Episode 69: Back to the Future

Shaky having long lost our podcast legs, Steve and Chris give in to temptation and return with a one-off ten-year anniversary special to mark a decade since that benighted referendum and the world of pain that followed. Recorded on 9 June 2026, for release on the anniversary of the Brexit referendum (23 June), Chris and Steve catch up on each others' lives since they last recorded the Cakewatch podcast, and reflect on how the EU and the UK have fared respectively since their bitter divorce. They also discuss the growing calls in the UK for a closer relationship with the EU, and ask whether the UK has actually learned a damn thing in the decade since the Brexit referendum. They also have a stab at trying to identify the lie of the decade. Apologies for patchy sound quality. We've lost all our podcasting equipment and forgotten how to use podcast software. If it seems a bit quiet, we recommend turning up the volume. For those seeking a deep (un)cut, we've posted raw footage of the recording to Chris' Youtube channel. As Steve doesn't want to be on the video, it's just Chris in front of his monitor talking to Steve, without any of the edits, so... yeah, it's over two hours of Chris staring at a screen. To be honest, we're only posting this so Chris can pretend to his son that he's a Youtuber. We really wouldn't recommend it.

Steve is back, but as a guest, and joined by Ian Dunt to reflect on what makes a liberal, how to win the culture war, and whether we remember anything from our undergraduate days. Swearing. Buy Ian Dunt's new book, How To Be A Liberal, from Canbury Press. Audio clips from Patrick Tull's reading of Treason's Harbour by Patrick O'BrianSpecial Guests: Ian Dunt and Steve Bullock.

Chris and Garvan Walshe catch up on how they handled lockdown, what to expect next, and what has changed since they last recorded the podcast together, in November 2018. Just as it did two years ago, the Northern Ireland backstop features heavily in Lie of the Week. Also, will the Conservative Party have the good sense to ditch its current leader?Special Guest: Garvan Walshe.

Alviina Alametsä is a Green Party MEP from Finland. She took up her seat only in February 2020, after it was vacated by a departing UK MEP. Cakewatch likes to think that she took one previously occupied by a Faragist. Alviina's particular policy interests are public mental health and conflict resolution, so who better to talk about tackling the Brexit aftermath? Alviina draws on her own experience as a survivor of a school shooting to inform her campaigning work to improve access to mental healthcare for young people in particular. In a world facing climate emergency and coronavirus, not to mention Brexit and populism, we look at how policy generally fails to factor in the mental health impact, and what can be done at EU level to address this. Mind, the mental health charity, offering help and advice to you if you are suffering from depression or if you are looking for advice on how to help someone who you think might be depressed.Special Guest: Alviina Alametsä.

Trade expert David Henig joins the podcast again for our first survey of the post B-day wreckage. With the EU and the UK apparently offering different visions of their future relationship, which one is the more realistic? Hahaha no seriously, which?Special Guest: David Henig.

For our final podcast before Brexit, we're joined again by Tanja Bueltmann to talk about coping strategies, Steve's album of ambient prozac, and the ongoing work to support EU citizens in the UK as they face mounting hostility and an unforgiving bureaucracy. You can get Steve's album here, and become an EU Citizens' Champion. We're dedicating this episode to the memory of our friend and colleague Andy Barnard.

The aftermath. Rather than wallow in despair we look back on a fight well fought, and the friends that have joined us on the podcast. We also reflect a little bit on what the future will bring. It's not pretty, so we need to find strategies to help us through the dark times ahead. Thank you to all our guests who have helped us out on the podcast over the last 67 episodes: Alyn Smith Andy of Remainer Now Axel Antoni David Henig Dmitry Grozoubinski Garvan Walshe Ian Bond Jason Knoll Jim Cornelius Jon Worth Julie Girling Katie Low Laura Shields Molly Scott Cato Nick Crosby Nicky James Peter Wilding Seb Dance Steve Analyst Tanja Bueltmann Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas Download Steve's new album One Thousand Days and please give generously to EU Citizens Champion!

We cut to the chase. Nothing is more important than this. On Thursday, vote for the candidate most likely to beat Boris Johnson. Because if you don't, if he wins, our country will become unrecognisable. This will be the defining battle of our culture war.

Brexit flowchart hero and EU Twitter legend Jon Worth joins Chris this week to take a deeper dive into tactical voting in the UK's general election - where is a tactical vote needed, how to work out where a tactical vote should go, and what might happen? All in the service of depriving Boris Johnson of a working majority and so keeping our hopes of remaining in the EU alive. Jon and Chris also reflect on their experiences of living and working in the EU and observing the way other EU countries do politics differently, and ask how the UK might do things better, why its EU membership seems to have had so little impact, and yes the 'f' word crops up. Federalism, that is. If you want to take Jon up on his offer of a personalised tactical voting recommendation, please get in touch with him via his blog jonworth.eu or on Twitter where he is @jonworth. Jon's tactical voting guide can be found here.Special Guest: Jon Worth.

Steve studied moral philosophy. (So did Chris but he doesn't get a word in edgeways.) We look at the ethics of tactical voting in the 2019 general election, and why you should hold your nose and vote for a candidate from a party you might not endorse as a party of government. Not just because you want to Remain in the EU, but also because you want to avert a catastrophic Johnson majority and engineer a situation where your first and second order goals might, just might, see the light of day. Network Vote want your help to get the "unheard third" of the vote out. Today we launch our website https://t.co/MghOAJAWaE - a tool to help our communtities across the UK boost voter turnout. Ours is a simple, unique idea: we don't want you to sign up to a mailing list or get your details. The materials are free, open-source and for everybody /1— network.vote (@NetworkVote) November 10, 2019 Jon Worth's blog is your one-stop-shop to help you decide how to use your precious vote. You can find out where you are voting, whether you should vote tactically, and what the key tactical voting sites are recommending you should do with your vote. Jon Worth's practical guide to tactical voting