Oscar Edmondson

Kemi Badenoch has just delivered her conference speech, bringing Conservative Party Conference 2026 to a close. She very nearly almost announced the inheritance tax policy many had expected – instead beefing up the Tory offer to homeowners with a pledge to abolish inheritance tax on the family home. Beyond that, it was relatively light on new announcements: Kemi could hardly be accused of ‘policymaxxing’. What was clear from the Leader of the Opposition’s rhetoric, however, was that there is now plenty of clear blue water between the main parties – setting British politics up for an intriguing run-in. Has Kemi finally found ‘the right way’? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Tim Shipman, James Heale and Lara Brown. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

It’s Labour conference day one, and Oscar Edmondson and James Heale report live from the Pullman hotel bar. What’s the mood of conference so far? Will it be a dour affair like previous years, or will new measures to shorten the beer queues do anything to quell the gossip and plotting? Andy Burnham has taken the opportunity this morning to announce a major policy on social care, proposing a system more closely aligned with the principles of the NHS with a free at the point of use model. But how would Labour pay for it? Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Donald Trump has forced a rethink of the Chagos deal, after publicly criticising the agreement during his meeting with Andy Burnham. Is Labour preparing to abandon one of Keir Starmer’s most controversial foreign policy decisions? And, with Labour conference approaching, could Burnham be tempted to call a general election? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Noa Hoffman and Tim Shipman. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

After plans emerged for the Cabinet Secretary, Dame Antonia Romeo, to consolidate power across the civil service this week, Oscar Edmondson is joined by James Heale and Tim Shipman, to discuss this week's political column, in which Tim unpacks the potentials motives behind the new alpha at the very top of Whitehall.

Ed Miliband has made his first major intervention as Foreign Secretary, with Britain set to announce a trade ban on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The move comes amid increasingly strained relations between London and Jerusalem – and marks Andy Burnham’s first big foreign policy fight. Oscar Edmondson is joined by James Heale and Michael Stephens to discuss whether the sanctions will have any real effect, how far UK–Israel relations have deteriorated and whether Labour is simply moving with public opinion. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

There are grey clouds over day two of Reform UK’s conference after a Channel 4 investigation caused heads to roll. The party announced this morning that Dan Jukes, Nigel Farage’s right-hand man, and James Orr, Reform’s head of strategy, have stood down and left the conference. ‘They have left the building and they won’t be coming back,’ chairman Lee Anderson said. Footage broadcast by Channel 4 on Thursday night showed Jukes suggesting a way to get around electoral law in order to secure a foreign donation. A reporter posed as a UK-based son of an American benefactor, who was to give money to Reform via his 'son' after being wooed by both Orr and Jukes.

Politics is back – and it’s a bumper day in Westminster. Kemi Badenoch got ahead of the field yesterday by reshuffling her top team a day earlier than expected, and the changes are much more comprehensive than first thought. James Cleverly is off to run for the London mayoralty, while Priti Patel and Mel Stride have both been given the boot. Katie Lam takes over Cleverly’s housing brief, while Andrew Griffith will hope to bring some much-needed energy to the role of shadow chancellor. So what does the reshuffle tell us about Badenoch’s strategy – and what does it mean for the Tories’ economic offer? Elsewhere, Keir Starmer has resigned as an MP.

Andy Burnham's first overseas trip as Prime Minister took him to Ukraine this week, offering the first real glimpse of what his foreign policy might look like. But with a budget and a party conference ahead, how much time can a PM elected on a domestic agenda really give to the world stage? Oscar Edmondson is joined by James Heale and the foreign policy analyst, Sophia Gaston, to assess Ed Miliband's early moves at the Foreign Office, why Jonathan Powell has made himself indispensable to Britain's allies, and who is in the running to replace Olly Robbins as permanent secretary.

With Parliament returning next week, the Conservatives are in a much stronger position than they were this time last year. That said, questions remain – not least when it comes to Kemi Badenoch’s top team. A reshuffle is apparently scheduled and, while it won’t be a total overhaul, there could be a few surprises. James Heale and Lord Goodman join Oscar Edmondson to discuss Badenoch’s improving position, why a Tory–Reform pact now looks increasingly unlikely, and who could be in line for promotion. Plus: could Penny Mordaunt be blocked from standing again – and does the Tory party have a growing talent problem? Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Lee Anderson and Richard Tice fronted another Reform presser yesterday, this time on their plans for council housing, should they be elected to government. Included in the announcement was the desire to prioritise council housing for married couples with children, as well as 'British-born' citizens. To analyse this fresh distinction, Oscar Edmondson and James Heale are joined by Ameer Kotecha to go over the plans, and ask whether it is right to draw a line between the Brits who are born here, and those who are not.

It continues – thankfully – to be an interesting summer: there’s devolution news, Reform taking lumps out of each other and Sue Gray has broken her silence. But first, Andy Burnham is shifting the machinery of government north, promising to put growth at the heart of his new Manchester operation. Will moving power out of Whitehall actually make a difference? Elsewhere, tensions inside Reform spill into the open as Zia Yusuf takes aim at Shippers over his latest Spectator column. Oscar Edmondson, Tim Shipman and James Heale discuss.

Shock horror: Nigel Farage has won the by-election in Clacton. Although you may be shocked by the scale of the victory. The Reform leader received 22,239 votes – 1,000 more than his total at the 2024 general election. His main rival, Count Binface – the ‘uniparty candidate’ as Farage says – secured a respectable 9,455 votes, a 26.7 per cent share. Turnout stood at 44.37 per cent, the constituency’s lowest since 2010, but still pretty good for a by-election and such an unusual one at that. But the big questions remains: did Farage get what he wanted out of this by-election? Or is this the farcical end to an undignified episode in British politics? Oscar Edmondson, Tim Shipman and Noa Hoffman discuss. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Politicians are increasingly turning on the journalists who scrutinise them. After investigations into Nigel Farage’s finances, Reform figures have accused reporters of waging a political ‘war’ – while Arron Banks has hired private investigators to look into Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund. Is hostility towards the media becoming a feature of modern politics? And is the relationship between politicians and the press becoming more poisonous? Gabriel joins Oscar Edmondson and Tim Shipman, who writes for the magazine this week about the fraying contract between society and its fourth estate. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Nigel Farage is heading back to the polls in Clacton after resigning to trigger a by-election over questions surrounding his £5 million gift. With the main parties refusing to stand, Farage looks set for a comfortable victory – but will his popularity in Clacton translate to the rest of the country? And have voters simply stopped caring about the controversy? Meanwhile, Andy Burnham is facing the first major tests of his premiership. As questions mount over how he will pay for his ambitious domestic agenda, Burnham has intervened again over plans to release prisoners early, insisting that the killers of PC Andrew Harper should remain behind bars. Is his willingness to respond to public pressure a sign of how he intends to govern?

It is day three of Andy Burnham’s premiership, and we have had a tranche of policy announcements and funding commitments. A VAT cut for energy bills, £2 bus fares, and today a business rate cut for pubs and hospitality businesses. But are any of them actually funded? Michael Simmons joins Tim Shipman and Oscar Edmondson to walk through the promises made, and how, if at all, they will be funded by Burnham’s new government. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Henry Lloyd.

Kemi Badenoch has declared war on the Tory wets, removing the whip from Gavin Barwell after Theresa May’s former chief of staff criticised her leadership and opposed the party’s positions on net zero and the ECHR. Her allies insist this is not a purge, but proof that the Conservatives have changed. Is Badenoch finally imposing discipline on her party – or narrowing a broad church that is already struggling to fill its pews? Meanwhile, Andy Burnham has addressed the Parliamentary Labour Party, promising to listen to MPs and preside over a broader, more inclusive Labour party. But the demands are already piling up, from immigration and rural policy to coastal communities.

Nigel Farage’s Clacton by-election gamble has not gone quite to plan: the major parties have called his bluff and refused to stand. Is this now a Potemkin by-election – or has Farage still succeeded in changing the narrative on Reform’s funding row? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Tim Shipman and James Heale about whether Farage is returning to what he does best: insurgency, grievance and a fight with the establishment. Will Count Binface and Laurence Fox make the contest look ridiculous – or will Farage’s supporters still hear the tune he is playing? Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

A scoop by The Spectator’s news editor has taken Westminster by storm this week, after it emerged that the Treasury had ditched the numerical reasoning test for its high-flying graduate scheme. Oscar Edmondson speaks to the story’s author, John Connolly, and Ameer Kotecha, a former senior diplomat and now chief executive of the Centre for Government Reform, about how deeply anti-meritocratic hiring practices are rooted in the civil service. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Henry Lloyd.

Boris is (sort of) on manoeuvres, as Tim Shipman reports in this week’s magazine. There are signs that the former Conservative prime minister and one-time editor of this magazine could emerge from his frontline political hiatus to throw his weight behind the Tory cause. He has already been advising Kemi Badenoch and is said to be driven, in part, by a ‘hatred’ of Nigel Farage. Should Reform fear the return of Boris? It has been a damaging month for Reform, following the Makerfield by-election, a plateau in the polls, rumbling questions about Farage’s £5 million gift and now suggestions that he did not declare his full property portfolio to parliament. Has Reform peaked? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Tim Shipman and James Heale. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Another agenda-setting cover piece from Tim Shipman has ruffled feathers in Westminster. The controversy centres on a line from a senior Labour source who told Shippers that Andy Burnham could be ‘Labour’s first woman prime minister’. The remark has been doing the rounds in Westminster WhatsApp chats – not least the women’s PLP group, whose members are up in arms. What exactly did the source mean? Also today, Mike Tapp – the outspoken Home Office minister – is at the centre of a row between the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary. Shabana Mahmood wants to sack her number two over an op-ed he wrote in The Times, in which he revealed – or took credit for, depending on whose side you’re on – changes to Labour’s immigration policy. Did he break the ministerial code?