James Heale

James Heale

James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.

How Wes Streeting will make or break Starmer

15 min listen

Michael Gove and Katy Balls join James Heale to discuss their interview with the Health Secretary Wes Streeting included in this week’s special Easter edition of The Spectator. Michael identifies three key reasons why Streeting’s fate is key to the success of the government: immigration, the cost-of-living crisis and faith in the NHS. Seen as the

How will the parties judge success at the local elections?

14 min listen

With just over two weeks to go until the May elections, the latest national polling suggests an almost three-way split between Reform, Labour and the Conservatives. But will this translate to the locals? And, given these particular seats were last contested in 2021 amidst the ‘Boris wave’, how will the parties judge success?  The Spectator’s

Reform remix Farage’s greatest hits

In truth, there was little that was new in Nigel Farage’s speech today. For more than a decade, he has positioned himself as commander of the ‘people’s army’, fearlessly ‘parking our tanks on Labour’s lawn.’ First, it was Ukip, then it was the Brexit party. Now, his chosen vehicle to crush the establishment is Reform.

James Heale

Nigel Farage turns his guns on the Red Wall

Much of the commentary on the local elections has focused thus far on the Tories’ southern discontent. But today, Nigel Farage will turn his guns on the north of England, as he seeks to position his party as the real challenger to Labour across swathes of the so-called Red Wall. Key voters in these northern

‘Betgate’ is the latest blow to the Welsh Tories

It is a tough life these days being a member of the Welsh Conservatives. The party lost every Westminster seat in July and now have barely a hundred councillors across the country. In December, the fractious parliamentary party voted by nine votes to seven to retain leader Andrew RT Davies; he quit regardless, prompting his

‘Nationalisation in all but name’: the blame game over British Steel

11 min listen

Parliament was recalled from Easter recess for a rare Saturday sitting of Parliament yesterday, to debate the future of British Steel. Legislation was passed to allow the government to take control of the Chinese-owned company – Conservative MP David Davis called this ‘nationalisation in all but name’. Though, with broad support across the House including

The steel debate was an unseemly blame game

In the end, it was David Davis who said it best. Today’s emergency debate on how to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant amounted to a ‘nationalisation in all but name Bill’, with new measures amounting to a ‘reprieve, not a rescue’. Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, did a decent job of affecting reluctance at the

Marine Le Pen: justice or lawfare?

14 min listen

Marine Le Pen, president of Rassemblement National (National Rally) was found guilty this week of embezzling EU funds to boost her party’s finances. The guilty verdict was widely expected, however her sentence was far harsher than even her strongest critics expected – part of which saw her banned from standing for office for five years, with immediate

Five years on, who is Keir Starmer?

13 min listen

Today marks five years since Keir Starmer became leader of the Labour party. In that time, he has gradually purged Labour of its leftist wing and wrestled the party back to the centre, winning a historic majority in 2024. But, five years on, the question remains: what does Keir Starmer stand for? He came in

James Heale

China hits back against Trump’s tariffs

Donald Trump has sown the wind – and now America must reap the whirlwind. Beijing has today announced plans to slap an additional 34 per cent tax on all US imported goods from next Thursday. China had already applied tariffs – ranging from 10 to 15 per cent – to a range of American agricultural

Welcome to Terrible Tuesday

14 min listen

Britain’s real economic pain starts today. Overnight, the cost of living has jumped once again: energy, water, broadband, public transport, TV licences – all up. So too are council tax bills, capital gains, and vehicle taxes. And that’s before we even get to the slow stealth march of fiscal drag and the impact of World

The Sentencing Council U-turn is a victory for Jenrick

It was not quite at the eleventh hour – but it wasn’t too far off. The Sentencing Council has tonight decided to delay the introduction of so-called ‘two-tier guidance’ after being threatened with emergency legislation to block it by the government. The new guidelines, which had been due to come into force on Tuesday, would have

James Heale

What to expect on ‘World Tariff Day’

13 min listen

This week will see ‘World Tariff Day’ – as those in Westminster are not-so-excitedly calling Wednesday – when Donald Trump will announce a wave of new tariffs. Trump is expected to reveal plans for reciprocal tariffs aimed at addressing what he sees as an ongoing trade imbalance between the US and other countries. He argues

James Heale

The Lib Dems are gunning for Middle England

This morning’s local elections launch was everything we have come to expect from the Liberal Democrats. In leafy Henley, Ed Davey galloped around on a hobby horse, while gamely activists lustily cheered him on. Infantile? Yes. But such tactics are effective too. Sir Ed is clearly happy to reprise his role as the Mr Tumble

James Heale

Starmer pledges migration action before summer wave

The British weather is improving – and that is bad news for Labour’s migration efforts. For the past five years, the beginning of spring has coincided with an uptick in Channel crossings; ministers expect the same again this summer. It is a phenomena that has reduced a succession of Home Secretaries to little more than

Can Reform emulate its Canadian cousins?

A historic election defeat leaves the Conservatives crushed, Reform rampant and a left-wing government securely entrenched in power. The similarities between Canada in 1993 and the UK result of 2024 have been much remarked upon. But what is less discussed is the aftermath of that ‘93 result and the ten years it took to finally

Michael Heseltine on Thatcher, Boris and Badenoch

30 min listen

An MP for 35 years, Michael Heseltine served as Environment Secretary and then Defence Secretary in Margaret Thatcher’s government. Following his well-publicised resignation in 1986, he returned to government under John Major and was Deputy Prime Minister for the last two years of Major’s premiership. Once seen as a potential successor to Thatcher and Major,

Owen Matthews, James Heale, Francis Pike, Christian House and Mark Mason

32 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Owen Matthews argues that Turkish President Erdogan’s position is starting to look shaky (1:19); James Heale examines the new party of the posh: the Lib Dems (7:51); Francis Pike highlights the danger Chinese hypersonic missiles pose to the US navy (13:54); Christian House highlights Norway’s occupation during the Second World

The Boden Belt: the Lib Dems are the new party of the posh

The English social season has begun, kicking off with Gold Cup day. But this year, there is a new common denominator in the seats of southern England where the middle classes congregate: Liberal Democrat MPs. From the Cheltenham Festival in March right the way through to Goodwood in September, it is Ed Davey’s party which