Kate Andrews is economics editor of The Spectator
Last week’s anniversary of Liz Truss entering Downing Street could have passed by quietly. But the Trussites had other ideas. Her supporters used the moment to make the case for Trussonomics once again: to say that Truss diagnosed the country’s problems correctly and that she was on track to find solutions – until her many conspirators took
24 min listen
Kate Andrews talks crumbly concrete, overcrowded trains, NHS waiting lists, and describes the general air of despair and asks – who broke Britain? (01.15). Katy Balls analyses Keir Starmer’s reshuffle and describes the appearance of a New Labour restoration as the party prepares for power (11.20), and Max Pemberton outlines the worrying increase of Tourettes
34 min listen
On the podcast: In her cover piece for the magazine, The Spectator’s economics editor Kate Andrews writes that political short termism has broken Britain. She joins the podcast alongside Giles Wilkes, former number 10 advisor and senior fellow at the Institute for Government, to ask what went wrong? (01:12) Also this week: In his column Douglas Murray
Is the UK set for its 15th consecutive interest rate hike later this month? Markets expect that rates will peak closer to 6 per cent – up from 5.25 per cent now – but this might not happen immediately – or at all. Speaking at today’s Treasury Select Committee, the Bank’s governor Andrew Bailey suggested
Did Gillian Keegan need to apologise? The Education Secretary thought her ITV interview had ended and she could speak frankly. She insisted the schools’ concrete crisis was down to ‘everyone else’ who had ‘sat on their arse’. It was a fair point, inelegantly expressed. It’s been almost 25 years since the order first went out
26 min listen
Theresa May’s new book, Abuse of Power, will not be a gossip-fuelled account of her time in No. 10. Instead, it’ll be an account of how powerful people make mistakes, and how institutions corrupt. What’s the point of the book, and has the former Prime Minister landed on a real, punishing problem in British politics? Kate
28 min listen
This week Katy Balls asks whether Rishi is a risk taker or whether he’ll choose to play it safe as Conference season approaches (01.17), Owen Matthews explains why America is still Ukraine’s best hope for victory (07.27), Kate Andrews is totally baffled and exasperated by the British refusal to get checked out by a doctor
It’s not often that we see a GDP revision as startling as the one published today. In its Blue Book for 2023 – which includes updated methods for a range of calculations – the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has upgraded the size of the economy in the final quarter of 2021 by 1.7 per
House prices dropped more than was expected this month, falling 5.3 per cent compared to August last year. The value of the average home in Britain has, on average, fallen by £14,600. This marks the biggest annual decline on record since the financial (and housing) crash of 2008/9. So, is a housing crash imminent? Could we
Having lived in the United Kingdom for almost my whole adult life, I like to think I’m well assimilated. I stopped trying to make pleasantries with strangers a long time ago. I skip dinner to stand outside the pub in the dark. Apart from my accent (though Americans tell me that’s changed, too) I think
17 min listen
Nadine Dorries resigned from Parliament over the weekend, writing in a letter to Rishi Sunak that the Conservatives have been ‘corrupted’, and accusing the Prime Minister of ‘opening the gates to whip up a public frenzy against one of his own MPs’. Is Dorries, at least in part, right? James Heale speaks to Fraser Nelson
16 min listen
If Labour wins the next election, will Keir Starmer have any money to spend on his programme of government? In a piece for the Times yesterday, journalist Philip Collins says it won’t, and he thinks Labour is suffering because of this constraint. How can Labour be intellectually interesting if the government purse strings are so tight? Fraser
The Office for National Statistics reports this morning that public sector net borrowing in July came in at £4.3 billion. This is the fifth-highest July borrowing month since records began, with an additional £3.4 billion being spent to fund the government’s spending pledges compared to July last year. Still, there is fast talk of room for manoeuvre
It’s no great secret that the events of the past few years have delivered a serious economic blow to the UK. But just how many years has the country been set back? This morning the National Institute of Economic and Social Research has published its updated ‘Economic Outlook’ which digs into some of these figures, erring on
The government’s objective to ‘halve inflation’ by the end of the year seems to be back on track – for now. Last week’s interest rate hike was delivered with an updated inflation forecast from the Bank of England, showing the rate slowing to 4.7 per cent by the end of the year, just below Rishi
Last summer, all the Tory party could talk about was tax. It was at the heart of the leadership contest and the dividing line between Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. The then foreign secretary promised to move fast and bring in deficit-financed tax cuts; the former chancellor said this would end in tears and instead
Most people will not see their estates subject to inheritance tax. Still, most people oppose the principle of the tax altogether. New polling from Ipsos confirms, once again, how loathed the death tax is: 23 per cent of people perceive the tax as ‘fair’ (tied for the lowest ranking, alongside stamp duty). Meanwhile 43 per cent of
9 min listen
The High Court has ruled that Sadiq Khan can expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone, after five Tory councils challenged the proposed policy. Will Keir Starmer be happy that a Labour mayor has won the day? Natasha Feroze speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.
Every country that imposed a lockdown during the pandemic accepted that there would be an economic price to pay. But governments hoped that, on this measure, their own nation would fare better than others. The objective here was simple: don’t be the ugliest country of the bunch. Now, with some distance between those lockdowns and
12 min listen
Natasha Feroze speaks to Kate Andrews and Fraser Nelson about the sudden decision for the NatWest boss Alison Rose to hand in her resignation. Prompted by the Nigel Farage Coutts bank account scandal, the bank’s CEO faced mounting pressure to resign after late last night No.10 said they had serious concerns over the bank’s actions.
