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The Edition: Elizabeth Day on the 'beautiful & ironic symmetry' of Reform vs Restore
46:35|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 battle for the tight is also having an impact across the political spectrum too – should Labour move further to the right to appeal to Reform and Restore's disgruntled voters, or should they simply ignore them? For Elizabeth Day, there is an ‘ironic and beautiful symmetry’ to the Reform versus Restore dynamic, which almost makes her nostalgic for the 'Tory boy' politics of post-Thatcher era.Also this week: from Makerfield to Mandelson, the government has been busy this week responding to the latest tranche of messages released on Monday. Yet – were some missing? Tim discusses the missing messages of Starmer loyalist Darren Jones MP which he exclusively revealed in this week’s Spectator. How damaging is this for Labour? And how should we treat WhatsApp messages legally?Plus, they discuss: the travel experiences that have shaped their lives, from Orthodox churches perched on Istanbul rooftops to the ‘most bombed hotel’ in Belfast; if collecting books is an acceptable form of hoarding; whether they would take frog poison; and finally, with the news that Nigel Farage may have been banned from Desert Island Discs, they reveal some of the items they would take with them.Elizabeth Day’s latest book One of Us is out now and available in all good bookshops.Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
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The Book Club: Journeys Through Ancient Literature
41:21|My guest on this week’s Book Club podcast is Emily Wilson, the scholar and translator of Homer and Seneca, among many others. She tells me what tech bros get wrong about the classical world and what Cardi B can teach us about Aristophanes, as we discuss her new book, Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea: Journeys Through Ancient Literature.
Quite right!: Henry Nowak & Britain’s two-tier policing crisis
37:48|This week: the Henry Nowak case, two-tier policing – and what the latest Mandelson files reveal about Labour.After the murder of 18-year-old Henry Nowak, Michael and Madeline ask whether the police response exposed something deeply wrong in British policing. Has the fear of being accused of racism distorted the way institutions respond to victims? And does this case reveal a wider crisis of confidence in whether the police can act without fear or favour?They also discuss the latest revelations from the Mandelson files. What do the messages tell us about Labour’s welfare problem, Pat McFadden’s private frustrations and Wes Streeting’s views inside government? Has Labour become ‘the Benefits Party’ – and are there still secrets buried in the Mandelson files?Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
Reality Check: why price caps are pointless
10:01|The government have rolled back on plans to impose price caps in supermarkets. Was Reeves wrong to go after them for price gouging? Michael Simmons has the data.
Americano: who is Usha Vance?
23:39|Freddy Gray is joined by Sarah Beth Spraggins to discuss her piece on Usha Vance, the wife of JD Vance who could be in line to be the next First Lady.
Spectator Out Loud: William Atkinson, James Delingpole, Daisy Dunn & Margaret Mitchell
29:59|On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: William Atkinson sends his dispatch from the Shetland Islands; James Delingpole remembers Malcolm, his ‘gloriously unfiltered’ father; Daisy Dunn reviews Mary Beard’s Talking Classics; and Margaret Mitchell explores corporate dread and the institutional gothic. Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.
Coffee House Shots: who has the clearest vision for Labour? | with Rachel Wolf
15:26|When it comes to political vision, Keir Starmer’s premiership has been something of a vacuum – and power abhors a vacuum. So cue Tony Blair, who this week has rushed in with a 5,000-word essay on what is wrong with Labour and, depending on who you listen to, either an outdated or radical view of where Britain should be as a country.This has galvanised Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and (finally) Keir Starmer to put down on paper their vision for the country and how to solve the biggest issues we face. But whose is more convincing?Oscar Edmondson discusses the question with James Heale and Rachel Wolf, founding partner at Public First and author of the 2019 manifesto.Produced by Oscar Edmondson.