Fraser Nelson is a Times columnist and a former editor of The Spectator.
16 min listen
Boris Johnson today said there was ‘no question’ that the government would announce tighter coronavirus restrictions, as case numbers continue to surge. It came after health secretary Matt Hancock said this morning that the existing tier system is ‘no longer strong enough’. What will further restrictions look like? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and
16 min listen
A Brexit deal has been reached. Negotiations over fisheries continued into the early hours of Christmas Eve, and Boris Johnson finalised the agreement with Ursula von der Leyen at 1:44pm. The PM said the treaty resolves a ‘question that has bedevilled politics for decades’, while the EU Commission President said it was ‘time to leave
Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen have both confirmed that we have a deal: one with zero tariffs, zero quotas. The details are not yet published, but several details are now being reported. What follows is a summary of those reports and rumours: we should soon have 2,000 pages of chapter and verse. The upshot: it’s Brexit.
13 min listen
This week Liz Truss promised to shake up the equalities brief, opting for ‘facts not fashion’ in the fight against inequality that looks at regions and class, not just gender and race. What can we learn about the government’s future direction from this speech? Cindy Yu talks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.
35 min listen
For the Christmas triple issue, there are four authors in this week’s Spectator Out Loud. Fraser Nelson reads the leading article in our Christmas edition; Matt Ridley talks about how mRNA vaccines could revolutionise medicine; Ian Rankin reads his short story; and Cressida Bonas reflects on what it was like to have a lockdown wedding.
Big news in Sweden this afternoon where Stefan Löfven, the Prime Minister, has just tightened Covid-19 restrictions. Still no lockdown, but there’s now a rule of four for restaurants (it had previously been six) and an 8pm curfew on sale of alcohol in bars and restaurants (it had been 10pm). A cap is to be
Last week, Katy Balls and I interviewed Rishi Sunak for the Christmas issue of The Spectator (out today) and his comments on debt have caused some interest in today’s newspapers. As ever with such interviews, there’s only so much you can squeeze into two pages but I thought it worth elaborating on his position today.
21 min listen
Katy Balls, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson look back on Boris Johnson’s first year of leading a majority government.
20 min listen
Brexit negotiations are continuing this week, with fisheries and the level playing field remaining key sticking points. But with the deadline for an agreement edging closer, is no-deal more likely than anticipated? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.
14 min listen
The return to the tier system will be voted on in the Commons next week, but from the grumblings in the Conservative party, it sounds like the government may need Opposition votes in order to get the legislation through. That’s never a comfortable position for a government, so on the podcast, Katy Balls discusses with
In one of his early lockdown press conferences, the Prime Minister suggested that those who tested positive for Covid could be released from lockdown because they’d be immune. The idea of an ‘immunity certificate’ was then dropped, as it raised obvious questions of unfairness: would you really have a caste of immuno-privileged people exempt from
13 min listen
Oxford University’s vaccine could be up to 90 per cent effective, data from phase III trials shows today. With the UK government ordering 100 million doses of the jab, could it mean a return to normality is on the horizon? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.
32 min listen
Polls consistently show a majority of Scots are in favour of independence – do they have a case? Fraser Nelson speaks to Andrew Wilson, former MSP and founding partner of Charlotte Street Partners.
13 min listen
Sir Alex Allen, a top civil servant in charge of the report into allegations of bullying at the Home Office, has resigned, but the Home Secretary Priti Patel, who is at the centre of it all, has not. Why is the Prime Minister so keen to ‘stick with Prit’? Fraser Nelson talks to James Forsyth
18 min listen
Boris Johnson has today announced a raft of new environmental policies, following the departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain last week. Will it reset the direction of Number 10, or are more comprehensive changes needed? Cindy Yu speaks to Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth and Katy Balls.
13 min listen
Boris Johnson told northern MPs last night that he thought Scottish devolution had been a ‘disaster’, a comment that was immediately disowned by the Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross. Katy Balls talks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.
Sweden has been pretty much the only country in the world to have responded to coronavirus using a voluntary system: advising, rather than instructing, the public. But this has changed today with Stefan Löfven, the Prime Minister, saying he will pass a law to introduce a ban on gatherings of eight people or more. ‘Do your
15 min listen
Boris Johnson has been told to self-isolate by contact tracers after meeting with a Covid positive MP last week. It comes just as the PM was expected to reset his premiership following the departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain. Gus Carter is joined by Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.
24 min listen
Dominic Cummings walked out of No. 10 Downing Street last night – but what did he actually do in there? Katy Balls is joined by Fraser Nelson and Peter Cardwell, a former SpAd and author of The Secret Life of Special Advisers.
15 min listen
Boris Johnson’s chief aide has said that he’ll be gone by Christmas – so what does that mean for Downing Street operations? Katy Balls is joined by Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.
