being granted for oil and gas drilling in the North Sea. Since then, Donald Trump's war in Iran has brought about the biggest energy crisis seen in Britain since 1979. As a result, conversations have renewed about our ability to drill in the North Sea, produce our own energy resources and bring down one of the most significant drivers of the cost-of-living crisis. New Prime Minister Andy Burnham has, so far, been non-committal on this - but with decisions due on renewing operations in the Rosebank oil and gas field, and the Jackdaw gas field, respectively, the issue has once again reared its head. Joining our Deputy Director, Lena Swedlow, to discuss the politics of this is: - Dr. Ewan Gibbs, Senior Lecturer in Economic and Social History at the University of Glasgow - Rosie Hampton, Principal Policy Advisor at Uplift. Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member ! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice .

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  It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast

  155. Labour Conference 2026 Preview: Under New Management

  Sep 24, 202659 min

  Last year’s Labour Party Conference felt like a moment in time. A Government that was already reaching historically unpopular levels just a year after entering office, a Prime Minister trying to solidify his position, and a certain Mayor of Greater Manchester being all the rage as he went between the fringe events and drinks receptions. Cut to a year later and, well, some things have changed. The Labour Party finds itself under new management and in a better position: regularly back on top of opinion polls, wresting the argument back from Reform and about to enter an autumn that will set the tone for the entire next political cycle. With the most highly anticipated return to Parliament, leader’s speech, Budget and beyond for quite a while now, Compass Director Neal Lawson is joined by Paula Barker, Member of Parliament for Liverpool Wavertree, and GUEST TBA, to discuss it. Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member ! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice .

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  It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast

  Liberalism Alive: How Does Britain Flourish Again?

  Sep 11, 20261h 11m

  After their best ever election results in 2024, the Liberal Democrats found themselves on a precipice; a decade on from the end of the coalition, voters beginning to trust them again and a Labour government much more amenable to a liberal vision than the increasingly rightwards-tacking Tories. Two years after, and they regularly find themselves polling fifth – in what used to be a three-horse race. It is clear that not just the Liberal Democrats as a party but that Liberalism itself, as an ideology, needs some work. When populism on both ends of the political spectrum is appealing to an increasingly-polarised and crisis-ridden country, how does Liberalism show people it has the answers? This is what Roz Savage, Member of Parliament for the South Cotswolds and Chair of the Lib Dem Parliamentary Party, tackles in her new publication for Compass, ‘Liberalism Alive: A Liberal Vision for a Flourishing Britain’. And on this episode of It’s Bloody Complicated she sits down with Compass Director Neal Lawson to discuss it. Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member ! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice .

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  It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast

  The Young and the Damned: Are Young People Ready to be Involved in Politics?

  Aug 17, 202648 min

  The involvement of young people in politics has always been a contentious issue - are they ready? do they know enough? are we educating them properly? Often, young people's voices are erased from the conversation by those who think they know better. Here, our Media and Communications Officer Sam Mandi-Ghomi sits down with the Co-Presidents of Warwick Think Tank, a student society at the University of Warwick, to discuss youth engagement in politics. Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member ! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice .

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  It's Bloody Complicated - A Compass Podcast

  The Burnham Bounce: Can You End 40 Years of Neoliberalism? with Clive Lewis MP, Sue Goss, Professor Alan Finlayson and Professor Jeremy Gilbert

  Aug 5, 20261h 14m

  Andy Burnham's elevation to the office of Prime Minister came thick and fast on the back of a Labour Party desperate not to waste its first chance in government in 15 years. The promise, in order to not waste it, is Burnham's pledge to 'end 40 years of neoliberalism'. But what actually is that and how can it be done? Joining Compass Director Neal Lawson to figure that out is Clive Lewis (Member of Parliament for Norwich South), Sue Goss (coach, strategic advisor and facilitator to leadership teams in local government, the civil service and the health service), Alan Finlayson (Professor of Political and Social Theory, University of East Anglia), and Jeremy Gilbert (Professor of Cultural and Political Theory, University of East London). Support the show Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist? Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member ! You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice .

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