80 years ago this week Japan surrendered to the allies, ushering in the end of the Second World War. To mark the anniversary of VJ day, historians Sir Antony Beevor and Peter Frankopan join James Heale to discuss its significance. As collective memory of the war fades, are we in danger of forgetting its lessons? And, with rising state-on-state violence and geopolitical flashpoints, is the world really safer today than in 1945?
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
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The big news today is of course the bilateral between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska. We should know by around 8 p.m. whether they have successfully negotiated an end to the war in Ukraine – and at what cost – but in the meantime Westminster is abuzz with the news that Nigel Farage is going for the Lords.
This morning the Times splashes on a letter from Nigel Farage to the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, in which he demands that Starmer allow him to nominate Reform peers to the House of Lords. It is not a totally unreasonable request either, with the Greens and the DUP represented in the chamber and Farage has gone after Starmer for ‘democratic disparity’.
Former Reform spinner Gawain Towler joins James Heale and Lucy Dunn on the podcast to discuss the likelihood that we will see teal in the Lords soon. And who would they nominate? Would Gawain accept a peerage?
Produced by Oscar Edmondson
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Ukraine's President Zelensky has spent today with Keir Starmer at Number 10. This is in anticipation of tomorrow's Alaska summit between Presidents Trump and Putin – where European leaders will be notably absent. Zelensky's visit to the UK is designed to project an image of solidarity with Starmer, and European leaders in general – but does it really matter? And is Putin really closer to accepting a ceasefire? Tim Shipman and James Heale join Lucy Dunn to discuss
Plus – Tim talks about his article in the magazine this week, for which he spoke to George Finch, the 19 year old Reform councillor who is leader of Warwickshire County Council. There has been a perception that Labour lacked preparation for national government last year – how are Reform's own attempts going at governing at a local level?
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
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JD Vance has been in the Cotswolds this week on his Britain fantasy tour. This has been billed as a ‘holiday’ but he did take the time out of his busy schedule to meet with some of Britain’s right-wing politicians. Robert Jenrick, Chris Philp and Nigel Farage were all granted an audience with the vice-president, and even Danny Kruger and pillow salesman/Apprentice star Thomas Skinner got the call-up. The notable exclusion is, of course, Kemi Badenoch, who despite claiming to be firm friends with Vance was NFI’d. CCHQ claim this is due to scheduling, but clearly it’s an embarrassing snub. So who is MAGA’s favourite UK politician? And do the American right even care about what’s going on in Britain?
James Heale speaks to Tim Shipman and Freddy Gray.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
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There has been a drip feed of stories over the past few days from Nicola Sturgeon's memoir Frankly which hits the shelves this week. In her book, the former First Minister of Scotland covers a slew of topics including SNP infighting and her relationship with the late Alex Salmond, her sexuality and the police probe into SNP finances, and the gender reform bill that contributed to her leaving frontline politics.
Spectator writer and Scottish Daily Mail columnist Euan McColm and Isabel Hardman – who has reviewed the book for this week's Spectator – join Lucy Dunn to discuss. For Euan there is a humility in the prose that he just doesn't recognise in the Sturgeon of real life – is she trying to discover herself?
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
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Another day, another Reform party press conference. Following political editor Tim Shipman’s cover piece on how Reform hopes to win over women, this morning’s event was led by the party’s top female politicians: MP Sarah Pochin, Greater Lincolnshire Mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Westminster councillor Laila Cunningham, and Linden Kemkaran, the leader of Kent County Council. Nigel Farage was missing in action as Reform tried to make the case that they are not a one-man band or a ‘boys’ club’. Has Farage solved his women problem?
Elsewhere, Kemi Badenoch is in Epping as she tries to wrestle the agenda away from Farage when it comes to asylum seekers and migration. But has she got anything different to say?
Donald Trump is also meeting Vladimir Putin today to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, and we are all eagerly awaiting a press conference later this afternoon. Will Trump’s search for a deal come at the expense of Ukraine’s freedom? How has Keir Starmer influenced peace talks?
Lucy Dunn speaks to Tim Shipman and James Heale.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
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Does – or did – Nigel Farage have a woman problem? ‘Around me there’s always been a perception of a laddish culture,’ he tells political editor Tim Shipman, for the cover piece of the Spectator this week. In last year’s election, 58 per cent of Reform voters were men. But, Shipman argues, ‘that has begun to change’. According to More in Common, Reform has gained 14% among women, while Labour has lost 12%. ‘Women are ‘more likely than men… to worry that the country is broken.’
Many of Reform’s most recent victories have been by women: Andrea Jenkyns in the mayoral elections, Sarah Pochin to Parliament; plus, their most recent high profile defections include a former Tory Welsh Assembly member and a former Labour London councillor. What makes Reform’s success with women all the more remarkable is that it appears organic; ‘we haven’t forced this’ says Farage. So why are women turning to Reform UK?
Tim Shipman and Sarah Pochin MP join William Moore and Lara Prendergast, the Spectator's features and executive editors respectively, to discuss further, with an introduction from Oscar Edmondson. For more discussions related to articles in the Spectator, search The Edition wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has given a wide-ranging interview to the BBC’s Amol Rajan in which she touched upon her Nigerian upbringing, her feeling of identity and she even revealed she called out a peer for cheating at school. But perhaps her most interesting comments came when she revealed how she lost her belief in God.
The Reverend Fergus Butler-Gallie, author of Twelve Churches, and Tim Shipman join Oscar Edmondson to discuss Kemi’s comments. Is it credible to call yourself a ‘cultural Christian’? And, with both an atheist Prime Minister and agnostic Leader of the Opposition, is the decline of religion in politics inevitable?
Plus: with the news that Germany will suspend weapons exports to Israel, following Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that Israel will pursue a full takeover of Gaza, will the UK follow suit?
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
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Some excitement on Threadneedle Street today after the Bank of England cut interest rates to 4 per cent. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has just voted five to four – after a revote – for what is the third cut this year. This takes interest rates back down to levels not seen since the beginning of 2023. Concerns about an increasingly slack labour market seem to have driven the MPC’s decision.
This sounds like good news – and Starmer will welcome it as such – but the Bank’s apparent comfort with loosening policy in this context is baffling says Michael Simmons. Its own forecasts show inflation climbing back to 4 per cent by September – double the official target. If they’re wrong, and inflation slips the leash again, it won’t be brought back under control easily. This also coincides with yesterday’s news that the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) forecast that Rachel Reeves must find £50 billion of revenue or cuts if she is to return to the £9.9 billion of fiscal headroom she left herself in the spring. Are there any rays of light escaping from the black hole as we head towards autumn’s Budget, or is it all gloom?
Also on the podcast today: Trump’s tariffs have come into effect across the world. He declared on Truth Social that ‘Billions of Dollars have started flowing into the US’… but is that true? And what’s been the reaction in the US?
Oscar Edmondson speaks to Michael Simmons and Kate Andrews.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.
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The Spectator and Douglas Murray have comprehensively won a defamation case brought by Mohammed Hegab.
Hegab, a YouTuber who posts under the name Mohammed Hijab, claimed that an article about the Leicester riots, written by Douglas Murray and published by The Spectatorin September 2022, caused serious harm to his reputation and led to a loss of earnings. However, the judge found that the article did not cause serious harm to Hijab, that what was published was substantially true, and that Hijab had ‘lied on significant issues’ in court and had given evidence that ‘overall, is worthless’. What does this case mean for the future of press freedom?
On today’s podcast, Michael Simmons discusses the case with Alex Wilson, The Spectator’s lawyer, and Max Jeffery, who attended court on behalf of the magazine.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Megan McElroy.
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It’s the big day for Starmer’s one-in, one-out migrant deal with France. The scheme, which was agreed during the state visit last month, comes into effect today – but Yvette Cooper and other figures in Whitehall remain suspiciously evasive when it comes to putting a number on returns to France. Immigration is, of course, the problem of highest salience across the country, and made even more pressing by recent riots at migrant hotels, giving far-right opposition parties plenty of ammunition. Polling shows that 40 per cent of Reform supporters would consider voting for Labour next time if the number of small boat arrivals fell. So, will it work? Will it prove a better deterrent than, say, the Rwanda deal?
This is undoubtedly a landmark agreement with France, and puts us in closer alliance with the French. Are there areas where we should be taking lessons from them – perhaps when it comes to our dealings with overseas terrorists, for example?
Oscar Edmondson speaks to Tim Shipman and Madeline Grant.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
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Nigel Farage hosted a press conference today as part of Reform's summer crime campaign 'Britain is lawless'. He unveiled the latest Tory defector: Leicestershire's Police & Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews. Amidst all the noise of whether crime in the UK is falling or not, plus the impact of migration on crime, is Reform's messaging cutting through?
Would US Vice President agree with Farage's message that Britain is lawless? Vance is in the UK, staying in the Cotswolds, as part of his summer holiday. Tim Shipman and Lucy Dunn are joined by James Orr, associate professor at Cambridge University, and a friend of Vance's to talk us through the dynamics between Trump, Vance, Starmer, Lammy and Farage. Does Farage have Vance's ear? Plus: James explains the rationale behind the new Reform-linked think tank that he is leading, saying that the Centre for a Better Britain is about seeking to build a 'politics of national preference'.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Megan McElroy.
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Is the Online Safety Act protecting children – or threatening free speech? Michael Simmons hosts John Power, who writes the Spectator's cover piece this week on how the Act has inadvertently created online censorship. Implemented and defended by the current Labour government, it is actually the result of legislation passed by the Conservatives in 2023 – which Labour did not support at the time, arguing it didn’t go far enough.
Michael and John joined by former Conservative MP Miriam Cates who defends the core aims and principles at the heart of the Act. They debate the principles of Big Tech, the risks of government overreach and whether freedom of expression is under threat.
Produced by Megan McElroy and Patrick Gibbons.
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John O’Neill and Sam McPhail, the Spectator’s research and data team, join economics editor Michael Simmons to re-introduce listeners to the Spectator’s data hub. They take us through the process between the data hub and how their work feeds into the weekly magazine. From crime to migration, which statistics are the most controversial? Why can’t we agree on data? Plus – whose data is presented better, the Americans or the French?
For more from the Spectator’s data hub – which may, or may not look like the thumbnail photo – go to: data.spectator.co.uk
Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Megan McElroy.
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The dispute between the British Medical Association (BMA) – a trade union for doctors – and the government continues, following the five-day strike by junior doctors. Doctors argue that pay is still far below relative levels from almost two decades ago, combined with the cost of study, the cost of living and housing crises, as well as challenging conditions within the NHS. Nevertheless, with an average pay rise of 5.4% for resident doctors this year, support for the strikes appears to be falling – both with the public at large, and within the BMA. Health Secretary Wes Streeting has hit back at the BMA and said they 'will not win a war with this government'.
Tim Shipman and Lucy Dunn join Natasha Feroze to discuss whether the junior doctors are wise to pick a fight with Wes. First though they talk about the fallout from Keir Starmer's announcement of that the UK could recognise Palestinian statehood in September. Given the recognition is conditional, is Starmer's position the worst of both worlds?
Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.
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Scotland's First Minister John Swinney unveiled his strategy for pursuing a second independence referendum this week, arguing that an SNP majority at next year's Holyrood elections is the only way to guarantee it. This is seen as an attempt to put Scottish independence back on the table as well as combat the rising popularity of Reform.
Pollster Mark Diffley of Diffley Partnership joins Lucy Dunn to unpack the SNP's independence strategy. Mark points out that while Reform are consistently outperforming expectations, their support still primarily comes from ex-Conservatives. This, plus the unpopularity of the current UK Labour government, could provide the SNP with an opening to exploit and shore up nationalist support. Could next year's Holyrood election be the most consequential election of the devolution era so far?
Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.
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Keir Starmer says the UK will recognise a Palestinian state at a UN meeting in September unless Israel meets certain conditions. As the UN warns of famine and aid agencies are raising concern about widespread starvation, countries are coming under pressure to change their approach and influence Israel. The UK's announcement follows Emmanuel Macron’s decision that France will do so in September and after more than 200 cross-party MPs signed a letter endorsing recognition.
Political editor Tim Shipman and senior associate fellow at RUSI Michael Stephens join deputy political editor James Heale to discuss the situation. Plus, as Donald Trump’s visit to Scotland comes to an end, they discuss the surprising nuance in Trump’s position on Israel which was evident when he met Starmer yesterday.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Megan McElroy.
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It’s often the rotator blades of Marine One that blare over Donald Trump’s voice as he stands near the helipad on the south lawn of the White House. In Turnberry, Scotland, it was bagpipes. Trump, playing host to the British Prime Minister in Britain, performed his now familiar ingratiation ritual as he welcomed Sir Keir and Lady Victoria Starmer to his golf course. “Our relationship is unparalleled,” he said, above the din. He flattered the PM’s wife and even suggested, in his delightful nonsensical way, that she is a well-known figure all over the United States.
Lucy Dunn is joined by US editor Freddy Gray and political editor Tim Shipman to discuss what the trip means, and what we should make of the Starmer-Trump relationship.
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Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.
Kemi Badenoch does the rounds, giving her view on the war in Gaza, immigration, and the new party on the left.
And, after France officially recognises the state of Palestine, will the UK government follow suit?
Produced by Joe Bedell-Brill.
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Katie Lam became an MP in 2024 after a career in finance. She's also an accomplished scriptwriter, having co-written five musicals. She's one of the most exciting new intake MPs, and she's ruffling feathers in Westminster and beyond. She joins political editor Tim Shipman to discuss everything from her vision for the country to the ECHR, and shares her political ambitions.
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