Uk politics

Friday

James Kirkup

Starmer’s ruthless efficiency has risks

From our UK edition

A couple of years ago, an anecdote about Keir Starmer did the rounds at Westminster. The story was that when asked about his time leading the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), he said that his proudest achievements involved overhauling IT systems, or procurement rules, or some other highly procedural aspect of the organisation’s bureaucracy. The story was generally told with a mildly mocking tone, proof that Starmer was a bit of a plodder, not the sort of glibly agile PPE debater that generally dominates Westminster life. In essence, Starmer was seen by much of the political village as a manager, not a leader – and the village always prizes dashing leadership over efficient management. What will happen when Labour’s national-level priorities threaten local preferences?

Fraser Nelson

Labour’s Potemkin landslide

From our UK edition

Something pretty big is missing from Labour’s historic landslide: the voters. Keir Starmer has won 63 per cent of the seats on just 33.8 per cent of the votes, the smallest vote share of any modern PM. Lower than any of the (many) pollsters predicted. So Labour in 2024 managed just 1.6 percentage points higher than the Jeremy Corbyn calamity in 2019 – and less than Corbyn managed in 2017. ‘But for the rise of the Labour party in Scotland,’ says Professor John Curtice, ‘we would be reporting that basically Labour’s vote has not changed from what it was in 2019.’ And that’s on the second-lowest turnout in democratic history. So where, then, is the supposed Starmer tsunami? There certainly has been a Tory meltdown.

Thursday

Katy Balls

Exit poll predicts Labour landslide

From our UK edition

12 min listen

The polls have closed and the exit poll is in. The BBC exit poll projects that Labour will win a landslide of 410 MPs and the Conservatives will be left with 131 seats. Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats will win 61 seats, the SNP ten seats and Reform 13 seats. This would mean a Labour majority of 170 – and would be the Tories’ worst ever result. Megan McElroy speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.

Lara Prendergast

The reckoning: it’s payback time for voters

From our UK edition

39 min listen

This week: the reckoning. Our cover piece brings together the political turmoil facing the West this week: Rishi Sunak, Emmanuel Macron, and Joe Biden all face tough tests with their voters. But what’s driving this instability? The Spectator’s economics editor Kate Andrews argues it is less to do with left and right, and more a problem of incumbency, but how did this situation arise? Kate joined the podcast to discuss her argument, alongside former Cambridge Professor, John Keiger, who writes in the magazine about the consequences that France’s election could have on geopolitics (2:32).  Next: what role does faith play in politics?

Wednesday

Katy Balls

Will there be an election upset on Thursday?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

Tomorrow, voters will head to the polling booth to cast their vote in the 2024 general election. Will there be any surprises in store? So far, there has been little movement when it comes to the gap in vote share between Labour and the Tories. However, there's still plenty of uncertainty across the parties as to what the exit poll will say at 10 p.m. on Thursday night. James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and James Kanagasooriam, chief research officer at Focaldata.

Tuesday

Fraser Nelson

Has Reform peaked too soon?

From our UK edition

14 min listen

The election campaign was going well for Nigel Farage's Reform... until it wasn't. A series of controversies have been difficult for the party to shake off. Will the distractions cost them votes and MPs? How will it affect their momentum - and who's to blame? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Heale.

Sunday

Fraser Nelson

Coffee House Shots live: election special

From our UK edition

58 min listen

Join Fraser Nelson, Katy Balls and Kate Andrews for this special edition of Coffee House Shots, recorded live ahead of the general election. As election day draws closer, Fraser talks through some myth-busting statistics and the team answer questions from the audience. Could this election increase support for proportional representation? What policy does the panel think has been the most interesting? And was there ever a probable path to victory for Rishi Sunak? Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons. Check out The Spectator's data hub for more graphs and statistics, updated daily.

Saturday

Katy Balls

Labour’s women problem

From our UK edition

14 min listen

The gender debate has become increasingly difficult for the Labour Party as the election campaign has rumbled on. JK Rowling has now agreed to meet with Labour to discuss gender transition policy, after writing in The Times that she'd struggle to vote for the party after feeling dismissed by them. After the election, will gender become an increasingly difficult issue for Keir Starmer?

Katy Balls

Katy Balls, Gavin Mortimer, Sean Thomas, Robert Colvile and Melissa Kite

From our UK edition

31 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Katy Balls reflects on the UK general election campaign and wonders how bad things could get for the Tories (1:02); Gavin Mortimer argues that France’s own election is between the ‘somewheres’ and the ‘anywheres’ (7:00); Sean Thomas searches for authentic travel in Colombia (13:16); after reviewing the books Great Britain? by Torsten Bell and Left Behind by Paul Collier, Robert Colvile ponders whether Britain’s problems will ever get solved (20:43); and, Melissa Kite questions if America’s ye olde Ireland really exists (25:44).  Presented by Patrick Gibbons.

Friday

Fraser Nelson

Will Biden survive his debate implosion?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

The Democrats wanted and needed a compelling performance from Joe Biden last night: a rebuttal to the concerns about his age and ability. Instead, his performance was disastrous. Is there any way he can survive this performance? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and Sarah Elliott, director of the UK-US special relationship unit at the Legatum Institute.

Thursday

Katy Balls

Should we ban polls?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

Some countries, like Canada and France, have bans on polling close to the election. Many figures on both sides of the campaign have been frustrated at how the media is consuming polling. What is a polling blackout, and why do some people want one? Megan McElroy speaks to Katy Balls and Chris Hopkins, polling expert and political research director at Savanta. Elsewhere, David Tennant has taken aim at Kemi Badenoch. She has, to little surprise, responded. With one week to go, does the electorate have any appetite for a culture war?

Lara Prendergast

Downfall: how Nigel Farage became the left’s greatest weapon

From our UK edition

44 min listen

This week: Downfall. Our cover piece examines Nigel Farage’s role in the UK general election. Spectator editor Fraser Nelson argues that Farage has become the left’s greatest weapon, but why? How has becoming leader of Reform UK impacted the campaign and could this lead to a fundamental realignment of British politics? Fraser joined the podcast to talk through his theory, with former UKIP MEP Patrick O’Flynn (02:10). Next: Spectator writer Svitlana Morenets has returned to Ukraine to report on the war, which is now well into its third year. How are Ukrainians coping and what is daily life like? Svitlana joined the podcast from Kyiv with Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov (21:53). And finally: has ‘cancel culture’ been cancelled?

Wednesday

Katy Balls

Sunak vs Starmer round two – who won?

From our UK edition

16 min listen

Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls speak to Patrick Gibbons following the second, and final, debate between Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak. With a week to go until the general election, who came out on top and did we learn anything?

Katy Balls

Has ‘gamblegate’ become ridiculous?

From our UK edition

18 min listen

We are now two weeks into the political betting saga. Since our last episode, Keir Starmer has suspended a Labour candidate who bet on himself losing. How damaging is 'gamblegate' - and has it gone too far?  Cindy Yu speaks to Katy Balls and Stephen Bush, columnist and associate editor at the Financial Times.

William Atkinson

The betting ‘scandal’ has gone too far

From our UK edition

Thomas Macaulay, the 19th-century historian, said there is ‘no spectacle so ridiculous as the British public in one of its periodical fits of morality’. Two hundred years on, the sentiment holds true, as the farce of ‘betgate’ – a stupid name for a stupid scandal – descends into ever greater absurdity. This is not to say there is nothing serious about a politician using insider knowledge to place a bet. Hoping to cheat the bookmakers like that is a criminal offence, and it is only right that the Gambling Commission investigate anyone, of any political stripe, accused of doing so.

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

Steve Baker speaks as though the Tories have already lost

From our UK edition

It’s pretty unusual to hear a minister speaking during this election campaign: other than Mel Stride, the rest seem to have gone to ground entirely, either because they want to save their own seats or because they don’t want to be associated with the campaign at all. So when Steve Baker popped up on Andrew Neil’s show on Times Radio this lunchtime, that in itself was pretty remarkable. The Northern Ireland minister then accepted that the Tory betting scandal looked ‘terrible’, and did not bother to defend the delay in suspending the two Tory candidates who are alleged to have placed bets on the election date.

Katy Balls

Who will survive?

From our UK edition

14 min listen

It's another bad day for the Conservatives. Rishi Sunak has withdrawn support for the Tory candidates involved in the general election betting scandal. What has led to the timing of this decision? Also on the podcast, James Kanagasooriam, Chief Research Officer of Focaldata, explains their latest poll that suggests a 250-seat Labour majority. He joins Katy Balls and James Heale.

Monday

Katy Balls

Is Nigel Farage drawing from the Trump playbook?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

In a speech this afternoon, Nigel Farage doubled down on controversial comments he made about the West provoking the war in Ukraine. Is the Reform leader taking inspiration from Trump? And could this be a small win for the Tories who are seeking to claw back Reform votes? Also on the podcast, James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson about the latest in the election date betting scandal.

Saturday

James Heale

Is Brexit safe under Labour?

From our UK edition

17 min listen

Writer, trade unionist and Labour Brexiteer Paul Embery joins James Heale to discuss Labour's plans for the EU should they get into government. Paul highlights the need for Labour to deliver on its promises and avoid alienating working-class voters. Will Rachel Reeves appease the Red Wall? And how tough will Labour be on immigration?

Agnès Poirier

Matt Ridley, William Cook, Owen Matthews and Agnes Poirier

From our UK edition

28 min listen

On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Matt Ridley argues that whoever you vote for, the blob wins (1:02); William Cook reads his Euros notebook from Germany (12:35); Owen Matthews reports on President Zelensky’s peace summit (16:21); and, reviewing Michael Peel’s new book ‘What everyone knows about Britain’, Agnes Poirier ponders if only Britain knew how it was viewed abroad (22:28).  Presented by Patrick Gibbons.