James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.
From our UK edition
13 min listen
It's been a busy day in Westminster today. Labour avoided a large scale rebellion on the winter fuel allowance and Mel Stride was eliminated from the Tory leadership race – not to mention the sale of a certain weekly politics magazine. Oscar Edmondson discusses with Katy Balls and James Heale. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
From our UK edition
On paper, the result was a success for Labour. Despite excited reports, government whips managed to keep their party's great winter fuel revolt down to 40-odd abstentions and a single rebel. Poor Jon Trickett was the only government MP to troop into the Opposition lobby; given the treatment meted out to the child benefit rebels, he could now face a similar punishment of losing the Labour whip. By 348 to 228, MPs voted down the Conservative motion today to reverse the cut, with the government's majority dropping from 167 to 120. Yet today's victory is a sign of worse to come in the future. The ninety-minute debate in parliament was not one for the ages.
From our UK edition
14 min listen
Tomorrow MPs will vote on Rachel Reeves’ decision to cut winter fuel payments for pensioners who aren’t eligible for pension benefits. We spoke on this podcast on Friday about the pressure that Labour is under from all sides on this, but the temperature has increased over the weekend with the trade unions getting involved. What's the latest? Also on the podcast, there have been some allegations of 'dark arts' during the first round of voting in the tory leadership contest, and possible vote sharing. Is there any truth to these rumours? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
From our UK edition
14 min listen
Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls join James Heale to look ahead to a crucial week for Labour. On Tuesday, Parliament will hold a binding vote on the changes to winter fuel allowance - how are Labour expected to deal with this? Former shadow chancellor Ed Balls, and husband of the current home secretary Yvette Cooper, has argued that Labour need an 'escape route' from the policy. What can we read from this intervention? And how influenced are the government by the spectres of George Osborne and Liz Truss? Also on the podcast, Fraser talks about both the problems facing Germany, and the surprisingly successful measure that Sweden has introduced, to deal with net migration.
From our UK edition
It's not just the Tories facing a big vote next week. Across the House of Commons, MPs will be choosing which of their number should chair the 26 select committees up for grabs. Every MP gets a vote but only backbenchers can stand: nominations close on Monday with voting done on Wednesday. Positions are allocated in line with the election result. Labour's gargantuan majority thus ensures that they chair 18 of the 26 committees. The Tories are reduced to five with the Lib Dems awarded three. Select committees are another reminder that, for all the recent attention on the smaller parties, parliamentary institutions can often help the big ones. The four Green MPs, for instance, will not get a seat on a single select committee.
From our UK edition
39 min listen
This week: Miliband’s empty energy promises. Ed Miliband has written a public letter confirming that Labour plans to decarbonise the electricity system by 2030. The problem with this, though, is that he doesn’t have the first idea about how to do it. The grid doesn’t have the capacity to transmit the required energy, Ross Clark writes, and Miliband’s claim that wind is ‘nine times cheaper’ than fossil fuels is based upon false assumptions. What is more, disclosed plans about ‘GB Energy’ reveal that Miliband’s pet project isn’t really a company at all – but an investment scheme. This empty vessel will funnel taxpayer money into the hands of private companies rather than produce any energy itself.
From our UK edition
Few people had heard of Zia Yusuf before he spoke at Reform’s final campaign rally in Birmingham. But after a stirring speech to 4,000 supporters, he became one of the election’s overnight stars. ‘This boy’s got real talent,’ admitted Nigel Farage afterwards. He is now emerging as one of the more intriguing figures in the landscape of the right: a self-described ‘British Muslim patriot’, a 37-year-old multimillionaire, who says his mission in politics is to take Farage to No. 10. Farage is clearly Yusuf’s political lodestar: his name features dozens of times in our hour-long exchange When we meet at The Spectator office (his £100,000 Range Rover parked outside), Yusuf says that a Reform UK government is quite conceivable.
From our UK edition
14 min listen
The first round of the Conservative leadership race has seen Dame Priti Patel eliminated with the fewest votes. Robert Jenrick came out on top but, with a second vote taking place on Tuesday, where could Patel's supporters go? Who could get eliminated next? Will 'Melmentum' build? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.
From our UK edition
16 min listen
Seven years after the tragedy, the inquiry into the Grenfell fire has published its report. What did we learn from it and who bears responsibility? And, with thousands of buildings still believed to contain flammable cladding, what should happen next? With such important lessons to be learnt, why do British inquiries take so long? Also on the podcast, a look at the first PMQs following summer recess and the Tory leadership election. James Heale speaks to Isabel Hardman and Liam Halligan, Telegraph columnist and author of Home Truths. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
From our UK edition
This evening Tory MPs filed into parliament's Committee Room 14 to hear from the six hopefuls aspiring to lead their party. Each candidate had up to ten minutes to make a final pitch to colleagues, followed by questions. Robert Jenrick went first, followed by Kemi Badenoch, Tom Tugendhat, Mel Stride, Priti Patel and, finally, James Cleverly. 'Tired' is how one describes his performance Jenrick has spent the summer campaigning heavily on migration and the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights), so opted to focus much of his speech about the economy and public services: ‘Making the NHS work for our constituents’ was a theme in his remarks. Three of the four questions he faced came from his declared backers (Jack Rankin, John Hayes and Andrew Rosindell).
From our UK edition
Tom Tugendhat finally launched his leadership campaign today with a big speech in Whitehall – the third he has made in as many weeks. After previous efforts on the riots and public sector reform, today was Tugendhat’s last chance to hammer home his main message before the first ballot of MPs tomorrow: I’m a proper conservative, honest. To this end, he offered more red meat than a butchers, pledging (again) to potentially leave the ECHR, increase defence spending to three per cent of GDP and commit the party to 100,000 net legal migrants if he wins. He offered more red meat than a butchers, pledging (again) to potentially leave the ECHR Indeed much of the speech focused on migration: a key issue in a contest where four of the six contenders served in the Home Office.
From our UK edition
16 min listen
Keir Starmer has been in Germany today visiting Chancellor Olaf Scholz, before heading to Paris to meet President Macron. This is part of his plan to 'reset' relations with Europe - but how close does he want to get to the EU? And, given Brexit wounds are still raw, what's achievable? James Heale is joined by Katy Balls and Sophia Gaston, head of the foreign policy unit at Policy Exchange to discuss. Produced by Megan McElroy and Patrick Gibbons.
From our UK edition
15 min listen
Winter is coming. That’s the message from Keir Starmer’s set-piece speech this morning from the No. 10 rose garden. After a tricky few weeks for the new Prime Minister on cronyism claims and anxiety about cuts to the winter fuel allowance, Starmer and his team attempted seize the agenda with a speech looking ahead to the months to come. However, anyone hoping for optimism will be disappointed, with Starmer warning things can only get worse. How bad can they be? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson.
From our UK edition
16 min listen
As the Democratic National Convention draws to a close in Chicago this week, Patrick Gibbons is joined by James Heale and Gerry Baker, editor at large of the Wall Street Journal to try to make sense of what a Harris presidency could mean for the UK. Is she continuity Biden? Do we really know what she stands for? Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Cindy Yu.
From our UK edition
17 min listen
Ofgem, the energy regulator, has announced that the price cap will rise by 10% in October. Is this bad news for Labour, or will they be successful in framing it as part of their economic inheritance from the Conservatives? And could this strengthen opposition to the proposed change to winter fuel allowance? Patrick Gibbons speaks to James Heale and John McTernan, former political secretary to Tony Blair. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Cindy Yu.
From our UK edition
11 min listen
Today's GCSE results show an exams system that has largely returned to pre-Covid norms. It has also given the government a chance to talk about skills and apprenticeships – something that Bridget Phillipson's predecessor as education secretary was also keen on. Cindy Yu talks to James Heale and Amanda Spielman, former chair of Ofqual and Ofsted, about the state of the British education system. Produced by Cindy Yu.
From our UK edition
Happy immigration stats day, one and all. The Home Office has this morning released a raft of data on visa numbers and asylum claims up until June. While Yvette Cooper might prefer to talk about the policing aspect of her brief, the numbers today show the challenges of migration. The figures released today covers three main aspects: legal arrivals (visas granted), illegal migration (primarily small boats) and asylum applications being granted for those who do arrive here illegally. The most common nationality on these not-so-small boats is now Vietnamese Take the number of visas being handed out in the first six months of this year. A mixed pattern emerges here, as the Tory tightening of restrictions began to take effect from December.
From our UK edition
On Tuesday afternoon, a familiar figure pulled up at a Westminster café to plot the Tories’ downfall. Nigel Farage beamed from the back of his black Range Rover as he arrived to welcome Reform’s latest recruits. The purpose of the Old Queen Street summit was to plan the party’s path to next year’s local elections in May. Where better to scheme than in the neighbouring street to Conservative Central Headquarters? ‘It baffles me how we’re the most successful political party in the western world,’ says one Tory While the Tories are enjoying a four-month leadership contest, Farage and his aides are hard at work. A constitution has been drafted to turn the limited company into a proper political party, with parameters to prevent any Ukip-style feuding.
From our UK edition
13 min listen
The government seems to have appointed another party-political advisor to the civil service – this time Labour Together's Jess Sargeant to the role of deputy director at the Cabinet Office’s Propriety and Constitution Group. Is the Labour party just as prone to a bit of cronyism as they accuse the Tories of having been? Cindy Yu talks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman. Produced by Cindy Yu.
From our UK edition
12 min listen
Keir Starmer has been meeting the new First Minister Eluned Morgan as part of a two day trip to Wales. While the trip included a visit to a wind farm, Starmer quickly faced questions about the fate of steel workers in Port Talbot. What does this challenge tell us about Starmer's Industrial Strategy and his relationship with the devolved nations? Could Welsh Labour soon face the same anti-incumbency threat that the Conservatives and the SNP faced? James Heale is joined by Tom Baldwin, Starmer's biographer, and Ruth Mosalski, political editor at WalesOnline. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
