Is No 10 going to war against the civil service?
14 min listen
Katy Balls
Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
Monday
Friday
The Budget will show how the Tories plan to win the next election
It’s only a few weeks until Budget day and the papers are filled with reports of the various revenue-raising measures being considered. After plans for a mansion tax were dampened down by government sources, ideas being mooted include cuts to pension tax relief and a fuel duty hike. Who the burden falls on will reveal
The Thérèse Coffey Edition
28 min listen
Thérèse Coffey is the MP for Suffolk Coastal and the work and pensions secretary. On the podcast, she talks about her famous karaoke parties, the importance of her Catholic faith to her, and that picture from one Spectator party.
Tuesday
No. 10’s latest BBC row is a helpful distraction
How do you move on from a week of torrid headlines over a power struggle between senior No. 10 aides and a recently departed Chancellor? The old Tory playbook – mastered by Boris Johnson’s former election guru Lynton Crosby – would suggest throwing a dead cat. The dead cat strategy used when a party wishes
Monday
Boris’s chief Brexit negotiator urges EU to rethink its red lines
What are the UK’s red lines in the upcoming trade talks with the EU? Although Boris Johnson has said publicly that he will pursue a Canada-style trade deal and move to an Australia-style deal should that fail, there’s concern on the British side that Brussels is yet to take Johnson at his word when he
Boris Johnson’s lead Brexit negotiator sets out his red lines
What are the UK’s red lines in the upcoming trade talks with the EU? Although Boris Johnson has said publicly that he will pursue a Canada-style trade deal and move to an Australia-style deal should that fail, there’s concern on the British side that Brussels is yet to take Johnson at his word when he
Saturday
What will Rishi Sunak do as Chancellor?
Boris Johnson ends the week with a new Chancellor in tow after Rishi Sunak replaced Sajid Javid in the role. Prior to the reshuffle, Sunak had expected to remain Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Although the Tory rising star had been tipped at one point to be given his own department to run, he had
Emily Thornberry knocked out of Labour leadership race
The Labour leadership contest has become a three horse race. Emily Thornberry has been eliminated after failing to win enough Constituency Labour Party nominations to pass through to the final round. The shadow foreign secretary did come close to reaching the required number – she was two short at 31 nominations to the 33 required
Thursday
The message behind Boris’s reshuffle
14 min listen
Why Sajid Javid quit
20 min listen
Sajid Javid quits as No. 10 takes control
Boris Johnson’s Cabinet reshuffle has been blown off course this lunchtime after Sajid Javid quit as Chancellor. Javid resigned after being presented with an ultimatum by the Prime Minister. After a fortnight of negative No.10/No.11 briefings, Javid was told he could stay in his post on the condition he agreed to a SpAd restructuring. This
Wednesday
Is the Labour leadership contest already a done deal?
Labour’s leadership contest has been attracting less and less media interest as it goes on. Despite this, Jeremy Corbyn’s successor won’t be announced until April so there’s still over a month of the contest to go. Part of the reason for the lack of excitement is a growing sense that it isn’t really a contest
Tuesday
Has Boris quelled an HS2 rebellion?
12 min listen
Monday
What’s behind Sinn Fein’s surprise victory?
16 min listen
Sunday
Why the government is planning a tax raising Budget
Tory activists are in uproar this morning over varying reports of tax raising measures Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid are considering for next month’s Budget. Plans currently being mooted include cuts to pension tax relief and the introduction of a recurring property tax that could replace stamp duty. Critics have been quick to say that
Friday
What to expect from Boris Johnson’s cabinet reshuffle
On Thursday, Boris Johnson will reshuffle his cabinet for the first time since winning a majority of 80. Soon after the election result, there was talk of a Valentine’s Day massacre in which multiple ministers would lose their jobs. However, in recent weeks there have been suggestions that it won’t be as drastic a reorganisation
Five things to know about the new UK ambassador to the US
When diplomatic cables leaked to the Mail on Sunday last year revealing that the UK’s man in Washington Sir Kim Darroch had described the Trump administration as ‘inept’ and ‘incompetent’, the ambassador was forced to resign. Since then there has been much speculation over who would succeed him and work to rebuild UK/US diplomatic relations.
The Ayesha Hazarika Edition
36 min listen
Ayesha Hazarika is a journalist and comedian, and a former Labour advisor to Harriet Harman and Ed Miliband. On the podcast, she talks about growing up in Glasgow, vetting Ed Miliband for Prime Minister’s Questions, and the stand-up jokes that bombed the most.
Thursday
Scottish finance secretary resigns over messages to 16-year-old boy
It’s budget day in the Scottish parliament and the Scottish finance secretary has just resigned. Derek Mackay has quit his role as finance secretary hours before he was due to deliver his budget following a story published in the Scottish Sun alleging he sent inappropriate messages to a 16-year-old boy on social media. The paper
