James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.
From our UK edition
10 min listen
Suella Braverman has again dominated conversation with her controversial rhetoric, this time comparing the pro-Palestinian marches to the Orange Marches of Northern Ireland in a punchy op-ed for the Times. Has she finally gone too far for this government? Max Jeffery talks to Katy Balls and James Heale. Produced by Max Jeffery and Cindy Yu.
From our UK edition
12 min listen
It was the King’s speech today. King Charles announced that the government would introduce new laws to, among other things, force criminals to attend their sentencing hearings, scrap most jail sentences of less than a year, and sell all new houses as freehold properties. Is it enough for the Tories to turn around their deficit in the polls? Katy Balls speaks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman.
From our UK edition
King Charles has just finished taking part in the state opening of parliament for the first time as monarch. The purpose of today's King's Speech was to set out the government's priorities for the coming parliamentary session, which will be the final one before the next general election. This was Sunak's chance to draw political dividing lines with Labour, but there were few surprises. It was the longest statement read out by a monarch since 2005 but contained the fewest bills since 2014. Below is a rundown of the 21 planned bills announced today. Criminal Justice Bill This bill will force criminals to attend their sentencing hearings, following the Lucy Letby case.
From our UK edition
13 min listen
WhatsApps between officials in Boris Johnson’s government have been centre-stage at the Covid inquiry this week. Is the app encouraging on-the-hoof policymaking and nasty briefing? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Guido Fawkes chief Paul Staines.
From our UK edition
14 min listen
This week the prime minister hosted his landmark AI summit at Bletchley Park which wrapped up with an interview with Elon Musk, who warned that AI will one day render all jobs obsolete. The who's who of AI were in attendance over the two days as well the likes of Kamala Harris and Ursula von der Leyen, but what was actually achieved? Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Madhumita Murgia, AI editor at the Financial Times.
From our UK edition
So, the AI summit – what was that all about? The great Bletchley Park jamboree concluded last night with an hour-long chat between Rishi Sunak and Elon Musk. As tech bros and world leaders depart today, Sunak's team can reflect on a job well done. Prior to the summit, there was much sneering about whether anyone would even turn up. Sinosceptics protested the invitation to China. Others mocked the UK's ambitions. And there were predictable barbs about the Musk fireside chat. But Bletchley was worth the gamble, with a list of attendees that reads like a who's who of the AI world. The headline achievement was getting some 28 nations – including both China and the US – to agree to the 'Bletchley declaration' to address the risks represented by AI development.
From our UK edition
The Covid Inquiry has been taking evidence from Helen MacNamara, Deputy Cabinet Secretary from 2020 to 2021. During Dominic Cummings’s cross-examination yesterday it was revealed that he had wanted to ‘handcuff her [MacNamara] and escort’ her out of No. 10. Yet much of her evidence this morning corroborates his account (or rather criticism) of Whitehall in March 2020. One key point of agreement was the lack of effective planning for these scenarios. According to MacNamara, Matt Hancock, the then Health Secretary, told cabinet ‘time and time again’ shortly before the pandemic that the government had plans in place to deal with Covid. In her oral evidence, she says she heard Hancock say this in person, and assumed he was right, but that these plans never materialised.
From our UK edition
Boris Johnson wasn't in attendance at the Covid Inquiry this morning, but he was certainly there in spirit. The ex-Prime Minister suffered a bevvy of blows in absentia, in the form of WhatsApps published from his former No. 10 team. Among the more explosive were his blunt views on a second national lockdown in October 2020: 'We should let the old people get it [coronavirus] and protect others' he wrote in one. 'The median age is 82-81 for men & 85 for women. That is above life expectancy. So get Covid and live longer.' A diary entry from Sir Patrick Vallance complained that Johnson is ‘obsessed with older people accepting their fate and letting the young get on with life and the economy going.
From our UK edition
If you work in politics, chances are you have drunk in the Westminster Arms. Located just off Parliament Square, every night it hosts the collection of hacks, wonks and mandarins that comprise the SW1 bubble. For 30 years, Gerry Dolan has run the pub with his mix of Irish humour and no-nonsense determination. When we meet, three days before his retirement, his roving eyes still flick up every time to scan each new patron that enters his beloved bar. ‘I have loved the Westminster Arms. It's been a great mistress’ he says. ‘My wife ran the wine bar downstairs, and she probably worked harder than I did. I was like a Redcoat, really.’ Dolan is one of a dying breed of lifelong landlords in the capital, tied to one establishment.
From our UK edition
14 min listen
The Covid inquiry enters its most dramatic week, questioning Martin Reynolds (a.k.a. 'Party Marty'), as well as former No. 10 advisors Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings. But it seems that the inquiry has gone down more the route of interpersonal drama rather than lessons learnt for government decisionmaking. So what's the point of it? Katy Balls talks to Isabel Hardman and James Heale. Produced by Cindy Yu.
From our UK edition
Rishi Sunak has tonight moved quickly to sack a Tory MP who called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Paul Bristow, the MP for Peterborough, was removed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) less than two hours after the Telegraph reported that he had become the first Conservative MP to publicly support such a plan. According to a No. 10 spokesman: 'Paul Bristow has been asked to leave his post in government following comments that were not consistent with the principles of collective responsibility.' Bristow wrote to Sunak on Thursday, setting out the case for a ceasefire in a two-page letter. He wrote that 'Thousands have been killed and more than one million now displaced. It is difficult to understand how this makes Israel more secure or indeed makes anything better.
From our UK edition
12 min listen
Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure from his party to back a call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine conflict. The week began with the Labour leader correcting comments he made on LBC that Israel had a right to defend itself. But now, politicians to the left of his party are campaigning for a ceasefire. Is this something Starmer can support? Also on the podcast, James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson about more 'pestminster' scandals and Liz Truss on AI and China.
From our UK edition
15 min listen
Keir Starmer has had a difficult week, trying to keep his party on message over the war in Israel and Gaza. The official position is that Israel has a right to respond to Hamas’s attacks on 7 October, but a number of Labour MPs are now calling for a ceasefire. Could Starmer have better handled the situation? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and John McTernan.
From our UK edition
Former Justice minister Crispin Blunt has tonight confirmed that he is the Conservative MP arrested on suspicion of rape and possession of controlled substances. In a statement posted on Twitter/X, he wrote the following statement: It has been reported that an MP was arrested yesterday in connection with an allegation of rape. I am confirming that MP was me. The fact of the arrest requires a formal notification of the Speaker and then my Chief Whip. I have now been interviewed twice in connection with this incident, the first time three weeks ago, when I initially reported my concern over extortion. The second time was earlier this morning under caution following arrest.
From our UK edition
‘Dr Death’ was the nickname bestowed on Rishi Sunak by one scientist during Covid. But ‘Dr Doom’ seemed a more apt sobriquet at certain points during his big speech today on artificial intelligence. The Prime Minister evoked the spectre of humanity ‘losing control of AI completely’ to a ‘superintelligence’ that could result in ‘extinction’. He warned of a world in which AI facilitated chemical weapons, disinformation and child sexual abuse. Therefore, governments ought to step up, he argued, as ‘only nation states have the power and legitimacy to keep their people safe’.How best to do this then?
From our UK edition
Rishi Sunak is in office but Liz Truss remains in power. That's the line that Labour are pushing on today's announcement that the cap on bankers' bonuses will be abolished next week. The change was initially announced by Kwasi Kwarteng in the infamous mini-budget of September 2022. It was one of the few measures to be retained when Chancellor Jeremy Hunt replaced Kwarteng at the Treasury on the grounds that it did not have an impact on state finances, unlike her tax cuts. Labour are naturally keen to suggest that this shows that Sunak has not moved the Tories on from the Truss era.
From our UK edition
12 min listen
This week marks one year since Rishi Sunak entered No.10. Faced with the weekend's double by-election defeat, Labour's lead in the polls and another by-election coming soon, what can Rishi Sunak still do to turn things around? Natasha Feroze speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale.
From our UK edition
It was a year ago on Wednesday that Liz Truss left office. As the ministerial cavalcade rolled out of Downing Street for the short drive to Buckingham Palace, so she entered the history books as the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history. Truss was still reeling from the events of the past seven weeks. The rejection of her mini-Budget by the world markets had been dubbed Britain's 'economic Suez.' But in keeping with her character and past record, she did not follow the example of Anthony Eden and ignominiously slink off into retirement. After a short holiday – her first non-ministerial break in more than a decade – she returned and began to plot her next moves.
From our UK edition
13 min listen
Labour has overturned the Tamworth and and Mid Bedfordshire by-election results, overturning the biggest majority in by-election history. Is there anymore road for Rishi Sunak? Isabel Hardman speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale.
From our UK edition
14 min listen
Today Rishi Sunak joined Benjamin Netanyahu for a joint press conference in which he pledged support to Israel. Netanyahu thanked him for his, ‘strong statement of support’ and grounded Israel’s fight in the context of Britain’s own history. ‘You fought the Nazis 80 years ago,’ he said, ‘Hamas are the new Nazis'. Also on the podcast, the polls have opened for by elections in Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire. What should we expect? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. Photo credit: Simon Walker/No.
