Cindy Yu

Why is politics everywhere in such a mess? Here’s one answer. The rules of the game have changed, but no one has told the players. They’re thinking left vs right or, at a push, libertarian vs authoritarian. And yes, the crash did raise concerns about inequality – but there have been other forces at play; new ones that politicians have not yet recognised - like cities vs regions. Writing in The Spectator recently, William Galston, a former Clinton aide, put it thus: “Most cities are now thriving but most smaller towns are not. Once, the fortunes of large cities and their hinterlands were linked. Now, cities are like black holes, absorbing skilled labour and resources — but failing to emit either wealth or opportunities to surrounding areas.

As we move into 2019, two big elections could shake up the rest of the year. In May, the European elections could see an unprecedented eurosceptic populist surge. Across the continent, politicians like Marine Le Pen and parties like Germany’s AfD are receiving more support. Fredrik Erixon also writes in this week's cover that, notably, the populists are maturing to play the political game. So is the EU about to be fundamentally changed by the political outsiders? Fredrik talks to us on the podcast, joined by Charles Grant, the Director of the Centre for European Reform, who says that, in response, the pan-European moderates will become more cohesive: 'The moderate parties in the European parliament - the centre right and the centre left...

We were all a little bit more innocent at the beginning of 2018, weren't we? Barely anyone knew - or cared - about the Brexit backstop, Trump and China weren't at (trade) war, and Labour's anti-Semitism problem hadn't been so painfully put on display. In this last episode of the Spectator Podcast for the year, join Lara Prendergast as she talks to a star-studded cast of commentators and experts on the biggest political and cultural events this year. She talks to James Forsyth, Stephen Bush, and Rory Stewart MP on just how badly Brexit is going and has a frank but funny discussion with Jess Phillips MP, Paul Mason, and Katy Balls on the things that went wrong (and right) for Labour this year.

Why did Sam Gyimah quit his government job? A moderate remainer, a pragmatic politician, and a driven minister - that is, until last Friday. He decided that he couldn't stomach the Prime Minister's Brexit deal anymore, even though - he tells us - he has never tried to make his career about Brexit. How many other Tory rebels are like him, and is the Prime Minister really listening to their concerns? On the other hand, do rebels like Sam Gyimah know what they are unleashing if they vote down Theresa May's Brexit deal next Tuesday? James Forsyth writes in this week's cover piece that voting it down is sailing the country into entirely uncharted territories. James and Sam both join Lara Prendergast on this week's Spectator Podcast.

In the last two years, $20 billion have left the UK as investors withdraw their money from British equity funds. Conventional wisdom might say that this is because of Brexit uncertainty, but talk to many in the City and they will tell you that the political event that their clients and partners are most afraid of is, in fact, a Corbyn-government. With policies like a 10% expropriation of equity from British companies to, supposedly, the worker (though, read the small print and you'll see that much of it goes towards the State), it's not hard to see why.

What will transport look like in the year 3000? Busted thought we would live underwater, but perhaps we’ll have even figured out zero carbon travelling. Recently, the government made its own prediction in the form of the ‘Road to Zero’ strategy - new petrol and diesel cars are to be banned by 2040. This is the latest in a series of downright inconsistent advice from the government on pollution. In the late 80s and 90s, diesel was explicitly encouraged and diesel cars subsidised. More recently, the goal posts have changed and diesel is the latest enemy.

Britain is a world leader in many things - but not many people would say that infrastructure is one of them. When abroad, Brits marvel at the state of airports and railways, even swimming pools. When we seek to catch up - with HS2 or a new runway for London - the result is years of wrangling. Is there a British curse? The Spectator gathered a group of industry leaders, policymakers and politicians in its boardroom to discuss. The lunch was sponsored by Aecom. Fraser Nelson started by laying out the problem. The OECD recently found that the UK has underspent ‘over the past three decades' and added that quality of infrastructure is the worst in the G7.

It’s a great thing that we’re all living longer, happier, and healthier lives. But this also presents a policy conundrum – what happens when we get old? Should we get social care funded by the state? And how would that be paid for – through a tax hike which would see the young pay for the care of the old, or making old taxpayers fork from their own pockets? We’ve heard talk of intergenerational tension between the young and the old, and politicians all agree that something needs to be done about accommodation, social care, and the NHS burdern in general. The problem is – nobody quite knows what to do.

As we head into Conservative Party Conference, Theresa May has never looked more alone. We talk to Iain Duncan Smith and James Forsyth about a Prime Minister abandoned. And while chaos reigns in the Conservative Party, Labour is gearing up, led by a pragmatic but radical Shadow Chancellor. Just who is John McDonnell? And last, why is Tesco’s new discount retailer so Brexity? First, the Prime Minister may be celebrating her 62nd birthday at Conservative Party Conference with thousands of party members, but Theresa May has never seemed more alone. At home, neither Brexiteers or Remainers have any sympathy for her while they try to push their vision of Brexit; and on the continent, she is humiliated by leaders and negotiatiors.

Six years ago, the Spectator began podcasting. Why? For fun, really. Our writers were always being invited to comment on national broadcast shows, and so we thought, why not create our own? It's been a big success. We started with ‘The Spectator Podcast’, which now has over 30,000 listens each week. We launched Coffee House shots, our political podcast, in 2016 - and then made it daily when Theresa May announced the snap election last year. People seemed to like it so we just kept going. Last year, Shots was listened to over four million times. We now have podcasts on topics ranging from politics to culture, literature to religion, and that’s not to mention the ones we have in the pipeline. Our podcast range is expanding rapidly, and they all need a home.