The Edition

This week: Lara Prendergast is joined by Michael Gove, Tali Fraser and Tim Stanley.

Has Labour lost control of Britain's prisons? As the government's early release scheme comes under increasing scrutiny, Michael Gove diagnoses the failures of the prison system and the growing strain on probation services.

Meanwhile, following a bruising set of US midterm results for Donald Trump, what next for the American right? Tim Stanley discusses the Republicans' increasingly nasty politics, the battle to succeed Trump and whether the president could escalate the war in Iran.

Plus: are lab-grown diamonds unbearably...

For this week’s Edition, William Moore is joined by the Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons, the journalist and author Simon Jenkins and the actress and Spectator book reviewer Genevieve Gaunt.

This week: are the British giving up on the state? Michael’s cover story looks at the growing number of people paying privately for healthcare, dentistry and other services – despite public spending remaining close to record levels. Britons now spend more out of pocket on healthcare than Americans, while satisfaction with the NHS has collapsed from 70 per cent to 26 per cent since 2010. Is the post-war bargain...

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by the Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons, writer Louis Sarkozy and broadcaster Sir Loyd Grossman.

This week: is France heading for revolution? As protests and unrest grip the country, Louis argues that France faces overlapping political, economic, demographic and security crises – and warns that the turmoil is likely to have consequences for next year’s presidential election. Is Macron losing control? Could Marine Le Pen finally take power? And to what extent are the violent riots uniquely French, or part of a wider European unrest?

Al...

For this week’s Edition, William Moore is joined by the Spectator’s commissioning editor Lara Brown, Financial Times columnist and peer Camilla Cavendish and broadcaster and former Labour MP Gloria De Piero.

This week: are screens creating a new education divide? Lara examines the growing backlash against technology in schools. What began as an attempt to create a generation of ‘digital natives’ has left children as young as four doing reading and maths on gamified apps – despite little evidence that they improve learning. State schools are spending hundreds of millions of pounds on 'EdTech', while some of Br...

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by the Spectator’s commissioning editor Tali Fraser, Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens and the historian and Conservative peer Andrew Roberts.

This week: why is antisemitism rising on both the left and right of British politics? On the third anniversary of 7 October, Tali writes in this week’s cover story about what she sees as a growing antisemitic convergence between Zack Polanski's Green Party and Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain. The panel discuss the Green Party’s ‘Zionism is racism’ motion – passed this week at their conference in Brighton –...

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by the Spectator’s political editor Tim Shipman, restaurant critic Angus Colwell and Telegraph associate editor Poppy Coburn.

This week: does the country want Kemi Badenoch’s tough love? Ahead of Tory party conference, Tim speaks to the Tory leader about her plans to get Britain working again. She argues that if you can work, you should; young people without a work history could be put onto a six-month ‘get to work’ scheme rather than Universal Credit. Badenoch says the Tories have spent too long worrying about being call...

For this week’s Edition, William Moore is joined by the Spectator’s deputy editor Freddy Gray, commissioning editor Lara Brown and deputy political editor James Heale.

This week: will Andy Burnham call an early general election? Tim Shipman’s cover asks whether the Prime Minister might go to the polls sooner than 2029, as Labour faces a worsening fiscal situation and an increasingly difficult choice over tax and spending. With the government’s budget looming, does Burnham need a fresh mandate – or is an election simply too risky? And with Reform and the Conservatives competing for voters on...

For this week’s Edition, William Moore is joined by the Spectator’s associate editor and director of the Free Speech Union Toby Young, journalist and author Esther Walker, and Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens.

This week: the men on the spectrum who rule the world. Charles Steel writes in the magazine about the wealthy, obsessive and often unconventional figures who increasingly shape politics and technology – from Elon Musk to the crypto billionaire Ben Delo. Is autism a useful way of understanding these men or has society become too obsessed with diagnosing people? Toby argues that t...

William Moore is joined by The Spectator's economics editor Michael Simmons, The Spectator's commissioning editor and writer at large Tali Fraser, and the Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party Alex Burghart MP.

This week: has Labour stopped just stopping oil? Michael reveals that ministers are expected to approve the Jackdaw gas field within days, while Rosebank is held back until after the by-election in Keir Starmer's old seat – and asks whether a party whose last energy secretary called the project 'climate vandalism' has really changed its mind, or has just found a half measure it can li...

Lara Prendergast is joined by The Spectator’s political editor Tim Shipman, columnist and journalist Melanie McDonagh, and the Daily Mail’s parliamentary sketchwriter Quentin Letts.

This week: has Reform UK lost its magic? Ahead of the party’s conference, Tim reveals its plans for the first 100 days of a Reform government – and asks whether Nigel Farage can persuade voters that his party is ready to govern after a turbulent summer.

Also: what is happening in Middlesbrough? The panel discuss rising gang violence, the decline of visible policing and a generation of young men who appear i...

Lara Prendergast is joined by The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons, author and critic Philip Hensher, and comedian and co-host if the Triggernometry podcast Frances Foster.

This week: are good teachers under siege? The panel discuss Michael Gove’s cover story on the education establishment, from collapsing classroom discipline to the ‘pathetically low ambition’ of those training Britain’s teachers. 

Also: have accusations of bullying become a weapon against demanding ministers? Michael Simmons comes to the defence of his former teacher, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth, while Philip asks whether the real problem is th...

William Moore is joined by The Spectator’s political editor Tim Shipman, commissioning editor Tali Fraser and actress Maureen Lipman.

This week: has the West lost the will to defend itself? The panel discuss the threats posed by China, Russia and Islamism – and whether Western societies have become too reluctant to defend their own values. Maureen also warns about the rise of antisemitism, arguing that universities are ‘grooming’ a generation of anti-Semites.

Also: Tali reports back from a screening of Chris Packham’s People’s Emergency Briefing. Has environmental campaigning become too patronising – and are politicians fo...

William Moore is joined by The Spectator’s associate editor Toby Young, commissioning editor Lara Brown and newsletter editor and restaurant critic Angus Colwell.

This week: What has gone wrong with British universities? Lara unpacks the wider academic crisis in the wake of the Jason Arday scandal, from ‘surviving the apocalypse’ courses at Warwick to maths departments promising to ‘decolonise’ the subject. Has the sector lost its nerve?

Also: Balding. Toby explains why he’s trying to talk his three sons out of hair transplants, while Angus and Lara weigh in on whether men vastly o...

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by The Spectator’s editor Michael Gove, deputy editor Freddy Gray, and associate editor Toby Young.

This week the episode and magazine is dedicated to our beloved Rod Liddle, who died aged 66. The Spectator journalists reflect on some of their favourite memories of Rod, what his legacy will be and how is writing, wit and intelligence will be irreplaceable.

This episode is brought to you by Raymond James. Combining deep insights into who you are with our financial expertise, that’s the power of personal. Invest...

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by The Spectator’s columnist Rory Sutherland, political editor Tim Shipman and drinks editor Jonathan Ray.

This week: What has been the damage of Labour’s punitive war on private education? Rory questions whether the sector had helped itself in the years prior, but did the policy itself ever represent more than ‘class warfare?’ Tim explores the vigour to which the (now former) Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson embraced that label, whilst Jonathan reflects on ‘canny approaches’ to game the system.

Also: Election? What election? The panel disc...

This week: has Andy Burnham really brought change to Downing Street – or merely repackaged Labour’s old guard? Has Ed Miliband been sidelined by being sent to the Foreign Office, a ‘non-job’ in which he can do little harm? The panel also asks whether Burnham is prepared to make the difficult decisions required of a prime minister – and why the Conservatives have been so reluctant to demand a general election.

Also: is America’s socialist left taking over the Democratic party? Candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America are gaining ground, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may be underestimated as a future...

For this week’s Edition, William Moore is joined by The Spectator’s political editor, Tim Shipman, commissioning editor and writer at large Tali Fraser, and the historian Antony Beevor.

This week: what will Andy Burnham actually do in Downing Street? Tim reveals what to expect from the incoming prime minister’s first ten days, from a blitz of policies and a ‘Number 10 North’ to higher borrowing and wealth taxes.

Also: has Britain expanded the definition of disability too far? The panel discusses Michael Simmons’s argument that compassion should not mean turning every difficulty into a disor...

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by The Spectator’s political editor Tim Shipman, deputy editor of the US edition Gus Carter and the Mail on Sunday’s restaurant critic Tom Parker Bowles.

This week: Nigel Farage’s greatest gamble. After resigning as MP for Clacton to trigger a by-election, Farage has tried to turn questions over his finances into a referendum on the establishment. Tim explains why the move may already have backfired, with the main parties refusing to stand against him and leaving him to spend the summer ‘arguing with a bin’. But he also...

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by the Spectator’s deputy editor Freddy Gray, assistant content editor John Power and former Leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt.

This week: Labour’s lame duck period drags on, with Keir Starmer searching for a legacy before he leaves office. This week he has announced more money for Defence, though with several caveats, the biggest of which is unfunded billions left for the (presumably) incoming Burnham administration to fix. Penny Mordaunt, a former Conservative Defence Secretary, explains why Starmer has been a ‘total failure’ on Defence...

For this week’s Edition, William Moore is joined by the Spectator’s political editor Tim Shipman, the drinks writer Henry Jeffreys and the founder and chair of iNHouse Communications – and former director of communications for Theresa May – Katie Perrior.

This week: another year, another prime ministerial resignation – it’s all becoming a little too common in British politics. The guests give their views on Starmer’s downfall and look ahead to the inevitable Andy Burnham premiership, from his policy agenda to who’s in – and who’s out – when it comes to the Cabinet and all-important role of Chance...

For this week’s Edition, William Moore is joined by the Spectator’s assistant editor Isabel Hardman and the editor of The New Statesman Tom McTague. Plus, in a special episode this week, the Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons joins for the first half of the episode, before political editor Tim Shipman jumps in later on.

This week: was Brexit worth it? As we approach the tenth anniversary of the vote to leave the European Union, the Spectator’s editor – and former prominent Vote Leave campaigner – Michael Gove makes the case that not only was Britain right to le...

For this week’s Edition, William Moore is joined by the Spectator's commissioning editor Lara Brown, the columnist for the Wall Street Journal’s Free Expression newsletter Louise Perry and the Telegraph journalist and presenter of Ukraine: The Latest Francis Dearnley.

This week: Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has now gone on longer than the first world war and it shares much of the horrors of that war, from attrition warfare to substantial losses on both sides. So, with over half a million Russians estimated to be killed, could Putin and Zelensky be brought to an exhausted p...

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by the Spectator's political editor Tim Shipman, the writer Guy Stagg and the author and host of How to Fail Elizabeth Day.

This week, the guests discuss whether Nigel Farage’s Reform UK can see off the threat from Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain. Restore Britain’s success may be modest and, so far, very online but that doesn’t mean they won’t hinder Farage’s effort to reach Number 10. If polls from the Makerfield by-election are anything to be believed, Restore could have a real impact. The batt...

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by the Spectator's deputy editor Freddy Gray, associate editor – and host of the Holy Smoke podcast – Damian Thompson and consultant psychiatrist and Daily Mail columnist Dr Max Pemberton.

This week, the guests examine the Pope's encyclical about Artificial Intelligence (AI), Magnifica Humanitas, which warns of the cost to humanity that this technological revolution could bring. This marks Pope Leo's first major policy intervention, a warning which Spectator editor Michael Gove celebrates in the magazine this week. Michael says that AI will be ‘as transformative as the Industrial Revolutio...

For this week’s Edition, Lara Prendergast is joined by The Spectator's John Power, feminist campaigner Julie Bindel and former adviser to Boris Johnson – and co-host of the In The Room podcast, Cleo Watson.

They explore the idea that the Strait of Hormuz, not Makerfield, will determine the fate of the current Labour government. Starmer may be facing a challenge to his authority from mayoral shapeshifter Andy Burnham, but neither the PM or the wannabe MP will be rewarded if grocery and energy prices continue to soar. How much can be done to insulate Britain from future p...

This week: William Moore is joined by The Spectator’s political correspondent Noa Hoffman, Telegraph columnist and Planet Normal co-host Liam Halligan, and The Spectator’s real life columnist Melissa Kite.

They unpack Tim Shipman and Noa Hoffman’s cover piece on the mounting coup against Keir Starmer. As Wes Streeting makes his move, Ed Miliband waits in the wings and Andy Burnham’s allies search for a route back to Westminster, is Labour now openly preparing for life after Starmer?

Also this week: Britain’s mounting economic crisis. Liam warns that the government is running ou...

This week: Lara Pendergast is joined by Tim Shipman, Lionel Barber and Alice Loxton, author of Eleanor: A 200-Mile Walk in Search of England’s Lost Queen. 

They unpack Michael Gove’s cover piece which asks whether the local elections will push Labour further to the left. As the Greens threaten Labour in its metropolitan heartlands and Reform eats into its working-class vote, is Keir Starmer facing a battle for the soul of his party? They also consider the collapse of the political centre, the weakness of Britain’s current leadership class, and why being ‘not Keir Starmer’...

In this week’s podcast, William Moore is joined by The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons, assistant editor Isabel Hardman and Times columnist and Sky News presenter Trevor Phillips. 

The panel unpacks Mary Wakefield’s cover story on the rise of shoplifting – and what it reveals about’ shameless Britain’. After a Morrisons manager was reportedly sacked for stopping a thief, they ask whether petty crime, fare-dodging and everyday rule-breaking are eroding the social contract.

Also on the episode: Tim Shipman’s latest piece on Labour after Starmer. With Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband said t...

In this week’s podcast, the panel unpacks Tim Shipman’s explosive cover story, including a leaked message suggesting just how closely Starmer backed Mandelson’s appointment from the start – and why the Prime Minister is now struggling to shift responsibility as the fallout grows.

Host Lara Prendergast is joined by William Moore, historian Peter Frankopan and Prue Leith to assess whether this is a moment of real political danger for Starmer – or simply another Westminster storm. As comparisons with Boris Johnson mount, they ask whether Labour’s internal critics will act, what alternatives (if any) exist, and why the...

The Pope is 'WEAK on crime and terrible on foreign policy' – this was the verdict of the President of the United States this week, as he appeared to deepen his row with the leader of the Catholic Church. In the magazine this week, Damian Thompson reports on why the President appears to have engaged in his own Holy War with the leader of 1.3 billion Catholics around the world.

For this week's Edition, host William Moore is joined by deputy editor Freddy Gray, commissioning editor Lara Brown – and the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.

Bar...

Has Britain become a freeloader’s paradise, asks the Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons in our cover piece this week. Michael analyses ‘the benefits of benefits’, at a time when Britain’s welfare bill is burgeoning and most households are struggling with cost of living. For example, while a family of four can expect to pay £111 to visit the Tower of London, that is just £4 total on Universal Credit (UC), and for London Zoo it is £108 compared to £26. Michael is not arguing against the idea of helping those in need, but pointing out that – as the benefits bill continues to inc...

Is British politics becoming more religious? Madeline Grant certainly thinks so, arguing – in the Spectator’s cover article – that the next election could be the most religious for decades. Issues like immigration and Islam, assisted dying – and even the establishment of the Church of England are likely to play a role. The current Labour government's ‘most telling divide’, Madeline writes, is between MPs – like Shabana Mahmood and Wes Streeting – who understand religion – and 'those who don’t’. 

For the Edition’s Easter special, host Lara Prendergast is joined by vicar – and Madeline’s husband – The Rev’d Fergus Butler-Gallie, former Supre...

It is undoubtable that – under the leadership of Zack Polanski – the Green Party have soared to new heights. Having won their first parliamentary by-election in February, polls consistently show them as a force to be reckoned with on the left of British politics. Much of their success has come at the detriment of Labour, with disgruntled further-left progressive voices opting to vote Green. This, though, is a brand of eco-populism that comes at the expense of the Green Party's roots, or so argues Angus Colwell in the Spectator's cover article this week. Have the Greens ceded the issue of the...

Nigel Farage is a shark – hell bent on devouring Britain's political class, as illustrated with the Spectator's cover story this week, co-authored by James Heale and Tim Shipman. Yet, from rows over the pension triple lock to stagnation in the polls, it isn't clear that Farage has a strategy for power. Reform may win the battle of the Right, but does its leader really want to be Prime Minister?

For this week's Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by the Spectator's Chairman Charles Moore, deputy political editor James Heale and Times Radio broadcaster Jo Coburn. The pa...

As oil prices rise, the Spectator’s cover story this week – written by deputy editor Freddy Gray – wonders if Trump’s gamble has backfired, and Operation Epic Fury could end up more like Operation Epic Fail. What does it mean to describe Trump’s plan as ‘failing’? And can we judge him by the same metrics that we have judged other presidents? 

For this week’s Edition, host William Moore is joined by political editor Tim Shipman, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Adrian Wooldrodge and actress and campaigner Sophie Winkleman. Adrian, author of Centrists of the Worlds Unite!, explains why comparisons...

As the conflict in the Middle East escalates, what is Trump’s game plan? The Spectator’s cover piece this week, by Geoffrey Cain, argues that Trump’s ultimate target in this war is China; every dictator gone, weakens the Chinese regime. As Freddy Gray explains further on the podcast, Trump’s worldview is shaped by the events he grew up with – including then President Nixon’s visit to China in the 1970s. As well as making sense of Trump’s plan, the Spectator team take us through the dramatic events of the past week, including how Starmer appears to have alienate...

Britain’s banks have a hold over Rachel Reeves, declares Michael Simmons in the Spectator’s cover piece this week. Almost two decades on from the 2008 financial crash, the UK has failed to reform the system and – as ordinary people face a cost-of-living crisis – Labour is in hock to big business. Is the Chancellor too close to the City?

For this week’s Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by economics editor Michael Simmons, columnist Lionel Shriver, and columnist from the Daily Mail Robert Hardman.

As well as Labour’s relationship with the banking industry...

Britain is defenceless, declares the Spectator's cover piece this week. From the size of the armed forces to protection against cyber warfare, the government is not spending fast enough to meet the UK's security challenges. But is the public ready to choose warfare over welfare? And can we blame the young people who don't want to fight for their country?

For this week's Edition, host William Moore is joined by opinion editor Rupert Hawksley, columnist Matthew Parris, and Whitehall editor of the Financial Times Lucy Fisher.

As well as meeting Britain's defence challenge...

‘Authority is like virginity. Once it’s gone, it’s gone’ – that's just one of the damning quotes about Keir Starmer that Tim Shipman has extracted from sources inside the Labour government. Much of Starmer's bad luck this week is arguably of his own making, so why is he seemingly so bad at being the Prime Minister?

For this week's Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by political editor Tim Shipman, associate editor – and Conservative peer – Toby Young, and the broadcaster Guto Harri, who – as a former director of communications at Number Ten himself – knows a thing or two about...

Is Britain ready for Artificial Intelligence? Well, bluntly, 'no'; that's the verdict if you read several pieces in this week's Spectator – from Tim Shipman, Ross Clark and Palantir UK boss Louis Mosley – focused on how Britain is uniquely ill-placed to take advantage of the next industrial revolution. Tim Shipman's cover piece focuses on how the Labour government is approaching AI – there are some positives but, overall, Britain's creaky bureaucracy is blocking progress.

To discuss this week's Edition, features editor William Moore is joined by political editor Tim Shipman, commissioning editor Lara Brown and the Daily Mail column...