James Heale

James Heale

James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.

What tax cut will Hunt deliver tomorrow?

13 min listen

Kate Andrews speaks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman as the speculation grows over what taxes Jeremy Hunt will cut in tomorrow’s budget. National Insurance is looking most likely – it’s a giveaway but does it go far enough?

Sunak and Hunt face a Budget dilemma

14 min listen

Budget day is approaching and the government has hinted that their plans for tax cutting ‘giveaways’ are now less likely. James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews about what to and what not to expect for Wednesday’s Spring Budget.

Is the Home Office broken?

17 min listen

In this special Saturday edition of Coffee House Shots, Cindy Yu is joined by The Spectator’s political correspondent, James Heale, and Director of Kraken Strategy Ltd, and former Special Adviser, Salma Shah, to discuss the state of the Home Office.  At the end of a tricky week of headlines for the department we ask: is

Labour nightmare as George Galloway wins Rochdale by-election

15 min listen

George Galloway has won a resounding victory in Rochdale, after a chaotic and messy by-election in which Labour was forced to disown its own candidate after he claimed Israel had allowed Hamas to attack on October 7th. Former Labour MP Galloway – standing for the Workers Party of Britain – won on a single issue

Why wasn’t Wayne Couzens stopped?

10 min listen

Today, the long-awaited Home Office-commissioned Angiolini Inquiry into Wayne Couzens has been published. Couzens had kidnapped, raped and murdered 33-year-old Sarah Everard three years ago. The findings were chilling, revealing that numerous opportunities to stop Couzens throughout his policing career were missed. Katy Balls talks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman about where politicians failed

Post Office ex-chairman hits back at Badenoch

Kemi Badenoch emerged from this morning’s Commons evidence session strengthened by the testimony of one of her top officials. But this afternoon a very different story emerged as Henry Staunton – the man she forced out as Post Office chairman – got his say before the Business Select Committee. He said he had been the

James Heale

Officials back Kemi Badenoch in Post Office row

The row over compensation for wrongly convicted postmasters returned to parliament again today. Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, is currently embroiled in a war of words with Henry Staunton, the man whom she sacked as chairman of the Post Office. He claims that he was told to delay compensation to victims of the Horizon scandal;

Have the Tories got ‘Islamophobic tendencies’?

11 min listen

Conservatives are divided over Lee Anderson’s suspension, with some believing that if he apologises for comments made about Sadiq Khan, he should be allowed to return. This has sparked new concerns about the Tory party having a problem with Islamophobia, worsened by Liz Truss appearing at an event with Steve Bannon who has also been

Commons chaos revealed the threat to MPs’ safety

13 min listen

As MPs return to their constituencies, the drama from Wednesday’s parliamentary debate is still fresh in Westminster. James Heale speaks to Fraser Nelson and Isabel Hardman about whether MPs’ safety concerns are influencing democracy, and why the outcome of the debate could mean lessons are learned for the future. 

Has Lindsay Hoyle overstepped?

12 min listen

Sir Keir Starmer can breathe a sigh of relief this afternoon, thanks to Lindsay Hoyle. The Speaker has selected Labour’s amendment on a Gaza ceasefire, which means that a likely mass rebellion from Labour MPs will be averted. SNP and Tory MPs are furious at Hoyle, and say that he has tried to rewrite the

James Heale

Hoyle helps Starmer by selecting Labour ceasefire amendment

Sir Keir Starmer can breathe a sigh of relief this afternoon. The Speaker has selected his party’s amendment on a Gaza ceasefire, after an hour of frenzied lobbying from the Labour Whips’ Office. Lindsay Hoyle told MPs that he has selected both the Labour and government amendments as this is an issue where they will

Home Office sacks immigration inspector after border claims

James Cleverly has tonight sacked the independent borders inspector after he voiced concerns about ‘high-risk’ aircraft landing in Britain without security checks. David Neal, the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, was due to leave his post on 21 March but has now been forced out a month early after publicly criticising the department. In

James Heale

Starmer moves to quell ceasefire rebellion

10 min listen

Today Keir Starmer has moved his party’s position on a ceasefire in Gaza as he seeks to quell what could the biggest rebellion of his leadership. MPs will vote on an immediate ceasefire in Gaza with Labour set to add its own amendment to the SNP motion tomorrow. For the first time, Labour is calling

Are citizens’ assemblies the future?

13 min listen

In the Times today is the latest instalment of Tom Baldwin’s authorised biography of Keir Starmer. It includes reports that Labour chief of staff Sue Gray has been drawing up plans for so-called citizens’ assemblies. Are citizens’ juries the future of democracy? Or is this simply a way for Starmer to avoid making policy decisions?  Elsewhere there

Do accents still matter in politics?

14 min listen

The new MP for Kingswood has been under fire for apparently changing his accent over the course of his political career. Does this matter? And if so, what does this tell us about British politics today? Cindy Yu talks to James Heale and author and former cabinet minister, Nadine Dorries. Produced by Cindy Yu and

Labour triumphs in by-election brace

12 min listen

Labour has the won two by-elections in Wellingborough and Kingswood, overturning big Conservative majorities in the process. Party chairman Richard Holden has brushed the results off as typical midterm by-elections where voters what to give the government a kicking. Does this argument stack up? And what can Reform take from the results? Isabel Hardman speaks

James Heale

Labour triumphs in by-election brace

Labour has won both the Kingswood and Wellingborough by-elections in another night every bit as bad as expected for Rishi Sunak. The Tories saw majorities of more than 11,000 and 18,000 respectively easily overturned. It means the Conservatives have now lost ten by-elections in a single parliament, a worse run than any government since the

UK tips into recession – what’s left of Sunak’s priorities?

11 min listen

This morning’s figures show that the UK went into a technical recession last year. Forecasts suggest it will be a short and shallow recession, but how badly does this reflect on the government’s priorities to increase growth and lower inflation? Also, will this make Rishi Sunak think again about his plan to meet as many

James Heale

Can Sunak find the common touch?

A former Tory minister likes to tell the tale of a recent charity dinner in his constituency. The organiser began by stressing that the occasion had to remain ‘a strictly non-political event’. The MP rose to reply: ‘Not to worry, ladies and gentlemen – I belong to a strictly non-political party.’ That question of Rishi

Have the Tories given up on Wellingborough & Kingswood?

10 min listen

Inflation figures released this morning have remained at 4 per cent – a worry for Rishi Sunak’s five pledges. There are several hurdles are still to come for the Prime Minister this week, including growth figures tomorrow and two by-elections on Friday. Why are the Tories keeping things low-key on the campaign trail? James Heale