Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.
Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak seem to be settling into a comfortable but largely unremarkable slanging match at each Prime Minister’s Questions. Today the pair traded one-liners about each other while failing to land any blows or indeed move the political debate along at all. The Labour leader opened by condemning Fifa and the behaviour
14 min listen
Rishi Sunak is facing his first Tory Commons rebellion on the issue of UK house building targets. Could this be game over? Also on the podcast, after Chloe Smith announced that she will be leaving politics at the next election, could more follow her out of parliament? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel
Chloe Smith is just 40 years old, an age at which people normally start to think about entering the Commons. But today, with five election victories in her Norwich North seat under her belt, she announced she’s leaving. The former work and pensions secretary said in a statement: ‘I hope I’ve been able to make
What was Ipsa thinking? That’s the question MPs are asking today after it emerged that the parliamentary spending regulator has decided MPs can claim for their office Christmas parties on expenses. There’s never a good time to make that kind of decision, but particularly not when their constituents aren’t even turning their heating on or
The past few days have seen some welcome candour about the NHS in England and Scotland. English Health Secretary Steve Barclay has been preparing the English public for long waits that will still be a major issue at the next election. NHS Scotland, meanwhile, has been discussing the possibility that a ‘two-tier NHS’ might end
12 min listen
The Conservative party is still digesting Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement, a far cry from the last fiscal statement from this party. Have the Prime Minister and the Chancellor managed to deliver a budget that hits the political sweet point of cornering Labour without splitting their own party? Isabel Hardman talks to James
One of the few jokes in Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement was when the Chancellor started talking about himself. As is the custom in fiscal events, he praised a colleague who had come up with an idea that he was now adopting, though it was immediately obvious that this member was Hunt: On staff shortages, the
Rachel Reeves is getting better and better as Shadow Chancellor. Mind you, her response to Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn Statement was the second one she’s had to produce in two months, given it was only in September that she was reacting to Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-Budget. There was plenty to criticise and plenty of political attacks to
Once again, the Tories went into Prime Minister’s Questions in a defensive crouch over the behaviour of one of their ministers. Shortly before the session, Rishi Sunak tried to soften the blows that were due to rain down on Dominic Raab over allegations about his behaviour towards civil servants. The Prime Minister, still overseas, announced
What does Jeremy Hunt want us to know about the Autumn Statement? The Chancellor is in the final hours of writing the economic announcements for Thursday, and today he had his last Treasury questions in the Commons before he gives his long speech. Hunt has been rolling the pitch more assiduously than an MCC groundsman
Is the deal struck between the UK and French governments on policing Channel crossings really going to make a difference? MPs don’t seem to think so, with Suella Braverman getting a rather chilly reception from her own side in the Commons this afternoon. The Home Secretary signed the deal this morning, and returned to tell
11 min listen
The G20 summit kicked off as world leaders arrived in Bali overnight. Ahead of the summit, Biden and Xi met to discuss tensions over trade, tech and human rights. The two claim they are ready for candid exchanges as China-US relations are at their lowest in decades. Rishi Sunak also flew to his first G20
21 min listen
This week: Isabel Hardman asks how Ed Miliband is the power behind Kier Starmer’s Labour (00:57), Matthew Parris says we’ve lost interest in our dependencies (05:03), Graeme Thomson mourns the loss of the B-side (11:57), and Caroline Moore reads her Notes on... war memorials (16:51). Produced and presented by Oscar Edmondson.
11 min listen
The ONS forecasts reveal that UK output fell by 0.2 per cent between July-September. Whilst not a recession yet, it is increasingly likely the next quarter will see another dip following a surge in interest rates. Will the government’s messaging change ahead of the Autumn Statement next week? Also on the podcast, Kate and James
18 min listen
For the first time in history, nurses have voted to go on strike. As the NHS grapples with record wait lists and excess deaths, how will it cope this winter? Also on the podcast, James and Isabel discuss the ongoing situation in Northern Ireland. And how will Matt Hancock fare in the jungle? Natasha Feroze
37 min listen
On the podcast: In his cover piece for the magazine, The Spectator’s deputy editor Freddy Gray says the only clear winner from the US midterms is paranoia. He is joined by The Spectator’s economics editor Kate Andrews to discuss whether the American political system is broken (00:52). Also this week: Isabel Hardman writes that Ed Miliband is the power
11 min listen
Though Gavin Williamson has now resigned, Rishi Sunak still had to fend off a number of questions on the disgraced minister at today’s Prime Minister’s Questions. How much damage has the row done to the Prime Minister? Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman. Produced by Cindy Yu.
Keir Starmer’s early leadership was defined by the expulsion of his predecessor. Jeremy Corbyn is no longer a Labour MP and will not be a Labour candidate at the next election. But now another former party leader is quietly defining Starmer’s leadership. This week Ed Miliband, the shadow climate secretary, caused outrage by suggesting that
Today’s Prime Minister’s Questions showed it is possible for someone who has resigned for being a distraction to continue being so even in absentia. The first questions from Keir Starmer were all about Rishi Sunak’s appointment of Gavin Williamson and his departure. The Labour leader had good lines, while the Prime Minister was unable to
In the past few minutes Gavin Williamson has quit the government after another formal complaint was made about his conduct. In a letter to Rishi Sunak, the former minister without portfolio says the allegations against him – which he denies – were becoming a ‘distraction’ from the work the government was doing. His letter, which
