James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.
In four weeks’ time, the Liberal Democrats will descend on Brighton for their annual conference. It’s likely to be the most enthusiastic such gathering in recent years, with the party celebrating the record 72 seats they won at last month’s election. The Lib Dems gained 61 more MPs than the paltry 11 they took in
32 min listen
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: James Heale interviews Woody Johnson, the former American Ambassador to the UK, about a possible second Trump term (1:19); Lara Prendergast reflects on the issue of smartphones for children and what lessons we could learn from Keir Starmer’s approach to privacy (6:35); reviewing Patrick Bishop’s book ‘Paris ’44: The Shame
If Donald Trump does return to the White House, then another restoration could soon follow. Woody Johnson, a confidant of the president since the 1980s, served as his man in London from 2017 to 2021 and is now tipped for a second spell as ambassador. ‘What I know about President Trump is if he asks
When you ask Tory MPs about Richard Fuller, you’re likely to get one of two replies. ‘Nice guy’ from those who know him; ‘Who?’ from those that don’t. It tells you why Rishi Sunak chose him to be Tory chairman, as the party dusts itself off from its electoral drubbing. Fuller, along with Bob Blackman
In a month full of parliamentary firsts, we now have another: the formation of the first new Labour caucus. More than 60 MPs have co-signed a letter, as part of the ‘Labour Growth Group,’ enthusiastically declaring their support for planning reform. ‘With such a strong mandate from the country,’ they write ‘it’s imperative that the
13 min listen
It’s a busy day in Westminster as we await the new Chancellor’s ‘spending audit’ of the financial challenges Labour has ‘discovered’ on entering government. But in the meantime there has been some movement in the Tory leadership race, with the deadline for applicants later this afternoon. Kemi Badenoch is the latest to declare, whilst Suella
Priti Patel has tonight entered the race to be the next Tory leader. The former home secretary sets out her pitch in the Daily Telegraph on why she is best placed to succeed Rishi Sunak. It is framed by the newspaper as being an appeal to the party’s grassroots, with Patel suggesting that she would give party members
17 min listen
The Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to give a statement to Parliament on Monday outlining the state of public finances, including a ‘£20 billion black hole’. James Heale talks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews about the strategy behind this: will this speech lay the ground work for the Autumn budget? How new are these
20 min listen
As more Conservative MPs declare their intentions to run for the Tory leadership, James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Conservative peer Paul Goodman about the runners and riders. What can they learn from previous leadership elections? Who will play well with the members and the public at large? And what will the dividing lines
Tom Tugendhat last night became the second Tory candidate to declare in the Conservative leadership contest. Just like his former Home Office colleague James Cleverly, he chose to make his pitch in an op-ed for the Telegraph, declaring that he would be prepared to leave the European Court on Human Rights. It came just a few hours
In the end, the great two-child benefit cap revolt proved to be somewhat underwhelming. The measure was always likely to fail given Labour’s mammoth majority of 172, with the government winning the vote by 363 votes to 103. Only seven of Keir Starmer’s MPs defied the entreaties of the Labour whips to vote in favour
16 min listen
At last there is white smoke in the negotiations over the rules for the Tory leadership contest. On Monday, the 1922 committee met and agreed a timetable for the contest to succeed Rishi Sunak as Conservative party leader. The plan is for a new leader to be unveiled 2 November with eligible candidates to throw
11 min listen
Last night we had the news that President Biden will not contest the election, announcing in a separate statement that he will support his vice president Kamala Harris for the nomination. As endorsements pour in from other notable democrats and donors it looks like it might be nailed-on for her. But what would a Kamala
Milwaukee, Wisconsin The Republican National Committee could not have hoped for a better convention. For three days, the party has exhibited a near-faultless display of unity. It is the first convention in 20 years where polls suggest the Republicans are on course to win the White House, producing an air of expectation and excitement. Activists
37 min listen
This week: bulletproof Trump. The failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump means that his supporters, more than ever, view him as America’s Chosen One. Joe Biden’s candidacy has been falling apart since his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate last month. Trump is now ahead in the polls in all the battleground states. The
Milwaukee, Wisconsin If you want to see how Donald Trump has changed his party, look at what attendees wore to this week’s convention in Milwaukee. Gone are the days when Republicans plumped for preppy blazers and demure khakis; now the fashion is for ostentatious displays of red, white and blue. Even the red ‘MAGA’ baseball
After all the speculation, it’s now official: JD Vance will be Donald Trump’s running mate in November. The subject has been the obsession of delegates here in Milwaukee on day one of the Republican National Convention. In typical Apprentice style, Trump has allowed speculation to build for weeks, as the media picked over various candidates, before picking
12 min listen
It’s two days after the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump and we thought we would use this podcast to discuss some of the reaction from Westminster and look at how this latest example of political violence will impact our own politics here in the UK. Oscar Edmondson speaks to Kate Andrews and James Heale,
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee will host America’s conservative elite for the next five days – including Donald Trump, who has just survived an assassination attempt. This true-blue city has been chosen to host the Republican National Convention, primarily because of it’s the largest city in swing state Wisconsin. Around 50,000 delegates, politicians, apparatchiks and journalists are
38 min listen
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: James Heale analyses the state of the Conservative leadership race (1:09); Svitlana Morenets reports from the site of the Kyiv children’s hospital bombed this week (5:56); Philip Hensher examines the ‘Cool Queer Life’ of Thom Gunn (12:13); Francis Beckett reviews ‘The Assault on the State’ arguing in favour of bureaucracy