Richard Johnson is a historian of the Labour party and a politics lecturer at Queen Mary University of London.
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
Angela Rayner’s failure to get proper tax advice on her house in Hove could be one of those ‘butterfly effect’ moments, where a seemingly trivial incident (like the flap of a butterfly’s wings) sets off a chain of events with precipitous consequences. It could well lead to Keir Starmer’s removal as Labour leader. This is
From our UK edition
12 min listen
James Heale writes in The Spectator this week that Keir Starmer is facing a three-pronged attack from the left: the Greens, the Gaza independents and this new – as yet untitled – Corbyn party. It was not so long ago that we were giving Starmer credit for his ruthless streak, purging the party of the
From our UK edition
44 min listen
The real Brexit betrayal: Starmer vs the workers ‘This week Starmer fell… into the embrace of Ursula von der Leyen’ writes Michael Gove in our cover article this week. He writes that this week’s agreement with the EU perpetuates the failure to understand Brexit’s opportunities, and that Labour ‘doesn’t, or at least shouldn’t exist to
From our UK edition
The problem with Keir Starmer’s approach to Brexit is that it fundamentally misunderstands the country. It isn’t that the Leave-voting public have realised that they made the wrong choice, foolishly tricked by the slogan on the side of a bus a decade ago. Voters in Grimsby have not suddenly been won round to the virtues
Their focus is less on the budget and more on representing the views of working-class voters
