James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.
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
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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
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
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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
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Keir Starmer has rolled back on his support for the Rochdale by-election candidate, Azhar Ali over further comments made about on Israel-Palestine. John McTernan and James Heale speak to Natasha Feroze about the lessons Labour can learn, and whether antisemitism could topple Starmer. Also on the podcast, Rishi Sunak has been taking advantage of Labour’s
Following 48 hours of criticism, Labour have tonight pulled their support for Azhar Ali. This morning, it seemed that Keir Starmer had chosen the unpalatable over the disastrous: backing Ali to avoid George Galloway returning as an independent to the Commons. Yet during the course of the day, the calculation appears to have changed. The
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Labour faces another antisemitism battle as their candidate for the Rochdale by-election said that Israel allowed the October 7th attacks as a pretext to invade Gaza. Azhar Ali has since apologised for his comments and Labour has allowed him remain the candidate for Rochdale. Natasha Feroze speaks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman about Keir
It’s the nightmare scenario Labour dreads. A triumphant George Galloway, carried aloft on his supporters’ shoulders, hailing a shock by-election victory in a left-wing stronghold. Twelve years after his stunning upset in Bradford West, the odds of a repeat triumph in Rochdale have only increased after a storm of criticism this weekend over Labour’s chosen candidate. Following
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Tucker Carlson released his highly anticipated interview with Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin last night. The two-hour long discussion was dominated by Putin who gave history lessons, blamed the Nord Stream 2 explosion on the CIA, and accused Boris Johnson of sabotaging the peace talks 18 months ago. Natasha Feroze speaks to James Heale and Freddy
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Later today Keir Starmer is expected to officially kill off Labour’s £28 billion green investment pledge. With the centrepiece of their public policy now scrapped, what will Labour’s promise be at the next election? James Heale speaks to Kate Andrews and John McTernan, former No. 10 political secretary. Produced by Cindy Yu and Oscar Edmondson.
Just before the last general election, the Muslim Council of Britain released research which calculated how many seats could be decided by Muslim votes. The answer was 31, enough to swing a tight election. It’s debatable how many of these voters would realistically switch party: traditionally, Muslims have been more likely to back Labour than
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It has been a gaffe-filled week for Rishi Sunak. At PMQs today the prime minister was chastised by his opposite number for an ill-judged comment about transgender people with the mother of murdered teenager Brianna Ghey in parliament. This comes after being pictured embracing Sinn Fein leader Michelle O’Neill and then making a wager with Piers
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Rishi Sunak is in Belfast to mark the return of Stormont after a two-year deadlock. With Sinn Fein now the leading party, can the government pitch this as a win? Also on the podcast, the Prime Minister admitted he’s failed to meet the NHS waitlist targets from his five pledges last year. James Heale speaks
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This week in Westminster has been dominated by the news that we can expect to see power sharing restored at Stormont in the near future. James Heale gets the reaction of former DUP first minister Baroness Arlene Foster. Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson.
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In his Telegraph column, Fraser Nelson makes the case that it’s time to ban former politicians accepting jobs from foreign rulers. The likes of Tony Blair, George Osborne and David Cameron have all made money from government’s abroad. But is this becoming more of a problem? And are their critics simply a product of their success? Natasha
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At the ‘Labour Business Conference 2024′, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves wooed business with a pledge that Labour would not raise corporation tax in their first term. Instead, she told the audience of FTSE 100 chief execs that a Labour government would keep the current cap at 25 per cent. How convincing is Reeves’ big pitch
After nearly two years, it looks like power-sharing will shortly be restored at Stormont. This afternoon MPs will pass two statutory instruments (SI) which will pave the way for the restoration of the executive in Belfast. The Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and Minister Steve Baker will lead two 90-minute debates on changes to the Windsor
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After hours of late night negotiations, power sharing looks like it’s back on in Stormont – or is it? James Heale talks to Katy Balls and TalkTV’s Peter Cardwell about the latest political developments in Northern Ireland. Produced by Cindy Yu.
It seems that talk of Tory treachery simply won’t go away. Less than 48 hours after Kemi Badenoch declared that colleagues planning to bring down Rishi Sunak are ‘not my friends’, the Guardian has today revealed that the Trade Secretary is a member of WhatsApp group titled ‘Evil Plotters’. Among the members of this group
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Rishi Sunak has outlined plans to ban disposable vapes, and is hoping to change vape packaging to make it less appealing to children. Why? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.
