George Osborne has gone, Phillip Hammond is in No 11, David Davis and Liam Fox are back in the Cabinet - and Boris Johnson is the new Foreign Secretary. Theresa May’s reshuffle has made headlines around the world – and Boris' appointment in particular has been a big talking point. In this week’s Spectator podcast, Isabel Hardman talks to James Forsyth, Fraser Nelson, and Colleen Graffy, a former official in the US State Department. Here’s what she has to say about Boris:
“‘He is a particularly attractive combination of being a politician who speaks both knowledgeably and eloquently, but different from any politician that’s in America. So I think that he will be attractive in articulating things that are important to the United States now on foreign policy.’
And what to make of Liam Fox's Cabinet comeback? Prof. Graffy says it's a reason to be optimistic about the UK’s global future after Brexit. She tells Isabel Hardman:
“‘Liam is very well known in the United States, and I think he will be an excellent representative. If there can be some trade deals done swiftly, that would also change the view that Britain is becoming isolated. And it’s bringing back the whole idea of the Anglosphere – that maybe as we look to trade deals with the Commonwealth, with the United States, Canada, maybe India, that there’s a whole new vision out there. And with Liam Fox and very close connections in the United States, I think that bodes well.’
In the second part of this week’s podcast, Isabel Hardman presents a discussion of Labour’s future. She is joined by Marcus Roberts, former Labour strategist, and John McTernan, a former political advisor to both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, to discuss. Regarding the NEC’s decision on Tuesday to allow Corbyn to stand for election, John McTernan tells Isabel Hardman:
“‘This is the end. There is no doubt in my mind that this is the end of the Labour party. It either comes quickly or it comes slowly, but it’s the end. There’s no doubt that Corbyn will win this leadership election; there’s no doubt that his supporters will then start to deselect sensible members of the parliamentary Labour party.’
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