Fraser Nelson is a Times columnist and a former editor of The Spectator.
17 min listen
Nadine Dorries resigned from Parliament over the weekend, writing in a letter to Rishi Sunak that the Conservatives have been ‘corrupted’, and accusing the Prime Minister of ‘opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy against one of his own MPs’. Is Dorries, at least in part, right? James Heale speaks to Fraser Nelson
20 min listen
Are the Tories right to pick local candidates, over Westminster favourites, to be their next generation of MPs? Cindy Yu speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Heale.
After waiting for months, Nadine Dorries has today served her resignation – as several MPs have done recently. But, enraged by Rishi Sunak’s refusal to put her in the House of Lords, she is also triggering a by-election which the Tories are highly likely to lose. In her letter, released in time for the Sunday newspapers,
Katharine Birbalsingh has been releasing videos of pupils at her school, Michaela Community, getting their GCSE results. They’re incredibly moving, all the more so because you wonder how many of these same kids – many from disadvantaged backgrounds – would have done if she had not set up that free school. These results are testimony, yes, to pupil effort. But
16 min listen
If Labour wins the next election, will Keir Starmer have any money to spend on his programme of government? In a piece for the Times yesterday, journalist Philip Collins says it won’t, and he thinks Labour is suffering because of this constraint. How can Labour be intellectually interesting if the government purse strings are so tight? Fraser
It’s great to see Philip Collins back in the Times: you may agree or disagree with him as a columnist but his writing is always elegant and thought-provoking. Today’s column looks at the conundrum facing Keir Starmer. ‘In all honesty I don’t think anyone involved can really say they know what it means to be a Labour government
22 min listen
Downing Street has extended an invite to Mohammed bin Salman to visit the UK in Autumn. Five years after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, is it time to let Saudi Arabia in from the cold? Fraser Nelson speaks to Simon Mayall, a former Middle East adviser in the Ministry of Defence, and to Jawad Iqbal,
14 min listen
Natasha Feroze speaks to Fraser Nelson and Isabel Hardman about today’s wage growth figures which have reached a 22-year high due to public sector pay. Are these an accurate reflection of the economy? Also on the podcast, Isabel Hardman takes a look at NHS week – each day the government has announced new measures to
The number of students studying modern languages is plummeting, The Sunday Times says today. ‘The number of pupils studying German has fallen below 2,200 with French also on a downward trend — amid fears students are becoming little Englanders.’ It shows a graph suggesting, rather absurdly, that Brexit is linked to the drop. Really? Little
21 min listen
It’s been 16 years since Tony Blair walked away from frontline politics, but rather than retiring to Fife to write his books – like another Labour leader – he has managed to build his Tony Blair Institute for Global Change into one of the most sophisticated and influential think tanks in modern politics. What role
In his interview with the Sunday Telegraph proclaiming himself to be pro-car, Rishi Sunak made an interesting point: that this was not about post-Uxbridge opportunism but about his values. ‘I have a set of principles and values that are important to me, and that anchor my approach to life and to government.’ He added, as
12 min listen
Natasha Feroze speaks to Kate Andrews and Fraser Nelson about the sudden decision for the NatWest boss Alison Rose to hand in her resignation. Prompted by the Nigel Farage Coutts bank account scandal, the bank’s CEO faced mounting pressure to resign after late last night No.10 said they had serious concerns over the bank’s actions.
13 min listen
Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson speak to James Heale about Labour’s infighting over issues such as ULEZ and the child benefits cap. Whilst not in government yet, is this something Keir Starmer will need to get a grip on in order to become the next Prime Minister? Produced by Natasha Feroze.
12 min listen
There was something for everyone in the by-elections with each of the three big parties getting a seat. The Tories lost Somerton and Frome to the Lib Dems and Selby and Ainsty to Labour but did narrowly cling on in Boris Johnson’s former seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, albeit with a reduced majority of
17 min listen
Keir Starmer has said that Labour will not be reversing the two-child benefits cap, after Angela Rayner said it was ‘obscene and inhumane’. But will he continue to back the policy, which allegedly saves the Treasury £1.3 billion, or change his mind in the face of pressure from his shadow front bench? James Heale speaks
15 min listen
It is one year since Boris Johnson announced his resignation as prime minister. That day, Labour held an 11 point lead in the polls but new YouGov polling today indicates that gap has widened to 25 points. Is there any hope the Tories can turn it around? What if Boris had stayed? James Heale speaks to
At 10 p.m. on Friday night, the BBC sent out a ‘breaking news’ notification informing millions that a joke made by Jeremy Clarkson about Meghan Markle has been deemed sexist by Ipso, the press regulator. That such attention was given to a few sentences published on p17 in a months-old article is odd, but the
11 min listen
Zac Goldsmith has resigned as a minister, and says he quit because Rishi Sunak is ‘simply uninterested’ in the environment. It comes a day after Goldsmith was named by the Privileges Committee as one of 10 Tories who organised a campaign to undermine the Partygate inquiry. How much will Goldsmith’s resignation hurt the government? James
12 min listen
It never rains but it pours for Rishi Sunak, as the Court of Appeal has today ruled against his Rwanda plan, raising concerns about the safety of asylum seekers. It now looks as though Rishi could be set to fail in all five of his pledges. Is the prime minister heading for embarrassment? Katy Balls
17 min listen
Matt Hancock gave evidence at the Covid inquiry today. The former health secretary said that ‘the doctrine was wrong’, care home preparation was ‘terrible’ and improper planning was an ‘absolute tragedy’. But why was it accepted that harsher lockdowns would’ve helped? Max Jeffery speaks to Isabel Oakeshott and Fraser Nelson. Produced by Max Jeffery.
