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.
It is very easy to dismiss Wednesday’s recall of Parliament as a pointless exercise in handwringing that sums up the way most MPs approach foreign policy. There will certainly be plenty of frustrating hindsight on offer from politicians who haven’t taken a blind bit of notice of Afghanistan right up until the point where they
15 min listen
The south of Afghanistan is now under Taleban control, after the group took the cities of Kandahar and Lashkar Gah this week. Meanwhile, Britain and America are deploying thousands of troops – as many as were there before the withdrawal began earlier this year – to evacuate expats and the majority of embassy staff. After
14 min listen
With things on the ground in Afghanistan accelerating from bad to worse so fast that the Americans are now even worried about the safety of their embassy. Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about what the UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace’s attitude towards this 20 year conflict has been like in statements
11 min listen
The Taleban are continuing their advance through Afghanistan, and are on the cusp of taking control in the major cities of Herat and Kandahar. The group’s fighters have predictably ignored the Doha Agreement, but has the speed of their success taken politicians by surprise, and how much of an embarrassment is the deteriorating situation for
14 min listen
Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch could replace Gavin Williamson as education secretary in the next reshuffle, according to reports today. Should he be moved, and how is he making his case for staying? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.
11 min listen
A record number of students got As or A*s in their A levels this year. After last year’s fiasco, teachers were given the responsibility of grading their own pupils. Has leniency put less well-off kids at a disadvantage, and will the achievements of future students now look worse? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and
12 min listen
With the Chancellor’s leaked letter to the Prime Minister (which apparently he’d never seen) showing some disagreement about COVID policy, is this an omen signalling a fracas to come over future spending plans? Isabel Hardman talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth
10 min listen
The Prime Minister joked yesterday that thanks to Margaret Thatcher closing coal mines, the UK ‘had a big early start and we’re now moving rapidly away from coal altogether.’ Is this typical Boris, or has he misread the room? Isabel Hardman speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.
9 min listen
US intelligence agencies are combing through reams of documents from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, according to reports from CNN, which could provide a vital indication as to whether Covid was leaked. What would be the repercussions if it was? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.
10 min listen
Nicola Sturgeon said she expects that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will soon be recommending that those aged 16 and above will be offered a vaccine. Is this an acceptance that vaccine certificates and Deliveroo discounts aren’t enough to reach herd immunity? Isabel Hardman speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.
9 min listen
Fully vaccinated travellers from the EU and US could be allowed to come into the Uk without quarantining, under plans being discussed by the government. Will this help businesses to recover, or is it an unnecessary change that risks seeing a repeat of the fiasco around India’s traffic light status back in April? Katy Balls
Have you got what it takes to go ‘wild swimming’? No, not so much the hardiness or the love of sinking your feet into the boggy bottom of a lake or feeling something brush against your ankle that could be a fish, a plant or something more sinister. Have you got the right kit? Outdoor
What is it like to go mad? Not so much developing depression or having a panic attack — which is wearyingly familiar to many of us — but to go properly mad, the sort of madness that involves delusions and police officers and locked psychiatric wards? Horatio Clare didn’t have to imagine what that was
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On the 80th anniversary of Prime Minister’s Questions, viewers were treated to a distinctly lacklustre performance today. James Forsyth argues that Starmer’s questions are still too long; and proper scrutiny is not helped by the technical issues that accompanied the Prime Minister’s virtual contribution. Isabel Hardman talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.
11 min listen
It’s the day after ‘freedom’ day and it’s not entirely clear just how free we are, with the prime minister last night say that from September nightclub goers will have to prove their vaccination status or provide a negative test. But with just the threat of vaccine passports leading to record appointments booked in both
43 min listen
Ella Al-Shamahi is a presenter, comedian, and an explorer recognised by National Geographic. On this episode, Ella talks to Lara Prendergast and Olivia Potts about her ill fated early days as a domestic house wife, her critiques of the paleo diet and the time she had to try turtle – not a fan.
What is the point of the Covid-19 app? Ministers seem to be as in the dark about the answer to this question as the rest of us, with the government tying itself in knots over whether it means anything at all to get ‘pinged’ and told to self-isolate. Downing Street has contradicted Business Minister Paul
13 min listen
Yesterday in what was the quickest public turnaround in government history. The prime minister and the chancellor are now in isolation after getting pinged for being too close to the Covid ridden health secretary Sajid Javid. There is something a little ironic about the leaders of the country being locked up on what was initially
After several hours of rage that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak were going to be able to avoid self-isolation — despite being contacted by NHS Test and Trace — the pair have performed a screeching U-turn. They’ve now said they will ignore the pilot that they were a part of and stay at home like
Is the NHS about to be privatised? That’s the charge from some campaigners as the Health and Care Bill starts its journey through parliament. Certain doctors, mainly on social media, are calling on MPs to scrap the Bill because they claim it will open up the NHS to more privatisation and allow private companies to skim
