James Heale

James Heale

James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.

Thursday

James Heale

The return of Keir vs Andy

From our UK edition

When Labour MPs met to hear from their leader on Monday, there was one group who felt particularly aggrieved. In the government’s reshuffle following the resignation of Angela Rayner, the party’s powerful north-west caucus had suffered a ‘machine gunning like nothing else’, in the words of a senior party official. Some 40 per cent of the reshuffle casualties are from this region. The changes risked, in the words of one aide, ‘reopening the whole Keir and Andy psychodrama’. Within hours, Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, had duly attacked Keir Starmer’s new ‘London-centric’ line-up. Lucy Powell, a close Burnham ally, who was sacked as leader of the Commons, announced that she was running to replace Rayner as Labour’s deputy leader.

Wednesday

James Heale

Badenoch skewers Starmer over Mandelson’s Epstein link

From our UK edition

12 min listen

Kemi Badenoch has just skewered Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions on the topic of Peter Mandelson’s association with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.  Badenoch learned from her mistakes last week and devoted all six of her questions to trying to get Mandelson fired as British Ambassador to Washington. She pointed out that the victims of Epstein had ‘called for Lord Mandelson to be sacked’, and then asked whether Starmer had been aware ‘of this intimate relationship when he appointed Lord Mandelson to be our ambassador in Washington’. It was potentially her most convincing performance yet and she managed to pull together diffuse threads of world and domestic affairs into a focussed attack on the Prime Minister and his US ambassador’s credibility.

Tuesday

James Heale

Will Shabana stop the boats?

From our UK edition

19 min listen

With the announcement yesterday that the government would be prepared to suspend visas for countries that don’t cooperate with the UK over deportations, has Shabana Mahmood shown she has what it takes to tackle immigration? Tim Shipman and James Heale join Patrick Gibbons to discuss whether the new home secretary can ‘stop the boats’. But, as the government ‘reset’ continues, all eyes are on Labour’s deputy leadership race. The most high-profile MPs to throw their hats in the ring are education secretary Bridget Phillipson, former shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry – and Lucy Powell, fresh from her sacking as Leader of the House of Commons. Is the race shaping up to be a one-on-one between a government loyalist and an outsider?

James Heale

Bridget Phillipson stands to replace Angela Rayner

From our UK edition

The resignation of Angela Rayner on Friday created two vacancies. The first was in her formal role as deputy leader of the Labour party; the second was her unofficial status as the next leader-in-waiting. Bridget Phillipson’s decision to stand to replace her can be seen as a bid to seize both mantles. The Education Secretary announced her bid this morning, declaring that she’s a ‘proud working-class woman from the north east.’ In a statement, she said that ‘I’ve shown we can beat [Nigel] Farage in the north-east, while staying true to the Labour party’s values of equality, fairness and social justice.’ Her role in cabinet means she will, rightly or wrongly, be seen by colleagues as the favoured candidate of No. 10.

Monday

James Heale

Labour’s deputy leadership race could tear Starmer’s party apart

From our UK edition

The rules have been fixed and the timetable agreed. So, who will be the key players in the race to be Labour’s next deputy leader? That is the question all Westminster is asking this lunchtime, following Angela Rayner’s resignation last Friday. The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) met this morning and confirmed that nominations will open this Saturday and close on 27 September. Candidates need to be nominated by at least 20 per cent of MPs (80) and either five per cent of local parties or three affiliates including two trade unions; they are then put to members in a preferential ballot. Voting will open on 8 October and run until 23 October, with the result announced two days later.

James Heale

Reform conference review: is this ‘British MAGA’?

From our UK edition

16 min listen

Reform UK’s annual conference wrapped up this weekend – and it was anything but dull. From Andrea Jenkyns belting out her original song ‘I’m an Insomniac’ on stage to Nigel Farage trying to keep a sometimes chaotic movement united, the mood was more rally than conference. Despite the optimism in the room, there were obvious cracks under the surface: mainly, do Reform have enough experience in their ranks for the business of serious government? On Coffee House Shots, Oscar Edmondson is joined by Tim Shipman and James Heale fresh from the conference floor.

Sunday

James Heale

Starmer’s reshuffle has Morgan McSweeney’s fingerprints all over it

From our UK edition

After 48 hours, the final appointments have been made to complete the government's reshuffle. A raft of rising stars from the 2024 intake like Josh McAlister, Josh Simons and Kate Dearden have all been handed junior ministerial posts. Kanishka Narayan, a tech enthusiast and Labour's only Old Etonian, has gone to the Department for Science. Blair McDougall, who ran the Better Together campaign in 2014, is now in Business and Trade. These have been balanced with appointments for more long-serving colleagues too. Chris Elmore joins Yvette Cooper in the new-look Foreign Office team, while Anna McMorrin has replaced Nia Griffith in the Welsh Office. It is instructive to look at which departments have had the most ministerial change.

Friday

James Heale

Reaction from Reform as Rayner resigns

From our UK edition

17 min listen

Angela Rayner has resigned following the ethics probe into her tax affairs. What impact will this have on Starmer's government? And does this hinder her chances of succeeding Starmer one day? The Coffee House Shots team react live from day one of the Reform party conference, which is taking place in Birmingham. What's the mood in the conference hall? And, after Nadine Dorries joined Reform last night, could more former Conservatives follow? Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Megan McElroy.

Thursday

James Heale

The Tories have played Raynergate well

From our UK edition

Angela Rayner is now in a bind. Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister’s independent ethics adviser, will report shortly on whether the Deputy Prime Minister's purchase of a Hove flat broke the ministerial code. If Magnus finds that she did, then Rayner, who in opposition demanded that the code be strengthened, will have to resign. Even if Magnus clears Rayner, questions will remain about the answers that her spokesman has given to the press. Last week, it was claimed that Rayner had ‘paid the correct duty owed on the purchase, entire properly’ and that ‘any suggestion otherwise is entirely without basis.’ Now, Rayner has admitted that she failed to pay a £40,000 tax bill on her second home.

Sunday

James Heale

How have the 2024 intake found frontline politics?

From our UK edition

20 min listen

As Parliament returns from summer recess tomorrow, three rising stars of the 2024 intake join Coffee House Shots to provide their reflections on frontline politics so far. Labour's Rosie Wrighting, the Conservatives' Harriet Cross and the Liberal Democrats' Joshua Reynolds tell deputy political editor James Heale how they have found Parliament so far, and their most – and least – favourite thing about being an MP. Plus: while they are all new, and young, MPs, their parties' fortunes have all varied wildly – how have they dealt with that? Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Saturday

James Heale

Why Angela Rayner is so iconic

From our UK edition

17 min listen

The Daily Telegraph have run a story this week that Angela Rayner may have dodged stamp duty on her second home. But beyond the story, its the photos of the Deputy Prime Minister on the beach at Hove – drinking and vaping – that went viral. Christian Calgie, senior political correspondent for the Daily Express, joins James Heale to unpack the story and the wider questions it raises for British politics, but also to discuss Rayner herself. Could 'teflon Ang' turn around the Labour Party's fortunes? And why do so many people – including many Tories – like her so much? Produced by Megan McElroy and Patrick Gibbons.

Friday

James Heale

Reform take 15 point-lead over Labour

From our UK edition

Party conference begins next week when Reform UK kick off their two-day jamboree in Birmingham. Spirits within Nigel Farage's party are high after a successful summer in which they dominated the recess period with a well-executed 'flood the zone' media strategy. A steady drumbeat of weekly announcements culminated on Tuesday when Reform's long-awaited deportation strategy was unveiled. Now, the party has received a further boost with a new poll for the i paper which gives them their highest polling to date: Reform 35, Labour 20, Conservatives 17 per cent. This is the first time Reform has hit 35 points. Polling averages are what matters most but today's survey is a statement nonetheless.

James Heale

Bell Hotel latest: ‘two tier justice’?

From our UK edition

17 min listen

Human rights barrister Dr Anna Loutfi and deputy political editor James Heale join Michael Simmons to unpack the latest court ruling over the migrants housed at the Bell Hotel. The government has won an appeal today – but how much of a victory is it really? Anna explains how the legal questions considered by this case raise a much wider debate about the rights of citizens. Is this another example of 'two tier justice'? Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.

James Heale

Judge rules that asylum seekers can stay put in Epping hotel

From our UK edition

Asylum seekers will be allowed to stay at the Bell Hotel in Epping after the Court of Appeal lifted a temporary injunction preventing them being housed there. The High Court ruled last week that 138 men living at the Essex hotel must leave by 12 September. But they will now be allowed to stay after the government won an appeal against the ruling. The system of migrants being housed in hotels can continue nationwide Lord Justice Bean said that the High Court judge who issued last week's injunction made a number of errors that 'undermine(d) his decision'. The earlier High Court judge, he said, failed to take into account Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's right to take part in the decision about whether the hotel should remain open.

James Heale

Rayner’s stamp duty saving could cost her

From our UK edition

Angela Rayner's living arrangements are causing the Deputy Prime Minister a headache. The Daily Telegraph has today splashed on claims that Rayner allegedly ‘dodged’ £40,000 in stamp duty on her new £800,000 seaside flat in Hove, East Sussex, after telling tax authorities it was her main home. The paper reports that she removed her name from the deeds of her constituency house in Greater Manchester a few weeks before the purchase. By changing her primary residence, it meant she paid £30,000, instead of £70,000, in stamp duty. A spokesman for Rayner has said: 'The Deputy Prime Minister paid the correct duty owed on the purchase, entirely properly and in line with all relevant requirements. Any suggestion otherwise is entirely without basis.

Thursday

James Heale

Revenge of the left

From our UK edition

12 min listen

James Heale writes in The Spectator this week that Keir Starmer is facing a three-pronged attack from the left: the Greens, the Gaza independents and this new – as yet untitled – Corbyn party. It was not so long ago that we were giving Starmer credit for his ruthless streak, purging the party of the far left and making Labour an electable force once again. But now it looks like he may well be the architect of his own downfall. Each of these groups has a grievance against Starmer and it all seems just a little bit personal: ‘After the treatment meted out to Corbyn and the left, many of these figures are looking forward to returning the favour.’ So, what is left of the left of Labour?

James Heale

The left’s fightback against Labour has begun

From our UK edition

If there is a hallmark of Keir Starmer’s leadership, it is a willingness to bash the left. For five years, he has repeatedly sided with his moderate factions to make Labour electable. Corbynites have been purged from parliament and the party machine. Principles and policies have been changed to meet the electorate’s approval. Last summer’s election result appeared to vindicate the Prime Minister’s strategy. But with Starmer’s authority crumbling, the British left is aiming to reassert itself and wreak its revenge from outside, rather than inside, the Labour party. ‘This Labour government is here to appease Reform. We are here to defeat Reform’ Three groups pose a threat to Starmer. The first is the new ‘Your Party’, led by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.

Wednesday

James Heale

Labour goes on the Farage offensive

From our UK edition

12 min listen

As James Heale writes online for the Spectator today, 'two issues continue to plague the government': how best to attack Nigel Farage. and how to frame an incrementalist approach to policy 'when the national mood favours radical change'. Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister responsible for UK-EU relations, attempted to tackle both today as he came to the Spectator to set out Labour's Europe strategy. Labour are pursuing 'pragmatic alignment' – what they argue is greater co-operation when beneficial to the British interest. But what does this mean? James joins Michael Simmons on the podcast to unpack the speech.

James Heale

Reform’s new MSP is a portent of the future

From our UK edition

Another red-letter day for Reform as the party unveils its second defector at Holyrood. Graham Simpson, a Conservative member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), has today crossed the floor to join the ranks of Nigel Farage’s ever-expanding army. He is Reform’s second ever MSP, after Michelle Ballantyne’s short-lived spell from January to May 2021. Simpson, though, is likely to last longer, by fighting his Central Scotland seat at the upcoming election in May next year. At a press conference, Simpson told assembled journalists that he was joining Reform ‘to create something new, exciting and lasting that puts the needs of people over the system.’ He is expected to play a leading role in the planning and the policy development of Reform in Scotland.

James Heale

Labour’s latest Farage attack? Brexit

From our UK edition

As recess draws towards its close, two issues continue to plague the government. The first: how best to attack Nigel Farage, riding high on a wave of migration outrage? The second: how to frame ministers’ modest protest, at a time when the national mood favours radical change? Today, it was the turn of Nick Thomas-Symonds to answer both. The Cabinet Office minister, who handles the brief of UK-EU relations, came to The Spectator to set out Labour’s Europe strategy. Thomas-Symonds’s argument for Labour’s reset is one of pragmatic alignment – pursuing greater co-operation when beneficial to the British interest. After unveiling the long-awaited EU reset in March, he now plans to build on this in the autumn.