Studio guests: David Bourne (Conservative) and Darren Husted (Labour).

Originally broadcast: 14th March 2008.

• 03.05: News roundup - school children pledging allegiance to the Queen, Camilla Duchess of Cornwall’s constitutional role, the John Lewis list, new seven deadly sins.
• 33.22: Fair Trade - following Wolverhampton Fair Trade Fortnight, we ask if it really is fair.
• 43.23: Budget 2008 - David and Darren debate the merits of Alistair Darling’s first budget.

Email the show.

Download the show.

Studio guests: Colin Ross (Lib Dem), Darren Husted (Labour) and Mark Watson (Editor, Minority Perspective).

Matthew Revell and studio guests put a Wolverhampton spin on the latest in politics.

• 06.00: Who’s going to take over from Ken Purchase as Labour candidate for Wolverhampton North East?
• 16.55: Are doctors surgeries breaking the rule that NHS care should be free at the point of need? David Hickson from the Say No To 0870 community discusses the issues.
• 31.34: Wolverhampton City Council is restructuring for efficiency but these reforms include the creation of two new departments. Can that be right?
• 42.40: What would you knock down in Wolverhampton?
• 48.03: Should we be doing business with China?

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2008/21/wolpol-e21-20080118.mp3

Matthew Revell is joined by Jono Bacon and Mark Watson (Editor, Minority Perspective) to discuss politics from a Wolverhampton perspective.

• 02.30: Are the Conservatives right to suggest a welfare to work scheme?
• 14.23: Jono Bacon talks about software whose creators believe they’re promoting freedom of speech and is known as free software. Examples include Ubuntu, Firefox and OpenOffice.
• 30.21: Should taxpayers subsidise the arts?
• 38.35: Blogger DK of Privacy International’s report that ranked the UK as a surveillance society.

Send your thoughts on the show to politics@wcrfm.com.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2008/20/wolpol-e20-20080111.mp3

Studio guests: Peter Roberts (road pricing campaigner) and Mark Watson (Editor, MinorityPerspective.co.uk)

• 03:30: News roundup. Discussing recent news, including: new supermarket quango, bloke in Stoke arrested when woman on bus mistook his MP3 player for a gun, government blunder gives £2m to Newcastle-under-Lyme that was intended for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, was Australian PM Kevin Rudd right to apologise to Aboriginal families whose mixed-race children were taken?
• 27.52: Hazel Blears proposes “behaviour packs” for new immigrants to show them how to integrate in British society. Is this going to work.
• 44.50: Peter Roberts tells the story of how he came to create the well publicised road pricing petition. What are the flaws that he sees in road pricing and why was he so concerned?

Take part: Email story ideas, news snippets and comments to politics@wcrfm.com.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2008/24/wolpol-e24-20080115.mp3

Three 2007 highlights and one 2008 prediction each from:

• 02.25: Manohar Minhas (Labour, Wolverhampton Park).
• 14.55: Carl Husted (Conservative candidate Wolverhampton Bushbury North).
• 25.15: Derek Bennett (UKIP).
• 43.38: Colin Ross (Lib Dem).

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2008/19/wolpol-e19-20080104.mp3

Studio guests: Jono Bacon (free software chap) and Carl Husted (Conservative candidate for Wolverhampton Bushbury North).

• 03.54: Single status pay cuts at Wolverhampton City Council, featuring a statement from the WolvesSingleStatus.com campaign.
• 18.20: Digital and online freedoms interview with Stuart Langridge.
• 39.40: Chapel Trash - Don Clarke of Torquil Clarke talks about the decline of Chapel Ash, including the Sainsbury’s versus Tesco battle, drug dealers and the former Charles Clarke dealership.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/18/wolpol-e18-20071221.mp3

Studio guests: Colin Ross (Lib Dem activist) and Mike Nattrass (UKIP MEP for the West Midlands).

Recorded 30th November 2007.

• 04.00:Is Labour in meltdown?
• 33.43:How important is a party’s leader?
• 46.00:The dangers of invoking Enoch Powell and should we English follow the Scots’ example and take pride in St George’s Day?

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/17/wolpol-e17-20071130.mp3

Studio guests: Colin Ross (Lib Dem activist)and Wendy Thompson (Conservative councillor, Wolverhampton Tettenhall Wightwick ward).

• 02.00: MPs’ expenses.
• 20.00: Is it time for a ban on fireworks?
• 30.30: Lib Dem leadership contest.
• 45.00: Wolverhampton South West Lib Dems win the Albert Ingham award for the best Lib Dem campaign in the country. Moving into a discussion on how Labour are doing running the city.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/16/wolpol-e16-20071109.mp3

Studio guests: Mark Watson (Editor, MinorityPerspective.co.uk and Darren Husted (Labour activist).

• 02.00: Lottery money for the Black Country? Is a televised vote the best way to decide how to spend lottery money?
• 11.15: James Watson’s statements on genetic influence on intelligence.
• 29.45: Matt Wardman gives an update on the Alisher Usmanov blog censorship case.
• 44.40: David Lindsay introduces his new political party The British People’s Alliance.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/15/wolpol-e15-20071102.mp3

Studio guests: Carl Husted (Conservative) and Mark Watson (Editor, Minority Perspective)

01.35 - Are we all too fat to think for ourselves? Academics, think tanks, pressure groups and politicians are fond of telling us that we’re drinking and eating too much. Now they’re telling us it’s not our fault because society makes us eat more than we should. There’s also a proposal for smoking licences and an enforced hour’s exercise each day! Is this an Orwellian nightmare come true or are we really all too stupid to look after ourselves?

21.52 - Tax on school savings: should local authorities be allowed to take 5% annually from each school’s savings?

32.33 - General chat: Carl and Mark raise issues that interest them. Carl asks, “Is democracy dead?” Mark raises the Jean Charles de Menezes case.

47.34 - Is Boris Johnson racist? Mark and Carl debate whether or not Boris Johnson’s remarks on race make him an unsuitable candidate for London mayor.

http://audio.wolverhamptonpolitics.co.uk/2007/wolpol-e14-20071026.mp3