Tim Shipman is political editor of The Spectator.
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On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Tim Shipman delves into the impact Ed Miliband’s Israeli sanctions have had on UK security; Charles Steel explores the men on the spectrum who rule the world; Alex Diggins talks about the importance of physical maps; and Rachel Johnson admits there’s an art to buying birthday presents. Produced and presented by Abigail Brierley.
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Military and intelligence chiefs across Europe are sounding increasingly stark warnings about the threat posed by Russia, from cyber attacks and sabotage to drones and hybrid warfare. But is Britain taking the danger seriously enough – and are the armed forces actually ready for what might come next? Patrick Gibbons is joined by Tim Shipman and Noa Hoffman to discuss Britain’s military preparedness, Andy Burnham’s approach to foreign policy and what to expect when the Prime Minister comes face-to-face with Donald Trump in New York next week. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
It’s hard to keep up with what might kill us first. A week ago, the tech-bros were competing to tell us that AI might wipe out humanity within a decade. This week, most of Europe seems to be warning about a Russian unconventional attack on the West. French President Emmanuel Macron today called a meeting of all the political leaders in France to share intelligence assessments of Vladimir Putin’s posture and what appear to be growing aggression from the Moscow machine. Burnham may not be interested in foreign policy, but as legions of previous prime ministers have discovered, it has a way of becoming interested in them 'In recent weeks, the Russian hybrid threat against Europeans and against France has intensified,' he said.
More voters than ever before say they are willing to vote tactically at the next election, according to new polling from More in Common, and the trend is not running Reform's way – even Conservative supporters are more ready to lend their vote to the Lib Dems than to Nigel Farage. James Heale and Tim Shipman are joined by the pollster's executive director, Luke Tryl, to discuss the findings and whether a 'stop Reform' vote could keep Farage out of Downing Street.
When Andy Burnham was quizzed at PMQs last week about his and Ed Miliband’s decision to sanction the Israeli government over its handling of Gaza, the Prime Minister was surprisingly frank about the trade-offs. He presented it as a decision to prevent ‘the collapse of the two-state solution’ for a peace deal in the Middle East, which he claimed was ‘dying before our eyes’. In his statement to the Commons, Miliband referred to ‘ethnic cleansing’. But Burnham also admitted: ‘We gave the most careful consideration to… all of the risks. The Foreign Secretary and I took close advice from the security services and, of course, officials in the Foreign Office and in our embassies.
New inflation figures – showing the highest increase for several months – have done little to insulate John Healey from the stormy weather of the British economy. James Heale is joined by Michael Simmons and Tim Shipman to unpack what the rise might mean for Labour's upcoming budget. How much worse can it get? Produced by Henry Lloyd.
England's 15-year-olds came eighth in the world for science, ninth for reading and tenth for maths in Tuesday's Pisa results, though it took the education secretary, Lucy Powell, hours to send the congratulatory message. James Heale is joined by Tim Shipman and the shadow education secretary, Laura Trott, to go through the numbers, why Labour wants to unpick the reforms behind them, and whether a vocational route at 14 would help the pupils it is aimed at. Produced by Henry Lloyd.
We’re still in the dead zone between Reform UK’s conference and the TUC and Lib Dems' next week, with Labour and the Tories to follow. The main government announcement of the week, the decision by Andy Burnham and Ed Miliband to impose sanctions on Israel, seems demonstrably more likely – to put it politely – to deliver victory in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election than it is to deliver a two-state solution to the Middle East wars. It’s worth taking stock at the end of the week about where British politics stands now. I’m grateful to Luke Tryl of More in Common for insights into his latest polling and focus grouping (none of which, he assures me, was paid for by a secret donor).
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The topic of assisted dying returns to Parliament today, with a vote scheduled in the Commons this afternoon. Labour MP Lauren Evans has used her private member's bill to reintroduce it, after Kim Leaderbeater's attempt failed, running out of time during the last parliamentary session. Then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer voted for the Bill; now, Andy Burnham has pledged to abstain, saying that – as Prime Minister – he should remain neutral. So what are the chances of this Bill passing? And what does Burnham really think? Tim Shipman and James Heale join Noa Hoffman to discuss. Plus: the team reflect on the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US and its consequences, 25 years on from that seminal moment. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
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.
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It's only Burnham's second PMQs and he's already dropped a clanger. He may have handed the Conservatives their next election slogan after declaring that ‘national security cannot come at the expense of social security’. Has the Prime Minister exposed the fault line at the heart of his government? Noa Hoffman is joined by Isabel Hardman and Tim Shipman to discuss Burnham’s approach to welfare and defence, his increasingly ideological foreign policy – and whether his promise of hope and consensus can survive contact with political reality. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
Some years ago Antonia Romeo, now the Cabinet Secretary, was stuck in a boring meeting about civil service reform. She regarded the plan as inadequate to create the leaner, meaner machine she hoped to see. ‘Basically you’ve given me a Ford, when I’m more of a Ferrari girl.’ It was a moment which summed up the official who is now accruing arguably more power than any of her predecessors. Romeo is glamorous, suspiciously racy and likes to move fast towards her goals. When Andy Burnham became Prime Minister she secured a seat in the Prime Minister’s outer office, the first time a cabinet secretary has ever sat there. She has written her own job description (signed off by Keir Starmer and now Burnham).
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Sir Malcolm Rifkind joins Tim Shipman and James Heale to discuss the future of the conservatism and tells The Spectator why Kemi Badenoch is the person to bring the Conservative Party back from the brink. He explains why he thinks Reform is already losing momentum, why Nigel Farage is ‘not fit to govern’, and why Andy Burnham could actually help the Conservatives at the next election. He also reflects on Britain’s relationship with Israel and the United States, criticises Labour’s approach to sanctions on Israel, and gives his verdict on Donald Trump second term. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Abigail Brierley.
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Noa Hoffman, James Heale and Tim Shipman host a special live recording of Coffee House Shots from Reform conference. They discuss whether a damaging 48 hours for the party have breached the walls of Birmingham’s NEC, whether Nigel Farage can weather serious questions over Reform’s funding, and whether Zia Yusuf should throw his phone in the nearest river and get off Twitter. Produced by Oscar Edmondson, Henry Lloyd and The Spectator’s events team.
1) THE SPEECH Nigel Farage has made his big speech to Reform’s party conference in Birmingham this evening. It was a bravura display which had his army of supporters in raptures. ‘I believe there will be an election next year’, Farage said, demanding a vote and branding Burnham ‘the Messiah without a mandate’. ‘We will fight to win,’ he said. If he wins power, Farage pledged: ‘We will stop the boats within 100 days of a Reform government. End of.’ Slash benefits spending by £50 billion. Cut taxes on working people ‘in a radical way’. Cut energy bills by £250 ‘and end the net zero lunacy’. Stop judges leaning on the European Convention on Human Rights. Boost NHS training to produce more home-grown nurses and doctors.
Deputy heads have rolled. Reform UK, in the person of chairman Lee Anderson, announced this morning that Dan Jukes, Nigel Farage’s right hand man, and James Orr, the party’s head of strategy, have stood down and abandoned the party conference. ‘They have left the building and they won’t be coming back,’ Anderson said. Footage screened by Channel 4 on Thursday night showed Jukes appearing to suggest a way to get around electoral law to secure a foreign donation of £500,000. A reporter posed as a UK-based son of an American father, who was to give money to the son to give to Reform after being wooed by both Orr and Jukes. Electoral law sets out that to be a permissible donor to a UK political party you must be a UK registered voter, or a company registered in the UK.
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Lara Prendergast is joined by The Spectator’s political editor Tim Shipman, columnist and journalist Melanie McDonagh, and the Daily Mail’s parliamentary sketchwriter Quentin Letts. This week: has Reform UK lost its magic? Ahead of the party’s conference, Tim reveals its plans for the first 100 days of a Reform government – and asks whether Nigel Farage can persuade voters that his party is ready to govern after a turbulent summer. Also: what is happening in Middlesbrough? The panel discuss rising gang violence, the decline of visible policing and a generation of young men who appear increasingly indifferent to the law. Is social breakdown to blame – or has Britain simply lost its respect for authority? Plus: what can Britain learn from Norway’s royals?
After his first PMQs Andy Burnham came away relatively unscathed, although his dream of a 'new politics' may be rapidly falling apart. To dissect what went on in the chamber, James Heale is joined by Tim Shipman and Isabel Hardman to go over today's more feisty exchanges.
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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.
There’s a great scene in The West Wing where the White House is engulfed by a crisis in the Middle East and President Bartlet’s daughter, Ellie, is learning about the region at school. Her teacher, Mr Pordy, asks why there has always been conflict in the Middle East and she gives a response stressing the centuries-old conflicts over land and culture. Bartlet quotes her teacher as telling the class: ‘No. It’s because it’s incredibly hot and there’s no water.’ August is always the silly season, but this one has been sinister too At times over the past few weeks it has seemed as if the best explanation for the heated exchanges raging across the political spectrum is the historic heatwave.
