James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.
From our UK edition
After three defections in ten days, what exactly can Kemi Badenoch do to get back on the front foot? This morning, we got our answer. The Tory leader sought to use her big press conference to laugh off the loss of Messers Jenrick, Rosindell and Braverman, in a 20-minute speech which blended levity with gravity.
From our UK edition
19 min listen
Keir Starmer lands in China tonight as he becomes the first British Prime Minister to visit since Theresa May in 2018. Sam Hogg from the Oxford China Policy Lab and James Heale join Patrick Gibbons to assess the UK-China relationship right now, what Labour is hoping to get from the visit and whether there are
From our UK edition
Another one bites the dust. Suella Braverman this morning was unveiled as the latest defector to Reform UK. The former home secretary told 600 attendees at the launch of ‘Veterans for Reform’ that she finally felt she had ‘come home’ by switching parties. Beaming on stage, she declared passionately that, ‘I believe with my heart
From our UK edition
Andy Burnham has been blocked from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election. The vote this morning by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) was not even close, with the ten-man panel voting eight to one against allowing him to stand. Lucy Powell, Labour’s deputy leader, was the only to vote for him; Shabana Mahmood,
Westminster, London Donald Trump might be determined to acquire more US land – here in Britain, however, our leaders are determined to give it away. A deal to hand over control of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is in the final stages of parliamentary approval. Trump initially backed the deal, yet U-turned after his Greenland
From our UK edition
Andy Burnham has tonight confirmed that he wants to be a candidate in the forthcoming Gorton and Denton byelection. The Greater Manchester mayor submitted an application before the 5pm deadline. Ten officers on Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) will tell Burnham by tomorrow what decision they reach. ‘The Gorton and Denton by-election looks to
Keir Starmer has tonight been forced to stall the Bill which would hand the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius. The legislation enabling the deal was expected to be debated in the Lords on Monday. But this evening, it was revealed that the votes have been delayed amid parliamentary ping-pong and a backlash from the Americans.
From our UK edition
22 min listen
With the Conservatives on watch for further defectors, academic Richard Johnson and Conservative peer Danny Finkelstein join James Heale to discuss whether British politics rewards traitors or faithfuls. Richard points out that often personal success is dependent on whether the party goes on to be a major or minor player in British politics; Winston Churchill
From our UK edition
17 min listen
Three big stories for James Heale and Tim Shipman to pick over today: Andy Burnham’s return, the Donald Trump that refuses to go away, and the continued fallout of Robert Jenrick’s defection to Reform. This afternoon we found out that former Labour minister Andrew Gwynne is on the brink of standing down as an MP,
From our UK edition
To committee room 14, where many of the remaining 117 Tory MPs crammed in tonight to hear from their leader. Kemi Badenoch was welcomed with 25 seconds of prolonged banging from her colleagues, after a week in which, first Robert Jenrick, and then Andrew Rosindell chose to defect to Reform. Having addressed both the right-wing
From our UK edition
10 min listen
Keir Starmer scored a rare win at PMQs, talking tough on Trump in light of the President’s escalating rhetoric on Greenland and the Chagos Islands. Kemi Badenoch pressed the Prime Minister on foreign affairs and Britain’s relationship with the US president, and Starmer departed from his usual caution to strike a notably firmer tone. What
From our UK edition
13 min listen
China’s controversial ‘super embassy’ has been approved, after years of debate over the security risks. Campaigners had called on ministers not to give the site the green light, given its proximity to important internet cables that support the City of London. MI5 have admitted they can’t ‘wholly eliminate’ the national security risks around the site.
From our UK edition
15 min listen
Donald Trump has thrown another diplomatic hand grenade. This weekend, the President threatened sweeping tariffs on countries backing Greenland’s independence – a move that has rattled European capitals and reignited questions about America’s global strategy. Is this about Arctic security, rare earth minerals, or something more personal? As tensions rise, how should Britain respond? Can
From our UK edition
There used to be a sign up in No. 10 which quoted Gilbert and Sullivan. ‘Quiet calm deliberation disentangles every knot,’ read the plaque, installed by Harold Macmillan. It is advice that Keir Starmer has taken to heart, as Donald Trump seemingly tries to tie Nato in as many twists and bows as possible. The
From our UK edition
Reform UK has gained its seventh MP after Andrew Rosindell switched sides on Sunday night. The longtime Member for Romford was unveiled after a rapid series of talks earlier today. In a statement Nigel Farage said that ‘Andrew is a great patriot. The Tories’ lies and hypocrisy over the Chagos Islands betrayal has tipped him
From our UK edition
24 min listen
As Ed Davey condemned Donald Trump’s military manoeuvres abroad, Annabel Denham looked on and asked ‘what’s the point of the Liberal Democrats?’. Thinking about the Lib Dem’s longstanding europhile stance, the senior political correspondent at the Telegraph wrote: ‘the party that once stood on a tradition of civil liberties now wants us to rejoin a
From our UK edition
10 min listen
Yesterday was a breathless day in Westminster. The defection of Robert Jenrick spawned plenty of headlines and even more memes. But now that the dust has settled, how has the news been received? Was it a total victory for Reform, and evidence that they are slowly swallowing up the Tory party, or is Kemi still
From our UK edition
15 min listen
Robert Jenrick has sensationally defected to Reform. After a day that started with his sacking from the Conservatives – over plotting to reject – continued with the will-he-won’t-he drama of whether Farage would accept him as a new Reform member this afternoon; it ends with a press conference welcoming him to Farage’s gang. So what
From our UK edition
Robert Jenrick has rounded off an extraordinary day on the British right by formally joining Reform. Sacked by Kemi Badenoch at 11 a.m., he was in Milbank Tower announcing his defection at 4:30 p.m. A grinning Nigel Farage gave him a brief introduction – only for there to be an awkward 30-second pause before Jenrick
From our UK edition
8 min listen
Kemi Badenoch has sacked Robert Jenrick from the shadow cabinet, removed the Tory whip and suspended his party membership. In a video on X she claims, ‘I was presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect in a way designed to be as damaging as possible’. The Tories compiled a