Fraser Nelson is editor of The Spectator
From its inception, The Spectator website has helped to facilitate conversation with – and between – our readers. Not all of them, of course: fewer than 1 per cent of subscribers currently leave comments, although 20 per cent read them. This is why it is a shame that, when we launched our new app, we
I’ve just given evidence to a House of Lords Select Committee which is considering the future of news and media more broadly. The best thing that politicians can do for the press is leave us alone: protect our independence (from politicians and government) but also protect the press from politicians and governments of other countries.
25 min listen
Having ditched the green investment pledge, Keir Starmer faces questions over what the Labour party actually stands for. And without a clear vision, how can the Labour leader hold together a divided party? Cindy Yu speaks to Fraser Nelson and former Labour advisor Ayesha Hazarika.
11 min listen
Liz Truss is back! This time with a conference called ‘Popular Conservatism’, bringing together voices in the Conservative party and aiming to ‘deliver popular conservative policies’. But what does the event really tells us about the state of right wing political thought in the UK today, and why were some of Truss’s key allies not
11 min listen
Rishi Sunak is in Belfast to mark the return of Stormont after a two-year deadlock. With Sinn Fein now the leading party, can the government pitch this as a win? Also on the podcast, the Prime Minister admitted he’s failed to meet the NHS waitlist targets from his five pledges last year. James Heale speaks
I was on BBC1’s Question Time with Kate Forbes in Glasgow last week in which she was oddly loyal to the SNP government. She seems to have been the only member of Nicola Sturgeon’s government not to be deleting her WhatsApp during Covid and I suspect she’s appalled at the way Sturgeon & co placed
12 min listen
In his Telegraph column, Fraser Nelson makes the case that it’s time to ban former politicians accepting jobs from foreign rulers. The likes of Tony Blair, George Osborne and David Cameron have all made money from government’s abroad. But is this becoming more of a problem? And are their critics simply a product of their success? Natasha
43 min listen
On the podcast: have the Tories given up on liberty? Kate Andrews writes the cover story for The Spectator this week. She argues that after the government announced plans to ban disposable vapes and smoking for those born after 2009, the Tories can no longer call themselves the party of freedom. Kate is joined by conservative peer
Few phrases are more likely to get the blood of ministers going than the words ‘Urgent Question’. Today it was the turn of media minister Julia Lopez, who was summoned to the House to answer MPs’ queries about the sale of the Telegraph and The Spectator to RedBird IMI, an entity bankrolled by the United
The Emirati / RedBird IMI bid for the Daily Telegraph and The Spectator is opening up a wider conversation: how much of our national infrastructure should autocracies be allowed to buy? The Emiratis have been on a bit of a spree in recent years. They have 10 per cent of Heathrow airport, 15 per cent
16 min listen
NHS consultants have (narrowly) rejected another pay increase offered to them by the government. They will not immediately go back on strike, and will instead negotiate further with the government. Kate Andrews takes us through the details. Also on the podcast, Fraser Nelson responds to Spectator chairman Andrew Neil’s comments on BBC’s Newsnight last night, on the
After years of scandal and intrigue, the Scottish National party has not lost its ability to shock. The UK Covid Inquiry has moved to Edinburgh for three weeks and in the process has exposed Nicola Sturgeon’s government to some robust scrutiny. The verbose, preening Hugo Keith has been replaced with Jamie Dawson, a more incisive
18 min listen
This week: Spectator editor Fraser Nelson on why the Emirati ownership of the magazine matters (00:30), Robert Hardman on the time the King could have poisoned Rishi Sunak (06:24) and Michael Simmons on why sobriety isn’t worth it (13:02).
15 min listen
Katharine Birbalsingh, headteacher at the Michaela community school in Brent, is being challenged in the High Court over a policy which allegedly bans students from praying. Ms Birbalsingh has defended the policy, arguing that it is vital to ‘maintain a successful learning environment where children of all races and religion can thrive.’ Should the Tories
12 min listen
After much back and forth, the Rwanda Bill passed last night with only 11 votes against while other critics, such as Lee Anderson who resigned his party role, abstained. Rishi Sunak can celebrate a small victory as it appears that the Brexit ‘Spartans’ of yesteryear are something of a spent force today. Cindy Yu talks
George Osborne was originally meant to fill this slot. We were always rather mean to him when he was chancellor (deservedly so) so it pains me to admit what a good diary writer he is: always stylish, engaging, ready to spill some beans. He had agreed, but then suddenly pulled out, leaving us scrambling. Something
12 min listen
Chris Skidmore has formally announced his resignation today, triggering another by-election in the process. His departure from the Commons is in protest against the government’s bill on new oil and gas licenses, which is set to be debated later this evening. What’s the reaction been in Westminster? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser
Rishi Sunak seems to have a New Year’s resolution: to claim that taxes are falling and say it so often that people start to believe him rather than their own lying payslip. He says that the last Budget was the biggest tax-cutting event since the 1980s, etc. He tells today’s Sunday Telegraph that more welfare
15 min listen
Rishi Sunak has all but confirmed that this year’s general election will take place in autumn. How will the Prime Minister, and Keir Starmer, run their campaigns? James Heale speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katie Perrior, former director of communications for Theresa May, and now a director at iNHouse Communications.
12 min listen
Rishi Sunak claimed that the Conservatives have cleared the 92,000 asylum claims, despite figures showing the backlog still stands at tens of thousands of applicants, with several thousand missing. Natasha Feroze speaks to James Heale and Fraser Nelson about the figures, and whether blags like these are a gift to the Reform party.
