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Best of the Spectator

Women With Balls: The Rachael Maskell Edition

Best of the Spectator

The Spectator

News Commentary, News, Daily News, Society & Culture

4.4785 Ratings

🗓️ 24 January 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Rachael Maskell has been the MP for York Central since 2015. With over two decades experience working in the NHS, and as a trade unionist, she has championed causes on the left from improving healthcare to combating climate change. Yet, she has not been afraid to take what she says is an ‘evidenced approach’ to political issues, even when it has put her in opposition to the position of the Labour leadership. Most recently, she was a leading voice against the assisted dying bill as Chair of the Dying Well parliamentary group.

On the podcast, Rachael talks to Katy Balls about the influence of politics around the dinner table and the miners’ strikes, how we could improve the NHS, and why she served under Jeremy Corbyn. Having disagreed with the Labour government over issues like the winter fuel allowance, Rachael also reveals what she makes of Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’s leadership, and how she would like to see their approach change.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

If you enjoyed the Spectator's podcast, why not subscribe to the magazine as well?

0:04.2

You can get 12 weeks of The Spectator for just £12, plus a free £20 £10, John Lewis or Waitrose Voucher,

0:10.9

if you go to spectator.com.uk forward slash voucher.

0:14.7

This is a podcast-only deal, and we hope you take us up on it.

0:21.9

Hello and welcome to Women of Balls, where I, Katie Balls, speak to today's trailblazers.

0:26.4

Born in Winchester and brought up in Dorset, my guest today studied physiotherapy at the University

0:31.3

of East Anglia and is now the MP for York Central. Having previously worked as a care worker

0:36.5

and a physiotherapist in the NHS

0:38.1

for over two decades, and as a trade unionist, she was inspired by her uncle, a former

0:43.1

advisor to the Wilson government, to enter politics. In Parliament, she has championed causes

0:48.0

ranging from improving healthcare, housing and development and on the environment and climate.

0:53.0

She's not afraid to stand up for her beliefs.

0:55.5

Most recently, she was a leading voice in opposition to this as a dying bill through her role as

0:59.9

the chair of the dying well, APPG. My guest today is Rachel Maskell.

1:08.5

Rachel, thank you for joining today. Is this your first visit to The Spectator? It's great to be here for the first time.

1:14.2

We're going to begin with a question we ask all our guests, which is would you describe yours as a happy childhood?

1:18.6

I've mentioned that you were brought up in Dorset. It was a fantastic childhood, really. I mean,

1:24.0

on the South Coast, on the edge of New Forest,, wonderful place to grow up in a lot of freedom.

1:28.8

It was the 1970s, so shall I say there was a lot of politics in the home.

1:33.9

And certainly I found it as opposed to it found me.

1:37.5

And I have always been really interested in what's happened around current affairs.

1:42.1

So our dinner table conversations were always

...

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