Our top interviews with MPs, trade unions and activists

Throughout 2023, Left Foot Forward has interviewed dozens of leading figures on the left. We’ve had in-depth conversations with trade union leaders, MPs and activists and brought their thoughts, ideas and successes to a mass audience. As 2023 comes to a close, we’re looking back at the biggest and best interviews we’ve published this year.

1. Caroline Lucas

This year, Left Foot Forward has run a new series of in depth interviews with MPs on the left who are retiring from parliament at the next general election. Among those standing down is the Green Party’s sole MP Caroline Lucas. In November, we spoke in depth to Lucas, where she discussed her biggest achievements in parliament, her assessment of the current state of politics and her reflections on a tumultuous 13 years in the House of Commons.

2. Ian Blackford

As part of that series, we also spoke to Ian Blackford MP. Blackford was leader of the SNP group at Westminster for five years, going head to head with no less than four Tory prime ministers. In August, we spoke to him about his eight years in parliament, the campaign for Scottish independence, and his regrets about the parliamentary battles over Brexit.

3. Paul Nowak

2023 was a year of change for the trade union movement. Paul Nowak took over from Frances O’Grady as general secretary of the TUC. In March, he sat down with Left Foot Forward to discuss his priorities for the trade union movement – from diversifying the movement to securing political change.

4. Sharon Graham

One of the most prominent trade union leaders in 2023 was Sharon Graham – the general secretary of Unite. She has become known for leading a union which has won scores of massive victories for workers, including dozens of double digit pay rises in workplaces across the UK. We spoke to her at this year’s TUC Congress, where she ‘makes no apologies’ for keeping Labour’s feet to the fire over workers’ rights.

5. Ed Davey

With much political reporting focusing on the head to head between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer, the Liberal Democrats have been somewhat below the radar this year. Despite this, the party’s leader Ed Davey can reflect on 2023 relatively happily. The Lib Dems gained over 400 seats in May’s local elections and added another MP to their tally in the Somerton and Frome by-election. It’s little surprise then, that when we spoke to Ed Davey earlier this year, he said his party is ‘critical’ to get the Tories out of government.

6. Ben Bradshaw

Returning to our series of interviews with retiring MPs, we spoke to the veteran Labour politician Ben Bradshaw. As part of our conversation, he gave his assessment on how parliamentary culture has changed since he was first elected in 1997, as well as the Labour Party’s position on trans rights and the lessons Keir Starmer can learn from the last Labour government.

7. Margaret Hodge

The fourth article we published in our series of interviews with retiring MPs was with Margaret Hodge. She reflected on her three decades in the House of Commons which included seeing off an attempt from the BNP to win her seat, holding various ministerial positions in the Blair and Brown governments and campaigning against antisemitism in Britain. Hodge covered all of these in her interview with Left Foot Forward.

8. Zack Polanski

Throughout 2023, we provided the most comprehensive coverage of party conferences we’ve ever delivered. This included the major conferences in the autumn, but also the smaller conferences in spring. In March, the Green Party of England and Wales held their spring conference and we spoke to the party’s deputy leader Zack Polanski. He discussed how the party is tackling equalities issues, including transphobia within the Greens’ ranks.

9. Siân Berry

Fast forward six months and we sat down with Siân Berry at the Green Party’s autumn conference. Berry – who was a co-leader of the Greens from 2018-21 – is hoping to replace Caroline Lucas as the MP for Brighton Pavilion. As such, we sat down to talk to her about what she would prioritise if elected. During the interview, she said she wasn’t interested in taking a ministerial position or the Greens entering any coalition after the next general election.

10. Mick Lynch

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch has become a household name as a result of his combative media appearances and fearless put downs of hapless interviewers who haven’t got their facts straight. At Left Foot Forward, we pride ourselves on having our facts straight – and we gave Mick Lynch the chance for an interview where the person asking the questions wasn’t parroting the bosses’ lines. We spoke to him at a demonstration against the government’s new anti-union laws and he gave his assessment of the state of democracy in Britain.

11. Darren Jones

Labour MP Darren Jones came to prominence as chair of the business and trade select committee. His grilling of the bosses of Royal Mail, P&O and others led to viral clips circulating on social media. In the summer, we spoke to Jones about his work on the select committee and his thoughts on the future of public services.

12 Jamie Stone

With a general election around the corner, the role the Liberal Democrats could play in the next parliament is being looked at in more detail. Would Ed Davey’s party enter into a coalition with Labour? What would their redlines be? These questions were discussed at the Lib Dems’ autumn conference earlier this year. At the conference, we spoke to Jamie Stone MP about his views on potential coalitions, something he said he is ‘not interested’ in.

13. Sarah Olney

Speaking of Lib Dems, we also spoke to Sarah Olney earlier this year. She’s the MP for Richmond Park and the Liberal Democrat treasury spokesperson. Speaking to Left Foot Forward after the spring budget, Olney set out her view that tackling inequality is key to economic growth.

14. Chris Packham

The environmental broadcaster and campaigner Chris Packham released a major Channel 4 documentary this year about the ethics of breaking the law to protest government policies on the climate crisis. Following its release, Packham spoke exclusively to Left Foot Forward about his campaigning, why young people need to vote in the next election and being chastised by Suella Braverman.

15. Green Party Councillors

In May’s local elections, the Green Party had record breaking results, gaining more than 200 seats across England. The Greens took majority control of a council for the first time in Mid Suffolk, and there are now 37 local authorities where Greens are in administration – either jointly with other parties or on their own. In light of this, we spoke to four Green cabinet members in local councils about what a Green Party run council looks like.

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward

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