This is Money Podcast

Labour didn’t win the last General Election but leader Jeremy Corbyn believes it could do next time. In case that comes around anytime soon, the party this week laid out some plans at its conference. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell also revealed that the leadership would be doing war game planning should a Labour victory cause a run on the pound or a stock market slump. Depending on your point of view, this may sound amusing, scary or exciting. But what does it actually mean and should we be worried? Corbyn's plans are pretty radical and would herald a sharp turn in the country's economic direction but should we be worried about the economy as it is now? Perhaps the rumoured Bank of England rate hike is a sign that things are absolutely fine. On this week’s This is Money podcast, Simon Lambert, Georgie Frost and Lee Boyce take a look at whether the UK’s pint glass is half empty or half full – and whether that means you will get richer or poorer. The team also look at whether the unloved UK is a contrarian investing opportunity and how people taking advantage of pension freedom can make their pot last and enjoy a richer retirement. And for those who enjoyed the driving theory test quiz of a fortnight ago (and the towing a trailer-based knowledge bashing that came with it), it’s question time again: This week, how much do your household appliances cost to run each year? Enjoy.

This week the team ask the million dollar question: are interest rates really about to rise before the end of 2017? Are house buyers in property 'paradise' after a recent index showed a fall in monthly house asking prices - and should homeowners fix their mortgages for the long term? Brexit has thrown up many potential problems and could private expat pensions be one of them? And note mania is back - last week saw the new polymer £10 note launched. We tell you what serial numbers to look out for to potentially make a tidy profit. Enjoy.

This is Money has had a string of questions from readers looking to give their cash to children or grandchildren but who also wish to protect it from being squandered or lost in a relationship break-up. Whether the money is for a house deposit or to avoid inheritance tax, or for any other reason, it’s a major modern concern - especially as the sums involved can be tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds. On this week’s This is Money podcast, Simon Lambert, Rachel Rickard Straus and Georgie Frost discuss why people are worried and what they can do – if anything. Can you really control money once it has been given away? Could partners – or even theoretical future partners – get their hands on it? And why give it away in the first place if you’re going to worry about how it’s used? Also, on the agenda is the 10-year anniversary of the run on Northern Rock – when customers feared for the bank’s future and queued up outside branches to withdraw all their cash. It was the birth of the financial crisis in the UK followed by the credit crunch. How did the decade that followed change our financial lives and who have been the winners and losers? With interest rates held again we look at whether they could still rise this year – as Simon has bravely predicted – and why you shouldn’t be suckered in by a stunning looking 7.75% fixed-rate bond claiming official FSCS protection that you found on Google. If it looks too good to be true it surely is – right? That’s the rule. But if someone told you that you could buy into something that’s up 70% in two years at a discount - and it still looks reasonably cheap - you’d walk away wouldn’t you? But that’s the deal with emerging markets investment trusts. Why? And finally, we see whether Simon, Georgie, or Rachel could pass a driving theory test today using the quiz we put to our readers. It sets off more discussions about towing a trailer than you’d ever expect on a money podcast. Enjoy.

Car scrappage schemes are back. After waiting in vain for the government to launch an official scrappage scheme to get dirty diesels off the road, car makers have taken matters into their own hands. But is this an altruistic move to help replace more polluting cars with greener ones, or are they just trying to flog more cars? These new scrappage schemes have coincided with falling sales of new cars, so you could be forgiven for being cynical, which if we’re going to be honest is exactly what This is Money editor Simon Lambert and deputy motoring editor Rob Hull are. But there’s another important question to tackle, are these scrappage schemes a good deal? Simon, Rob and host Georgie Frost take a deep dive into them – and the murky world of cars sales and finance. What you probably won’t be buying if you take advantage of a scrappage scheme is an electric car – but wait a few years and your next one could be. There’s been a string of news on this and in a show that goes more than a little electric we take a look at what the future holds. Will it be Nissan’s new £20,000 Leaf that wins out, Jaguar’s plan to offer every model with an electric or hybrid version, or could it even be a Dyson car that storms the market? If you’d prefer to go a bit off the beaten track and electric motorbike with a detachable battery you can charge in your office might even be the answer. Rob spent a week with a Super Soco to test out that theory and reports back here. And what about your house? This week we told the story of Darren Widdowson, from Northamptonshire, who decided to try generating his own electricity with solar panels and a battery storage unit from Ikea. He now pays just £4.50 every month for electricity to power his home and electric car. Also on this week’s show we look at the case where This is Money’s Tanya Jefferies won £7,000 back from HMRC for a couple who paid to bump up their state pension and then discovered that wasn’t possible and we ask if Neil Woodford, once one of the best performing fund managers in the UK, has lost the Midas touch. And finally, would giving your house a nice name add to its value – and exactly what are the rules on this? We explain what you need to do if you fancy calling your home Trevor, Nigel, or Dunroamin.

Hasta La Vista PPI! Arnold Schwarzenegger has been drafted in as a last-ditch attempt to get the millions of us who still haven't claimed compensation for mis-sold PPI to do so. In this episode of the podcast, top financial broadcaster Georgie Frost join Lee Boyce and Rachel Rickard Straus of the This is Money team to talk about Arnie's new PPI advertisement campaign and more. They have a good old chat about the big money stories from the past week and what it all means for you. We've all heard about PPI a million times, but with half of those eligible still yet to claim, could you still be owed a little windfall? Lee gives his back to basics guide on what you can do to check – and how you could still be owed some cash even if you've had a claim declined in the past. Then Georgie makes a case for banning the word 'loyal' when used to describe customers who stay with the same utility or insurance provider for year after year. Are they loyal, apathetic or unaware that they could get a better deal elsewhere? Either way, we explain how you can help family and friends to save hundreds of pounds every year (and perhaps even take you on holiday with the proceeds… you never know). Rachel and Lee also go head to head over cashback websites. Rachel says you can't argue with free cash, Lee finds some arguments against it… All this and plenty more in another packed episode of the unmissable This is Money Podcast. Enjoy!

Ten years ago last week the greatest game of hide and seek was about to come to an end. Banks had been lending money to people who had no way of ever paying it back to buy houses they would never be able to afford. But rather than writing off the debts, they packaged them up into complex investments, pretended they were safe and selling them to investors who had no idea of what they were buying. The bad stuff was carefully hidden among a few quality loans and everyone was happy – for a while. It was insane. It was global. It was the financial crisis. Then came the credit crunch where the grease that turns the wheels of economies dried up. Banks collapsed. Governments went bust. Over the past week commentators have been recounting where they were and how they saw it coming. But they didn’t see it coming. Few did. This week, Simon Lambert and Georgie Frost offer up one of the best, honest and understandable accounts of what really happened after BNP Paribas shut down three hedge funds specialising in sub-prime mortgage debt, marking the beginning of the financial crisis when the global economy stared at the precipice. This episode really is a must listen. Enjoy.

Are banks doing everything that they can to track down fraudsters who con you into transferring them money? They repeatedly tell us that they are, but one man says that’s not true. He got scammed, took matters into his own hands and got £20,000 back. How did Gideon Roseman do it? He used his experience as a barrister to follow the money. So, if he can, why don’t we see more banks doing that? This is Money’s fraud expert Lee Boyce, who has won thousands of pounds back for readers, discusses whether banks are really doing everything they can. Also on the agenda in this week’s podcast with Simon Lambert and Georgie Frost is the exchange traded fund (ETF) that lets you invest in cows, coffee and gold all in one place (but would you want to?) And what you need to know about those bargain-priced ‘Cat D’ second-hand cars you see for sale. What does it mean, why is the system changing and are these previously damaged motors worth taking a punt on if the price is right? If you like the podcast please subscribe, leave us a review, share it, or just tell your friends the old-fashioned way by word-of-mouth. As someone once said, every little helps.

Will a diesel and petrol car ban even work? If you believe the Government, in 23 years’ time new diesel and petrol cars will be banned. From 2040 the future is electric. But as these controversial plans were rolled out this week, the first question on many people’s lips was: where’s all that electricity going to come from? Simon Lambert, Lee Boyce and Georgie Frost discuss the prospects for electric cars now that we’re all going to have to learn to drive in near silence. They answer all the questions - with the help of Simon’s adventures in a top-of-the range electric Tesla: Can the power supply and grid cope? How long do electric cars take to charge? What’s it like to drive an electric car? Will carmakers deliver but the Government stuff it up? And is the booming car industry about to bust? Also on the show we look at how to build a pension if you’ve got to 45 and still don’t have any savings, what to do about Japanese knotweed and whether reading fiction can help you be a better investor. And finally… In one of the more intriguing questions This is Money has been sent recently by a reader – can you sue the council if it moves a school catchment area and harm’s your house’s value? Enjoy. If you like the show also please subscribe at your favoured podcast outlet and leave us a review or like us on iTunes.

The state pension age will rise once more, it emerged this week - with those in their 40s set to lose out. But is it fair to continue to raise the state pension age in line with life expectancy, especially for those who cannot work through their 60s? Georgie Frost, Simon Lambert and Rachel Rickard Straus discuss how we handle the thorny and expensive issue of the state pensions. Also on this week’s show: The end of sneaky card charges Tips to avoid the car hire company rip-offs Attempts to solve the work productivity puzzle And it’s been a big week for news about gender equality – from the first female Doctor Who, to the FTSE’s most in-demand boss Carolyn McCall taking the top job at ITV, and then those BBC pay revelations. Is there still a lot more work to be done to promote women in business? Should stories about women getting top jobs even mention that they are women or mothers? The last ten minutes looks at how we can get more women to the top in business. Enjoy.

Mumblings of potential big house price falls have emerged again recently to delight the crashists. The 40% number was even mentioned - and that's not happened in a while. The property market is clearly slowing down - and prices are falling in London - but is all this talk of a crash overdone? After a report emerged from an LSE professor a fortnight ago, This is Money readers have been reliving the old house price crash article dream - and the debate in the comments has been as heated as ever. So what's behind all this? Is the warning too dire, or just a dose of realism? Simon Lambert and Lee Boyce join Georgie Frost in the studio to delve into the figures, Britain's history housing boom and bust and ponder just how overpriced homes are. Also on this week's show, we look at whether the gig economy works or needs an overhaul and more protection, and why Jaguar decided to launch the E-Pace - the new car it expects to ramp up its sales ambitions - into the air at high speed.