Rachel Reeves has had a rocky start as chancellor of the exchequer. Our editor-in-chief meets her at Davos to dissect her plans for growth. Australia Day is coming up, but do not expect universal merriment: its date has become mired in a culture war (10:31). And our “Archive 1945” project revisits the second world war through The Economist’s contemporaneous coverage (17:11). Runtime: 21 min

Rachel Reeves has had a rocky start as chancellor of the exchequer. Our editor-in-chief meets her at Davos to <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/01/23/the-rachel-reeves-theory-of-growth?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" target="_blank">dissect</a> her plans for growth. Australia Day is coming up, but do not expect universal merriment: its date has become mired in a <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/01/23/an-angry-culture-war-surrounds-australia-day?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" target="_blank">culture war</a> (10:31). And our <a href="https://www.economist.com/interactive/archive-1945?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners" target="_blank">“Archive 1945”</a> project revisits the second world war through The Economist’s contemporaneous coverage (17:11). Runtime: 21 min

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The Intelligence 

Britain’s chancellor explains her growth plans to our editor

The Intelligence

In with a chancellor: dissecting Britain's growth plan

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Jason Palmer [00:00:10] Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. I’m your host, Jason Palmer. Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. An overwhelming number of countries have some kind of national day, a celebration of their founding or independence or the overthrow of tyranny. In Australia, the celebrations have been getting increasingly fraught and now they’re getting political. And we’d like to introduce you to Archive 1945. It’s a new interactive series that sifts through the annals of The Economist and revived the history of 80 years ago when the Second World War was starting to come to a dramatic close. First up, though. We did it. When Britain’s Labour Party won in last summer’s election, optimism abounded. I don’t have to tell you that the previous few years had been economically tricky and growth has been sickly for nearly two decades. The hoped for saviour came in the form of Rachel Reeves, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer. Now, a bit more than 200 days into the New Labour government, the optimism has faded. Growth has gone nowhere and just about nobody liked what was in Ms.. Reeves little red box of plans presented in October.

Jason Palmer [00:00:10] Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. I’m your host, Jason Palmer. Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. An overwhelming number of countries have some kind of national day, a celebration of their founding or independence or the overthrow of tyranny. In Australia, the celebrations have been getting increasingly fraught and now they’re getting political. And we’d like to introduce you to Archive 1945. It’s a new interactive series that sifts through the annals of The Economist and revived the history of 80 years ago when the Second World War was starting to come to a dramatic close. First up, though. We did it. When Britain’s Labour Party won in last summer’s election, optimism abounded. I don’t have to tell you that the previous few years had been economically tricky and growth has been sickly for nearly two decades. The hoped for saviour came in the form of Rachel Reeves, the new Chancellor of the Exchequer. Now, a bit more than 200 days into the New Labour government, the optimism has faded. Growth has gone nowhere and just about nobody liked what was in Ms.. Reeves little red box of plans presented in October.

Clip [00:01:47] This budget raises taxes by £40 billion, so.

Clip [00:01:47] This budget raises taxes by £40 billion, so.

Jason Palmer [00:01:51] Investors are reading the room. A sell off in bonds ramped up in the first days of this year.

Jason Palmer [00:01:51] Investors are reading the room. A sell off in bonds ramped up in the first days of this year.

Clip [00:01:57] It spiked yields on long dated British government bonds are at their highest in decades. That’s put government finances under pressure.

Clip [00:01:57] It spiked yields on long dated British government bonds are at their highest in decades. That’s put government finances under pressure.

Jason Palmer [00:02:05] So when Ms.. Reeves landed in Davos for the World Economic Forum to hobnob with the Wall Streeters and asset managers and pension funders, a tough sales job lay ahead. She’s certainly been on message. Britain is open for business and single mindedly focussed on growth. What exactly does that mean, though? Our editor in chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, wanted to drill down beyond the talking points.

Jason Palmer [00:02:05] So when Ms.. Reeves landed in Davos for the World Economic Forum to hobnob with the Wall Streeters and asset managers and pension funders, a tough sales job lay ahead. She’s certainly been on message. Britain is open for business and single mindedly focussed on growth. What exactly does that mean, though? Our editor in chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, wanted to drill down beyond the talking points.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:02:32] So Johnson, you’re here in Davos to persuade the world’s business leaders in this remarkably warm mountain village. The Britain is open for business and that you are single mindedly focussed on growth. I’ve heard you say many, many times. You’re an economist. You know that economists have different views on what’s the main necessity, what’s the main focus? What is the Reeves theory of growth for Britain?

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:02:32] So Johnson, you’re here in Davos to persuade the world’s business leaders in this remarkably warm mountain village. The Britain is open for business and that you are single mindedly focussed on growth. I’ve heard you say many, many times. You’re an economist. You know that economists have different views on what’s the main necessity, what’s the main focus? What is the Reeves theory of growth for Britain?

Rachel Reeves [00:02:54] My theory that what is needed in Britain is a more active supply side approach to improve the productive capacity of our country. We need to strip out of the way the barriers that are inhibiting investment into Britain, an investment by businesses already in Britain. That’s where government need to get involved to remove those barriers and then allow businesses to do what they do best, which is to allocate capital, to find productive things to invest in. But for too long has been too many constraints and too many things holding that back.

Rachel Reeves [00:02:54] My theory that what is needed in Britain is a more active supply side approach to improve the productive capacity of our country. We need to strip out of the way the barriers that are inhibiting investment into Britain, an investment by businesses already in Britain. That’s where government need to get involved to remove those barriers and then allow businesses to do what they do best, which is to allocate capital, to find productive things to invest in. But for too long has been too many constraints and too many things holding that back.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:03:35] Let’s focus on the elements of that supply so that you can have, you know, improvements in human capital, improvements in productivity. One of the striking things about Britain post-COVID is that we have an incredibly high share of people who are not working. Does that need to change? Are there too many people not working in the UK? And do you need to tighten the rules to get more people into the labour force?

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:03:35] Let’s focus on the elements of that supply so that you can have, you know, improvements in human capital, improvements in productivity. One of the striking things about Britain post-COVID is that we have an incredibly high share of people who are not working. Does that need to change? Are there too many people not working in the UK? And do you need to tighten the rules to get more people into the labour force?

Rachel Reeves [00:03:56] Yes, we do need to get more people working. There’s a number of ways to do that. Of course, welfare reform is part of that. One of the things I announced in the budget was a number of a trailblazer projects working with some of our mayors to help better target job support based on local labour market needs rather than a one size fits all policy for the whole country. It’s also why we are rolling out reforms on childcare, because if you look at the different groups of people who are underrepresented in the labour market, we’ve got people retiring early. We’ve got 1 million young people not in education or employment before school. A lot of women with children who are not either in the workforce or they’re not working the hours that they might be able to if childcare was better.

Rachel Reeves [00:03:56] Yes, we do need to get more people working. There’s a number of ways to do that. Of course, welfare reform is part of that. One of the things I announced in the budget was a number of a trailblazer projects working with some of our mayors to help better target job support based on local labour market needs rather than a one size fits all policy for the whole country. It’s also why we are rolling out reforms on childcare, because if you look at the different groups of people who are underrepresented in the labour market, we’ve got people retiring early. We’ve got 1 million young people not in education or employment before school. A lot of women with children who are not either in the workforce or they’re not working the hours that they might be able to if childcare was better.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:04:47] One of the other ways in which you can boost growth is by encouraging people to go into higher skill jobs and by moving away from a low wage economy. And it’s something that you have focussed on a lot. As I look at your budget and where obviously the main tax increase was national insurance, which hit employers, blue wage workers three times as hard as high wage ones. Is the logic of that actually a pro-growth logic that what you’re doing is saying to firms, don’t hire low skilled workers, invest in capital instead?

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:04:47] One of the other ways in which you can boost growth is by encouraging people to go into higher skill jobs and by moving away from a low wage economy. And it’s something that you have focussed on a lot. As I look at your budget and where obviously the main tax increase was national insurance, which hit employers, blue wage workers three times as hard as high wage ones. Is the logic of that actually a pro-growth logic that what you’re doing is saying to firms, don’t hire low skilled workers, invest in capital instead?

Rachel Reeves [00:05:18] I wouldn’t put it quite like that. We need to to raise revenue at the at the budget. I was really clear all the way through the election campaign that we were not going to be increasing taxes on working people. That did mean that the tax increases did have to fall on business and and some of the better off individuals. But look, there has been a lack of investment in robotics, in in AI, in tech by businesses in the UK. Our most productive firms in Britain are competitive and comparable with the most productive firms in the world. But we’ve got too many. We have low productivity and often that’s because they are not taking up the latest technologies and ideas. And we need to diffuse that that technology that there is to those firms.

Rachel Reeves [00:05:18] I wouldn’t put it quite like that. We need to to raise revenue at the at the budget. I was really clear all the way through the election campaign that we were not going to be increasing taxes on working people. That did mean that the tax increases did have to fall on business and and some of the better off individuals. But look, there has been a lack of investment in robotics, in in AI, in tech by businesses in the UK. Our most productive firms in Britain are competitive and comparable with the most productive firms in the world. But we’ve got too many. We have low productivity and often that’s because they are not taking up the latest technologies and ideas. And we need to diffuse that that technology that there is to those firms.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:06:11] But if that wasn’t the logic, because I’ve been really scratching my head about. Why? Why? This was the centrepiece of your budget. If your focus is, as you keep telling me, we’re telling the world growth is your number one focus, because this was this was not a pro-growth budget.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:06:11] But if that wasn’t the logic, because I’ve been really scratching my head about. Why? Why? This was the centrepiece of your budget. If your focus is, as you keep telling me, we’re telling the world growth is your number one focus, because this was this was not a pro-growth budget.

Rachel Reeves [00:06:23] This was a. Well, wait a second. I mean, what was the alternative? The alternative? No, no, no. Let me let me say this, because I think this is really important. Returning stability to the public finances is absolutely essential for stability. And stability is absolutely essential for economic growth. Now, I’ve heard a lot of criticism about the budget. What I haven’t heard is any serious alternative. We had to put a public finances on a firm footing, otherwise we’d be back in the situation that Liz Truss led us into.

Rachel Reeves [00:06:23] This was a. Well, wait a second. I mean, what was the alternative? The alternative? No, no, no. Let me let me say this, because I think this is really important. Returning stability to the public finances is absolutely essential for stability. And stability is absolutely essential for economic growth. Now, I’ve heard a lot of criticism about the budget. What I haven’t heard is any serious alternative. We had to put a public finances on a firm footing, otherwise we’d be back in the situation that Liz Truss led us into.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:06:54] With respect you in the budget, you increased spending, you call it investment, but actually increased spending on public services. We could have not done that and you could have got stability a different way. You could have raised a different.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:06:54] With respect you in the budget, you increased spending, you call it investment, but actually increased spending on public services. We could have not done that and you could have got stability a different way. You could have raised a different.

Rachel Reeves [00:07:04] Here’s the point, Zanny. The previous government was spending money, but it didn’t have a way of paying for it. So if we had have not done that, it would have actually been cuts to public services. We did put aside money in the budget for capital investment, £100 billion extra over five years. But this government will be the first government for a long, long time to actually balance tax receipts with day to day spending. We’re getting a grip of day to day spending.

Rachel Reeves [00:07:04] Here’s the point, Zanny. The previous government was spending money, but it didn’t have a way of paying for it. So if we had have not done that, it would have actually been cuts to public services. We did put aside money in the budget for capital investment, £100 billion extra over five years. But this government will be the first government for a long, long time to actually balance tax receipts with day to day spending. We’re getting a grip of day to day spending.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:07:31] I absolutely agree that although I think the dividend from your stability has probably been less than you expected and certainly many people expected. But if you just look at the tax increases you put in place, I think it would be hard to find an economist who said that the tax policy, which is the policy over which you have the most direct control, was really a pro-growth tax policy.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:07:31] I absolutely agree that although I think the dividend from your stability has probably been less than you expected and certainly many people expected. But if you just look at the tax increases you put in place, I think it would be hard to find an economist who said that the tax policy, which is the policy over which you have the most direct control, was really a pro-growth tax policy.

Rachel Reeves [00:07:51] Well, as a chancellor, I have to make sure that the sums always add up. And during the election campaign, I said the first step that I would do to return growth to the UK economy would be to return stability to the UK economy. Returning that stability gives us a chance now of making people look at Britain with a different lens.

Rachel Reeves [00:07:51] Well, as a chancellor, I have to make sure that the sums always add up. And during the election campaign, I said the first step that I would do to return growth to the UK economy would be to return stability to the UK economy. Returning that stability gives us a chance now of making people look at Britain with a different lens.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:08:10] When you walk around Davos here, virtually nobody mentions Britain. It’s a kind of an afterthought. And it’s not the place that people are talking about saying, wow, this is the most exciting pro-growth policy that we see. One of the the senior people in one of the world’s biggest asset managers said to me yesterday, she doesn’t have a story. What’s the bumper sticker version of this? What is the bumper sticker version? Why Britain? Why is it going to Great.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:08:10] When you walk around Davos here, virtually nobody mentions Britain. It’s a kind of an afterthought. And it’s not the place that people are talking about saying, wow, this is the most exciting pro-growth policy that we see. One of the the senior people in one of the world’s biggest asset managers said to me yesterday, she doesn’t have a story. What’s the bumper sticker version of this? What is the bumper sticker version? Why Britain? Why is it going to Great.

Rachel Reeves [00:08:33] Britain is going for growth and we’re removing the barriers that make it hard to do business in our country.

Rachel Reeves [00:08:33] Britain is going for growth and we’re removing the barriers that make it hard to do business in our country.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:08:38] And are you being radical enough? And I ask this because twice in the last eight years the UK has been the radical redefining of public policy after the Second World War, right? The UK with the welfare state and then the Thatcher revolution, Is there going to be a Reeves revolution that will be laying out what is a and advanced economies recipe for growth? Or are you going to be seen as someone who is just too cautious and too timid? I don’t think what we’re doing on planning, on regulation, on capital markets reform is timid. It is ambitious, is doing what no government in Britain has done for a long time, and that is prioritising growth, making it the number one mission. Removing those barriers that make it too hard for businesses to do business in our great country.

Zanny Minton Beddoes [00:08:38] And are you being radical enough? And I ask this because twice in the last eight years the UK has been the radical redefining of public policy after the Second World War, right? The UK with the welfare state and then the Thatcher revolution, Is there going to be a Reeves revolution that will be laying out what is a and advanced economies recipe for growth? Or are you going to be seen as someone who is just too cautious and too timid? I don’t think what we’re doing on planning, on regulation, on capital markets reform is timid. It is ambitious, is doing what no government in Britain has done for a long time, and that is prioritising growth, making it the number one mission. Removing those barriers that make it too hard for businesses to do business in our great country.

Jason Palmer [00:09:26] To hear the fuller version of that interview, along with analysis of Ms.. Reeves strategy from Zanny and our business affairs editor, Roxana Schonberg. Listen to this week’s subscriber, Only Money Talks, our sister show on business, finance and economics. If you’re not already a subscriber to economist Podcasts. Plus, wow, what a great time to get in there. It might be Friday, but here at Intelligence Towers, we’re still beavering away to make sure you’ve got an engaging listen for tomorrow’s weekend intelligence. This week, we sat down with a colleague of mine who’s ended up with the informal title of deaf correspondent. She’s been covering the tricky and troubling debate around assisted dying in Britain for four years now. The hard fought legislation that allows some people to choose to die has finally passed. Now she has to ask, will it accomplish what so many people had hoped for for so long?

Jason Palmer [00:09:26] To hear the fuller version of that interview, along with analysis of Ms.. Reeves strategy from Zanny and our business affairs editor, Roxana Schonberg. Listen to this week’s subscriber, Only Money Talks, our sister show on business, finance and economics. If you’re not already a subscriber to economist Podcasts. Plus, wow, what a great time to get in there. It might be Friday, but here at Intelligence Towers, we’re still beavering away to make sure you’ve got an engaging listen for tomorrow’s weekend intelligence. This week, we sat down with a colleague of mine who’s ended up with the informal title of deaf correspondent. She’s been covering the tricky and troubling debate around assisted dying in Britain for four years now. The hard fought legislation that allows some people to choose to die has finally passed. Now she has to ask, will it accomplish what so many people had hoped for for so long?

Eleanor Whitehead [00:10:34] Australia Day is known as a day for beers, barbecues, beaches, all the things Australia is best at. There are fireworks held in some places.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:10:34] Australia Day is known as a day for beers, barbecues, beaches, all the things Australia is best at. There are fireworks held in some places.

Jason Palmer [00:10:45] Eleanor Whitehead is our Australia and New Zealand correspondent.

Jason Palmer [00:10:45] Eleanor Whitehead is our Australia and New Zealand correspondent.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:10:49] But it’s also known as a day of heated political debate and there’s a reliable debate that it generates here every year. And that is because the date that it commemorates, January the 26th, is the landing of the first Fleet of British settlers, including many convicts in Sydney in 1788. And so it’s commemorating the start of British colonisation of modern Australia. And to many people that’s the kind of foundation of what is a successful and genuinely incredibly multicultural nation. So something that’s worth celebrating. But to lots of other people, including Indigenous activists in Australia celebrating the anniversary, the first day of colonisation seems wrong and it seems hurtful because the British arrivals mark the start of the violence and dispossession of their people. So there’s been a debate here for years about whether to move Australia Day to a less contentious state.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:10:49] But it’s also known as a day of heated political debate and there’s a reliable debate that it generates here every year. And that is because the date that it commemorates, January the 26th, is the landing of the first Fleet of British settlers, including many convicts in Sydney in 1788. And so it’s commemorating the start of British colonisation of modern Australia. And to many people that’s the kind of foundation of what is a successful and genuinely incredibly multicultural nation. So something that’s worth celebrating. But to lots of other people, including Indigenous activists in Australia celebrating the anniversary, the first day of colonisation seems wrong and it seems hurtful because the British arrivals mark the start of the violence and dispossession of their people. So there’s been a debate here for years about whether to move Australia Day to a less contentious state.

Jason Palmer [00:11:48] So you’ve given a sense that there has long been attention around this, but also a sense that it’s been changing recently.

Jason Palmer [00:11:48] So you’ve given a sense that there has long been attention around this, but also a sense that it’s been changing recently.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:11:54] Yes. So the backlash against Australia Day has been growing over the past few years here. And you can see this on several different fronts. So every year there are protests which thousands of Australians, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, join against what they call invasion day. Companies are also increasingly allowing staff to swap their days off if they don’t want to observe Australia Day as a holiday. And some governments here are changing how they observe the dates as well. So the state of Victoria, for example, no longer holds a parade for Australia Day, and in 2022 the centre left government that’s led by Anthony Albanese revoked a conservative era directive that forced councils to hold citizenship ceremonies patriotically on Australia Day. And since then 80 or more councils have moved those events to solidarity with Indigenous populations.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:11:54] Yes. So the backlash against Australia Day has been growing over the past few years here. And you can see this on several different fronts. So every year there are protests which thousands of Australians, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, join against what they call invasion day. Companies are also increasingly allowing staff to swap their days off if they don’t want to observe Australia Day as a holiday. And some governments here are changing how they observe the dates as well. So the state of Victoria, for example, no longer holds a parade for Australia Day, and in 2022 the centre left government that’s led by Anthony Albanese revoked a conservative era directive that forced councils to hold citizenship ceremonies patriotically on Australia Day. And since then 80 or more councils have moved those events to solidarity with Indigenous populations.

Jason Palmer [00:12:52] So there’s a strong political angle to all of this now.

Jason Palmer [00:12:52] So there’s a strong political angle to all of this now.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:12:55] Yeah, and this is fertile territory, I suppose, for the right to complain about the way the pious left wing is dismantling Australian traditions, heaping shame on the country’s history. So this year an election is approaching. It’s due by May a federal election and the Conservative Liberal Party has inserted the Australia Day debate into the campaign. So the Opposition Leader Peter Dutton talks about woke CEOs trying to cancel the celebrations and his party, the Liberal Party, would go back to insisting the councils hold the ceremonies on Australia Day. He says this would be a sign of pride and nationalism in Australia.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:12:55] Yeah, and this is fertile territory, I suppose, for the right to complain about the way the pious left wing is dismantling Australian traditions, heaping shame on the country’s history. So this year an election is approaching. It’s due by May a federal election and the Conservative Liberal Party has inserted the Australia Day debate into the campaign. So the Opposition Leader Peter Dutton talks about woke CEOs trying to cancel the celebrations and his party, the Liberal Party, would go back to insisting the councils hold the ceremonies on Australia Day. He says this would be a sign of pride and nationalism in Australia.

Clip [00:13:37] Would we reinstate a requirement for councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day? You bet.

Clip [00:13:37] Would we reinstate a requirement for councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day? You bet.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:13:43] So this is a position that he’s held for several years, but he does campaign against Wokeness on other fronts as well. So in a previous job as Defence Minister, he talked about what he called a woke agenda in the military and specifically he was against teas that were being held in support of gay rights. And he talks now about woke banking executives setting environmental targets. He objected to one recently that denied forestry group a loan on environmental grounds. And he’s also pledging to scrap Labour’s 2030 emissions reduction target. He says children are being preached to and indoctrinated on all sorts of agendas in schools. So it’s a recurring theme in his election campaign.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:13:43] So this is a position that he’s held for several years, but he does campaign against Wokeness on other fronts as well. So in a previous job as Defence Minister, he talked about what he called a woke agenda in the military and specifically he was against teas that were being held in support of gay rights. And he talks now about woke banking executives setting environmental targets. He objected to one recently that denied forestry group a loan on environmental grounds. And he’s also pledging to scrap Labour’s 2030 emissions reduction target. He says children are being preached to and indoctrinated on all sorts of agendas in schools. So it’s a recurring theme in his election campaign.

Jason Palmer [00:14:27] Forgive me for seeing it through this lens, but all of this sounds like lots of the same culture war rhetoric that we hear coming out of America.

Jason Palmer [00:14:27] Forgive me for seeing it through this lens, but all of this sounds like lots of the same culture war rhetoric that we hear coming out of America.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:14:34] Yeah, there are definitely Trumpian overtones to this. It has its own flavour in Australia as well. I think this week Dustin talked about how the referendum on the Indigenous voice to Parliament in Australia was a turning point in Australia on Wokeness. So that was the vote you may remember, on the advisory body that the Labour Government aimed to enshrined in the constitution here, which in 2023 Australians voted resoundingly against. So Dutton argues that this was a turning point that Australians are sick of being spoken down to and vilified for whatever opinions that they might hold by a PC police.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:14:34] Yeah, there are definitely Trumpian overtones to this. It has its own flavour in Australia as well. I think this week Dustin talked about how the referendum on the Indigenous voice to Parliament in Australia was a turning point in Australia on Wokeness. So that was the vote you may remember, on the advisory body that the Labour Government aimed to enshrined in the constitution here, which in 2023 Australians voted resoundingly against. So Dutton argues that this was a turning point that Australians are sick of being spoken down to and vilified for whatever opinions that they might hold by a PC police.

Clip [00:15:10] This is turning and I think there is going to be a new revolution that comes with the Trump administration in relation to a lot of the work issues that just aren’t cutting it around kitchen tables at the moment where people can’t pay their bills.

Clip [00:15:10] This is turning and I think there is going to be a new revolution that comes with the Trump administration in relation to a lot of the work issues that just aren’t cutting it around kitchen tables at the moment where people can’t pay their bills.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:15:25] He says that the referendum campaign here and now, Trump’s return to the White House as well are starting a backlash against Wokeness in Australia.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:15:25] He says that the referendum campaign here and now, Trump’s return to the White House as well are starting a backlash against Wokeness in Australia.

Jason Palmer [00:15:34] Which bodes well for Mr. Dutton when that federal election does come.

Jason Palmer [00:15:34] Which bodes well for Mr. Dutton when that federal election does come.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:15:38] It’s hard to say because plugging culture wars in Australia only goes so far because of its electoral system. So Australia has a compulsory electoral system and that does mean that politicians basically have to appeal to the middle ground, to the kind of moderate voter that in other countries a politician might bank on not turning out to vote. And the general thinking is that so far this has helped to protect Australia from the more extreme populist convulsions that we’ve seen in countries like Britain or America. That said, Peter Dutton is not the first Australian politician to try and whip up anger against the elites. This happened in the 1990s as well, when John Howard, who was a hugely successful conservative prime minister, built a base by pitting what we call the Aussie battlers, which is a term here for working class people against affluent, latte sipping urbanites. And it is possible that, as Peter Dutton argues, voters who are struggling to make ends meet at the moment will feel some sympathy for these kind of anti-woke arguments as they seem to have done in America as well. And certainly on the issue of Australia Day polling. Suggests a good majority of Australians and a growing majority as well want to keep the holiday as it is.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:15:38] It’s hard to say because plugging culture wars in Australia only goes so far because of its electoral system. So Australia has a compulsory electoral system and that does mean that politicians basically have to appeal to the middle ground, to the kind of moderate voter that in other countries a politician might bank on not turning out to vote. And the general thinking is that so far this has helped to protect Australia from the more extreme populist convulsions that we’ve seen in countries like Britain or America. That said, Peter Dutton is not the first Australian politician to try and whip up anger against the elites. This happened in the 1990s as well, when John Howard, who was a hugely successful conservative prime minister, built a base by pitting what we call the Aussie battlers, which is a term here for working class people against affluent, latte sipping urbanites. And it is possible that, as Peter Dutton argues, voters who are struggling to make ends meet at the moment will feel some sympathy for these kind of anti-woke arguments as they seem to have done in America as well. And certainly on the issue of Australia Day polling. Suggests a good majority of Australians and a growing majority as well want to keep the holiday as it is.

Jason Palmer [00:16:55] Eleanor, thanks very much for your time.

Jason Palmer [00:16:55] Eleanor, thanks very much for your time.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:16:56] Thanks so much, Jason.

Eleanor Whitehead [00:16:56] Thanks so much, Jason.

Fraser McIlwraith [00:17:14] In January 1945, 80 years ago, the Second World War was entering its seventh year.

Fraser McIlwraith [00:17:14] In January 1945, 80 years ago, the Second World War was entering its seventh year.

Jason Palmer [00:17:21] Fraser McKelvey is the author of The Economist’s Archive of 1945.

Jason Palmer [00:17:21] Fraser McKelvey is the author of The Economist’s Archive of 1945.

Fraser McIlwraith [00:17:27] Fighting raged in Europe as allied armies liberated large parts of France and Belgium from Nazi control. The Red Army was pushing west from the Soviet Union.

Fraser McIlwraith [00:17:27] Fighting raged in Europe as allied armies liberated large parts of France and Belgium from Nazi control. The Red Army was pushing west from the Soviet Union.

Clip [00:17:36] Section in the east, Russia, launching.

Clip [00:17:36] Section in the east, Russia, launching.

Clip [00:17:39] A gigantic land offensive pointed across Poland and aimed at Berlin.

Clip [00:17:39] A gigantic land offensive pointed across Poland and aimed at Berlin.

Fraser McIlwraith [00:17:45] Meanwhile, the allies campaign in the Pacific was gathering momentum and America was planning for an invasion of Japan. The outcome of the war would transform the international balance of power, politics and the global economy in ways that still shape the world. With Archive 1945. We’re republishing excerpts from The Economist’s archive week by week. As the Second World War rolled to an end. It’s a time capsule of how we reported on the war’s final year, and we’ll be adding a new entry every Friday for the next eight months. Already this month, we’ve published entries on the state of Britain’s wartime economy, the war in the Pacific, and fighting in France. Eight years ago this week, The Economist’s journalists were busy preparing a new issue to go out on Saturday, January the 27th. It included a report on the region of Upper Silesia, most of which is in modern day southern Poland, which Germany held but was coming under attack from the advancing Soviet army. Upper Silesia, we wrote then, was an industrial heartland.

Fraser McIlwraith [00:17:45] Meanwhile, the allies campaign in the Pacific was gathering momentum and America was planning for an invasion of Japan. The outcome of the war would transform the international balance of power, politics and the global economy in ways that still shape the world. With Archive 1945. We’re republishing excerpts from The Economist’s archive week by week. As the Second World War rolled to an end. It’s a time capsule of how we reported on the war’s final year, and we’ll be adding a new entry every Friday for the next eight months. Already this month, we’ve published entries on the state of Britain’s wartime economy, the war in the Pacific, and fighting in France. Eight years ago this week, The Economist’s journalists were busy preparing a new issue to go out on Saturday, January the 27th. It included a report on the region of Upper Silesia, most of which is in modern day southern Poland, which Germany held but was coming under attack from the advancing Soviet army. Upper Silesia, we wrote then, was an industrial heartland.

Clip [00:18:53] Within this region, there are the richest coal deposits of the whole continent, a dense gas and electricity grid reaching as far as Breslau depends on upper Silesian coal.

Clip [00:18:53] Within this region, there are the richest coal deposits of the whole continent, a dense gas and electricity grid reaching as far as Breslau depends on upper Silesian coal.

Fraser McIlwraith [00:19:05] And we reported that upper Silesian zinc deposits were thought to be the largest in the world. Its importance, as one of the main engines of Germany’s war economy was clear.

Fraser McIlwraith [00:19:05] And we reported that upper Silesian zinc deposits were thought to be the largest in the world. Its importance, as one of the main engines of Germany’s war economy was clear.

Clip [00:19:16] It cannot be doubted, therefore, that during the last two years, Upper Silesia has developed numerous new industries apart from new chemical plants. Large factories for all kinds of war material have sprung up all over the area, usually being situated away from inhabited places and well camouflaged by forests and hills.

Clip [00:19:16] It cannot be doubted, therefore, that during the last two years, Upper Silesia has developed numerous new industries apart from new chemical plants. Large factories for all kinds of war material have sprung up all over the area, usually being situated away from inhabited places and well camouflaged by forests and hills.

Fraser McIlwraith [00:19:38] The loss of the region, the Economist wrote.

Fraser McIlwraith [00:19:38] The loss of the region, the Economist wrote.

Clip [00:19:41] Would be a very severe blow to Germany’s war industry.

Clip [00:19:41] Would be a very severe blow to Germany’s war industry.

Fraser McIlwraith [00:19:48] It would also mean liberation for thousands of prisoners. The region was home to a number of the Nazis concentration camps, including one of the biggest and most notorious outfits. As we went to press that Saturday in 1945, the Red Army was liberating it from the Nazis. More than 1 million Jews, Poles, Roma and others had been killed there during the Holocaust. And as the Red Army’s advance continued. The extent of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis in occupied Poland and elsewhere would become clearer still.

Fraser McIlwraith [00:19:48] It would also mean liberation for thousands of prisoners. The region was home to a number of the Nazis concentration camps, including one of the biggest and most notorious outfits. As we went to press that Saturday in 1945, the Red Army was liberating it from the Nazis. More than 1 million Jews, Poles, Roma and others had been killed there during the Holocaust. And as the Red Army’s advance continued. The extent of the atrocities perpetrated by the Nazis in occupied Poland and elsewhere would become clearer still.

Jason Palmer [00:20:30] To find archive in 1945. Just open up the Economist app or visit economist.com/interactive. That’s all for this episode of The Intelligence. The show’s editors are Chris Impey and Jack Gill. Our deputy editor is Jonjo Devlin, and our sound designer is Wil Rowe. Our senior producers are Mary Galloway and Sarah Lano, and our senior creative producer is William Warren. The producers are Maggie Cardiff and Benji Guy, and our assistant producer is Henrietta Macfarlane. With extra production help this week from Peter Granitz. We’ll all see you back here tomorrow for the weekend Intelligence.

Jason Palmer [00:20:30] To find archive in 1945. Just open up the Economist app or visit economist.com/interactive. That’s all for this episode of The Intelligence. The show’s editors are Chris Impey and Jack Gill. Our deputy editor is Jonjo Devlin, and our sound designer is Wil Rowe. Our senior producers are Mary Galloway and Sarah Lano, and our senior creative producer is William Warren. The producers are Maggie Cardiff and Benji Guy, and our assistant producer is Henrietta Macfarlane. With extra production help this week from Peter Granitz. We’ll all see you back here tomorrow for the weekend Intelligence.

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