James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.
Tonight marks 100 days since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister – so what better way to celebrate than an interview with Piers Morgan? The charge from some of Sunak’s critics like Nadine Dorries is that he’s an ‘invisible’ ‘submarine Prime Minister’ who isn’t ‘out at the front, making the case’ for his party. This evening’s
‘Politics is show business for ugly people,’ said Paul Begala, famously. Westminster today, however, is more akin to a finishing school for aspiring media personalities. We live now in a new age of ‘presenticians’ – in which more and more political figures present their own news shows. Turn on your TV and you could well be confronted
The House of Commons voted to pass the government’s flagship trade union legislation on 30 January. By 315 to 246 votes, MPs backed enacting minimum service levels for fire, ambulance and rail services for when the sectors decide to take industrial action. It comes ahead of ‘Walkout Wednesday’ – the biggest day of strikes since
18 min listen
It emerged this week that Nadhim Zahawi was in a row last year with HMRC over tax payments, but he is currently holding onto his post as Conservative party chairman. When should a politician resign? And is it worth fighting back? Ten years ago, the News of the World broke a story about then Liberal Democrat MP
10 min listen
Rishi Sunak faces the fury of Red Wall MPs and other Tories today as he announced the distribution of the second round of the government’s levelling up fund. Of all the regions receiving money, the southeast will in fact receive the most (£210 million), while the government would rather point to the fact that, on
13 min listen
Boris Johnson’s potential comeback has been dominating headlines for several months now. As Rishi struggles to unite the party, Katy Balls, Fraser Nelson and James Heale discuss whether the prime minister should be worried.
Speaking in Belfast this morning, Keir Starmer offered ‘political cover’ to the Prime Minister over any change to the Northern Ireland Protocol. A new deal with the EU is thought to be imminent – and Labour sees the chance for mischief. Starmer said it is ‘time to put Northern Ireland above a Brexit purity cult’
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Rishi Sunak is in Scotland meeting with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, and said today that he is concerned about new gender laws in Scotland which would allow 16-year-olds to apply for a gender recognition certificate to change their gender. But with Sunak trying to improve relations with Holyrood, should he send Kemi Badenoch, the minister
This week Jonathan Ashworth set out Labour’s answer to the 5.2 million on out-of-work benefits – a figure which The Spectator was first to pick up on. Now the Times reports on the government’s own plans to help those on out of work benefits back into employment. Since the pandemic, successful disability claims are up
13 min listen
Business Secretary, Grant Shapps has introduced a bill proposing a minimum level of public sector work during strike action for six key industries. Labour’s Angela Rayner told the Commons these plans are ‘insulting and utterly stupid’. As a policy that Tories largely agree on, could this bill bring the party together? Also on the podcast,
Fresh from his photoshop debacle, Grant Shapps arrived in the Commons today to outline the government’s plans for minimum safety level legislation. He and his colleagues are currently engaged in a difficult balancing act: negotiating with unions over pay one day, then seeking to curb their powers the next. It is emblematic of the ‘carrot
16 min listen
Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Heale about the former prime minister’s lunch with her loyalists at Ma La Sichuan, and whether her ideas might be mounting a comeback.
12 min listen
Keir Starmer said this morning that communities would ‘take back control’ under a Labour government. In a speech delivered just down the road from where Rishi Sunak spoke yesterday, the Labour leader promised to expand devolution. Is his vision radical enough? Max Jeffery speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Heale.
11 min listen
Rishi Sunak made five pledges to fix Britain in a speech in London today. Inflation will halve, the economy will grow, debt will fall, NHS waiting lists will be cut, and the government will pass laws to tackle the small boats crisis. Is the PM promising too much, or not enough? Max Jeffery speaks to
After Liz Truss’s spectacular fall from power, it was hard to find Tories who were happy to admit to having supported her. ‘Trussonomics’ became a punchline. Most of her plans were scrapped, including, this week, her childcare proposals. But among the wreckage of the Truss experiment, there is one survivor who is willing to defend
15 min listen
Millions of Britons will forever shun trains because of the ongoing strikes, a government sources told the Times today. Are the strikes proving as effective as unions hoped? James Heale speaks to Fraser Nelson and Isabel Hardman. Produced by Max Jeffery.
10 min listen
Today tens of thousands of ambulance workers are on strike over a pay dispute. The government is calling on people to stay safe, avoid doing anything dangerous and only call 999 if essential. With patient safety at risk, where is public opinion? Also on the podcast, after the high court ruled the government’s controversial Rwanda
‘Nothing has changed’ – the words of Theresa May could have been tattooed on Rishi Sunak’s forehead this afternoon. Appearing before the liaison committee for the first time, the new Prime Minister sought to convey an impression of authority. He deliberately tried to downplay issues of potential conflict like a second independence referendum and rigidly
25 min listen
Katy Balls, Isabel Hardman and James Heale review the political maelstrom that was 2022, a year with more Prime Ministers than some decades have managed.
9 min listen
The nurses’ strike is well underway and there seems to be no sign of an agreement over pay any time soon. The government seems to be receiving fiercer criticism from within the Conservative party than from across the aisle, as former Conservative party chairman (and Truss and Johnson ally) Jake Berry turns into the rebel-in-chief.
