‘In a world that is the most dangerous it has been since the end of the cold war, we cannot be complacent,’ Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said at a news briefing alongside Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg during a visit to Poland this week. The PM mentioned the threat from Russia but also from China and pledged to boost defence spending by £75bn over the next six years. Lucy Fisher is joined by colleagues George Parker and Jim Pickard to discuss whether this pledge will lead to deep spending cuts to unprotected government departments and James Kynge, the FT’s China editor, drops in to talk about allegations of Chinese espionage in the UK and beyond. Plus, will Labour’s plan to fully renationalise the UK’s passenger rail network if it wins the next general election translate into better train services for customers?Join Lucy and colleagues for an FT subscriber webinar on May 8 to discuss what the local election results tell us about who will win the UK general election. Get your pass now at ft.com/ukwebinarFollow Lucy on X: @LOS_Fisher, George @GeorgeWParker, Jim @PickardJE, James @JKyngeWant more? Free links:Labour plans to retain key private sector role in nationalised railwaysSunak pledge to boost defence spending raises prospect of cuts elsewhereFormer UK parliamentary aide charged with spying for ChinaSign 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. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer with production help from 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.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related