What’s behind the latest migration figures?
James Heale speaks to Fraser Nelson and Robert Colvile from the Centre for Policy Studies about today’s migration figures, which hit a record high yet still came in lower than expected.
Fraser Nelson
Fraser Nelson is a Times columnist and a former editor of The Spectator.
Thursday
Sunday
Jeremy Clarke, 1957-2023
Jeremy Clarke, one of the most loved columnists in the history of The Spectator, died this morning at his home in Provence. Catriona, whom he married a few weeks ago, was by his side. He was 66. Everyone who read his column knew this day was coming, but that doesn’t make the news any easier
When will the Tories face up to Britain’s benefits scandal?
When researching The Spectator cover story last week, we came across a figure so shocking that I felt it had to be wrong: that Manchester, a city where 40,000 job vacancies are currently being offered, has an unemployment rate of 18 per cent. That is to say: almost one in five of the working-age population
Saturday
Is Rishi retreating from net zero?
11 min listen
Immigration and the economy are priorities for Rishi Sunak’s government. But under Boris Johnson and Theresa May, net zero was also a major policy focus for Conservative governments. Is Sunak as keen on it as his predecessors were? James Heale speaks to Fraser and Isabel Hardman.
Thursday
Is Brexit safe under Keir Starmer?
9 min listen
James Heale speaks to Isabel Hardman and Fraser Nelson about Rishi Sunak’s response to the impending migration figures and what could be in Keir Starmer’s plans to ‘make Brexit work’.
Wednesday
Migration nation: Brexit has meant more immigration than ever
Manchester is desperate for workers. There are 40,000 jobs advertised in the city at the moment, at every pay grade. Ann Summers wants a stockroom assistant (£10.70 an hour), or you could invigilate exams at £14 an hour or post videos on TikTok for £20 an hour. Sellcheck Chemicals is offering up to £75,000 a
Saturday
Why the UK does so badly at Eurovision
Some 160 million will have watched Britain staging a successful Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool: the world’s most-watched non-sporting TV event. But our own act, Mae Muller, finished second-last. Had it not been for a generous vote from Ukraine’s jury, we’d have been last. It’s a familiar trend. With the spectacular exception of Sam Ryder
Coffee House Shots Live: Coronation special
71 min listen
The coronation will commemorate the start of a new era, but what will this mean for the United Kingdom? How will Charles III secure his place in history – and what kind of monarch will he be? From pageantry to the polls: will the coronation distract voters from the Tories’ predicted heavy losses in the
Tuesday
Wanted: researcher for The Spectator’s lunchtime newsletter
The Spectator is looking for a freelance newsletter assistant for early-morning morning shifts (which can be done at home) for our Lunchtime Espresso newsletter. The lunchtime email goes out to more than 120,000 people: one of our most-read, and one of the most influential newsletters in Britain. It should reflect the same ethos as the
Saturday
Why is Britain so reliant on immigration?
18 min listen
Is the government using mass immigration to mask failures in the welfare system? James Heale speaks to Fraser Nelson and Matthew Goodwin, author of Values, Voice and Virtue.
Friday
Local elections: are we heading for a 1997 moment?
15 min listen
The local election results so far paint a fairly grim picture for the Conservatives, whilst Labour and the Liberal Democrats have made big gains in key areas. With Starmer in the advantage position ahead of the next general election, how will No. 10 respond? Is there a path for the Tories in 2024? Katy Balls
Labour bounces back in Brexit-voting wards
One of the trends Keir Starmer will be looking for is the reversal of the Brexit effect, with Labour heartlands coming back to Labour. A study of 200 seats counted so far – a pretty small fragment – does seem to show a correlation with the swing away from the Tories in the places where
Wednesday
Did the Tories ‘kill the dream of homeownership’?
11 min listen
In today’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Keir Starmer accused the Prime Minister and his party of having ‘killed the dream of homeownership’. With news this week that Rishi Sunak is considering reintroducing ‘Help to Buy’ while Michael Gove is sued for blocking a new housing development in Kent, does Starmer actually have a point? Katy Balls
Monday
In defence of Martin Rowson
Being a cartoonist is a high-risk job nowadays. Your job is to satirise and caricature, to exaggerate bodily features. Every week, we do this at The Spectator in our cover art drawn by the peerless Morten Morland. Kim Jong Un is rather short: Morten makes him minuscule. Donald Trump has small hands and feet; Morten
Wednesday
Will Xi really bring peace to Ukraine?
11 min listen
Xi Jinping said he will send diplomats to help broker peace in Ukraine after he had a phone call with Volodymyr Zelensky. But are China’s aims really as noble as they seem? Fraser Nelson speaks to Isabel Hardman, Svitlana Morenets and Cindy Yu.
Tuesday
How did Beattie miss a £100,000 motorhome?
10 min listen
Colin Beattie, the SNP’s former treasurer, said today that he ‘didn’t know’ about the party’s purchase of a motorhome worth £100,000, the vehicle at the centre of an ongoing police probe into SNP finances. What’s going on? And as the military begins to evacuate British citizens from Sudan, did the Foreign Office react fast enough?
Monday
Could Diane Abbott return to Labour?
17 min listen
Katy Balls, Fraser Nelson and Isabel Hardman discuss Diane Abbott’s suspension from the Labour party. Given her hasty apology, could Keir Starmer allow such a key figure to Labour’s left back into the party? Also on the podcast, what has been the fallout from Dominic Raab’s resignation? And how is Rishi Sunak trying to woo
Sunday
An appeal to academics
One of Britain’s standout characteristics is the number of world-class universities: we have several top-50 institutions and the Eurozone has none. The brainpower – academics and their students – is a massive national asset. But one that’s not really reflected in our public debate. Whereas American academics are shaping their debate, and often ours, British
Friday
Are Suella Braverman’s critics right?
12 min listen
Home Secretary, Suella Braverman has come under fire from senior Conservatives who have accused her of ‘racist rhetoric’, but are these accusations fair? Also on the podcast, Katy Balls takes a look at the latest deal on strikes and Natasha Feroze asks Fraser Nelson why he’s against voters bringing ID for the May local elections.
Thursday
Is Starmer worried about Sunak?
23 min listen
Fraser Nelson speaks to Katy Balls and Stephen Bush from the Financial Times about the two party leaders as Britain starts to think about the next year’s general election. As Labour’s lead in the polls narrows, is their campaigning strategy working? And how is a fractious Conservative party responding to having Rishi Sunak as their
