Max Jeffery is The Spectator’s online commissioning editor. X: @MaxJeffery_
In the most violent region in the world, the West is realising that it messed up. Protestors in Burkina Faso throw Molotovs at the French, American-trained soldiers overthrow their governments, and Malians wave Russian flags. After a two-decade American deployment in the Sahel in Africa, the Pentagon has finally admitted that the area is getting worse. A paper
17 min listen
Max Jeffery, Katy Balls and James Forsyth discuss Liz Truss’s premiership and walk through the various options being cooked up to replace her.
Is Britain ready to fight tomorrow’s wars? ‘Ish,’ answers James Heappey, the armed forces minister. Britain’s military is in an okay state, he says. But we need to spend more money on ammunition, medics and logistics systems. Our high-tech kit, the kind that helps us wage electronic warfare and collect data on our enemy’s positions, needs to be
10 min listen
Two police officers were stabbed this morning near Leicester Square in central London. What can new Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley do to fix the capital’s crime epidemic? And the pound today fell to a 37-year low against the dollar. What can the government do to give the markets confidence? Max Jeffery speaks to Fraser
If you went to Doha this summer, you may have seen some militiamen from Chad. Perhaps at breakfast. For the last few months, 300 downtrodden tribesman, disaffected politicians, and madmen with guns have been staying in the city’s Sheraton Grand hotel, negotiating peace with the Chadian government. Three weeks ago they signed a ceasefire and
16 min listen
Boris Johnson has released legal advice that he received from Lord Pannick about the Commons investigation into partygate, where the lawyer said the investigation in its current form would be ‘unlawful’ if it were taking place in the courts. Can Boris really get off the hook? Max Jeffery speaks to James Forsyth and James Heale.
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Today Ofgem announced that household energy bills will climb to an average of £3,549 a year, starting in October. Have the government prepared Brits for how bad the crisis could get? How do Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak plan to reach those that need help the most urgently? Also on the podcast, there are reports
9 min listen
Rishi Sunak has today confirmed that he will stay on as an MP if he loses the leadership contest, and that he will also vote for a Liz Truss budget. Will this help the Tory party heal? Also, Rishi Sunak told The Spectator that scientists had too much power during lockdown. What has their response
9 min listen
There are only three hustings left in the Tory leadership race, after six weeks which have seen the party tear itself apart. What will fix the party? Is Jeremy Corbyn the solution? Max Jeffery speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls. Produced by Max Jeffery. ‘Liz Truss is going to have a short window to
11 min listen
Thirty thousand people waited 12 hours or more in A&E, new figures showed today – the highest number on record. The NHS usually runs into trouble during the cold winter weather, but it looks like the annual crisis has already arrived. Is there any solution? Max Jeffery speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman. Produced
12 min listen
This morning, Lisa Nandy defied party orders by joining a picket line in Wigan to support striking BT and Openreach staff. This comes after last week, Keir Starmer sacked Sam Tarry MP, who went on an unauthorised media round at an RMT picket line. Similarly, Labour’s biggest union, Unite, threatened to pull all funding from
12 min listen
Rishi Sunak sat down this evening for a 30-minute interview with Andrew Neil. They covered the economy, the NHS, immigration and the former chancellor’s personal finances. Sunak knew he was taking a risk in sitting down with Neil. Was it worth it? Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews. Produced by Max Jeffery.
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Tom Tugendhat has been knocked out of the Tory leadership race. With Rishi Sunak leading the pack, and Liz Truss, Penny Mordaunt and Kemi Badenoch in a cluster behind, who will come out on top? Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.
10 min listen
Boris Johnson was briefed ‘in person’ on a formal Whitehall complaint into Chris Pincher, a former Foreign Office official said today, despite No. 10 saying yesterday that the Prime Minister was unaware of specific allegations against the MP. With the government having to explain itself once again, how much more will Tory MPs take? Max
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Lord Geidt became the second ethics advisor to leave Boris Johnson’s government last night. It seems like Chinese steel tariffs was the straw that broke the camel’s back, but it is clear that he hasn’t been happy in the position for sometime. Will the Prime Minister be able to find anyone to pick up this
12 min listen
Has Jeremy Hunt had a good week? When the former health secretary – and 2019 leadership hopeful – announced on Twitter on Monday that he would be voting against the Prime Minister in the confidence vote, Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, replied that Hunt was ‘wrong about almost everything’. Boris Johnson went on to narrowly win the
10 min listen
Two British citizens fighting the Russians have been sentenced to death in Ukrainian territory controlled by the Kremlin. How has the UK responded thus far? And domestically, Lord Frost has said that Boris Johnson has until the autumn to turn things around. Max Jeffery talks with Katy Balls and James Forsyth.
Golf came to Saudi Arabia in the 1930s. American expats, working in the nascent oil industry, brought their clubs with them and made courses in the dunes. They worked out that if you sprayed oil onto a patch of sand and then packed it down, you could make a vaguely puttable surface. ‘Occasionally, a herd
15 min listen
The National Insurance hike comes into effect today which is going to hit doubly hard when coupled with the ever-increasing cost of living. While we are all going to feel this burden on our bank accounts, Rishi Sunak is taking his first major political blow. Is there anything he can do to bounce back, or
24 min listen
On this week’s episode, we’ll hear from Damian Thompson on the Patriarch in league with Putin. (00:58) Next, Jade McGlynn on how Russian TV is presenting the war to its people. (08:46) And finally, Nick Newman asks how should cartoonists respond to war? (17:35) Produced and presented by Sam Holmes and Max Jeffery Subscribe to
