# The Edition: Britain’s fraying social contract – and what comes after Starmer?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-spectator-45373/the-edition-britain-s-fraying-social-contract-and-what-comes-after-starmer
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-spectator-45373/the-edition-britain-s-fraying-social-contract-and-what-comes-after-starmer.md
Podcast: [Best of the Spectator](https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-spectator-45373)
Published: 2026-04-30T23:01:00+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/best-of-the-spectator/episodes/the-edition-britains-fraying-social-contract-and-what-comes
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/68358fb5e1abc4be6b0308eb/e/69f373ae9dcd58edd9746a8e/media.mp3?tk=eyJ0ayI6ImRlZmF1bHQiLCJhZHMiOnRydWUsInNwb25zIjp0cnVlLCJzdGF0dXMiOiJwdWJsaWMifQ==&sig=GSMZi5dej_JdrvS21dCJxf_svdBM8MOdRxnVNCbiU_0
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/best-of-the-spectator-45373/episodes/the-edition-britain-s-fraying-social-contract-and-what-comes-after-starmer
Duration seconds: 2582

## Resource

In this week’s podcast, William Moore is joined by The Spectator ’s economics editor Michael Simmons, assistant editor Isabel Hardman and Times columnist and Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips.  The panel unpacks Mary Wakefield’s cover story on the rise of shoplifting – and what it reveals about’ shameless Britain’. After a Morrisons manager was reportedly sacked for stopping a thief, they ask whether petty crime, fare-dodging and everyday rule-breaking are eroding the social contract. Also on the episode: Tim Shipman’s latest piece on Labour after Starmer. With Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband said to be thinking about what comes next, they debate whether the Prime Minister has lost authority – and whether Labour can choose between what its party wants and what voters want. And finally: after Green MP Hannah Spencer criticised Parliament’s drinking culture, the panel asks whether Westminster has a booze problem – or should we cut MPs some slack.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/best-of-the-spectator-45373/episodes/the-edition-britain-s-fraying-social-contract-and-what-comes-after-starmer/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/best-of-the-spectator-45373/the-edition-britain-s-fraying-social-contract-and-what-comes-after-starmer.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.