Isabel Hardman

Isabel Hardman

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.

Wednesday

Isabel Hardman

Liz Truss’s well-scripted first PMQs

From our UK edition

Liz Truss’s first Prime Minister’s Questions was well-scripted, both for the new Tory leader and Keir Starmer. They had come along planning to talk about the cost of living crisis: Truss so that she could reassure the public (and her own party) that ‘immediate action to help people with their bills’ was on the way, and Starmer to probe her on how she was going to pay for it. The exchanges worked for both of them this time around. The exchanges worked for both of them this time around Because Truss is going for an energy price freeze – proposed by Labour – Starmer had to move his attack from ‘what are you going to do’ to ‘how are you going to do it’.

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

Truss’s cabinet: Who’s in? Who’s out?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

Liz Truss has appointed her cabinet. Allies of Rishi Sunak are out, and the former foreign secretary's closest allies are in. What does this mean for her government? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman. Britain after Boris: Coffee House Shots Live, with Andrew Neil, Fraser Nelson, Katy Balls, James Forsyth and Kate Andrews takes place on 13 September.

Isabel Hardman

Was it a fond farewell for Boris Johnson?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

Boris Johnson finally departed Downing Street early this morning, but left the door slightly ajar on the prospect of a comeback. What will this mean for Liz Truss? Also on the podcast, as Truss makes her way to Balmoral to meet with the Queen, what will the rest of the day look like for the new prime minister? Isabel Hardman speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls. Produced by Max Jeffery and Oscar Edmondson.

Isabel Hardman

Is Coffey good for health?

From our UK edition

Even though Liz Truss won't start forming her government until after she has seen the Queen at Balmoral, many of the top roles are already nailed down. The latest dead cert is Thérèse Coffey, who will be Health Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister. The seniority of this role tells us a number of things. One is that Truss wants her strongest supporters close to her. Not only was Coffey pro-Truss from the outset, she is also one of her closest friends in politics. Linking the deputy and health jobs also signals that the new Prime Minister is taking the NHS backlog seriously. It would be a bizarre choice for a government to embark on yet another NHS reorganisation just 18 months before an election That backlog will consume Coffey's attention.

Monday

Isabel Hardman

Revealed: Labour’s tactics to deal with Truss

From our UK edition

Keir Starmer tonight told the weekly parliamentary Labour party meeting that 'we will never underestimate Liz Truss'. The Labour leader added that 'she is a talented politician who has got to the top through hard work and determination' and that 'she will do whatever it takes to keep them in power'. He warned that 'the polls might tighten and her plans might create some buzz'. It was a reminder to the party, which often struggles to accept female Tory leaders, not to fall into the trap of mocking Truss or feasting too much on the Tory civil war. How will Labour approach the new PM? Starmer will be asking her questions on Wednesday at her first Prime Minister's Questions, and will have spent the past few weeks working on his strategy for that.

Isabel Hardman

Priti Patel resigns. Will she cause trouble for Liz Truss?

From our UK edition

Priti Patel has announced she is standing down as Home Secretary and returning to the backbenches ahead of an expected reshuffle tomorrow. Patel had made her pitch during the leadership campaign to stay in government, saying 'my record in that time speaks volumes'. But it had become very clear in briefings about Liz Truss's planned reshuffle that the new Prime Minister didn't agree, with Suella Braverman expected to take over at the Home Office. Patel is leaving on her own terms.

Isabel Hardman

Can Liz Truss deliver, deliver, deliver?

From our UK edition

What does deliver, deliver, deliver mean? Liz Truss had it as her payoff on accepting the leadership of the Conservative party this afternoon, so clearly it means something to her. She told the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre:  My friends, we need to show that we will deliver over the next two years. I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy. I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people's energy bills, but also dealing with the long term issues we have on energy supply. And I will deliver on the National Health Service.

Isabel Hardman

Will Liz Truss kill levelling up?

From our UK edition

Levelling up is probably not even in the top tier of Liz Truss's intray for this week, given the pressure to do something big on energy bills, and then to address the multiple other crises including the NHS, the Northern Ireland Protocol and Ukraine. But what she does with her predecessor's flagship policy is a matter of great anxiety for MPs and activists in Red Wall seats. I spent some time over the weekend with Conservative councillors, MPs and Tory members in Greater Manchester. Unsurprisingly, most of them had supported Truss as be party leader. But most of them were also anxious about the future of levelling up, or whatever the new prime minister decides to call it to make it her own.

Thursday

Isabel Hardman

Can Boris leave a nuclear legacy?

From our UK edition

16 min listen

Despite a relatively quiet summer from the government, Boris Johnson has waded finally waded into the energy crisis, announcing £700 million of funding for Sizewell C, the nuclear plant. On the podcast, Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about what's behind this development (and whether it could be anything to do with Johnson trying to establish some kind of legacy, in the last days of his premiership). Isabel sums up his energy contribution as: 'To a certain extent it's him saying: if you look backwards or forwards, it's not my fault'.Produced by Cindy Yu.

Wednesday

Isabel Hardman

Is Labour in trouble again with the rail strikes?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

Today rail union leaders announced another round of strikes, this time to coincide with the Labour party conference. Is there a message here that they are trying to send to Kier Starmer? Should we expect similar disruption during the Conservative Party Conference? Also on the podcast, after the death of the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, who was instrumental in ending the Cold War, how well do we understand future geopolitical threats? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman. Produced by Cindy Yu and Oscar Edmondson. Get tickets to Coffee House Shots Live here: spectator.

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

Will Boris be back?

From our UK edition

14 min listen

Boris Johnson is on his farewell tour but is remaining coy about the possibility of a political comeback. What problems will this throw up for the next prime minister? Will Boris be friend or foe?  Also on the podcast, after Liz Truss pulled out of her BBC interview with Nick Robinson, is she trying to avoid scrutiny of her plan to tackle the cost of living?  Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.  Produced by Max Jeffery and Oscar Edmondson.

Isabel Hardman

The minister trying to fix the Northern Ireland Protocol

From our UK edition

One of the big priorities for the new Prime Minister is dealing with the situation in Northern Ireland. There's no time for procrastination as the existing arrangements which suspend checks on goods travelling between Northern Ireland and Great Britain expire on 15 September. Liz Truss has made very clear that she is serious about getting the problems with the Protocol fixed and that while her favoured outcome is a negotiated settlement, she is also prepared to be tough. One of her newest supporters is Conor Burns, Minister of State for Northern Ireland, who only declared for the Foreign Secretary at the weekend but who is in Dublin at the moment trying to see if there is greater appetite for a settlement.

Saturday

Thursday

Isabel Hardman

Is the Labour party in trouble?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

It seems like Labour has a problem when it comes to the size of its membership. It lost 91,000 members last year and recorded a £4.8 million deficit. Is this the Keir Starmer effect on the Corbyn membership?Also on the podcast, Rishi Sunak has gone viral after sharing his McDonald's breakfast order on This Morning. Katy Balls tells us why it was such a controversial choice. Cindy Yu speaks to Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls. Produced by Cindy Yu & Natasha Feroze.

Wednesday

Isabel Hardman

Finally, some justice for the infected blood scandal’s victims

From our UK edition

Why has the greatest patient scandal in the history of the NHS rumbled on for so long before its victims even start to see justice? It shouldn’t have taken 40 years for there to be an answer Today the government awarded £100,000 in interim compensation to around 4,000 survivors of the contaminated blood scandal, as recommended by Sir Robert Francis, who published a report on the matter earlier this year. They have been fighting for 40 years for justice that, as yet, does not cover the bereaved parents and children of those who were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C when they were given dirty blood products for their haemophilia or blood transfusions. For that, they will have to wait until the conclusion of the public inquiry led by Sir Brian Langstaff later this year.

Isabel Hardman

Inflation hits double digits: what next?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

The UK inflation rate is now at 10.1 per cent according to the Office for National Statistics. Is there much that the government can do to relieve its effects? Also on the podcast, the leadership contenders are in Belfast for the next hustings: how will the audience respond to the candidate's position on The Northern Ireland Protocol? Katy Balls is joined by Kate Andrews and Isabel Hardman. Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson.

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

Truss charms the Scottish audience, while Sunak struggles

From our UK edition

Judging by the show of hands in the auditorium of the Perth Concert Hall tonight, both Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak had a fair bit of work to do to win over Scottish Tories. Many put their hands up to say they hadn't yet decided who to back when asked by the host Colin Mackay. Mind you, many of them then went on to boo Mackay for asking questions of both candidates that they found annoying. Normally when an audience boos a journalist in Scotland, it's blamed on the SNP and that party's dislike of scrutiny. Tonight, though, it was the Conservative party.  Neither candidate has said that much about their plan for Scotland prior to today's hustings.

Isabel Hardman

When will the inflation rate fall?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

New figures released this week show that wages have fallen significantly behind the rising cost of living. Is there more trouble ahead? Also on the podcast, as Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss attend hustings in Scotland: which candidate is favoured the most north of the border? Katy Balls is joined by Kate Andrews and Isabel Hardman. Produced by Max Jeffery and Oscar Edmondson.

Monday

Isabel Hardman

Would Starmer’s energy plan work?

From our UK edition

15 min listen

Keir Starmer has unveiled a £29 billion plan to freeze energy bills for six months. Under his proposals, the Labour leader said Brits would not face the enormous price hikes anticipated in October and January.But is his idea a serious one? Where would the money come from? And how have the Tories responded? Isabel Hardman speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.Produced by Max Jeffery.

Saturday

Isabel Hardman

Is Labour missing in action?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth about why Sir Keir Starmer and his frontbench have been seemingly missing in action during the Tory leadership race and the ongoing cost of living crisis.