Political Fix

Truss vs the ‘anti-growth’ coalition

08 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Liz Truss endured one of the most traumatic Conservative party conferences in living memory, with open revolt from her cabinet and MPs. Can the n...

Kwasi Kwarteng’s market meltdown

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Markets showed their dismay and the pound crashed to its lowest levels ever as Prime Minister Liz Truss and chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng struggled to def...

The gamble for growth

23 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Kwasi Kwarteng delivered his first Budget in all but name this week, with the biggest overhaul in taxes in half a century. We unpack all the major tax...

King Charles III begins his reign

17 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The UK has experienced an unprecedented week of constitutional upheaval with new national and political leadership. We discuss the death and mour...

In memory of Queen Elizabeth II

09 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Following the sad news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II - who died on September 8 2022 at the age of 96 - we are in tribute republish...

Truss’s glide path to Number 10

03 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Tory leadership race finished this week, with foreign secretary Liz Truss widely expected to triumph. We discuss the final campaign developments, ...

Struggling with the energy crisis

27 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

With energy bills set to soar from October, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak faced mounting questions about how they would help struggling families, yet neit...

Liz Truss pulls even further ahead

20 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Two new opinion polls put Liz Truss 32 points ahead of her rival Rishi Sunak in the race to be the next Tory leader and prime minister. We analyse whe...

Tory leadership race: And the heat goes on

13 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As much of the country wilts in a heatwave, the focus in the Tory leadership contest this week has been on colder times to come. The two rivals for UK...

Liz Truss targets the Treasury

06 Aug 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The voting process in the contest for a new Tory leader and prime minister was delayed over security concerns, but the campaign continued wi...

Truss pulls ahead

30 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The race to be the next UK prime minister rolled on this week, as foreign secretary Liz Truss firmed up her campaign lead and former chancellor Rishi ...

Head-to-head - Sunak and Truss fight it out to be Tory leader and PM

23 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode, we delve into the positions and policies of the two final candidates in the contest to succeed Boris Johnson as Co...

The race for next Tory leader and PM

16 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode, we’ll delve into the two classes of contenders to be the next UK prime minister: the frontrunners and the outsiders. Polit...

The fall of Boris Johnson

08 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s bumper episode, we’ll be taking you behind the scenes on a week that brought Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister to a rather b...

Boris Johnson lands back to earth

02 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We discuss whether Boris Johnson's Global Britain ambitions were achieved during his recent overseas trip and the fallout from the resignation of depu...

Introducing: Hot Money

29 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The FT just launched a new podcast on porn, power and profit. When FT reporter Patricia Nilsson started digging into the porn industry, she made a sho...

Boris Johnson’s double by-election defeat

24 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Conservatives lost two crucial by-elections this week in Yorkshire and Devon, putting UK prime minister Boris Johnson’s leadership under scrutin...

Boris Johnson’s Northern Ireland plan - is it just a bluff?

18 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We examine the situation with the Northern Ireland protocol, whether the government’s plans break international law and how the EU might respond. Pu...

Boris survives, but for how long?

11 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The prime minister had a close shave with his MPs this week when 41 per cent of the Conservative parliamentary party voted to oust him. We discus...

The Queen's jubilee: How Britain has changed since 1952

03 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Queen celebrates her platinum jubilee this weekend. To mark 70 years since she took to the throne, we look back on how the country has changed pol...

It’s definitely not a windfall tax!

28 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We start with that huge bailout package for struggling families announced by the chancellor and the controversial taxes he raised to fund it...

Behind the Money is back!

23 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Behind the Money is back with all-new episodes! From hostile takeovers to C-suite intrigue, Behind the Money takes you inside the business and financi...

Examining the fallout from the end of the police investigation

21 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Should the prime minister now fear the fallout from the full investigation by Whitehall official Sue Gray? Or is he safe for now? Chief political...

Double crisis: cost of living and Northern Ireland

14 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This year’s Queen Speech was Boris Johnson’s attempt to reset his government’s policy agenda but it did little to tackle the growing cost of liv...

Voters cast their opinions on the state of politics

07 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Conservative party lost hundreds of councillors across the county in this year's local elections, with the Labour party making significant gains i...

Too many rising prices, too much sleaze

30 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this week’s episode we’ll be looking at why the government is anxious to find ways to fix rising fuel and food prices. Why is the Tre...

Boris Johnson says sorry, sorry, sorry

23 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The prime minister came to the House of Commons to apologise for misleading MPs over the partygate scandal, but now faces a third probe into his condu...

Can Johnson and Sunak survive Partygate fines?

16 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

No10 and No11 Downing Street were thrown into chaos when the Met Police issued fines to the prime minister and chancellor. We discuss the seriousness ...

Sunak's non-dom saga

09 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We delve into two messes the government has got itself into, over the tax affairs of Rishi Sunak’s wife and the long-awaited energy white security p...

Partygate returns, but no energy strategy

02 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

London's Metropolitan Police issued the first fines over the Partygate scandal this week. British prime minister Boris J...

Spring Statement: Sunak misfires

25 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak delivered a mini-Budget this week that slashed taxes and attempted to tackle the cost of living crisis and deal with i...

Nazanin returns and Spring Statement preview

19 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The UK celebrated the return of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe after six years of imprisonment in Iran. We discuss how she was released and what it says ab...

The war in Ukraine: is the UK doing enough?

12 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The UK has been criticised for failing both to fulfil its rhetoric on sanctions and on opening the door to refugees fleeing Vladimir Pu...

Ukraine latest and tackling 'Londongrad'

05 Mar 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine became more brutal this week, with urban bombardment of civilians. We discuss what is likely to happen next and th...

Johnson sees blood on Putin's hands

25 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After weeks of warnings from the west, Russia invaded Ukraine this week, prompting what some say could be the continent's worst conflic...

Why it is not new for progressive parties of the centre-left to work together

19 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Parliament may have been in recess this week but the political action hasn't stopped. We discuss our significant story about the next electi...

Resetting the Boris Johnson government

12 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We examine the abrupt departure of Met Police commissioner Cressida Dick, what it means for the police investigation into the “partygate” scandal ...

The net tightens for Boris Johnson

05 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We ask whether the prime minister can survive the latest scandal engulfing his government. Is the departure of his closest and longstanding aide Munir...

The Met vs Sue Gray on ‘partygate’

29 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The official investigation into lockdown Downing Street gatherings was due to be concluded this week, but a criminal probe by the police has thrown Wh...

The hole Boris Johnson digs for himself gets bigger

22 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The latest twists and turns in the ‘partygate’ drama this week as Conservative MPs threatened a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Boris John...

The row over Number 10 parties during the 2020 lockdown

15 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

This week we’re devoting the episode to the “partygate” row which has blown up in Westminster. After the prime minister revealed he attended a p...

The cost of living crisis - a defining political theme of 2022

08 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We look at the trouble ahead for Boris Johnson, starting with the crisis in the energy market. What can the government do to stop bills doubling in th...

In conversation with Michael Cockerell

01 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Cockerell has made some of the best political documentaries about UK politics, covering prime ministers from Harold Macmillan to Boris Johnson...

In conversation with Andrew Mitchell

25 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Andrew Mitchell went through many of the UK's most established institutions, from public school to the army to the City of London and parliament, the ...

A remarkable by-election outcome

18 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We analyse the remarkable by-election outcome. On top of the two biggest parliamentary defeats of his career as prime minister, we’ll look at just h...

Boris Johnson encounters turbulent times

11 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we analyse the new measures abruptly imposed in England in response to the alarming rise in Omicron coronavirus cases. What spooke...

Fears about the Omicron coronavirus variant

04 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we dissect how much we know about the rising new variant and ask how worried we should be. Will we see much tighter restrictions imposed as ...

Tragedy in the English Channel

27 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty-seven asylum seekers drowned trying to reach Britain, highlighting the growing crisis of small boats. How can the issue be resolved and what do...

Is Boris Johnson on the right track?

20 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we delve into the plan for reshaping the UK’s railways. Is £100bn of investment the biggest change in a generation, or will it prove to b...

‘I genuinely believe that the UK is not remotely a corrupt country’

13 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we examine the row about outside interests for British MPs. Is it acceptable to be earning hundreds of thousands of pounds a year on top of ...

MPs distraught at being asked to offer support for change

06 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we discuss the chaotic events surrounding the botched reform of the parliamentary standards committee. We look at why No 10 was so eager to ...

Delivering the autumn Budget

30 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we examine the philosophy behind this year’s Budget and whether this is a marked change in how the Conservatives look at the economy. Poli...

Budget day special

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak delivered his 2021 Budget that pledged to increase spending, cut taxes and burrow away money for saving too. Is it all things to all peopl...

Will the NHS face pressure over the winter?

23 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we discuss the return of Covid to the news agenda and ask whether the government will implement its so-called Plan B of measures a...

A testy war of words breaks out in Whitehall

16 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This edition of Payne’s Politics was recorded before the news of the death of Conservative MP Sir David Amess who died after being stabbed at his co...

Why every day at Conservative conference is Johnson day

09 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we analyse this year’s Conservative party conference. First, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s speech: how credible was it? Can low-skilled...

Keir Starmer’s clear break with the Jeremy Corbyn era

02 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we’ll be analysing Labour’s annual jamboree and whether Sir Keir Starmer has met expectations. How did he take on the left and what was...

Boris Johnson undertakes his first major overseas trip

25 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we analyse Boris Johnson’s trip to America, his address to the UN, his one-to-one with President Joe Biden and the health of the so-calle...

Looking in detail at the cabinet reshuffle

18 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we dissect prime minister Boris Johnson’s first major reshuffle of this parliament. We’ll be examining who went up, who went sideways, ...

Tearing up the Conservatives’ fiscal orthodoxy

11 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we analyse prime minister Boris Johnson’s game on social care reform, what the plan involves and whether the Conservative party and its vo...

Britain’s diplomatic push over Afghanistan

04 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week we examine how the UK got its withdrawal from Afghanistan so badly wrong and the subsequent Whitehall briefing war against the Foreign Offic...

Interview special: Liz Truss

28 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the fifth and final of our summer specials, Sebastian Payne meets Liz Truss, international trade secretary and minister for women and equalities.Tr...

Interview special: Sir Malcolm Rifkind

21 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the fourth of our summer specials, Sebastian Payne meets Sir Malcolm Rifkind. In a week when the Taliban shocked the West with its rapid advance in...

Interview special: Steve Baker MP

14 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the third of our summer specials, Sebastian Payne speaks to Steve Baker, the Tory MP for Wycombe and one of the Conservative party's most formidabl...

Interview special: Professor Neil Ferguson

07 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the second of our summer specials, Sebastian Payne speaks to Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London. Nicknamed Professor Lockdown by so...

Interview special: Anas Sarwar

31 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In our first summer special, Sebastian Payne speaks to the leader of the Scottish Labour party Anas Sarwar about countering Nicola Sturgeon, how he in...

Exemptions to isolation and the Northern Ireland protocol

24 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In what should have been a big final week of term at Westminster, Boris Johnson had to abandon plans for a big announcement on social care reform. Ins...

Chaos and confusion over masks and levelling up

17 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The UK is pressing ahead with the easing of all lockdown measures on July 19, despite coronavirus infections hitting 50,000 a day. How has Downing Str...

Freedom day too soon and English patriotism

10 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson has announced that all remaining lockdown restrictions will end on July 19 in England, but is he acting too hastily with Covid-19 cases ...

Labour comes home in Batley and Spen

03 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Sir Keir Starmer was given a reprieve after Labour clung on at the Batley and Spen by-election this week. What does it mean for his leadership? And wa...

Travel woes and Brexit five years on

26 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The UK eased travel to several holiday destinations this week, but will they welcome British tourists? And when are vaccination passports being introd...

Lockdown continues, a shock in the Chilterns

19 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson reluctantly delayed the easing of England’s lockdown for another month due to the spread of the Delta strain of coronavirus. Will the ...

G7 special from Cornwall

12 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The leaders of the west descended on Carbis Bay, along with podcasters, for this year's G7 summit. Boris Johnson and Joe Biden appeared to develop a b...

British holidays at home

05 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The hopes of international travel this summer were dashed as Portugal was taken off the UK's green list for travel amid a rise in cases of the Delta v...

Dominic Cummings versus the world

29 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson's former chief adviser made an epic seven-hour appearance at a parliamentary hearing this week, claiming the prime minister was unfit fo...

Tackling the Indian coronavirus variant

22 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The UK's easing out of lockdown was put under threat by a new strain of coronavirus that originated in India. Can the race between inoculations and in...

Labour goes to war (again)

15 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The opposition Labour party was consumed by infighting this week after Sir Keir Starmer botched a shadow cabinet reshuffle, leading to questions about...

The Tories conquer Hartlepool

08 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Thursday's local elections resulted in gains for Boris Johnson's Conservatives, including a historic win in the Hartlepool by-election. What does this...

Cash for curtains, curtains for Arlene Foster

01 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson is facing three inquiries into the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat. Why hasn't the prime minister offered a clear explanation o...

'Favours for chums', and the football debacle

24 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused the prime minister of sleaze after allegations that friends can text him seeking special treatment. Is lobb...

Greensill, Cameron and Whitehall's revolving door

17 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The collapse of Greensill Capital and the involvement of former prime minister David Cameron have raised serious questions about the UK's lobbying reg...

Britain's vaccine setback

10 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Britain’s vaccination programme suffered a setback this week over the use of the AstraZeneca jab — the workhorse of the UK immunisation effort —...

UK vs EU vaccine tussle

27 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Relations between Britain and the rest of Europe thawed this week, after the EU had threatened an export ban on vaccines. Will the UK have enough jabs...

AstraZeneca vaccine tribulations

20 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The UK encountered the first bumps in its vaccine roll out programme, as the government warned supplies of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab would drop signi...

Harry and Meghan, and the government

13 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The explosive TV interview the Duke and Duchess of Sussex gave this week raised major questions about the future of the monarchy, as well as tricky is...

Sunak's spend now, tax later Budget

06 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Chancellor Rishi Sunak presented his second Budget this week, tearing up Conservative economic orthodoxy with billions of pounds of spending and tax r...

UK Budget preview and Salmond vs Sturgeon

27 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak will deliver his second Budget next week, where the chancellor will set out a mission to put the UK's public finances on a sounder footing...

Data, not dates, for easing lockdown

20 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson made it clear this week that he will not rush into easing the nationwide lockdown - what will the UK prime minister set out in his road ...

Held in hotels and is Starmer stalling?

13 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hotel quarantine will finally be introduced to the UK next week, but can the logistics work? Will it stop new variants of the virus spreading - and ar...

Vaccine triumphs and the lockdown question

06 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This week the UK faced the prospect of the emergence of new coronavirus mutations while surging past 10m vaccinations. Will this progress speed up the...

A plan for exiting Covid lockdown

30 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson set out how England will exit its nationwide lockdown this week, with schools set to reopen in early March but shops and other businesse...

Biden, Boris and Brexit

23 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Joe Biden was inaugurated as the new US president this week - what does it mean for UK-US relations? Can Boris Johnson forge a rapport with him on sha...

Enforcing lockdown as vaccines ramp up

16 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The UK's battle against the new strain of Covid-19 has had mixed results this week – deaths continued to be high while infections started to fall. A...

Back to national lockdown

09 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

UK prime minister Boris Johnson put England into its third lockdown this week, as the new strain of coronavirus risked the health service being overwh...

Brexit has arrived

01 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The UK has fully left the EU, ending 47 years of membership. In this Brexit special, we examine the last-minute trade deal that Prime Minister Boris J...

Brexit: the moment of truth

19 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Talks between the UK and the EU on a trade deal have reached their final days. Can a deal be agreed, or could an accidental no-deal still occur? Plus,...

Time running out for Brexit trade deal

12 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

With negotiations on a Brexit trade deal between the UK and EU stalled again, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warning of a no-deal outcome, can th...

Covid vaccine arrives, Douglas Ross on the future of the UK

05 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Britain became the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine this week. The first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab will arrive soon, but is the U...

Rishi's spending review and fears for new tiers

28 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his spending review this week amid the harsh economic effects of coronavirus and the UK's mounting debt pile. Why was...

Why Johnson's splashing cash on climate and defence

21 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In his bid to reset the UK government's image, Boris Johnson announced a 10-point plan for a 'green recovery' costing billions of pounds. Will it do e...