Political Fix

Sir Keir Starmer plans to hand more powers to metro mayors in what has been dubbed a ‘devolution revolution’. Host Lucy Fisher speaks with politics reporter Rafe Uddin, deputy political editor Jim Pickard and north of England correspondent Jen Williams about the merits of the proposal – as well as the potential backlash. Plus, the group discusses an internal dossier by Sue Gray that lists potential ‘bin fires’ in the new government’s in-tray, including the prisons capacity crisis, public sector pay disputes, cash-strapped universities and the possible collapse of Thames Water.

Want more? Free links:

The Labour government’s ‘inheritance’ retort will not work on everything

‘Eat your greens’ politics brings its own dangers

Conservative party plans to unveil next leader in November

Starmer pledges to ‘fire up’ the training of UK workers to boost growth

Why Labour’s pledge to fix the Tory mess means tax rises

To take part in an audience survey, and to be in with the chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones, click here 

Click here to find T&Cs for the prize draw.

Follow Lucy on X @LOS_Fisher, Jim @PickardJE, Rafe @rafeuddin_ and Jen @JenWillians_FT

Sign up for 90 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award: 

https://ft.com/insidepoliticsoffer

Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Manuela Saragosa. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sir Keir Starmer took the chance to extend the hand of friendship to Britain’s neighbours when he hosted the European Political Community summit in Blenheim Palace on Thursday. The FT’s Lucy Fisher is joined by political editor George Parker, columnist Stephen Bush and public policy editor Peter Foster to discuss how far Britain wants to deepen relations with the EU again. Plus, the team examine the King’s Speech — analysing what Starmer has prioritised and what he’s shelved for now. 

To take part in the audience survey Lucy mentioned, and to be in with the chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones, click here 

Click here to find T&Cs for the prize draw.

Follow Lucy on X @LOS_Fisher

Want more?  

Keir Starmer opens door to processing asylum claims outside UK

Sign up for 90 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award: 

https://ft.com/insidepoliticsoffer

Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Philippa Goodrich with Leah Quinn and Persis Love. The executive producers were Topher Forhecz and Manuela Saragosa. Audio mix by Simon Panayi and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sir Keir Starmer spoke for the first time with Donald Trump in the wake of the assassination attempt on the former US president at the weekend. After years of criticising him, Labour ministers are trying to strengthen relations ahead of Trump’s possible return to the White House. But does the Republican candidate’s appointment of JD Vance as his running mate throw a spanner in the works? Lucy Fisher considers the question with FT colleagues Anna Gross, Jim Pickard and Miranda Green. The panel also examines the new strategic defence review, and discusses the demoted Labour MPs who are licking their wounds – and plotting revenge. 

To take part in the audience survey mentioned by Lucy, and to be in with the chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones, click here. Click here to find T&Cs for the prize draw.

Follow Lucy on X @LOS_Fisher

Free to read:  

China poses ‘deadly’ threat to UK, says former Nato boss

Can the Conservative party survive defeat? | FT Film

Ministers to examine complaints of harassment by UK election candidates

Sign up for 90 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award: 

https://ft.com/insidepoliticsoffer

Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Edwin Lane with Leah Quinn. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Keir Starmer’s quest for closer EU ties received a tacit nod from US President Joe Biden as the UK prime minister made his global debut at the Nato summit in Washington. Biden told Starmer that Britain was ‘the knot tying the transatlantic alliance together’. The FT’s George Parker, Robert Shrimsley and Stephen Bush sit down in London to discuss the government’s foreign policy agenda, with Lucy Fisher dialling in from Washington with her take. Plus, the FT’s William Wallis lays out the stark truth behind the UK’s prisons crisis, and what the government might be able to do about it. 

To take part in the audience survey mentioned by Lucy, and to be in with the chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Headphones, click here. 

Click here to find T&Cs for the prize draw.

Follow George on X @GeorgeWParker, Lucy on X @LOS_Fisher, Robert on X @robertshrimsley, Stephen on X @stephenkb

Want more?  

Joe Biden tells Keir Starmer UK is ‘knot tying transatlantic alliance together’

Labour to free prisoners early as Keir Starmer warns ‘simply not enough’ spaces

James Timpson: the key-cutter taking on England’s prisons crisis

UK economy grows at double forecast pace 

How will Rachel Reeves run the UK’s finances?

The very resistible rise of Nigel Farage

Sign up for 90 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award: 

https://ft.com/insidepoliticsoffer

Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Audrey Tinline with Leah Quinn. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Sir Keir Starmer appoints his cabinet and unveils his first raft of policies, host Lucy Fisher is joined by the FT’s deputy political editor Jim Pickard and columnist Stephen Bush to assess the new prime minister’s in-tray. Top of the list is planning reforms, but crisis looms in public services, from the NHS to prisons. Plus, Lucy and the panel discuss how the Conservative party will fare in opposition.

To take part in the audience survey mentioned by Lucy, and to be in with the chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 wireless headphones, click here. Click here to find T&Cs for the prize draw.

Follow Lucy on X @LOS_Fisher, Jim on @PickardJE and Stephen on @stephenkb

Want more?  

Labour’s new blood: The class of ’24

Labour expected to launch ‘postmortem’ audit of NHS finances

Podcast host, Israel critic: Meet England’s new attorney-general

Conservative party chair Richard Holden quits after election defeat

Keir Starmer begins tour of UK nations to ‘reset’ relations

Sign up for 90 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award: 

https://ft.com/insidepoliticsoffer

Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Sir Keir Starmer steps over the threshold of Number 10, FT experts answer audience questions about what to expect from the new Labour government. Will Keir Starmer’s landslide victory lead to lasting change? The FT’s Lucy Fisher is joined by colleagues Stephen Bush, George Parker, Miranda Green and Robert Shrimsley to discuss the Labour landslide and the future of the defeated Tory party

Follow Lucy on X: @LOS_Fisher, Robert on @robertshrimsley and George on @GeorgeWParker, Stephen on @stephenkb and Miranda on @greenmiranda

Want more?  

Keir Starmer enters Downing Street as UK prime minister after historic victory

Starmer stands supreme but he cannot ignore the Reform surge

‘Hard to imagine a worse outcome’: Tory collapse sparks blame game

Historic UK election hauls reveal bigger voter trends

Sign up here for 30 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award. 

Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Audrey Tinline with Leah Quinn. Original music by Breen Turner. Mix by Odinn Ingibergsson.The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Labour is heading for the biggest “landslide majority” Britain has ever seen. That’s the verdict from Mel Stride, one of prime minister Rishi Sunak’s closest ministerial allies, who has in effect conceded defeat ahead of Thursday’s UK general election. Host Lucy Fisher is joined by columnist Robert Shrimsley, political editor George Parker and political correspondent Anna Gross to discuss the campaign strategies of the various parties, and to look ahead to the results.

Follow Lucy on X: @LOS_Fisher, Anna on @AnnaSophieGross, Robert on @robertshrimsley and George on @GeorgeWParker

Want more?  

How 120 knife-edge seats may tip the Tories from defeat to wipeout

Tories warn of Labour landslide in final day of election campaigning

What to watch out for on election night

Join us on July 5 at 13:00 UK (GMT+1) when Political Fix host Lucy Fisher will dissect the election outcome with Inside Politics author Stephen Bush, political editor George Parker and columnists Robert Shrimsley and Miranda Green. Register and put your question to the panel by visiting www.ft.com/ukwebinar

Sign up here for 30 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award. 

Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Manuela Saragosa with Leah Quinn. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With under a week to go until polling day, Lucy Fisher and her panel — the FT’s Miranda Green and Stephen Bush — pull together the threads of the campaign to explore the remaining ‘known unknowns’ in this election. They are joined by FT columnist Simon Kuper whose new book ‘Good Chaps’ looks at the disintegration of public service in our national life and examines how to rid our political system of sleaze.

Follow Lucy on X: @LOS_Fisher

Want more? Free links:

Reform UK activist calls for migrants to be shot

A safe space at the eye of the storm: onboard Rishi Sunak’s battle bus

Blue Wall vulnerable to tactical voting as natural Conservatives turn against party

How the Conservatives lost touch with England’s prosperous south

Sign up here for 30 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award. 

Presented by Lucy Fisher. 

Produced by Philippa Goodrich and Leah Quinn

Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and audio mix by Breen Turner. 

The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Conservatives’ embattled campaign suffered yet another setback this week, as the betting scandal escalated and the party finally suspended two candidates ensnared by the row. But when did it first start to go wrong for the Tories? Lucy Fisher is joined by the FT’s chief data reporter John Burn-Murdoch, who charts the beginning of the party’s descent back to 2019. The pair are joined by Political Fix regulars Robert Shrimsley and George Parker to discuss whether Britain’s “first past the post system” will lead to the biggest ever mismatch between parties’ share of the vote and their share of Westminster seats. 

Follow Lucy on X: @LOS_Fisher

Want more? Free links:

How the Conservatives lost touch with England’s prosperous south 

No, Keir, the real opposition is behind you 

Brace for the most distorted election result in British history

The seeds of the Tory collapse were sown in 2019

Starmer will be centrism’s last chance

Sign up here for 30 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award. 

Presented by Lucy Fisher. 

Produced by Persis Love and Audrey Tinline.

Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and audio mix by Breen Turner. 

The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An election-betting scandal is sending the Tory campaign into freefall. The latest blow to the Conservatives comes as some polls predict a wipeout for the party on July 4. The FT’s Whitehall editor Lucy Fisher is joined by Political Fix regulars Stephen Bush and Jim Pickard to discuss this latest blow in a campaign littered with blunders. Plus, the team analyses the effect of the Reform party on the Tory vote and what might happen after the election. 

Follow Lucy on X: @LOS_Fisher, Jim @PickardJE. Stephen @stephenkb

Want more? Free links:

Unusual burst of bets preceded Rishi Sunak’s election announcement

‘Every Tory I know is angry’: betting scandal sends election campaign into ‘freefall’

Potential routes forward for the Tories post-election

Tory leadership hopefuls jostle to replace Rishi Sunak

Keir Starmer: ‘People need hope, but it needs to be realistic hope’

Sketchy Politics: the extinction election?

Sign up here for 30 free days of Stephen Bush's Inside Politics newsletter, winner of the World Association of News Publishers 2023 ‘Best Newsletter’ award. 

Presented by Lucy Fisher. Produced by Audrey Tinline with Leah Quinn and Josh Gabert-Doyon.

Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and audio mix by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.