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Kemi Badenoch has signalled that she could change her position on the ECHR. At a conference today, she said "we will review every policy, treaty and part of our legal framework - including the ECHR and the Human Rights Act." What could this mean for the Conservatives going forward?
Katy Balls discusses with Michael Gove and James Heale. -
The government have announced their latest effort to get Britons back into work. A series of benefit changes intend to tackle the fact that Britain is the only major economy where the employment rate has fallen over the past five years, largely because more people are out of work due to long-term ill health. Why are the UK's post-pandemic figures so much worse than other countries? And can Labour's plans work? The Spectator's data editor Michael Simmons joins Katy Balls and James Heale.
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Manglende episoder?
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Today is the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference, at which Rachel Reeves has laid out her plan to 'Get Britain Working' and prove Labour as the party of business ... despite what the recent Budget and the employers national insurance increase might suggest. What's the mood of big business today?
Also on the podcast, a petition has gone viral over the weekend calling for a general election. Various people have signed it, from Nigel Farage to Michael Caine. But should Labour actually be worried?
Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson. -
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning’s political shows.
The vote on the Assisted Dying Bill is approaching. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall gives her view, and Belgian health minister Frank Vandenbroucke argues that assisted dying doesn’t lead to a ‘slippery slope’. We also hear about the government’s upcoming changes to the welfare system, whether the UK should arrest Netanyahu if he comes to the country, and if there are any limits to France’s support for Ukraine.
Produced by Joe Bedell-Brill. -
Tim Shipman, chief political commentator at The Sunday Times, joins Katy Balls to discuss his new book, Out: How Brexit Got Done and the Tories Were Undone. The final instalment in Shipman's Brexit quartet, the book goes behind the scenes in Westminster to reveal the warring factions at the heart of Boris Johnson's government. Considering all of this, has the Tory party left this era of controversy and backstabbing behind? Or, with a new leader, is there a whole new chapter to come?
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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants against Benjamin Netanyahu, his former defence minister Yoav Gallant as well as – separately – for Hamas military leader, Mohammed Deif.
They are all wanted for alleged war crimes, but specifically regarding Netanyahu and Gallant the ICC say that, 'each bear criminal responsibility for ... the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts.' So why have these warrants been issued now? And what are the implications for Labour's relationship with Israel?
Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Tom Gross, commentator on the Middle East. -
A vote on assisted dying was supposed to be one of the easiest reforms for Keir Starmer’s government. To many, including the Prime Minister himself, a law allowing terminally ill patients to choose to die would be a self-evidently progressive and historically significant change. But he has faced unexpected pushback from his Health Secretary, the very cabinet member who would have to enforce the legislation. Streeting has not only said that he will be voting against but that he is doing so because he fears the bill could harm existing health services. Where does Starmer go from here? Could we be looking at a reshuffle?
Also today we had the news of the sad passing of John Prescott, a titan of the Labour movement. How will he be remembered?
James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Paul Goodman, senior fellow at Policy Exchange.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson. -
An unexpected rise in inflation today takes the rate to higher than the Bank of England's target, and adds to Rachel Reeves's worries. James Heale talks to Katy Balls and The Spectator's data editor Michael Simmons about the latest figures, and they also discuss the shadow minister Alex Burghart's performance at Prime Minister's Questions.
Produced by Cindy Yu. -
Thousands of farmers descended on Westminster today to protest the inheritance tax changes proposed in Labour’s Budget. Amidst a sea of tweed and wellington boots, speeches and support came from the likes of Kemi Badenoch, Ed Davey, Nigel Farage and Jeremy Clarkson. To what extent is this just a fringe issue that the government will be able to brush off? Or has the issue exposed a rural blind spot for Labour? And how lasting could the damage be? Katy Balls and Spectator editor Michael Gove discuss with James Heale.
But first, William Moore has been out and about getting the views of farmers directly from the protest...
Produced by Patrick Gibbons, Cindy Yu and Megan McElroy. -
Keir Starmer today will become the first British leader to meet China's Xi Jinping since 2018. The two leaders will meet on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil, and under the shadow of a looming second Trump presidency. Can Starmer strike the right balance? James Heale talks to Cindy Yu and Katy Balls.
Produced by Cindy Yu. -
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning’s political shows.
Transport Secretary Louise Haigh’s defends the government’s new increased bus fare cap, and Labour’s (lack of) plans for social care. Ed Davey explains his opposition to the upcoming assisted dying bill. Meanwhile, farmers are in revolt over the changes to inheritance tax, the Bishop of Newcastle says there is a ‘culture of silence and fear’ in the Church of England, and Ukraine’s environment minister speaks about the strategic importance of COP29.
Produced by Joe Bedell-Brill. -
The Spectator's Michael Gove, Katy Balls, and Kate Andrews are joined by Paul Abberley, Chief Executive of Charles Stanley, to discuss and unpack Labour's first budget in 14 years. Now the dust has settled from the policies, key questions continue to arise. Can Labour create the growth it desperately needs? Why are farmers so upset with the budget? And can they define a working person yet?
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The government has announced a review into how to properly police non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs). This follows the experience of Allison Pearson who, on Remembrance Day morning, was doorstepped by Essex Police demanding an interview about a long-forgotten tweet. Reports of NCHIs have dramatically increased in the last year, with 13,200 recorded in the 12 months to June (around 36 a day). What qualifies as an NCHI and how can the police be expected to enforce them? Is this police overreach or a necessary measure to tackle the rise in instances of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia?
Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Danny Shaw, former adviser to Yvette Cooper.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson. -
The Chancellor is giving her first Mansion House address tonight, and she will be majoring on pensions, suggesting that public sector pension funds need to be expanded. But is this the road to growth? James Heale talks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.
Produced by Cindy Yu. -
As Trump announces the appointment of Elon Musk to tackle US government efficiency, James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and editor Michael Gove about the dynamics of Labour's relationship with the tech billionaire. Musk had a public spat with Labour figures over the UK summer riots, the Center for Countering Digital Hate - co-founded by Starmer's Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney - is facing a congressional investigation, and some Labour figures are even calling on the party to quit X/Twitter. Should Musk's closeness to president-elect Trump worry the Labour government?
But first, the team discuss Health Secretary Wes Streeting's proposed NHS changes, and Liberal Democrat attacks on Labour's National Insurance employer increase.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons. -
Justin Welby has announced he is resigning as Archbishop of Canterbury over his handling of serial child abuser John Smyth. In a statement, he said ‘it is very clear that I must take personal and institutional responsibility for the long and retraumatising period between 2013 and 2024’. He says he believes stepping aside ‘is in the best interests of the Church of England’. Did he have to go? And who might replace him?
Also on the podcast, the assisted dying bill was published last night, 38 pages long, and will be debated in just under three weeks’ time. Keir Starmer admitted that he hasn't decided yet which way way he will vote, so is Kim leadbeater's bill enough to sway the floating voters?
Katy Balls speaks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Cindy Yu. -
Keir Starmer is in France today to hold talks with Emmanuel Macron where they will discuss the impact of a Trump second term, and what it will mean for Ukraine. The Prime Minister marked Armistice Day at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe – the first time since 1944 that a British Prime Minister has been in France for the ceremony. What will come from this bilateral meeting? How does a Trump victory bring the UK and the EU closer?
Elsewhere, a minor row broke out over the weekend around the UK’s Remembrance Day commemorations, with Reform UK leader Nigel Farage not being allowed to lay a wreath despite his party having five sitting MPs. Does he have a point?
Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson. -
It’s happened. The scenario Labour politicians hoped would not come to pass is now a reality: Donald Trump is heading back to the White House. The official line from Labour is that everything is fine – they will work with whoever holds the office of president. However, privately there have long been nerves and concerns as to what a Trump comeback would mean for the Starmer government. Where are the fault lines likely to appear? And what does a second Trump term mean for foreign secretary David Lammy, considering his previous comments about the Donald?
Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and John McTernan.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson. -
Nigel Farage could well be the big winner in the UK from Donald Trump’s victory across the pond, with the MP for Clacton having a direct line to the most powerful office in the West. But, as Katy Balls argues on Coffee House this morning, he poses a greater threat to Labour than simply his proximity to Donald Trump.
Reform UK are beginning the process of building power bases across the UK – starting this weekend in Wales – and the party believes it can take voters from Labour. Meanwhile, the US election has proven the salience of the economy and immigration as election-deciding issues: areas where Reform UK cut through. How can Labour combat an insurgent Reform party? What lessons should Starmer take from the result in the US?
Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and Scarlett Maguire, director at JL Partners.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson. -
The post–mortem has begun on the US election with the Democrats desperately trying to figure out what just happened. To make sense of the result, Katy Balls is joined by Kate Andrews and James Kanagasooriam, chief research officer at Focaldata. On the podcast they discuss: how an election that seemed to be on a knife–edge ended in a landslide; how the Democrats misjudged the issues that matter to their core voter coalition; how global election trends and the ‘incumbency problem’ played a part; and how the term ‘asymmetric realignment’ can describe the voting patterns we saw yesterday.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson. - Vis mere
