Across the Red Line

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Anne McElvoy invites figures on opposed sides of a political issue to listen to each other

Anne McElvoy, working with conflict resolution experts Gabrielle Rifkind and Louisa Weinstein, invites two figures on opposing sides of an issue to listen to each other.

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Across the Red Line: The Boomers have had it too good

The Boomers have had it too good

BBC Radio 4 - Across the Red Line, The Boomers have had it too good

Anne McElvoy and conflict resolution expert Louisa Weinstein invite Henry Hill and Jackie Weaver to debate the contention that the Baby Boomer generation have had it too good.

The Baby Boomer generation, in the UK those born between 1946 and 1964, have had a profound impact on British society, not least because they represent a surge in population growth.  Thanks to policies enacted by various governments over the last half century they have been able to benefit from an economic situation that allowed and encouraged home ownership and those that have reached pensionable age are now protected against wage and interest growth.  By contrast, generations that followed have found it increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder and find themselves taking the brunt of the current cost of living crisis.

Henry Hill of the website Conservative Home argues for the contention that Baby Boomers have had it too good, and that legislation is required to change the economic dynamics in favour of the generations that are following.  Putting the case against him is Jackie Weaver Chief Officer of the Cheshire Association of Local Councils, although perhaps better known as the woman who chaired a zoom Parish Council meeting in 2020 that went viral during lockdown. Jackie argues that not only is it unfair to treat Baby Boomers as a generic group, but that they themselves faced hardships and economic pressures, and in many cases, particularly outside London still do.

Anne McElvoy then invites Louisa Weinstein, founder of the Conflict Resolution Centre, to help Jackie and Henry explore their respective Boomer and Millenial backgrounds and ask each other what it is that shapes and governs their world view and their attitude to the generational divide implied in the contention. The ambition is to see if there is any way of exploring, and even occupying the fertile ground that lies a little closer to their respective Red Lines.

Producer: Tom Alban

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