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# Government in Crisis | We're back!
- URL: https://www.craftpolitics.fm/episodes/government-in-crisis-were-back/
- Published: 2025-09-02T18:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-07T21:48:50.000Z
- Author: Joseph Lavoie
- Tags: Holly Mumby-Croft, #scan, #episode, #ai-5

It’s back-to-school, back-to-politics, and back to your feeds with Season Two of *Craft Politics* — now with a brand new format and a new co-host.

We’re thrilled to welcome **Holly Mumby-Croft**, former UK Member of Parliament, to the pod. She’ll join Percy and I each week for our Tuesday Issue Scan episode, adding deep political insight and a healthy counter-weight to Percy...

In this episode:

- Labour’s economic mess: Starmer sidelines Reeves, reshuffles advisors, and still can’t land the message
- Reform UK leads the polls—now ahead of Labour *and* the Conservatives combined
- National flag protests, economic confusion, and the risk of a populist summer boil-over
- Canada’s Trump problem continues: no deal, no clarity, and no end in sight
- Carney’s super honeymoon: how long can he ride high on sky-high approval ratings?
- Why France’s looming debt crisis could become everyone’s problem
- What happens when both the left and the right promise unsustainable spending?
- A special new segment: “Lipstick on a Gerbil” — where we rate the worst political comms moments of the week. This week we look at Angela Rayner’s stamp duty dodge and Stephen Kinnock’s weasel-worded defence

And of course:

- 🍺 Joseph and Percy drink one of BC’s finest Pilsners
- 🍷 Holly sips Ribena

00:00 Welcome back — Season 2 with new co-host Holly Mumby-Croft  
04:21 UK deep dive — Starmer's reshuffle and Rachel Reeves sidelined  
06:49 The grown-ups narrative collapses — Economic chaos and mixed messages  
08:55 The flag phenomenon — England's emotional response to the migrant crisis  
14:09 Everything plays into Reform's hands — Why the balloon won't burst  
17:09 Canada and the tariff stalemate — Carney's cap-in-hand reality  
18:43 The elbows-up delusion — Why Canada can't win a fight with the US  
22:43 Carney's honeymoon and the Trump excuse — How long will it last?  
24:53 France on the brink — The spending crisis that could crash the global economy  
26:56 The Western spending trap — When voters refuse to face reality  
28:42 The triple lock trap and generational unfairness  
31:24 Lipstick on a gerbil — Angela Rayner's stamp duty scandal  
36:49 Stephen Kinnock's uncomfortable defense — Rating the damage control  
39:37 The court of public opinion versus the letter of the law  
43:45 Tasting notes and sign-off — Pilsner versus Ribena