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.

Monday

Isabel Hardman

Boris: It’s not over. Rebels: Yes, it is

From our UK edition

Boris Johnson has just insisted that he has had 'an extremely positive' and 'decisive result' in the vote of confidence in his leadership. He said the government can 'come together' and 'put behind' it all the rows of the past few months and 'focus on the stuff that the public actually want us to be talking about'. Speaking in Downing Street a few minutes ago, the Prime Minister claimed that tonight's result gave him a bigger mandate than the one he had won from his party in 2019. He was either suffering from a heavy head cold, or extremely emotional, as he kept sniffing and stumbling over his words.

Isabel Hardman

Team Boris doesn’t have long to convince the waverers

From our UK edition

Now that the confidence vote in Boris Johnson’s leadership is on, Conservative MPs have suddenly become very busy, while senior Tories are breaking cover to declare that they no longer support the Prime Minister either. Jeremy Hunt, currently the favourite to replace Johnson with some bookies, has surprised no one by announcing that 'today I will be voting for change'.  Perhaps more surprising has been the resignation of Johnson's anti-corruption tsar John Penrose, who sent his letter in this morning.

Isabel Hardman

Boris to face confidence vote tonight

From our UK edition

14 min listen

Boris Johnson will face a confidence vote tonight. Announcing the news this morning, the chair of the 1922 committee Sir Graham Brady said in a statement: 'The threshold of the 15% of the parliamentary party seeking a vote of confidence in the leader of the Conservative Party has been exceeded.' Will he win? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.

Wednesday

Isabel Hardman

Has Boris Johnson really been ‘humbled’ by the Gray report?

From our UK edition

What is Boris Johnson actually accepting responsibility for when he says he is ‘humbled’ by Sue Gray’s report into partygate? Humility isn’t a word often used in connection with Boris Johnson, although it’s hardly valued at all in Westminster, so perhaps he is following a slightly different definition to the rest of us. Or perhaps his line that he is ‘humbled’, which he used again at his Downing Street press conference just now,  was written for him which is why he delivered it with a lack of conviction. He certainly doesn’t seem to be accepting responsibility for attending leaving parties for staff: this afternoon, he once again defended this as being an important part of leadership.

Isabel Hardman

Did the Sue Gray report move the dial?

From our UK edition

14 min listen

The long-awaited Sue Gray report is finally published today. It included new photographs (including of the birthday bash, though James Forsyth describes the photo as looking more like 'an enforced office socialising occasion' than a party), colourful details (one staffer was threw up at one drinks) and some unsavoury revelations (Sue Gray was damning about some of the staffers' treatment of cleaners and security staff). But amidst all this, has the report really worsened the situation for Boris Johnson? Katy Balls talks to Isabel Hardman and James on this episode.Produced by Natasha Feroze and Cindy Yu.

Isabel Hardman

PMQs: Partygate isn’t Johnson’s only problem

From our UK edition

Sir Keir Starmer used Prime Minister's Questions today to show how hard it is going to be for Boris Johnson to move on from the Sue Gray report. The Labour leader acknowledged as he opened that there was going to be a statement on that inquiry right after this session, and so he was going to focus on the cost of living. It underlined that even if the Prime Minister manages to keep his backbenchers sufficiently calm to 'survive' the Gray report, that survival is not going to be followed by a swift recovery of his political fortunes. Long-time critic of the Prime Minister William Wragg asked a zinger of a question Starmer started by asking when the U-turn on a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies would come.

Isabel Hardman

Sue Gray’s report makes for grim reading for No. 10

From our UK edition

In the past few minutes, Sue Gray’s final report into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street has been published. It makes for grim reading. The report is just 37 pages long, along with photos of the events that the senior civil servant was tasked to investigate. The key line is where Gray says that ‘the senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture’ of believing that events were permitted when they were not in line with the rules. She writes: ‘Whatever the initial intent, what took place at many of these gatherings and the way in which they developed was not in line with Covid guidance at the time.

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

How will Boris Johnson respond to the Gray report?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

Sue Gray's report into Downing Street parties during lockdown is set to be released on Wednesday morning. The tone Boris Johnson takes will be vital to his political future. What will he say?Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.

Monday

Isabel Hardman

What do we know about the Sue Gray report?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

It's finally happening! This is the week the infamous Sue Gray report into partygate will be released. Details are few and far between, although we do know that the Prime Minister will be mentioned by name in the document. Mutterings from Tory HQ are that this is not going to be a good week for the government but not the end of Boris Johnson. Only time will tell.Isabel Hardman talks with Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

Thursday

Isabel Hardman

Is Boris Johnson out of the woods on partygate?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

The Met police have today announced that their investigation into No. 10 parties is now over, and No. 10 have confirmed that neither the Prime Minister nor his wife have received more fines. Is Boris Johnson out of the woods? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.James points out the fortunate timing of the Met police's announcement – at a time when the Durham police are investigating Keir Starmer for his potential breach when he was having a beer and curry, leaving the Labour party handicapped when the Sue Gray report comes out next week.'The Gray report, though, I think is still very dangerous for Johnson, because it will highlight a lot of cultural and leadership problems within No. 10', Isabel says. Conservative MPs may yet have another wobble.

Wednesday

Isabel Hardman

Is a windfall tax inevitable?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

With the cost of living crisis looming large, pressure is on the government to come up with effective solutions. With Labour snapping at their heels for an emergency budget and a windfall tax on oil and gas companies, will the Conservatives eventually bend to this pressure? And if they do, will these solutions even work?Katy Balls talks to Isabel Hardman and Kate Andrews.

Isabel Hardman

Starmer exposed Boris’s chaos and confusion at PMQs

From our UK edition

Boris Johnson and his ministers are inching ever closer to U-turning on a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies. Today the Prime Minister refused to rule out such a tax, telling Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer that 'we will look at all the measures' possible to tackle the cost of living crisis. Starmer retorted that the U-turn was now 'inevitable' and that the Prime Minister should just get on with it. Such is the extent of the government's chaos and confusion on this matter that the Prime Minister spent much of PMQs answering questions about why he wasn't adopting a variety of Labour measures including this tax and an emergency budget.

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

Will the new Brexit bill spark a trade war with the EU?

From our UK edition

-20 min listen

Liz Truss made a speech in the House of Commons today laying out the government's plans to scrap parts of the Northern Ireland protocol. James Forsyth first broke this story in last week's Spectator magazine. How will the EU react to the news? And could this spark a trade war with the EU?Moving onto the cost of living crisis, Labour have put forward an amendment to the Queen's Speech asking for a windfall tax. Having once dismissed the idea, the Conservatives are under pressure from some of their backbench MPs to go ahead with the tax. Could this be a big win for Labour?All to be discussed as Isabel Hardman speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

Monday

Isabel Hardman

Will Boris break the Stormont deadlock?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

Boris Johnson is in Belfast today in an attempt to repair relations between the DUP and Sinn Fein. In a 2000 word article for Belfast Telegraph, the Prime Minister laid out his intentions not to scrap the Northern Ireland Protocol, but instead to fix it. Can these two polarised parties find a middle ground? Also on the podcast, Jeremy Hunt was on a media round over the weekend to publicise his new book on the NHS. Yet he was unable to avoid questions about his party. All to be discussed as Isabel Hardman speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

Tuesday

Isabel Hardman

Is Boris Johnson planning an emergency Budget?

From our UK edition

Boris Johnson is running out of time to produce things the Tories can show the voters at the next election. The theme of his Queen's Speech – if there was one – was an attempt to fix that. That next election campaign was countered by Keir Starmer in the chamber this afternoon. The main focus was on the cost-of-living crisis and how much worse things are going to get. Funnily enough, Starmer didn't mention the members of the government who'd broken Covid rules The Labour leader repeatedly accused this government of not being 'up to the challenge', with the Tories producing only a 'thin address bereft of ideas or purpose, without a guiding principle or a roadmap for delivery'.

Monday

Isabel Hardman

How much trouble is Keir Starmer in?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

As pressures mount over claims that Keir Starmer broke lockdown rules, the Labour leader has just pulled out of a keynote speech he is due to give today. How much trouble is he really in? Katy Balls looks at Starmer's future in a blog on Coffee House today.Also on the podcast, what will be the fallout from the Sinn Fein victory in Northern Ireland? Brandon Lewis heads to Belfast today to press for the return of a fully functioning government. Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth.

Saturday

Friday

Isabel Hardman

Can the Lib Dem’s declare victory?

From our UK edition

14 min listen

We've had more election results in and it looks like the Lib Dems will be celebrating tonight, encroaching on many Tory seats around the country. But is this Liberal passion from voters or disaffection with the two major parties? Katy Balls talks with James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about all the latest results.

Isabel Hardman

Who are the ‘winners’ in the local elections?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

The results are coming in! While the Tories seem to have done quite badly in the capital, Labour has not made the gains in the rest of the country that many predicted they would. The Lib Dems and the Greens have had a good showing so far but we won't know just how good until the full tally of results come in. Isabel Hardman talks with Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

Wednesday

Isabel Hardman

Could Labour overtake the Tories in Scotland?

From our UK edition

9 min listen

A new poll from ComRes has shown Scottish Labour taking second place in tomorrow's local elections, overtaking the Scottish Conservatives. On the podcast, James Forsyth explains the torrid flip-flop that Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Tories, has made over partygate, first calling for Boris Johnson to resign before rowing back ('He thought that the 54 letters triggering a vote of no confidence were on their way in').Katy Balls also talks to Isabel Hardman about the Environment Secretary George Eustice's suggestion that people might buy from cheaper supermarkets in order to deal with the cost-of-living crisis ('The phrase "teaching your grandma to suck eggs" was possibly invented for this piece of advice', Isabel says).