Fraser Nelson

With Boris Johnson set to announce the end of legal Covid restrictions later today, how will people respond? Will they continue to isolate, or choose to go about their life even if they have the virus?Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth, Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson about the change, as well as the continuing crisis in Ukraine.

The Online Safety Bill could be about to hand social media giants even more powers over journalism and free speech. Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and Damian Collins, who chairs Parliament's joint committee on the bill.

In this week’s episode: What’s the mood like in Boris’s bunker?For this week’s cover story, James Forsyth writes about the defensive bunker mentality inside No. 10 and the PM’s strategy of keeping MPs sweet to hold back a no confidence vote. James joins the podcast along with Spectator Editor Fraser Nelson to discuss. (00:50)Also this week: Have we forgotten how to take a joke?Jimmy Carr has caused an online outcry after an off-colour joke from his new show, His Dark Material was clipped and posted without context on social media. Ministers, such as Nadine Dorries and Sajid Javid, have now criticised a comedian for telling a joke. In the Spectator this week both in print and online, two of our writers came to Carr’s defence.

On Saturday night, No. 10 announced two new appointments: Steve Barclay would become chief of staff, and Guto Harri would become director of communications. Will Downing Street's reshuffle improve the mood of Tory MPs? And what else does Boris Johnson have to do?  Katy Balls talks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth about the new faces inside No. 10.

Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson about what happens if and when Graham Brady receives 54 letters of no confidence in Boris Johnson's leadership.

Five members of Boris Johnson's team have now resigned from No. 10. This led Downing Street to bring forward changes to Johnson's top team – announcing the resignations of chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, director of communications Jack Doyle and Martin Reynolds, his principal private secretary (who sent the now notorious BYOB email). How will the PM fill the vacuum they leave in No. 10? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.

Five Tory MPs have publicly said that Boris Johnson should resign. After a torrid week in Downing Street, which finished with the Prime Minister having to apologise to the Queen for a party being held on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral, could we soon see a leadership contest? Katy Balls, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson discuss the likely runners and riders. 'I will eat this microphone if Steve Baker or Kemi Badenoch stand.

With some early signs that the Omicron threat is waning, talk has begun around Westminster as to when we can get rid of the remaining Covid restrictions. To help Katy Balls, James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman make sense of the latest figures, they are joined by Editor, Fraser Nelson with an update from The Spectator's data hub. 'When you look at the number of admissions to hospitals, that actually hit a peak of 2,370 on December the 29th. It hasn't been back at that.' - Fraser NelsonKaty, Isabel and James also assess Michael Gove's plan to address new-build cladding in the wake of Grenfell.

Despite a torrid time for the Prime Minister's popularity over the last few months, there may be a political revival on the horizon. His decision not to lockdown over the Omicron variant seems to have paid off and won back some of the support from his party. But will the Johnson project end up a failure? A lot of the Prime Minister’s future rests on the people who work closest him. On the podcast, Fraser Nelson points to the high turnover of staff at No.10 that has been destabilising, especially for someone who usually builds a strong support system around him. ‘This is a sign, the high turnover of staff suggests a dysfunctional No.

The first PMQs of 2022 was a little different. It was Angela Rayner’s turn to step up to the dispatch box whilst Keir Starmer is isolating having tested positive for Covid.Rayner went after Boris Johnson on inflation and the cost of living crisis looming in Britain, criticising the government for refusing to cut VAT on energy bills. Another topic that came up was the pressure on the NHS as a result of the pandemic. NHS Trusts are declaring critical incidents saying they’re not going to be able to perform certain treatments due to high staff absences.'The crisis in the healthcare sector is not that anybody is being overwhelmed.

The government has delayed making any announcements about further Covid restrictions in the face of Omicron for weeks. But with more data coming in every day about this new variant, seemingly showing it leads to a lot less hospitalisations than previous waves, will there even be any new measures at all? 'The science and the vaccines have created the situation where Britain doesn't have to lockdown.' - Fraser NelsonCindy Yu talks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth about the UK's response to Covid at the beginning of 2022.Subscribe to The Spectator's Evening Blend email, from Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls, for analysis of the day's political news and a summary of the best pieces from our website. Go to spectator.com/blend to sign up.