Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Moral and spiritual debate with Sian Williams. Has our tolerant society encouraged extremism? Is it wrong for doctors to strike? Has the fight for women's rights been won?

Has our tolerant society encouraged extremism? In his speech to the Conservative conference on Wednesday, the prime minister laid out the government's plans for tackling extremism. David Cameron told delegates that 'for too long, we've been so frightened of causing offence that we haven't looked hard enough at what is going on in our communities'. He pledged to put an end to what he described as 'passive tolerance', going on to say that the UK must 'tear up the narrative that says Muslims are persecuted and the west deserves what it gets'. This speech came the day before it was revealed eight people a day were referred to the government's deradicalisation scheme known as Channel this summer. So just how do we tackle extremism? Is David Cameron right - has a fear of being seen as intolerant led us to turn a blind eye to the sorts of environments where extremism can flourish? Or by vilifying whole communities, would we just be playing into the hands of those who wish to radicalise our youth?

Joining Sian Williams on the panel are author and former MP Louise Mensch, columnist and broadcaster Angela Epstein, journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown and campaigner Derek Hatton.

Is it wrong for doctors to strike? The prospect of NHS junior doctors taking strike action remains a possibility, as protests continue over planned changes to their contracts. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt has moved to head off the potential strike by NHS junior doctors by seeking to reassure them that their pay will not be cut and they will not have to work longer hours under the proposed new contract that has sparked so much anger, writing a letter to the chair of the British Medical Association's junior doctors committee in a bid to defuse what has become an increasingly heated row. Public opinion would seem to be on the doctors' side - a poll in the Guardian last month revealed that a staggering 95 per cent of people would be in favour of the doctors going on strike. But with the scale of deficit in the NHS revealed on Friday, would it be right for doctors to take industrial action? Is it too valuable a profession to be allowed to go on strike? Or is it this value which means they should be given the working conditions that they say will allow them to provide the best care?

Also on the programme: Vicky Beeching talks to actor Brendan Gleeson about his new film Suffragette ahead of its release on Monday. The film centres on the lives of some of the early members of the women's suffrage movement in Britain.

Has the fight for women's rights been won? The premiere of the film Suffragette was targeted by feminist protesters who lay down across the red carpet in protest at what they describe as 'cuts to domestic violence services'. Speaking on the red carpet as the protests were happening, one of the stars of the film Romola Garai said 'I'm happy to see the suffrage movement is alive and happening'. It's 97 years since women won the right to vote in the UK, but have they achieved full equality yet? On average, women are still paid less than men and are vastly outnumbered as heads of businesses in the UK. This week, the businesswoman Annabel Karmel caused some controversy in a speech designed to encourage women to be business leaders, when she was quoted as saying there are some occupations which 'women can't do as well as men'. Is this just realistic? Or is the battle for equality far from over?

And we have a very special performance from Songhoy Blues from Mali. They fled their homes in the north of the country when it was overrun by radical Islamists. With music now banned in their homeland, they decided to form a band once they had reached safety and have gone from strength to strength since.

1 hour

Clip

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Sian Williams
Panellist Louise Mensch
Panellist Angela Epstein
Panellist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
Panellist Derek Hatton
Interviewer Vicky Beeching
Interviewed Guest Brendan Gleeson
Performer Songhoy Blues
Editor Kuljinder Khaila
Producer Neil Dimmock
Assistant Producer Cathy McMorrow
Production Coordinator Caoimhe Cassidy

Broadcast

Visit 麻豆官网首页入口 Action Line

Visit 麻豆官网首页入口 Action Line

Information and support for issues covered in our recent programmes