Max Jeffery

Max Jeffery

Max Jeffery is The Spectator’s writer-at-large.

Wednesday

Max Jeffery

Mohammed bin Salman doesn’t care what the West thinks of him

From our UK edition

Saudi Arabia is a bit like us. It’s decent at football. It holds conferences to talk about things like ‘investing in humanity’. Bruno Mars is doing a concert there next week. But then again, 17 criminals have been executed in Saudi Arabia in the past two weeks. Many had their heads chopped off. Drains in the kingdom’s public squares wash away blood, not water. Western governments play up reforms in Saudi Arabia. Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) is a visionary! He shut down the religious police and let women drive! It justifies the controversial relationship.

Friday

Max Jeffery

Meet Israel’s 21-year-old TikTok firebrand

From our UK edition

Hadar Muchtar is angry because Benjamin Netanyahu has won a sixth term as prime minister of Israel and she hasn’t won anything. Her party didn’t get a seat in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, and it’s the fault of brainless old people. ‘I think that the citizens are stupid and we’re going to pay for that’, she says. ‘I don’t care about the government. I think they’re all sh*t. They’re horrible people all of them.’ Muchtar founded her party, Tzeirim Boarim, or Youth on Fire, to protest rising prices. She’s a 21-year-old from Kiryat Ono, near Tel Aviv, who became famous on TikTok for posting videos of her comparing the prices of things in Israel and Germany, where she spent a year as a university student. Inflation in Israel is 4.

Tuesday

Max Jeffery

What’s Matt Hancock up to?

From our UK edition

17 min listen

Matt Hancock has signed up to be a contestant on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! What's behind the former health secretary's move into reality television? Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, took to television studios this morning to defend how the government has handled overcrowding at the Manston processing centre for asylum seekers. Is there a rift growing between him and the Home Secretary, Suella Braverman? Max Jeffery speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.  Produced by Max Jeffery.

Monday

Max Jeffery

Will Rishi take the difficult decisions?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

Reports today suggest the government is planning to pledge £50 billion to close the fiscal black hole. Are they laying the groundwork for a combination of spending cuts and tax rises?Also on the podcast, after Elon Musk completed his purchase of Twitter today, what will the repercussions be for the Online Safety Bill? Max Jeffery speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.  Produced by Max Jeffery and Oscar Edmondson.

Max Jeffery

How will Starmer attack Sunak?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

A poll in the i on Friday showed that Rishi Sunak is more trusted with the economy than Keir Starmer. How will Labour break down that support? Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth. Produced by Max Jeffery.

Saturday

Max Jeffery

Africa’s zone of anarchy is getting worse

From our UK edition

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 quietly published last month, and reported on this week, described a ‘deterioration of the security environment’, and said that violence this year had ‘expanded in intensity and geographic reach’. It predicted 2,800 ‘violent events’ in the Sahel in 2022, more than double last year’s number. Some aren’t surprised that the West has failed.

Saturday

Max Jeffery

How will this end?

From our UK edition

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.

Wednesday

Max Jeffery

Are we ready for the next war?

From our UK edition

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 better connected with what our soldiers on the ground are doing. Liam Fox, the Tory MP and former defence secretary, is scathing about how we identify threats. ‘We have to stop substituting wishful thinking for critical analysis’, he says, to approving murmurs from the audience at Tory party conference.

Friday

Max Jeffery

Can the Met fix London’s spiralling crime problem?

From our UK edition

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 Nelson and James Forsyth.Produced by Max Jeffery.

Sunday

Max Jeffery

Will Chad become Africa’s next warzone?

From our UK edition

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 now, having supposedly agreed not to kill each other, they are back in Chad’s capital, N’Djamena, trying to organise elections. If they can’t, Africa will become home to the world’s largest warzone. Mahamat Déby leads Chad’s junta and asked for the talks after his father, a dictator of 30 years, was killed by one of the militias.

Friday

Max Jeffery

Can Boris get off the hook from partygate?

From our UK edition

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. Produced by Max Jeffery.

Friday

Max Jeffery

How high will energy prices go?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

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 that Liz Truss plans to trigger Article 16, suspending parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Is now a good time for a trade war? Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews. Produced by Max Jeffery and Oscar Edmondson.

Thursday

Max Jeffery

Is Rishi heading for political Siberia?

From our UK edition

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 been? Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews. Produced by Max Jeffery and Oscar Edmondson.

Tuesday

Max Jeffery

Can only Corbyn fix the Tories?

From our UK edition

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 give the good news of a tax cut. After that, I suspect it'll be bad, after bad, after bad.

Thursday

Max Jeffery

Has the NHS winter crisis already arrived?

From our UK edition

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 by Max Jeffery.

Monday

Max Jeffery

Has Keir Starmer lost control over strikes?

From our UK edition

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 the party over the Labour leader's refusal to back strike action. Is Keir Starmer losing control over his party?Also on the podcast, what's the latest on the Liz Truss vs Rishi Sunak leadership contest?Max Jeffery is joined by Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth. Produced by Natasha Feroze.

Friday

Max Jeffery

Andrew Neil vs Rishi Sunak. What happened?

From our UK edition

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.

Monday

Max Jeffery

Can Truss catch up with Mordaunt?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

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.

Tuesday

Max Jeffery

Have Tory MPs reached breaking point?

From our UK edition

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 Jeffery speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.Subscribe to Isabel Hardman's Evening Blend newsletter at spectator.

Thursday

Max Jeffery

What caused Geidt’s flight?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

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 poisoned chalice? Max Jeffery speaks with James Forsyth and Katy Balls.