Britain’s NHS is in a ‘critical and deteriorating condition’ - those are the words of Lord Darzi who investigated the state of the NHS for the new Labour government last year. In response, Starmer unveiled a ten year plan to fix it focusing on delivering three big shifts in healthcare: hospital to community; analogue to digital; sickness to prevention but is it too little, too late, or is the problem just too big to fix?

In this week’s special episode, host George Parker is joined by our global health editor, Sarah Neville, deputy comment editor Miranda Green and FT economics commentator, Chris Giles, author of the weekly newsletter on Central Banks. Together they discuss some of the key problems facing the UK’s healthcare system, its financial situation and why it matters so much to both the public and politicians.

Follow: George on Bluesky @georgewparker.bsky.social or X @GeorgeWParker; Sarah Neville @SarahNev; Chris Giles @ChrisGiles; and Miranda Green @greenmiranda

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Will the NHS 10-year plan fix England’s crumbling health service?

The future of the NHS

Wes Streeting says ‘jury is out’ over pay deal for doctors as talks continue

One in five UK doctors are considering quitting, regulator warns

CLIPS:

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Presented by George Parker, and produced by Clare Williamson. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Original music and mix by Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the acting co-head of audio.

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Maga arrived in Chipping Norton this week, heralding an intense round of British diplomacy ahead of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday. Ukraine is top of the agenda and both Prime Minister Keir Starmer and foreign secretary David Lammy have been doing their bit liaising between US vice-president JD Vance and President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European leaders. In this week’s episode, host George Parker is joined by Europe editor Ben Hall and Whitehall editor David Sheppard to discuss how the UK is playing its hand on the global stage and the role of soft power in its negotiations.

The FT Weekend Festival returns for our 10th edition on Saturday September 6 at Kenwood House Gardens in London. Get details and tickets here

Follow George on Bluesky or X: @georgewparker.bsky.social, @GeorgeWParker; Ben Hall @hallbenjamin and David Sheppard @OilSheppard

Want to get in touch? Email politicalfix@ft.com

Want more? Free links:

Putin hails Trump’s ‘energetic and sincere’ efforts to end Ukraine war

Zelenskyy faces his ‘moment of maximum pressure’

JD Vance to meet Reform’s Nigel Farage after talks with Tory MP Robert Jenrick

George Osborne arranged Cotswolds holiday for JD Vance

How the Bayeux Tapestry became a tool of soft power

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CLIPS: Manchester Evening News

Presented by George Parker, and produced by Clare Williamson. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Original music and mix by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Political Fix is on a break this week. In its absence, we're taking the opportunity to introduce you to its sister podcast, Swamp Notes, the weekly US politics podcast from the Financial Times. Six months after the Trump administration gutted the US Agency for International Development, experts are tracking the impact of its absence. The FT’s David Pilling and the Brookings Institution’s George Ingram describe the surprising ways countries are adapting to a world with less resources for the poor, sick and starving.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Email Marc with your questions (Marc.Filippino@FT.com)

What the closure of USAID is really costing the world

USAID cuts threaten 14mn extra deaths by 2030, warns study

The shifting future of foreign aid

Sign up for the FT’s Swamp Notes newsletter here

Listen to Swamp Notes on Acast, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Swamp Notes is produced by Henry Larson. Samantha Giovinco mixed this week’s episode. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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