James Heale

James Heale

James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.

Tuesday

James Heale

Starmer’s veteran woes are just beginning

As hundreds of veterans marching past the Cenotaph brought Whitehall to a halt yesterday afternoon, inside parliament a debate was held on the government's plan to repeal the Northern Ireland Legacy and Reconciliation Act. Passed by Boris Johnson, this aimed to prevent veterans from being prosecuted for all but the most serious crimes committed during the Northern Ireland ‘Troubles’ from the 1960s to 1998. Labour's bid to scrap the legislation has sparked fury among veterans – and has left Alistair Carns, the Veterans Minister, on resignation watch. Quentin Letts, who has sat in parliament for nearly 40 years, suggested it was ‘the biggest turnout I have seen for a Westminster Hall debate.

Monday

James Heale

Are you a ‘working person’?

10 min listen

Tomorrow Rachel Reeves will deliver her big speech in the City. The annual Mansion House address is a chance for the Chancellor to set out her vision for the British economy. But amid a gloomy set of economic indicators (including two consecutive monthly GDP contractions) it is difficult to see what good news she can offer. Westminster would be alive with speculation about what she might announce – initially, there was talk of reforms to cash ISAs; now, attention has turned to the prospect of Reeves promising a ‘new Big Bang’ by slashing regulation on financial services – however everyone is busy trying to work out who are the ‘working people’ the Labour government has pledged not to raise taxes for?

James Heale

Who exactly is a working person?

Tomorrow is Rachel Reeves’s big speech in the City. The annual Mansion House address is a chance for the chancellor to set out their big vision for the British economy. But amid a gloomy set of economic indicators – including two monthly GDP contractions in a row – it is difficult to see what good news message she can deliver. Initially, there was talk about reforms to cash ISAs, with Reeves planning to cut the £20,000 annual tax-free allowance. However, following a backlash, the Financial Times reports those plans have now been dropped. There is talk instead of Reeves promising a ‘new Big Bang’ by slashing regulation on financial services. That will undoubtedly find favour in some corners of the City.

Friday

James Heale

Who’s telling the truth: Unite or Rayner?

Some big news in Labour land today. Angela Rayner, the party’s deputy leader, has had her membership of Unite suspended following her comments on the Birmingham bin strike. Or at least, that’s what the trade union said. It accused Rayner of supporting a Labour-run council that had ‘peddled lies’, after she urged bin workers to accept its pay offer. Sharon Graham, Unite’s general secretary, told its annual conference that ‘Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts.’ However, the New Statesman reported that Rayner had resigned her membership of Unite ‘several months ago’, meaning she can’t be suspended. Who’s telling the truth?

James Heale

Sacré bleu! We have a migration deal with France

15 min listen

On today’s podcast: sacré bleu – we have a one-in, one-out migration deal with France. In a press conference yesterday, Keir Starmer and President Macron announced a deal they hope will curb Channel crossings. But, as ever, the devil is in the detail, with some key concerns about the numbers and the time frame. Digital ID cards are also back on the agenda – after an intervention from former MI6 boss Alex Younger on Newsnight. The argument is that they could deter the ‘grey labour force’ and make it harder to work in the UK for those arriving via unauthorised means. It’s the Blairite policy that refuses to go away – but, as Michael Simmons argues, we may already have the infrastructure.

Thursday

James Heale

It’s crunch time for Starmer’s ‘one in, one out’ migrant deal

The entente is still very much cordiale. Talks between Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron are ongoing on the third day of the Anglo-French summit. The key issue is migration: how best to stop the constant flow of Channel crossings that have seen 20,000 arrive here this year already? Like Rwanda, this deal faces numerous practical and political hurdles Both, publicly, are singing from the same hymn sheet, with lashings of Gallic sweetness. In remarks this morning, the French President praised the relationship between London and Paris. Both nations, he insisted, share ‘the same resolve to fight’ people smugglers. The Prime Minister spoke, again, of ‘new tactics’ and a ‘new intent to tackle illegal migration and break the business model of the criminal gangs’.

James Heale

The unstoppable Angela Rayner

14 min listen

There is the small matter of the Macron–Starmer press conference today, at which the Prime Minister will hope to announce a new migration deal with France. But we thought we would dedicate today’s podcast to Angela Rayner, with some MPs thinking that the answer to Labour’s woes could be to ‘give it Ange until the end of the season’. As Tim Shipman reports in the magazine, she has undergone quite the political transformation – keeping her head down and away from incoming fire. Downing Street is taking her increasingly seriously. Is she the new John Prescott – or even the next Labour leader? Also on the podcast today: Jake Berry, former Conservative party chairman, defected to Reform last night. But how much of a coup is that really for Nigel’s gang?

James Heale

What Jake Berry’s defection to Reform means

Reform UK have today unveiled their latest defector from the Tories. Sir Jake Berry is, arguably, the most senior name to switch parties to date. A Conservative MP from 2010 to 2024, he served as Party Chairman under Liz Truss and was a lead proponent of levelling up as chair of the Northern Research Group. A year after losing his Lancashire constituency, it looks as though he has concluded his future now lies outside the Conservatives. Writing in the Sun, he says Labour and the Tories 'abandoned the British people' and share equal responsibility for the state of the country. Berry is the fifth former Tory MP to come across to Reform. The question that Nigel Farage's team ask when considering a new defector is 'What value do they bring?' For Berry, the answer seems to be threefold.

Tuesday

James Heale

Can Keir defrost the ‘entente glaciale’?

13 min listen

Zut alors! The French are in town. Emmanuel Macron is on his state visit this week, spending time today with the King and tomorrow with the Prime Minister. His itinerary includes a state dinner and an address to both Houses of Parliament this afternoon. All the pageantry, of course, is for a reason: to defrost what Tim Shipman calls the ‘entente glaciale’ and the stalemate over migration. Keir will be hoping to get the French to sign a ‘one in, one out’ migration deal – with Labour seemingly surprised that, upon coming into power, the French didn’t roll over and make concessions on small boats when a left-wing government took office. Can we expect a new entente cordiale? Is there anything in it for Macron when it comes to stopping the boats?

James Heale

Wales is looking ripe for a Reform surge

There are two pieces of news out this morning which offer a fillip to Reform's hopes of topping the Cardiff Bay elections next spring. The first is the long-awaited defection of former Welsh Secretary David Jones. The second is the publication of a new More in Common poll which shows Reform is set to win 28 per cent of the vote. This would translate into roughly 33 of the 96 seats in the newly-expanded Welsh parliament. At a general election, they would win 33 per cent of the vote. As I argue in the Telegraph today, Jones' move was long-awaited but is, nonetheless, important. He is, in some ways, the dream defection for Reform: an experienced Tory with much to offer, looking for little in return.

James Heale

Norman Tebbit: Thatcherite icon

Norman Tebbit, the longtime keeper of the Thatcherite flame, has died at the age of 94. His career in public life spanned more than 50 years, from his election to the Epping constituency in 1970 to his retirement from the House of Lords in 2022. A Monday Club member and ardent right winger, he might have been destined to spend his career in relative backbench obscurity. But the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1975 proved to be the making of his political career. Tebbit proved his mettle to the Iron Lady in the trade union battles of the 1970s. His criticisms of the closed shop – whereby members of a profession had to belong to a union – prompted Michael Foot on one occasion in 1978 to brand him a 'semi-house-trained polecat', an epithet he wore with pride.

Saturday

James Heale

Labour’s first year (in review) with Tim Shipman & Quentin Letts

22 min listen

Cast your mind back a year. Labour had just won a storming majority, promising ‘change’ to a stale Tory party that was struggling to govern. But have things got any better? In the magazine this week, Tim Shipman writes the cover piece to mark the occasion of Labour’s first year in government. He takes readers through three chapters: from Sue Gray (freebies scandal and winter fuel cut) to Morgan McSweeney (a degree of professionalisation and dealing with the Donald) to the point at which ‘things fall apart’ (assisted dying, the welfare vote and Reeves’s tears).

Friday

James Heale

Corbyn is back! … or is he?

13 min listen

Some sore heads on Coffee House Shots this morning, after last night’s Spectator summer party. But while we were having fun, a drama was brewing in the Labour party after it was finally confirmed that Jeremy Corbyn is starting a new left-wing party... or is he? The news was broken last night by another MP: Zarah Sultana, a long-time admirer of Corbyn. Elected as a Labour MP in 2019, she lost the whip last July for voting to lift the two-child-benefit cap. However, after discussions with figures within the Labour party, it has become apparent that Sultana took many of those involved completely by surprise. She has, in the words of one, ‘completely jumped the gun – no ideas had been properly decided’. It has plunged the new party into a crisis even before its creation.

James Heale

Corbyn allies blindsided by Zarah Sultana

After months of discussion, it has finally been confirmed that Jeremy Corbyn is starting a new left-wing party. The news was broken last night by another MP: Zarah Sultana, a longtime admirer of Corbyn. Elected as a Labour MP in 2019, she lost the whip last July for voting to lift the two-child-benefit cap. This week, she was reprimanded in the House for declaring 'We are all Palestine Action' – which will shortly be proscribed as a terrorist organisation, following the Brize Norton attack.  With readmission to Labour 'clearly impossible', in the words of government aide, Sultana decided that now was the time to announce her next steps.

Thursday

James Heale

Farage claims the mantle of Thatcher’s revolution

After a day of drama in Westminster, an intriguing party was hosted in the City. The Prosperity Institute, formerly Legatum, is not one of the more venerable think tanks, like the Fabians or the IEA. But the attendant crowd – a mix of centre-right wonks, spinners, thinkers and politicians – was a testament to the work that the institute has done since July 2024. A large marquee and well-stocked bar prompted one guest to remark that 'It felt more of a wedding than a wake'. That was a refreshing sentiment for many attendees, given the tendency of such events to become mournful, dour affairs since the election. But it also highlighted an important theme: will there be a happy union on the British right before 2029?

James Heale

Farage is the pacesetter of British politics

For the past year, Nigel Farage has served as the great pacesetter of British politics. Reform UK has shot to the top of the polls, as Labour and the Tories languish behind. On immigration, the economy and much else, it is his five-man band that sets the tune. It is the inverse of Norman Lamont’s jibe about ‘being in office but not in power’. From his new base near the top of Millbank Tower, Farage enjoys a commanding view of Westminster. The office, an explosion of teal decor, has a large press briefing room, which aides liken to the one in the White House. At a desk adorned with a porcelain Union Jack bulldog, Farage plots his next steps.

Wednesday

James Heale

Chancellor in tears during PMQs

11 min listen

There were extraordinary scenes in PMQs today. Rachel Reeves appeared distraught as the Prime Minister failed to guarantee her security when asked by leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch. It was brutal to watch, as the iron chancellor’s lip quivered and a tear rolled down her cheek. In many ways, you can’t blame her – with her headroom narrowing, she will be forced to find a further £5 billion worth of savings to allow for the government’s botched welfare bill. No. 10 has since clarified that Rachel Reeves has not resigned and will not be sacked, stressing that it was ‘personal’ matter that had upset her, ‘which - as you would expect - we are not going to get into. The chancellor will be working out of Downing Street this afternoon’.

Tuesday

James Heale

Welfare vote: how many will rebel?

14 min listen

It’s D-Day for Labour’s welfare reforms. MPs will vote tonight on the party’s watered-down benefits cuts. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall formally announced Labour’s climbdown yesterday, telling MPs that the government had ‘listened carefully’ and was bringing in ‘positive changes’. Well, that’s one way of putting it. Even so, Labour is braced for a rebellion from dozens of MPs. We’ll know the full number at around 7pm, but it is not expected that there will be the 83 required to overturn the government’s majority. On today’s podcast, we take you inside the debate including some of the most notable speeches and what the fallout could be for the government. Can we expect a reshuffle in the near future? Should Keir Starmer watch his back?

James Heale

How many Labour welfare rebels are left?

Tonight, we will find out just how many Labour welfare rebels there really are. A vote on the second reading of the government’s reforms is expected after 7pm. Liz Kendall, the Work and Pensions Secretary, is facing the Commons this afternoon as she tries to whittle numbers down to as few as possible. There are some encouraging signs. Meg Hillier, the Labour veteran who sponsored the initial rebel amendment, has now withdrawn it following £3 billion in concessions. However, Rachael Maskell, a serial soft left critic, has stepped into the breach and is now putting forward her own amendment to effectively kill the Bill. Hillier boasted up to 126 names; Maskell has 35 MPs backing her.

James Heale

Can these Farage rivals’ start-ups hurt Reform?

You wait ages for a right-wing movement to come along – and then two do so at once. Former MEPs Ben Habib and Rupert Lowe both launched rival outlets yesterday. Habib now leads 'Advance UK', a political party whose first aim is to reach 30,000 members. Meanwhile, Lowe has started 'Restore Britain', a 'bottom-up movement' which welcomes members from all parties. It aims to start legal challenges, fund investigative journalists and champion whistleblowers. Both are ex-Reformers who came off worst in a fight with Nigel Farage The two movements share several key features. The first is a championing of direct democracy, with both Advance and Restore urging members to join and shape their direction.