Planet Normal

Farage furor and the media blindspot to the OBR warnings

You can watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/YItlh0gx6cAA never ending tsunami of news sees Reform UK leader Nigel Farage stand down, triggering a “People vs the Establishment" election… but was this a political mis-step?Liam thinks it was a mistake by the Reform leader, but is aghast that the news is giving more coverage to ‘unserious candidates’ such as count Binface, instead of the looming financial issues as the OBR announces the Government has ‘unsustainable UK debt’.Allison agrees but also thinks this is yet another avenue of stitch up by the political establishment that cannot understand why Reform remains so popular with voters, and why they see through the attempts to delegitimise Nigel Farage.Clambering aboard is return passenger and journalist extraordinaire, Anne-Elisabeth Moutet who tells your co-pilots why Marine Le Pen of France’s National Rally Party may be campaigning with an electronic ankle monitor…HighlightsPlanet Normal: Farage furor and the media blindspot to the OBR warningsFarage triggers by election - Count Binface so far only candidate to challenge himOBR issues stark warning for UK debt and GDPReform remains popular despite political parlour gamesSign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor |Read Allison ‘It’s time to remove Harry from the line of succession‘: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/07/remove-harry-line-succession/ |Read Allison ‘With beer, pyjamas and raucous chants, we rallied round England’s heroes‘: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2026/07/06/england-mexico-allison-pearson-in-saffron-walden/ | Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘Britain is doomed if Burnham lurches Left’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/07/05/britain-is-doomed-if-burnham-lurches-left/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Read Liam’s Substack: https://liamhalligan.substack.com/ |Need help subscribing or reviewing? Learn more about podcasts here:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/ |Email: planetnormal@telegraph.co.uk |For 30 days’ free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normal | Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Labour’s new migration policies will create a 'Burnham bump’

You can watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bW3b5qKQP6ICo-pilot Pearson returns from her break in Sicily to find political chaos in full swing following Keir Starmer's resignation announcement last week.Liam and Allison dissect Andy Burnham's bid for the top job, with Liam labelling him "Boris in a bomber jacket" and questioning whether his tax-heavy vision of "Manchesterism" can survive economic reality.Allison reflects on The Telegraph's recent Brexit event and attacks Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood’s new immigration reforms as a "tissue of lies" that fails to address the open-border crisis.Stowing away this week is Research Director at the Centre for Migration Control, Rob Bates who tells your co-pilots why Labour’s asylum and immigration changes could create another ‘wave’ of migration to the UKHighlightsPlanet Normal: Labour’s new migration policies will create a 'Burnham bump’ The Illusion of Manchesterism: Burnham is the wrong answer to the UK's looming fiscal cliffThe Sinking Immigration System: Allison slams the Home Secretary’s asylum reforms as a "tissue of lies" that serves as a giant welcome mat.The Lockdown Tech Tragedy: How smartphones and isolation turned a generation of bright children into tech-addicted "zombies"Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor |Read Allison ‘Welcome to Burnham’s No 10 North – fuelled by gravy, Surrey cash and delusion‘: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/01/welcome-burnham-no-10-north/ |Read Allison ‘Shabana Mahmood’s migration plan will light the spark on civil unrest‘: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/30/dont-be-fooled-by-shabana-mahmoods-smoke-mirrors-migration/ | Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘Britain’s next prime minister shouldn’t bet on peace in the Gulf’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/06/28/britains-next-prime-minister-shouldnt-bet-on-peace-in-gulf/ |Read Liam ‘Our football team was at the heart of Blair’s Labour. Now, Burnham is leading a comeback’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/25/demon-eyes-new-labour-football-team-shaped-politics/ | Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Read Liam’s Substack: https://liamhalligan.substack.com/ |Need help subscribing or reviewing? Learn more about podcasts here:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/ |Email: planetnormal@telegraph.co.uk |For 30 days’ free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normal | Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Burnham is the wrong answer to the UK’s economic problem

You can watch this episode in full on YouTube: https://youtu.be/D90j1xiHV_cA news heatwave has caused chaos across the land, Co-pilot Halligan pressed the emergency button and is joined by under-study Baroness Claire Fox while Co-pilot Pearson recovers from the shock of it all.Liam congratulates Andy Burnham on his victory in Makerfield, and apparently set to have a coronation rather than a contest, for the top job, however doesn’t believe his fiscal policies will stand up to economic reality.Baroness Fox recalls the Brexit vote 10 years on and why the remain camp will never accept the outcome, as well as outlining where we have not yet embraced many of the freedoms we gained, by changing EU laws.Stowing away this week is return guest Dr Gerard Lyons who discusses Britain's economic outlook, arguing that weak growth, rising debt and high public spending pose major challenges for the UK, and 10 years on from the Brexit vote he also questioned the case for closer ties with the EU…HighlightsPlanet Normal: Burnham is the wrong answer to the UK’s economic problemBurnham on set for Premiership coronationBrexit 10 years on, have we taken full advantage yetSign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor |Book your tickets to 'How to make Brexit a success’ on 29th June in London: telegraph.co.uk/brexit-big-debate |Read Allison ‘I will always be proud I voted to leave the EU and stand up for the Britain I love‘: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/23/proud-of-vote-to-leave-eu / |Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘I’ve known Andy Burnham for 30 years but I still think he’s wrong’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/06/21/ive-known-burnham-for-30-years-but-i-still-think-hes-wrong/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Read Liam’s Substack: https://liamhalligan.substack.com/ |Need help subscribing or reviewing? Learn more about podcasts here:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/ |Email: planetnormal@telegraph.co.uk |For 30 days’ free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normal | Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Social Media Ban: Starmer finally gets something right

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lq-8ZhnYjjkThe rocket of right thinking speeds around planet normal gathering the news tsunami of this week… Allison surprises Liam by AGREEING with Sir Keir Starmer’s social media ban for under 16 year olds, as she states in her column this week. The addictive and toxic nature of smartphones has ruined children’s attention spans and their “in real life" connections and this ban could help them reconnect with the elusive parchment joy of books.Liam strongly echoes Allison’s stance, arguing that tech platforms expose children to "relentless bullying" and corporate exploitation. Shifting to finance, he forecasts an imminent rise in global interest rates, pointing to rising producer price inflation and rate hikes in Australia and Japan as clear indicators that borrowing costs are headed back up.Stowing away this week is return guest Bernie Spofforth, who tells us about her experience of being questioned by police due to a retweet she posted on X. She has released a book, out on the 25th June, to discuss how Government overreach, police and NGO’s have worn down democracy…HighlightsPlanet Normal: The Social media ban will free our kids from the addictive and toxic smartphoneBernie Spofforth’s Legal Fight: Detained for 36 hours over a Southport-related retweet, Spofforth reveals she is suing the police in the High Court this November for gross overreach.Institutional Failures: The hosts condemn public bodies for failing to protect victims in the Preston Davey and Nottingham tragedies due to a culture of "suicidal empathy".Sign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor |Book your tickets to 'How to make Brexit a success’ on 29th June in London: telegraph.co.uk/brexit-big-debate |Read Allison ‘Giving children smartphones is like handing them grenades. I should know‘: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/16/why-i-support-social-media-ban/ |Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘The UK’s battered public finances are about to get even more stretched’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/06/14/the-uks-battered-public-finances-about-even-more-stretched/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Read Liam’s Substack: https://liamhalligan.substack.com/ |Need help subscribing or reviewing? Learn more about podcasts here:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/ |Email: planetnormal@telegraph.co.uk |For 30 days’ free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normal | Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Civil unrest will only get worse if people’s concerns remain ignored

You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qNYLdKrCI_oOn your rocket of right thinking this week co-pilots Pearson and Halligan discuss the recent riots in Belfast and the two-tier policing worries continuing from the murder of Henry Nowak.Liam thinks Kemi Badenoch’s call to ‘treat people equally’ under the law is correct and the DEI training given to police has disproportionately affected victims of crime more than the perpetrators and is detrimental to the social cohesion of the UK.Allison is concerned civil unrest will get worse before it gets better as people feel their fears of rising immigration is labeled as bigotry or racism.This week’s stowaway is former police officer and counter-terror specialist Paul Birch, who gives his take on the claims of two-tier policing and the recent unrest in Southampton and BelfastHighlightsPlanet Normal: Civil unrest will only get worse if people’s concerns remain ignoredKemi’s calls to scrap DEI in policing is rightCounter terror specialist on two-tier policingSign up to our most popular newsletter, From the Editor. Look forward to receiving free-thinking comment and the day's biggest stories, every morning. telegraph.co.uk/fromtheeditor |Book your tickets to 'How to make Brexit a success’ on 29th June in London: telegraph.co.uk/brexit-big-debate |Read more from Paul Birch’s Substack: https://birchy1.substack.com/ |Read Allison ‘The football widows’ guide to the World Cup‘: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/10/world-cup-dos-and-donts-football-widows/ |Read Allison ‘Kemi underestimates how deeply the woke cult has infected Britain’:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06/09/kemis-promise-to-overhaul-woke-cult-doesnt-touch-the-sides/ |Read more from Allison: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/a/ak-ao/allison-pearson/ | Read Liam ‘Labour’s statist policies are gumming up the jobs market’: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/06/07/labours-statist-policies-are-gumming-up-the-jobs-market/ |Read more from Liam: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/liam-halligan/ |Read Liam’s Substack: https://liamhalligan.substack.com/ |Need help subscribing or reviewing? Learn more about podcasts here:https://www.telegraph.co.uk/radio/podcasts/podcast-can-find-best-ones-listen/ |Email: planetnormal@telegraph.co.uk |For 30 days’ free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/normal | Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.