Andy Preston

Homelessness in the UK: What the System Gets Wrong, and What Might Actually Work

Andy shares why homelessness persists in the UK despite years of well-funded initiatives and public sympathy. With a front-row view as both a charity founder and former city mayor, he breaks down how government resources are misallocated, how well-meaning policies create perverse incentives, and why solutions often fail before they start. Andy also brings attention to the overlooked connection between rising homelessness and the UK’s asylum and immigration backlog—offering a rare, non-partisan critique of how multiple broken systems collide. He doesn’t stop at analysis: Andy outlines pragmatic, experience-backed ideas that could shift outcomes quickly if we’re willing to rethink what “help” actually looks like.

From Hedge Funds to City Hall: Risk, ADHD, and the Making of a Modern Leader

Andy’s journey—from finance to philanthropy to public office—is anything but typical. In this conversation, he reflects on the mindset shifts required to walk away from a lucrative career to take on civic work with no party backing, no salary, and no safety net. He talks openly about how his ADHD has shaped his decision-making, creativity, and drive, and how it’s both helped and hindered him across different environments. With honesty and humour, Andy invites listeners to consider how career reinvention, neurodiversity, and risk-taking aren’t liabilities—but leadership assets in a world that desperately needs fresh thinking.

Inside Local Government: Where Good Ideas Go to Die (and How to Change That)

What really happens inside the walls of local government? Andy takes listeners behind the scenes of his tenure as Mayor of Middlesbrough, revealing how politics at the local level is often more about optics than outcomes. He shares stories of trying to fund grassroots projects while navigating institutional resistance, of confronting systems designed to delay action, and of taking unpopular decisions because they were the right ones. Through it all, he challenges the idea that local councils are powerless—arguing instead that leadership, transparency, and courage could turn them into the UK’s most effective engine for change. For any audience frustrated by political gridlock, this is a wake-up call from someone who’s tried to fix it from the inside.