Zoë Grünewald

London

Journalist and Broadcaster at Freelance

very serious freelance political journalist & broadcaster | Westminster editor @theleaduk | Presenter @fubarradio | Chatting @OhGodWhatNowPod @bunker_pod

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Articles

Transphobia is not feminism, it’s a dangerous distraction

1 week ago | national.thelead.uk | Zoë Grünewald

This week’s Supreme Court ruling on the definition of “sex” under the Equality Act has been heralded as a victory by those who claim to be protecting women’s rights. But let’s be honest about what’s really going on here: The sudden surge of political and media interest in trans people has never been about making women safer. It’s a distraction, and a dangerous one at that. The ruling, that “sex” means biological sex in the Equality Act, was immediately seized upon by the right-wing press.
Unions are the frontline for Labour’s battle against Reform

2 weeks ago | national.thelead.uk | Zoë Grünewald

Unions are alive to the threat of the populist right. They know what’s coming: a string of local elections which will see Reform UK make inroads into the red wall heartlands, stirring up old resentments and offering quick, populist fixes. And here’s the challenge: Labour’s hold on union members may be slipping. For years, it’s been easy to assume that unionised workers – factory workers, engineers, care workers, drivers – are Labour's base. But that base is fragmenting.
I’d like to ask the flighty millionaires: where is your sense of civic duty?

2 weeks ago | national.thelead.uk | Zoë Grünewald

Oh no, the millionaires are fleeing London! Why? Not war, wildfires, water shortages or near-permanent delays on the District line, but because they might finally be asked to pay tax like the rest of us. The long-overdue closure of the non-dom tax loophole has sent right-wing commentators into panic. Britain, they warn, is about to lose its best and brightest. What they mean, of course, is its richest.
It's time to cut Donald Trump loose - before he takes the UK down with him

3 weeks ago | national.thelead.uk | Zoë Grünewald

We all have those friends. Unreliable, flaky, perhaps a little two-faced. They’ll smile at you one moment and stab you in the back the next. Such relationships can be testing, but sometimes their redeeming traits – loyalty in the toughest times, a knack for making you smile – make them worth keeping around. Sadly for Keir Starmer, his friend across the pond does not possess such qualities.
Conspiracy, council tax and the common law courts

3 weeks ago | national.thelead.uk | Zoë Grünewald

Most people assume the law is clear-cut: courts issue rulings, judges interpret legislation, and legal decisions carry real consequences. But a growing movement believes otherwise.
Labour 'sticking to plan' says Calderdale MP amid benefits cut fears

3 weeks ago | calderdale.thelead.uk | Zoë Grünewald

Hello and welcome to The Calderdale Lead. I hope you’ve all had an enjoyable week despite the weather seemingly running through all the seasons over the last few days. On the political front - sticking with the theme of weather - there’s been storm clouds gathering for Chancellor Rachel Reeves after her ‘spring statement’ (definitely NOT a budget!) and the cuts to disability benefits. We’ve got some reaction from the borough’s two MPs below.
The Lead Untangles: The Spring Statement

4 weeks ago | national.thelead.uk | Zoë Grünewald

At a glance factsOn Wednesday, the chancellor unveiled her latest Spring Statement - the second in Labour’s financial announcements since entering government. In it came a fresh set of cuts to government spending and no tax raises, as the Rachel Reeves blamed a reduction in projected economic growth. The measures set out were:Benefit cutsBillions slashed from welfare, with £5bn estimated by the government and £3.4bn by the OBR. Universal Credit’s health element halved for new claimants and frozen.
Austerity isn’t pruning; it’s scorched earth.

1 month ago | national.thelead.uk | Zoë Grünewald

Here’s the thing about austerity: you can only do it once. It’s not like cutting grass or pruning hedges. You can’t trim back the state and expect it to grow back, fuller and stronger, next spring. Once you start, things unravel quickly. If you cut the NHS, as the Tories did back in 2010, you lose doctors, nurses, and staff. Buildings begin to crumble as budgets are funnelled toward immediate issues. Equipment fails and is never replaced. Morale collapses.
Labour can slice it however they want, but more cuts is more austerity

1 month ago | national.thelead.uk | Zoë Grünewald

Here’s the thing about austerity: you can only do it once. It’s not like cutting grass or pruning hedges. You can’t trim back the state and expect it to grow back, fuller and stronger, next spring. Once you start, things unravel quickly. If you cut the NHS, as the Tories did back in 2010, you lose doctors, nurses, and staff. Buildings begin to crumble as budgets are funnelled toward immediate issues. Equipment fails and is never replaced. Morale collapses.
Keir Starmer’s cruel civil service blitz is a cynical gift to the right

1 month ago | national.thelead.uk | Zoë Grünewald

Today, the Labour government has announced plans to radically reshape the state, promising that a digital revolution will deliver billions in savings, partly by slimming down the civil service and replacing administrative tasks with AI. The Prime Minister saved his announcement for the Telegraph, declaring that a new target to cut the administrative costs of regulation by 25 per cent would remedy the “overcautious, flabby state” that he claims has been blocking infrastructure projects.