Fraser Nelson

Fraser Nelson

Fraser Nelson is a Times columnist and a former editor of The Spectator.

Saturday

Fraser Nelson

The benefits scandal Kwasi Kwarteng should tackle next

From our UK edition

I was at an end-of-summer party for the Centre for Social Justice last night, with some politicians and others interested in the welfare-to-work agenda. The reaction to the budget was mixed. The various donors there were stunned to have been given the biggest tax cut of their lives – the biggest since Nigel Lawson cut the top rate of income tax from 60 to 40 per cent. These are philanthropists, by and large, highly likely to give a chunk of their tax cut to causes they support. That's why Kwarteng's budget will have gone down very well amongst the charity fundraisers who depend on such people. The Charities Aid Foundation once calculated that 9 per cent of the UK population contributes 66 per cent of donations, a group they call the 'Civic Core'.

Friday

Fraser Nelson

Kwarteng’s audacious budget

From our UK edition

17 min listen

Kwasi Kwarteng has today announced what has been dubbed as his mini-Budget, but looking at the scale of the package it is far from small. The Coffee House Shots team take us through what has been revealed. Who are the winners and who are the losers?Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth and Kate Andrews.Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Fraser Nelson

The audacity of Kwarteng’s tax cut for the rich

From our UK edition

George Osborne dreamed about it and Rishi Sunak told friends that he’d like to do it if everything went well and he was feeling brave. But this morning Kwasi Kwarteng has gone ahead and done it.  The ‘additional rate of tax’ – set up by Gordon Brown as a trap for the Tories in 2009 – has just been abolished. Right now, those earning more than £150,000 per year will pay 48.25 per cent on every pound they earn (45 per cent income tax plus 3.25 per cent National Insurance). From April next year, it will fall to 42 per cent (40 per cent income tax plus 2 per cent NI). A double tax cut: the additional rate goes and NI is also cut. So the biggest tax cut of Kwarteng’s ‘mini-Budget’ has gone to the very richest.

Monday

Fraser Nelson

How will Queen Elizabeth II be remembered?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

Today was the state funeral of Britain's longest reigning monarch Queen Elizabeth II. From Westminster, we evaluate the day's proceedings.Also on the podcast, as the period of mourning ends and politics resumes, can Liz Truss hit the ground running? Will we get some clarity on how much her energy plan will cost?Katy Balls speaks with Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Sunday

Friday

Fraser Nelson

Can the Met fix London’s spiralling crime problem?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

Two police officers were stabbed this morning near Leicester Square in central London. What can new Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley do to fix the capital's crime epidemic? And the pound today fell to a 37-year low against the dollar. What can the government do to give the markets confidence?Max Jeffery speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.Produced by Max Jeffery.

Wednesday

Fraser Nelson

What will happen while the Queen lies in state?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

The Queen's coffin has been taken from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. Mourners will pay their respects for the next four days before the funeral on Monday.Also on the podcast, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson discuss the latest news in the Ukraine conflict.

Monday

Fraser Nelson

King Charles III addresses parliament

From our UK edition

16 min listen

This morning, surrounded by the lead, oak and stone of Westminster Hall, King Charles III addressed parliament. Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the Commons, introduced him, and said that he knew the new King would 'bear those responsibilities which fall to you'. King Charles said that he was resolved to follow his mother's 'selfless duty'.  Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth about what comes next.  Produced by Max Jeffery.

Saturday

Fraser Nelson

The King’s speech: six reflections

From our UK edition

King Charles III gave us plenty to reflect on with his first speech last night. He spoke movingly about his mother, but also gave us an indication about how he sees his role and that of the monarchy – which will matter greatly as he starts to put his own mark on the royal family, its role and its limits in British public life. Six points jumped out at me. 1. He is against abdication Is this an option? In the last few years of her life, people wondered if the Queen’s failing health would lead to her abdication. Similarly, those concerned about Charles’s political meddling over the years have wondered: might he blow it? Perhaps he’ll just do a few years, then abdicate in favour of William and Kate?

Fraser Nelson

Wanted: a newsletter assistant for The Spectator (maternity cover)

From our UK edition

Our Lunchtime Espresso newsletter brings up to date news and analysis to more than 110,000 inboxes every weekday. It’s a collaborative effort, using every resource available at The Spectator, and providing insight into the biggest stories across current affairs, news and the economy from Britain’s best writers, as well as detailing the bigger picture abroad.  Now we’re looking to hire a part-time newsletter assistant – an extra pair of hands in the morning to compile Lunchtime Espresso and help our newsletter editor Hannah Tomes, who will be covering for a colleague on maternity leave. This position will be required for a period of at least six months. We’re after someone who… Has a sub-editing background (highly preferred).

Thursday

Fraser Nelson

Britain will now enter ten days of mourning

From our UK edition

When word of the Queen’s illness spread, the House of Commons quickly emptied. Liz Truss had just announced her fuel bills bailout, one of the most expensive measures in British history. It was about to be eclipsed. The death of the Queen, who appointed Liz Truss as her 15th Prime Minister just two days ago, marks the end of what history will likely judge as one of, if not the most, successful reigns in a millennium of British history. This is where the country’s thoughts will now turn. The relationship between the country and the Queen is something quite extraordinary, something far beyond the realms or understanding of politics. The mourning will be led not by the Prime Minister but by Charles, our new king, to whom the crown passes invisibly but immediately.

Fraser Nelson

In defence of Iain Macwhirter

From our UK edition

Those of us on the right often sense a form of racism in the protests by some of those on the left who are suspicious of the racial diversity in the Tory front bench. Kemi Badenoch has often spoken about how black politicians who differ from the Labour narrative are accused of somehow betraying their race. Priti Patel has spoken about how much she hates the label 'BME' which lumps together all ethnic minorities as if they have more in common with each other than whites (she banned her officials from using it). James Cleverly, the Foreign Secretary, has said he has been told to 'go home' and referred to by a common racial slur: a 'coconut'. Brown on the outside, white on the inside.

Monday

Fraser Nelson

Liz Truss wins. What next?

From our UK edition

17 min listen

Liz Truss has won the Conservative leadership race, and will become Britain's prime minister tomorrow. In a speech in Westminster this morning, after finding out the result, Truss paid tribute to Boris Johnson, promised to 'govern as a conservative' and said she would 'deliver, deliver, deliver'. What should we expect from the first days of the Truss premiership? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.Produced by Max Jeffery.

Saturday

Fraser Nelson

Why it’s still worth asking questions on lockdown

From our UK edition

Rishi Sunak’s interview in last week’s magazine has inspired a lot of comment. Two this week: Lee Cain, ex-No. 10 spin chief, in The Spectator and Robert Shrimsley in the Financial Times, warns about the promotion of betrayal ‘lockdown fables’ promoted by ‘mythmakers’ and ‘lockdown sceptics trying to rewrite history’. He and I discussed this on Twitter yesterday. I’m a big admirer of Shrimsley and think he deserves a more considered response than whatever can be squeezed into 280 characters. Cain: ‘Opponents still say lockdown was a mistake. What do these critics think would have happened to transmission rates – rising exponentially – if we had failed to lockdown? What would they have done instead?

Friday

Fraser Nelson

Sunak: Treasury predicted energy price hitting £5,000

From our UK edition

When I spoke to Rishi Sunak on Tuesday, his theme was the importance of being honest about trade-offs in politics. The big problem of lockdown, he said, was that these trade-offs (i.e. the side effects of closing down the economy and society) were never made clear to the public. Should this information have been shared with the public? Or might this have undermined the resolve needed to send a message to Putin? But it wasn’t just in lockdown; he felt the same was true over Ukraine. I didn’t manage to fit this into the interview, but I can say a bit about it now. When the Prime Minister called for sanctions and holding firm against Russia, Sunak said he was supportive – but felt that they should spell out what all this could mean.

Thursday

Fraser Nelson

The lockdown files: Rishi Sunak on what we weren’t told

From our UK edition

When Britain was being locked down, the country was assured that all risks had been properly and robustly considered. Yes, schools would close and education would suffer. Normal healthcare would take a hit and people would die as a result. But the government repeatedly said the experts had looked at all this. After all, it wasn’t as if they would lock us down without seriously weighing up the consequences, was it? Those consequences are still making themselves known: exams madness, the NHS waiting list surge, thousands of unexplained ‘excess deaths’, judicial backlogs and economic chaos. Was all that expected, factored in, and thought by leaders to be a price worth paying?

Wednesday

Fraser Nelson

Is Truss’s social care pledge more borrowing in disguise?

From our UK edition

14 min listen

In the latest leadership hustings, Liz Truss promised to take money away from the NHS to put into social care. But as Kate Andrews points out in this episode, given that Truss is also planning on scrapping the National Insurance rise, Truss'll need to find more money in order to fund this latest pledge. On the episode, Kate talks with Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.'This is the second time in her campaign that she has done something which has made me really doubt whether she's serious about her economic mission. And the other time, of course, was when she announced that she'd do regional pay.' - Fraser Nelson.Produced by Natasha Feroze and Cindy Yu.

Tuesday

Fraser Nelson

Can only Corbyn fix the Tories?

From our UK edition

9 min listen

There are only three hustings left in the Tory leadership race, after six weeks which have seen the party tear itself apart. What will fix the party? Is Jeremy Corbyn the solution? Max Jeffery speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.Produced by Max Jeffery.'Liz Truss is going to have a short window to give the good news of a tax cut. After that, I suspect it'll be bad, after bad, after bad.

Monday

Fraser Nelson

Is Truss scared of the OBR?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

The focus is on Liz Truss's planned emergency budget. Over the weekend it was revealed that she wouldn't consult the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) before announcing her plans. Could this backfire? Also on the podcast, investment bank Citi have warned that inflation could hit 18 per cent come January. Were the Bank of England's projections too optimistic? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and Kate Andrews. Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson.