Reality Check

Reality Check

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Reality Check episodes

  • Rachel Reeves’s Budget is a shambles

    As Budget days go, today was unprecedented. The complete list of measures announced by Rachel Reeves – along with their costings and economic impacts – was leaked by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) an hour before the Chancellor took to her feet. The OBR apologised and called it a ‘technical error’. The headline is tax hikes to the tune of £26 billion, income tax thresholds will be frozen again and the tax burden will hit a record high at 38 per cent of GDP. Was this the most farcical Budget in history?

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    24 min
  • Benjamin Disraeli to Rachel Reeves – how each Chancellor drank their way through the Budget

    Rachel Reeves is due to deliver her budget this Wednesday. Throughout the years, the only person permitted to drink inside the House of Commons is the Chancellor. What has been the tipple of choice for each Chancellor dating back to Benjamin Disraeli? Michael Simmons and James Heale drink their way through the ages, discuss the historical context of each budget, and question whether Rachel Reeves has the toughest job yet.

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    35 min
  • Why British business is doomed to fail - and how to fix it | Entrepreneur Luke Johnson

    Entrepreneur and investor Luke Johnson joins Michael Simmons to discuss what is going wrong for Britain's business. From soaring taxes and the Employment Rights Bill to net-zero regulation, planning failures and the rise in economic inactivity, Johnson argues the UK is becoming hostile to entrepreneurs — and warns that many are already leaving for good.

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    29 min
  • Rory Sutherland: Britain isn’t working – here’s how to fix it

    Advertising legend and Spectator columnist Rory Sutherland joins Michael Simmons to explain why he thinks Britain’s economic problem isn’t income, tax rates or even inequality — it’s property, rent extraction, and a national belief that housing is the safest and smartest place to store wealth.


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    30 min
  • Datageddon: Britain's stats have become dangerously unreliable

    Britain is facing a quiet crisis — its data is breaking down, and the government’s numbers are increasingly unreliable.


    In this episode of Reality Check, economics editor Michael Simmons asks what happens when the state can’t count properly. How can the Bank of England set interest rates or the Treasury balance the books when the data they rely on is wrong? And why are so many “official” statistics now being stripped of their trusted status?

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    13 min
  • Is Brexit to blame for Britain’s economic doom loop?

    Rachel Reeves is preparing for her first major Budget – but is Brexit really to blame for Britain’s black hole?


    Host Michael Simmons speaks to independent economist Julian Jessop about the OBR’s productivity downgrade, Labour’s tax plans, and whether Reeves is right to point the finger at Brexit.

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    22 min
  • The rich are leaving Britain – and making you poorer

    Are the rich fleeing Britain? That's what the numbers suggest, but some activist groups have hit back that the data is dodgy. For the second episode of Reality Check The Spectator's economics editor Michael Simmons explains why the data shows that the wealthy are leaving Britain, and why this matters for everyone else.

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    14 min
  • Arthur Laffer: Britain is taxing itself to death

    Reality Check, The Spectator’s new data-driven show hosted by economics editor Michael Simmons, kicks off with a big name: Arthur Laffer. The man who taught Reagan to cut taxes tells Michael why Britain’s economy is 'disappearing', why the Bank of England shouldn’t exist, and why he still believes low taxes – and a little optimism – can send Britain 'to the moon and the stars.'

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    45 min
  • Reality Check – Trailer

    Introducing... Reality Check – the new podcast from The Spectator – that cuts through the spin and explains the numbers behind the noise. In each episode, The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons and in-the-know guests will make a data-driven case on a story hogging the headlines. Follow to never miss an episode.

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    1 min
  • In conversation with Zia Yusuf – at Reform UK conference 2025
    At the Reform conference, The Spectator's editor Michael Gove sat down with head of Reform UK Department of Government Efficiency Zia Yusuf. They discussed Labour's track record in governments, Zia's faith and tech background, why Nigel Farage is his political hero and how AI could change Britain.

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    1 hr 11 min

About Reality Check

From the publisher's feed

Reality Check cuts through the spin and explains the numbers behind the noise. In each episode, The Spectator’s economics editor Michael Simmons and in-the-know guests will make a data-driven case on a story hogging the headlines.