Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.
13 min listen
It’s finally happening! This is the week the infamous Sue Gray report into partygate will be released. Details are few and far between, although we do know that the Prime Minister will be mentioned by name in the document. Mutterings from Tory HQ are that this is not going to be a good week for
10 min listen
The Met police have today announced that their investigation into No. 10 parties is now over, and No. 10 have confirmed that neither the Prime Minister nor his wife have received more fines. Is Boris Johnson out of the woods? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman. James points out the fortunate timing
13 min listen
With the cost of living crisis looming large, pressure is on the government to come up with effective solutions. With Labour snapping at their heels for an emergency budget and a windfall tax on oil and gas companies, will the Conservatives eventually bend to this pressure? And if they do, will these solutions even work?
Boris Johnson and his ministers are inching ever closer to U-turning on a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies. Today the Prime Minister refused to rule out such a tax, telling Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer that ‘we will look at all the measures’ possible to tackle the cost of living crisis. Starmer
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Liz Truss made a speech in the House of Commons today laying out the government’s plans to scrap parts of the Northern Ireland protocol. James Forsyth first broke this story in last week’s Spectator magazine. How will the EU react to the news? And could this spark a trade war with the EU? Moving onto the cost
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Boris Johnson is in Belfast today in an attempt to repair relations between the DUP and Sinn Fein. In a 2000 word article for Belfast Telegraph, the Prime Minister laid out his intentions not to scrap the Northern Ireland Protocol, but instead to fix it. Can these two polarised parties find a middle ground? Also on
Boris Johnson is running out of time to produce things the Tories can show the voters at the next election. The theme of his Queen’s Speech – if there was one – was an attempt to fix that. That next election campaign was countered by Keir Starmer in the chamber this afternoon. The main focus was on the
11 min listen
As pressures mount over claims that Keir Starmer broke lockdown rules, the Labour leader has just pulled out of a keynote speech he is due to give today. How much trouble is he really in? Katy Balls looks at Starmer’s future in a blog on Coffee House today. Also on the podcast, what will be
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Katy Balls, James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman delve into the 2022 local election results and discuss how the Conservatives will adapt their strategy to remain in power.
14 min listen
We’ve had more election results in and it looks like the Lib Dems will be celebrating tonight, encroaching on many Tory seats around the country. But is this Liberal passion from voters or disaffection with the two major parties? Katy Balls talks with James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about all the latest results.
13 min listen
The results are coming in! While the Tories seem to have done quite badly in the capital, Labour has not made the gains in the rest of the country that many predicted they would. The Lib Dems and the Greens have had a good showing so far but we won’t know just how good until
9 min listen
A new poll from ComRes has shown Scottish Labour taking second place in tomorrow’s local elections, overtaking the Scottish Conservatives. On the podcast, James Forsyth explains the torrid flip-flop that Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Tories, has made over partygate, first calling for Boris Johnson to resign before rowing back (‘He thought that the
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Campaigning in the local elections is entering its final few days. But what are the expectations for the Tories and Labour and can they be met? Both leaders Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer have already put their foot in it to some degree, with the Labour leader getting rather too defensive about his lockdown mid-work
Neil Parish has now been suspended from the Conservative whip after referring himself to Parliament’s complaints process following allegations he watched pornography in the Commons chamber. The Tiverton and Honiton MP spoke to the chief whip today and had the whip removed pending the outcome of the investigation. Two female Conservative MPs alleged earlier this
17 min listen
This has been a bad week for the reputation of the House of Commons. From inappropriate comments toward female MPs, three cabinet ministers facing sexual misconduct claims and one MP accused of watching pornography in the chamber. Can anything be done to change this grotesque culture? And is it Westminster specific or an issue with
Prime Minister’s Questions opened with Sir Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson agreeing that the anonymous briefing about Angela Rayner was unacceptable. The Labour leader speculated that Johnson would have ‘whipped his backbenchers to scream and shout – and that’s fine’, before demanding that he send a ‘clear message that there’s no place for sexism or
The High Court’s ruling today that the government broke the law on the discharge of patients to care homes in the early days of the pandemic further undermines the claim by the then Health Secretary Matt Hancock that ministers had thrown a ‘protective ring’ around the sector. The case was brought by two relatives, Cathy
13 min listen
Today a pre-briefing on what Boris Johnson plans to say to the Cabinet about the cost of living crisis was released. He wants them to brainstorm ideas to ease the pain felt by the British public in the face of rising prices of food and energy. The catch, is these have to be non-fiscal ways.
12 min listen
French President, Emmanuel Macron secured victory over the weekend. But with the election over, will we see a reset in relations between the UK and France? Apart from support for Ukraine, there has been little the governments on either side of the Channel have agreed on. Katy Balls is joined by Isabel Hardman and James
The Commons has approved – without a vote – a motion calling for Boris Johnson to face an investigation into whether he misled the House over partygate. Labour’s motion, supported by other opposition parties, means the Privileges Committee will start an inquiry after the Metropolitan Police’s work on the lockdown parties has concluded. There was
