James Heale

James Heale

James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.

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

Will Starmer cave in to calls for a Gaza ceasefire?

12 min listen

Keir Starmer is under mounting pressure from his party to back a call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine conflict. The week began with the Labour leader correcting comments he made on LBC that Israel had a right to defend itself. But now, politicians to the left of his party are campaigning for a ceasefire.

Can Starmer change the subject?

15 min listen

Keir Starmer has had a difficult week, trying to keep his party on message over the war in Israel and Gaza. The official position is that Israel has a right to respond to Hamas’s attacks on 7 October, but a number of Labour MPs are now calling for a ceasefire. Could Starmer have better handled

James Heale

Tory MP Crispin Blunt arrested on suspicion of rape

Former Justice minister Crispin Blunt has tonight confirmed that he is the Conservative MP arrested on suspicion of rape and possession of controlled substances. In a statement posted on Twitter/X, he wrote the following statement: It has been reported that an MP was arrested yesterday in connection with an allegation of rape. I am confirming

James Heale

Sunak sounds the alarm on AI

‘Dr Death’ was the nickname bestowed on Rishi Sunak by one scientist during Covid. But ‘Dr Doom’ seemed a more apt sobriquet at certain points during his big speech today on artificial intelligence. The Prime Minister evoked the spectre of humanity ‘losing control of AI completely’ to a ‘superintelligence’ that could result in ‘extinction’. He

Sunak to lift bankers’ bonus cap

Rishi Sunak is in office but Liz Truss remains in power. That’s the line that Labour are pushing on today’s announcement that the cap on bankers’ bonuses will be abolished next week. The change was initially announced by Kwasi Kwarteng in the infamous mini-budget of September 2022. It was one of the few measures to be retained when Chancellor Jeremy

One year on: does Sunak have anything to celebrate?

12 min listen

This week marks one year since Rishi Sunak entered No.10. Faced with the weekend’s double by-election defeat, Labour’s lead in the polls and another by-election coming soon, what can Rishi Sunak still do to turn things around? Natasha Feroze speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale.

What Liz Truss did next

It was a year ago on Wednesday that Liz Truss left office. As the ministerial cavalcade rolled out of Downing Street for the short drive to Buckingham Palace, so she entered the history books as the shortest-serving Prime Minister in British history. Truss was still reeling from the events of the past seven weeks. The

Are the Tories facing a 97’ style defeat?

13 min listen

Labour has overturned the Tamworth and and Mid Bedfordshire by-election results, overturning the biggest majority in by-election history. Is there anymore road for Rishi Sunak? Isabel Hardman speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale. 

Sunak tells Israel: ‘We want you to win’

14 min listen

Today Rishi Sunak joined Benjamin Netanyahu for a joint press conference in which he pledged support to Israel. Netanyahu thanked him for his, ‘strong statement of support’ and grounded Israel’s fight in the context of Britain’s own history. ‘You fought the Nazis 80 years ago,’ he said, ‘Hamas are the new Nazis’.  Also on the

James Heale

Sunak tells Israel: ‘We want you to win’

Rishi Sunak is in Israel today for talks with the country’s leaders amid the ongoing conflict. The Prime Minister has just concluded a televised appearance with Benjamin Netanyahu, in which the Israeli Premier paid tribute to Sunak. He thanked him for his ‘strong statement of support’ and grounded Israel’s fight in the context of Britain’s

How long can the cross-party consensus on Israel hold?

12 min listen

So far, both major parties in the UK have aligned on their approach to the Israel-Gaza conflict, but can the Labour party really hold their position, considering how much of the party’s grassroots support come from Muslim backgrounds? James Heale talks to Katy Balls and Conservative Home’s editor, Paul Goodman. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and

What is Israel’s army capable of?

17 min listen

James Heale speaks to foreign policy expert Sophia Gaston and defence correspondent Sean Rayment about what could be Israel’s next steps, the strength of their military and how much political backing they have worldwide. 

James Heale

Paul Wood, James Heale and Robin Ashenden

23 min listen

This week Paul Wood delves into the complex background of the Middle East and asks if Iran might have been behind the Hamas attacks on Israel, and what might come next (01:11), James Heale ponders the great Tory tax debate by asking what is the point of the Tories if they don’t lower taxes (13:04)

The winners and losers of this year’s conference season

14 min listen

Conference season is over, so we thought that we’d run through this year’s winners and losers. Did Rishi Sunak manage to present himself as the Action Man who can end the ‘thirty year consensus’ in British politics? Did Keir Starmer finally answer the question: if not them, why us? Did anyone surprise us? Or was

Why did Lisa Cameron defect to the Tories?

11 min listen

Lisa Cameron MP has quit the SNP to join the Conservative party, just days before the SNP holds its party conference in Aberdeen. What does this say about the state of the Scottish National Party under Humza Yousaf? James Heale talks to Isabel Hardman and Lucy Dunn. Produced by Max Jeffery and Cindy Yu.

Can Labour really overhaul the NHS?

16 min listen

Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said in a speech today that this NHS must ‘modernise or die’. But will a Labour government under Keir Starmer have the cash to really reform? Max Jeffery speaks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman.