James Forsyth

The first flight taking asylum seekers to Rwanda was stalled just before takeoff after a late intervention from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). As Priti Patel returned to the Commons to defend the policy, many Tory MPs are furious at the prospect of the courts taking precedent over government legislation. Could this lead to the UK leaving the ECtHR?Also on the podcast, is Keir Starmer too boring? After growing accusations, the Labour leader has urged his shadow cabinet to stop calling him boring and focus on returning to government. Cindy Yu is joined by Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

The government is fighting on two fronts today. Firstly defending is Rwandan immigration plan from a unified front of Bishops as the first flight is set to take off tonight. Secondly, the Northern Ireland protocol bill which was announced yesterday afternoon faces scrutiny on many fronts.Katy Balls talks with Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.

The Foreign Secretary has outlined fresh legislation to change the post-Brexit trade agreement with the EU today – allowing ministers to override parts of the Northern Ireland protocol. Whilst the government insists that this is not a breach of international law, critics remain unconvinced.‘I had one member of government say to me this bill is going to be a proxy on Boris Johnson’s leadership’ - Katy Balls.If this were a proxy, could this work in the Prime Minister’s favour? And why has the government not used the safety valve in the protocol itself which is to trigger Article 16?James Forsyth speaks to Katy Balls.

Has Jeremy Hunt had a good week? When the former health secretary – and 2019 leadership hopeful – announced on Twitter on Monday that he would be voting against the Prime Minister in the confidence vote, Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, replied that Hunt was 'wrong about almost everything'. Boris Johnson went on to narrowly win the vote, but is that really the end of Hunt's ambitions?  Max Jeffery speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

By sticking to his promise to ‘move on’ after the confidence vote, Boris has announced his new flagship policies during a speech in Blackpool. He unveiled the ‘benefits-to-bricks' pledge aimed at extending a home-buying scheme. Will new housing measures be enough to regain the support of the public and the dwindling respect from his party?Also on the podcast, two by-elections are on the way. This could be either a triumphant or disastrous result for the Prime Minister. How might he fare in an election of his own?Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth.

Boris Johnson was surrounded by opposition at the despatch box when he faced the Labour leader at PMQs today. Did Keir Starmer make the most of his opportunity to score points against the Prime Minister's disappointing result in the confidence vote the night before?Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth.

It is the day after the night before when Boris Johnson narrowly survived a confidence vote. Today he held a meeting with the Cabinet to tell his colleagues it is time to ‘move on’.  ‘This looks like a slow Tory suicide to me’ - Fraser Nelson Some critics have pointed to the fact that shortly after winning a confidence vote with similar margins, John Major, Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May ended up resigning. What will be Boris Johnson's fate as the Tory rebels plot out their next moves? Isabel Hardman is joined by Katy Balls, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson.

The results are in. 211 Tory MPs expressed confidence in the Prime Minister, while 148 said they had no confidence in Boris Johnson continuing to lead the Conservative party. While this is technically a win, it is a narrower victory than Theresa May (who looked splendid in her ball gown tonight) got in her no-confidence vote which lead to her resignation only months later. Is this the beginning of the end for Boris?Isabel Hardman is joined by Katy Balls and James Forsyth on the roof of Parliament to discuss.

As this week marks the Queen's platinum jubilee, we take a look back at her greatest political achievements in her role as head of state. How important was the relationship between the monarch and the Prime Minister?'I think there's been this restraining act on the behaviour of Prime Ministers, that they will have to explain themselves to the Queen at some point - James Forsyth.Since her reign, she has served 14 Prime Ministers, one of whom was Margaret Thatcher. What was her relationship like with the Iron Lady? Lord Charles Moore, former editor of The Spectator who also wrote a biography on Mrs Thatcher spoke of the mutual respect the Queen and Margaret Thatcher had for one another.

In this week’s episode:Robert Hardman & Angela Levin, two of the UK’s royal specialists, explore the character of the Queen and the impact she has had on the institution of the monarchy. (00:36)Also this week:For now, it seems that Boris Johnson is hanging on after the publishing of the Sue Gray report, but how stable is his position? Could a vote of no confidence be closer than anyone expects? The Spectator’s political editor James Forsyth joins the podcast to discuss. (13:47)And finally:Is Chinese cinema in decline? Cindy Yu writes on this in this week’s Spectator, and she joins the podcast along with Andrew Heskins, the founder of easternkicks.com, a review website specialising in Asian film, and co-founder of the film festival, Focus Hong Kong.