Keir Starmer is defying his own party, the public, and political gravity.
But is he going anywhere? After a humiliating set of local, Welsh, and Scottish election results, the knives are out in the Parliamentary Labour Party.
Yet the would-be challengers — Wes Streeting, Angela Rayner, Andy Burnham, Ed Miliband — can't seem to land a blow.
Spiked Online's Brendan O'Neill joins Julia to break down why this isn't just a Starmer problem… it's a problem with the entire political class.
Then, as King Charles delivers the King's Speech, the verdict is damning: recycled announcements, no serious plan for the economy, nothing on immigration, doubling down on net zero, and dragging the country back towards the EU.
Robert Colvile, Director of the Centre for Policy Studies and Sunday Times columnist, digs into the numbers: Britain is borrowing over £100 billion a year, welfare spending now exceeds income tax receipts, and the bond markets don't care who leads the Labour Party… despite some MPs saying that the bond markets will have to ‘fall in line’.
The brutal truth? Whoever takes over from Starmer inherits the same in-tray: wars in Ukraine and Iran, an energy crisis, a ballooning welfare bill, an ageing population, and a public that refuses to hear difficult choices.
As Colvile puts it: you can change the Prime Minister, but you can't change the bond markets.
Julia Hartley Brewer broadcasts on Talk from Monday to Thursday, 10AM to 1PM.
Available on YouTube and streaming platforms, along with DAB+ radio and your smart speaker.
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