James Heale

James Heale

James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.

Why has Rishi Sunak made five more pledges?

11 min listen

James Heale, Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson look ahead to the Autumn Statement this week. Will Rishi Sunak commit to cutting taxes? And with barely a year to go before the election, would implementing any policies now be felt in time?

Can Sunak shift the dial?

13 min listen

The chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver his autumn statement next week and Rishi Sunak will be hoping to stamp his authority onto a fracturing party after a difficult few days. There are lots of rumours swirling around about what might be included, such as cuts to inheritance tax and to taxes for small businesses. What

Mass Labour rebellion over Gaza vote

With no end to the war in sight, expect the theme over Labour splits on Israel to be a constant one Ten of Sir Keir Starmer’s frontbenchers have tonight left their posts after backing an SNP motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Jess Phillips, Afzal Khan, Paula Barker and Yasmin Qureshi were among 56

James Heale

The Rishification of the Tory party

When David Cameron arrived at the Foreign Office on Monday, he told staff he might be a bit rusty when it comes to modern politics. He joked that the only WhatsApp group he is in ‘is to do with my children’s school play’. Cameron may have been out of frontline politics for a while, but

James Heale

Supreme Court rules Rwanda scheme unlawful

11 min listen

The Supreme Court has ruled that the government scheme to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda is unlawful. Why? And how will Rishi Sunak respond? Will he try to take Britain out of the European Convention on Human Rights? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.

James Heale

Supreme Court rules Rwanda scheme unlawful

The Supreme Court has this morning concluded that the Rwanda scheme is unlawful, ending 18 months of legal battles in UK courts. In a succinct 10-minute summary, the court ruled against the flagship scheme because of the risk that genuine refugees could be returned to countries from which they have fled. Delivering the verdict, Lord

Sunak’s reshuffle: refresh or rewind?

15 min listen

It’s reshuffle day in Westminster. Suella Braverman is out as Home Secretary, replaced by James Cleverly, with former prime minister David Cameron making a shock return to parliament in the vacant Foreign Secretary slot. It’s the first time since 1974 that a former PM has been appointed to the cabinet. Can Rishi Sunak really still

Has Nadine Dorries lost the plot?

14 min listen

This week Nadine Dorries’s new book The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson has been published, and it has ruffled some feathers in Westminster. In it, she claims there was a plot orchestrated by a secret cabal of back room advisors, politicians and individuals in the media to overthrow Boris Johnson. Just what is ‘the movement’?

Is Suella Braverman safe for now?

12 min listen

Despite mounting pressure from Conservative MPs to remove Suella Braverman, no announcement has been made yet. How much pressure is Rishi Sunak facing over the Home Secretary’s stand-off with the Met Police? Also on the podcast, Natasha Feroze speaks to James Heale and Isabel Harman about the Conservative Home Cabinet league table ahead of a

What is Suella Braverman up to?

10 min listen

Suella Braverman has again dominated conversation with her controversial rhetoric, this time comparing the pro-Palestinian marches to the Orange Marches of Northern Ireland in a punchy op-ed for the Times. Has she finally gone too far for this government? Max Jeffery talks to Katy Balls and James Heale. Produced by Max Jeffery and Cindy Yu.

What did King Charles say?

12 min listen

It was the King’s speech today. King Charles announced that the government would introduce new laws to, among other things, force criminals to attend their sentencing hearings, scrap most jail sentences of less than a year, and sell all new houses as freehold properties. Is it enough for the Tories to turn around their deficit

James Heale

Every bill announced in today’s King’s Speech

King Charles has just finished taking part in the state opening of parliament for the first time as monarch. The purpose of today’s King’s Speech was to set out the government’s priorities for the coming parliamentary session, which will be the final one before the next general election. This was Sunak’s chance to draw political

Has WhatsApp ruined government?

13 min listen

WhatsApps between officials in Boris Johnson’s government have been centre-stage at the Covid inquiry this week. Is the app encouraging on-the-hoof policymaking and nasty briefing?  James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Guido Fawkes chief Paul Staines.

Was Rishi Sunak’s AI summit a success?

14 min listen

This week the prime minister hosted his landmark AI summit at Bletchley Park which wrapped up with an interview with Elon Musk, who warned that AI will one day render all jobs obsolete. The who’s who of AI were in attendance over the two days as well the likes of Kamala Harris and Ursula von

James Heale

Sunak’s Bletchley Park gamble pays off

So, the AI summit – what was that all about? The great Bletchley Park jamboree concluded last night with an hour-long chat between Rishi Sunak and Elon Musk. As tech bros and world leaders depart today, Sunak’s team can reflect on a job well done. Prior to the summit, there was much sneering about whether

Whitehall’s pandemic ‘dystopian nightmare’

The Covid Inquiry has been taking evidence from Helen MacNamara, Deputy Cabinet Secretary from 2020 to 2021. During Dominic Cummings’s cross-examination yesterday it was revealed that he had wanted to ‘handcuff her [MacNamara] and escort’ her out of No. 10. Yet much of her evidence this morning corroborates his account (or rather criticism) of Whitehall

Vote Leave duo turn on Johnson at Covid Inquiry

Boris Johnson wasn’t in attendance at the Covid Inquiry this morning, but he was certainly there in spirit. The ex-Prime Minister suffered a bevvy of blows in absentia, in the form of WhatsApps published from his former No. 10 team. Among the more explosive were his blunt views on a second national lockdown in October

James Heale

Life behind bars: so long to Westminster’s favourite landlord

If you work in politics, chances are you have drunk in the Westminster Arms. Located just off Parliament Square, every night it hosts the collection of hacks, wonks and mandarins that comprise the SW1 bubble. For 30 years, Gerry Dolan has run the pub with his mix of Irish humour and no-nonsense determination. When we

What’s the point of the Covid inquiry?

14 min listen

The Covid inquiry enters its most dramatic week, questioning Martin Reynolds (a.k.a. ‘Party Marty’), as well as former No. 10 advisors Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings. But it seems that the inquiry has gone down more the route of interpersonal drama rather than lessons learnt for government decisionmaking. So what’s the point of it? Katy

James Heale

Government aide sacked after calling for Gaza ceasefire

Rishi Sunak has tonight moved quickly to sack a Tory MP who called for a ceasefire in Gaza. Paul Bristow, the MP for Peterborough, was removed as a Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) less than two hours after the Telegraph reported that he had become the first Conservative MP to publicly support such a plan. According