James Forsyth is former political editor of The Spectator.
13 min listen
Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and James Johnson, the co-founder of the J. L. Partners polling company, about what the Conservative defeat in North Shropshire means for the Prime Minister’s future.
The Tory defeat in North Shropshire is a far worse result for the party and Boris Johnson than their loss in Chesham and Amersham. Chesham and Amersham could be put down to local anger about HS2 and disquiet over planning reform. It was also a seat ripe for tactical voting given it had voted Remain
90 min listen
Welcome to the special Christmas episode of The Edition! In this episode, we look at five major topics that dominated the news this year and the pages of The Spectator. First up a review of the year in politics with our resident Coffee House Shots’ team James Forsyth, Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman. We discuss
12 min listen
Today saw record numbers of Covid cases with infections higher than the January 2021 lockdown. In reaction to soaring cases, Boris Johnson held a press conference yesterday. Although nothing new was announced, he pushed further on the booster program and encouraged the public to rethink their socialising ahead of Christmas.Many people believe the PM is
On this week’s Spectator TV, Andrew Neil interviews the Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. The pair discuss Ukraine, Taiwan, Iran and the fallout from the withdrawal from Afghanistan. But, perhaps, the most striking part of the interview came when Wallace talked about his concern that politicians are turning to the military as a first resort not
What is Boris Johnson’s government for? The answer, we’re often told, is ‘levelling up’. So far this has been a slogan without much meaning. More than two years on from Johnson’s election victory, it has been left to Michael Gove, as the new Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to define the
21 min listen
Last night Boris Johnson suffered the biggest rebellion of his Tory premiership. But, unlike his predecessor, he still managed to get his vote through with Labour’s support. Nearly 100 Conservative MPs voted against the government’s plans for vaccine passports. Their reasons for rebelling varied. For some, they want to send a message to the PM
This evening feels eerily familiar to anyone who remembers the meaningful votes of Theresa May’s premiership. The Tory rebellion on the Covid measures is bigger than expected; the rebels are claiming to be the mainstream of the parliamentary party; the cabinet ministers loyalists to the PM are blaming the whips office; there are mutterings about
11 min listen
Christopher Whitty has told the public he expects a ‘significant increase’ in Omicron hospitalisations over the next few weeks. The chief medical officer is concerned about the pressures this new variant will put on the NHS. Could he be overreacting? In contrast, there are encouraging signs coming from South Africa that continue to show that
12 min listen
Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson about the contents of – and the potential fallout from – Boris Johnson’s address to the nation last night.
In rebellion, there is safety in numbers. At some point, if enough backbenchers are going against the party whip there is a limit to what those enforcers of party discipline can threaten. There is also the fact that after such a large rebellion, there must be an attempt to bring the party back together: which
12 min listen
Boris Johnson’s problems are not going away anytime soon and he is facing extreme pressure on several fronts going into the weekend. Hypocrisy charges from the media and the Labour Party, more scandal regarding the No. 10 flat refurbishment, and a massive Tory rebellion regarding his Plan B measures. Not to mention his recent announcement
One of this government’s favourite tactics is to act as if the beginning of its time in office was the general election of December 2019. This means it can dodge the usual charge against any party that has been in power for more than a decade: why haven’t you fixed the problem already? Some problems,
12 min listen
A new 40-page document written by Raphael Marshall, a former desk officer at the Foreign Office, depicts a disorganised mess in the handling of this year’s Afghanistan withdrawal. ‘I think the picture that is painted of chaos… it raises a whole slew of questions.’ – James Forsyth Katy Balls and James Forsyth dissect some of
13 min listen
Boris Johnson is launching a week of crime-related government announcements. Tackling middle-class drug use tops the agenda today, and the Prime Minister watched police raid a home in Liverpool this morning as part of ‘Operation Toxic’ to infiltrate county lines drug dealing. But with a report from the Sunday Times revealing that traces of cocaine
15 min listen
With the Omicron variant putting everyone on edge, there has been quite a bit of mixed messaging from the government about how we should all be conducting ourselves this festive period. With a bizarre emphasis placed on snogging – some preaching caution, others saying snog away. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard people say the
Dealing with crime is a political necessity for the Tories, I say in the Times today. Whenever Labour outflanks them on the issue, as Tony Blair did, the Conservatives are in trouble. But law and order has taken on even more importance for this government because of its link to levelling up: Boris Johnson is convinced
10 min listen
The by-election last night was a result for the Tories. However, their majority for this seat fell dramatically. Labour tried to badge it as good news for them, claiming that they are ‘back in business’. But the poor voter turnout was more likely the reason for the fall in Tory votes rather than a swing
Until a few days ago, ministers could see how the government might regain its footing after several weeks of self-inflicted damage. The argument, as I say in this week’s magazine, went like this: as Christmas approaches, voters will see that life in Britain — and specifically England — carries on with very few Covid restrictions whereas
11 min listen
A lot of news coming out of Europe this week. From French President Emmanuel Macron calling Boris Johnson a clown, to more extreme Covid prevention methods rolling out in Germany. Will Anglo-French tensions cool, boil or simmer? Are we going to see the return of talks about Covid passports and vaccine mandates? Isabel Hardman looks