Political Fix
Episodes
What Cummings' exit means for Downing Street
14 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In a dramatic week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost two of his key aides, chief adviser Dominic Cummings and director of communications Lee Cain, bo...
What Biden means for Johnson
07 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With Joe Biden on the cusp of becoming the 46th US president, how will Boris Johnson recalibrate and repair transatlantic relations? We discuss whethe...
Labour's day of reckoning
31 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Keir Starmer made the dramatic move to suspend Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour party this week, following an investigation into anti-Semitism....
Boris vs Burnham
24 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The prime minister found himself at odds with northern leaders this week, as disputes grew over localised coronavirus restrictions. Is Boris Johnson f...
Gloves come off over coronavirus
17 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson's coronavirus strategy was yet again tested to breaking point this week, as Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer and leaders of norther...
Coronavirus clampdowns go regional
10 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tension over coronavirus rules pervaded local and national UK politics this week as the north of England faced further restrictions, and pubs and rest...
Tories dream of Terra Australis
03 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Home secretary Priti Patel's initiative to examine plans for an offshore immigration centre on Ascension Island — more than 4,000 miles from the UK ...
Coronavirus returns as Chancellor Sunak walks a tightrope
26 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced further restrictions to halt the spread of Covid-19 in the UK but faced a backlash from Conservative MPs. Chan...
Tory tribes go back to war
19 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson found himself in another parliamentary stand-off over Brexit legislation this week, and eventually found a compromise with rebellious Co...
Brexit deal or no deal?
12 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson's government is bringing in a new law — the internal market bill — that threatens to undermine the UK's withdrawal agreement with th...
Bridget Phillipson on Labour's long-term strategy
09 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest from our special interview series, the FT's Sebastian Payne talks to Bridget Phillipson, Labour's shadow chief secre...
Sunak's tax dilemma
05 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned both the public and Conservative MPs that difficult decisions must be taken on tax and spending. How dire is the UK ...
Government U-turns and the blame game
29 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Prime Minister Boris Johnson made yet another abrupt policy change this week to get pupils in England back to school. Are the wrong people in governme...
Will Boris Johnson move from chairman to chief executive?
22 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It has been an embarrassing week for the Johnson government, as education secretary Gavin Williamson was forced into a U-turn on exam results. Will th...
Ed Davey on the Lib Dem’s radical reform agenda
19 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest from our summer interview series, Sebastian Payne talks to Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat leadership candidate, about why he thinks the part...
Weighing the cost of a historic recession
15 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The UK is in its deepest recession on record, official data showed this week. Not only does Britain have the worst coronavirus death toll in Europe, b...
Tracking the virus before schools return
08 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson’s government has been warned by the opposition that it has less than a month to fix the test, track and trace system to get pupils bac...
Sajid Javid’s verdict on the Johnson government
05 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest from our summer interview series, former UK chancellor Sajid Javid joins Sebastian Payne for a discussion on whether the government has ...
Lockdown tightens in the north
01 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Prime Minister Boris Johnson put a brake on the reopening of parts of the UK, as cases of coronavirus began to surge again. Will these localised lockd...
Russian meddling and Scottish independence
25 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The long-awaited report on Russian interference in British politics was finally released this week. Although it is no smoking gun, what should Westmin...
Amber Rudd on why PM is getting it wrong on equality and Brexit
22 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Former home secretary Amber Rudd finds the state of the Conservative party "devastating” and "embarrassing". In the second episode of a special inte...
Downing Street vs the Conservative party
18 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Number 10 found itself at odds with its own MPs this week, as its plan to install former minister Chris Grayling as chair of the intelligenc...
Sunak's snacks to save the economy
11 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Chancellor Rishi Sunak set out a £30bn plan to save British jobs this week, with a big boost for pubs and restaurants, but will it be enough to stem ...
Jeremy Hunt on the lessons of Covid-19
08 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In the first episode of a special summer interview series, Sebastian Payne talks to Jeremy Hunt, former health secretary and chair of the health selec...
Boris the builder and the UK’s offer to Hong Kong
04 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The FT politics podcast has relaunched as 'Payne's Politics' and in this first episode presenter Sebastian Payne and his guests analyse Boris Johnson'...
The great British unlocking, plus RLB and Sedwill are out
27 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson announced this week that July 4 would be the UK’s Independence Day, when swaths of the economy would reopen. But is the prime minister...
U-turns on free school meals and tracking app, No10 wades further into culture war
20 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson caved in to Marcus Rashford’s campaign to provide free school meals over the summer holidays, but why did it take so long? No 10 respo...
Conservative anger grows over Covid crisis, and should statues be pulled down?
13 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tory ministers and MPs were furious this week at Downing Street’s refusal to ease the 2m social distancing rule to boost the ailing economy. Will Bo...
Quarantine fallout, queueing in parliament, chaos at the top and the UK’s offer to Hong Kong
06 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson’s government found itself confused this week about why it was introducing a 14-day quarantine for all arrivals in the UK. Ministers an...
The battle to save Dominic Cummings and the launch of test and trace
30 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Westminster has been engulfed by the extraordinary row over Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings and whether he broke the UK’s lockdown ...
School wars, tracing app woes, Boris Johnson’s health charge U-turn and back to Brexit
23 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The government found itself in a mess this week over whether schools can return on June 1, with teaching unions and local authorities arguing it is no...
Johnson’s easing plan begins, mixed messaging and the rising cost of furlough
16 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson revealed his gradual plan for taking the UK out of lockdown, but his government’s new strategy was undermined by confused messages. Wh...
Slowly easing the lockdown, rising costs and how Keir Starmer will lead Labour
09 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson will finally set his exit strategy this weekend, but any changes will be gradual and limited. Why is the prime minister reluctant to mov...
Boris Johnson returns, lifting the lockdown with the R rate and Britain’s alarming death rate
02 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The prime minister returned to Downing Street this week and began to set out how the lockdown will end. Why is Johnson relying on the science and the ...
Coronavirus latest: hitting 100k daily tests, tracing our contacts and Boris Johnson returns
25 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The UK government is confident of reaching its target for daily Covid-19 tests by the end of April, but why is it still struggling to use its capacity...
Coronavirus latest: Lockdown extended, exit strategies at home and in Europe and Brexit delay ruled out
18 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Dominic Raab, standing in for Boris Johnson while the prime minister recovers from Covid-19, announced this week another three weeks of social distanc...
Coronavirus latest: Boris Johnson in hospital, a route for our lockdown and Keir Starmer’s first week
10 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The health of the prime minister has dominated this week, as the prime minister was admitted to intensive care suffering from Covid-19. Can foreign se...
Coronavirus latest: Struggles with testing, the blame game begins and Labour’s new leader
04 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The coronavirus crisis deepened this week as Boris Johnson’s government battled to increase the levels of testing, or explain why the UK is having s...
Coronavirus: Britain in lockdown, Johnson tests positive, Sunak's help for self-employed
27 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The prime minister addressed the nation and put Britain in lockdown at the beginning of the week after persuasion alone proved failed to keep people a...
Coronavirus latest: Johnson’s U-turn, Sunak’s fiscal stimulus and a London lockdown
20 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Prime Minister Boris Johnson significantly upped the UK’s action to tackle coronavirus this week with stringent new social distancing measures, whil...
Rishi Sunak’s debut Budget as coronavirus ramps up
14 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The new chancellor delivered his first Budget this week and pulled off a complicated, uncertain fiscal event. Has he defined what Johnsonism is? How d...
Dealing with coronavirus, the collapse of Flybe and Priti Patel v the civil service
07 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The rapid spread of coronavirus has dominated this week's political agenda, as Boris Johnson tried to grapple with the crisis. Has the government...
Q&A on Scotland, Ireland, Boris Johnson, on business and more
29 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The second part of our first live podcast from Bracken House. Our panel answers questions from listeners on whether we’re heading for a united Irela...
Brexit mandates, civil service wars, the Budget and Labour leadership
29 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The first part of our first live podcast from Bracken House. We discuss the UK and EU’s mandates for the negotiations and whether the talks could co...
Brexit hostilities resume, and a new immigration system unveiled
22 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The UK and the EU presented somewhat different approaches to the Brexit trade talks this week, with Brussels and London disputing what kind of deal ca...
Sajid Javid quits, Rishi Sunak rises, and the all-new cabinet
15 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson’s first major cabinet reshuffle did not go to plan this week, as Sajid Javid abruptly quit as chancellor over a row about his advisers...
The next opening salvo of Brexit, a crisis for the SNP
08 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The UK and the EU unveiled their mandates for the trade talks this week, setting out the dividing lines for striking a deal this year. Are the sides i...
Brexit day finally arrives, and will Boris Johnson back HS2?
01 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The UK has left the EU, three and a half years after the referendum result. What has been the mood leading up to departure day, will anything act...
Chancellor Sajid Javid talks up the economy, and what’s next after Brexit Day
25 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
UK chancellor Sajid Javid has been in Davos with the world's rich and powerful this week, talking up the UK economy post-Brexit. Is there good news on...
What the EU Brexit negotiations might bring, and how the Labour leadership race is hotting up
18 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What line is Brussels likely to take in the next phase of talks now Prime Minister Boris Johnson has his mandate to act tough? Keir Starmer is ahead i...
Keir Starmer leads the Labour leadership race, Boris Johnson hits his first Brexit obstacle
11 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The contest to succeed Jeremy Corbyn is well underway, with Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long Bailey in poll position. Can any of the other candidates hal...
Interview special: James Blitz
04 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After 28 years at the FT, Whitehall editor James Blitz looks back on his time as political editor and defence editor, and the stories he has covered -...
Interview special: Lionel Barber
28 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After 14 years of editing the Financial Times, Lionel Barber discusses British politics over the last three decades - including the fall of Margaret T...
Another Queen’s Speech, another Brexit vote - plus Labour leadership latest
21 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Parliament returned this week and Boris Johnson delivered on his election pledge of voting on Brexit legislation before Christmas. We discuss what lie...
Election 2019: Boris Johnson's crushing victory for the Tories
13 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
With a majority of 80, Boris Johnson has delivered the Conservative party’s best performance in three decades. With such a significant mandate, the ...
Midweek update: the final campaign days
11 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson endured some of the most difficult days of the campaign to date, as he struggled to deal with an NHS crisis in Leeds. Will it knock him ...
Election week four: Boris Johnson dodges the BBC, Labour’s minority government plans, more reports from the stump
07 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The last full week of the UK’s election campaign was dominated by Boris Johnson’s failure to turn up to an interview with Andrew Neil, yet another...
Midweek update: Conservative nervousness
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As the campaign enters the final week, the Conservative party is eager to ensure its lead is not knocked off course. Prime Minister Boris Johnson must...
Election week three: trouble for Labour, the big poll and tales from the stump
30 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The UK's general election continued as the opposition Labour party struggled with anti-Semitism and its economic platform. A major new poll sugge...
Midweek update: Labour enters choppy waters on racism and economics
27 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
An unprecedented intervention from the UK’s chief rabbi has knocked Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign off course. A disastrous BBC interview also raised qu...
Week two of the election - Labour's radical manifesto and on the road in marginal seats
23 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The second week saw Labour propose sweeping tax and spend changes, the Liberal Democrats struggle to make an impact and the inconclusive first TV...
Midweek update: First TV debate, Lib Dem and Labour manifestos
20 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn survived their first head-to-head encounter but neither candidate to be prime minister scored major points or made muc...
First week of the election, Labour's big broadband pledge
16 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The first week of campaigning is over, but none of the parties have made much progress. Boris Johnson struggled with the floods, Nigel Farage tie...
Midweek update: the Brexit party's dilemma
13 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Nigel Farage's decision to stand down his candidates in Tory-held seats was intended to help the Conservatives, but should he stand them down in Labou...
Shaky election start for Tories, and ripping up spending rules
09 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The first week of the election did not go to plan for the Conservatives, as their campaign was beset by gaffes and mistakes. Can Boris Johnson get bac...
Boris Johnson calls the election, moderate Tories flee
02 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The prime minister finally succeeded in calling a general election this week, so Britain is heading to the polls on December 12. How is the campaign g...
Boris Johnson's tumultuous Brexit week, another attempt at an election
26 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The prime minister introduced legislation to parliament this week to deliver Brexit. It may have passed a vote in principle, but the government's rapi...
Boris Johnson's new Brexit deal: what’s in it, how it was struck and will it pass parliament
18 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After a week of intense diplomacy with the EU, Boris Johnson brokered a new withdrawal agreement - without the troublesome Irish border backstop but w...
The Supreme Court's historic decision on prorogation, Labour and Tory conferences
14 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The highest court in Britain ruled that Boris Johnson's decision to shut down parliament was unlawful, with parliament unexpectedly returning this wee...
The big Brexit breakthrough? And is Downing Street dysfunctional?
14 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After months of stalemate, a Brexit deal suddenly became increasingly possible after an unlikely breakthrough between Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar o...
Boris’ big Brexit proposal and are the Tories ready for an election?
05 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
As the Conservative’s annual conference came to a close in Manchester, Boris Johnson made his bold play on Brexit - proposing the long-awaited ideas...
Boris Johnson v the Supreme Court and Lib Dems v Labour
22 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Brexit returned to the Supreme Court this week as judges and lawyers debated whether Boris Johnson legally prorogued parliament earlier this month. We...
Can Boris Johnson pull a Brexit deal out of the hat, and what excitement will the party conferences bring?
14 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The government is accused of not doing enough preparation to rescue a deal but there are rumours of movement on the Northern Ireland backstop. Plus, a...
Boris loses control, what happens next and Labour’s plans for government
07 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The prime minister lost control of his Brexit strategy this week, as parliament forced no deal off the table, 21 Tory MPs rebelled and were ejected fr...
Boris Johnson prorogues parliament, what happens next?
31 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The prime minister announced plans to shut down parliament for five weeks this autumn to thwart efforts to stymie his Brexit strategy. Was it wrong, c...
Boris Johnson meets EU leaders, and the latest no-deal warnings
24 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The prime minister set off on his first visit to world leaders, meeting Angela Merkel in Germany and Emmanuel Macron in France. What was his Brexit me...
Prime Minister Jeremy Corbyn's caretaker government?
17 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Labour leader announced plans this week to form a temporary government to avoid a no-deal Brexit, appealing to other opposition MPs to back his ef...
Will Boris Johnson's no-deal Brexit plan work, and is Labour backing the end of the UK?
10 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The prime minister and his aides have made it known they’re ready to force through leaving the EU with or without a deal, even if MPs collapse his g...
The Boris bounce: the polls look good for PM Johnson, but what about the pound, the threat to the Union and defeat in Brecon?
03 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We look back at a mixed first full week in the job for Boris Johnson, as he toured Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland against a backdrop of a slump ...
What to expect from Boris Johnson, and how the opposition is reacting to the new prime minister
27 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The key appointments by Britain's new Conservative prime minister and what we're learning about his priorities and strategy, especially - of course - ...
Out goes May, Johnson and the kipper and Brexit and the new EU top team
20 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Theresa May's last days in No 10 - is she going with a bang or a whimper? And who will be the next prime minister, and what do we know about him? Plus...
The ousting of Kim Darroch and Corbyn's latest travails on anti-Semitism and Brexit
13 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The resignation of the UK's ambassador to the US this week caused a huge stir in Westminster, thanks to a leak of confidential diplomatic cables. Why ...
Tory leadership voting starts, and the prospect of an early election
06 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The ballot papers have gone out to Conservative members for the leadership election and voting has begun. Boris Johnson is leading in the polls, Jerem...
Boris vs Hunt gets personal, plus the fiscal and immigration plans of the next PM
29 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The skirmishes between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt became more personal, with clashes over character and scrutiny. Is the foreign secretary gaining ...
It's Boris vs Hunt and Labour gently shifts towards Remain
22 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Four candidates were knocked out of the Conservative party leadership race this week: Michael Gove, Sajid Javid, Rory Stewart and Dominic Raab. Does t...
Out goes Matt Hancock (and three others), and can parliament stop 'no deal'?
15 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the first round of voting in the Conservative leadership contest, Boris Johnson confirmed his place as the clear frontrunner. Matt Hancock, Esther ...
Labour triumphs in Peterborough, Tory leadership race officially begins
08 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Brexit party came close but failed to win its first seat in Westminster. What lessons are there for Labour and the Tories? Plus, we discuss the la...
Boris vs Gove round two, and Trump comes to Britain
01 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Jeremy Hunt lost momentum in the Tory leadership contest this week, suggesting that the final race might end up being Boris Johnson versus Michael Gov...
Theresa May resigns
25 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The prime minister announced her intention to resign on Friday, following a dramatic week in Westminster where a final Brexit speech misfired and brou...
Theresa May's succession, and Labour's opportunities
18 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Theresa May has finally agreed to step down, clearing the way for a leadership contest this summer, against the background of the European Parliament ...
How long will Theresa May last, and will Labour back UBI?
11 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Anger is growing in the Conservative party against Theresa May, but MPs have failed to move against her. Will next week be a decisive moment for the p...
Gavin Williamson is sacked, and the yellow bird takes flight
04 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Defence secretary Gavin Williamson was summarily sacked by Theresa May, following a leak inquiry on the National Security Council. Can we be sure he w...
Investigating the Huawei leak, Change UK launches its Euro campaign
27 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
An unprecedented leak from the National Security Council this week about the UK's 5G network has prompted much angst and a leak inquiry at the top of ...
Euro election campaign begins, Sajid Javid makes his leadership pitch
20 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Westminster is in recess, but campaigning has begun for the unexpected European Parliament elections on May 23. Will the Brexit party and TIGs surpass...
May delays Brexit again - but how long can she hang on?
13 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The UK did not leave the EU (again) this week. Instead, exit day has been pushed back until the end of October. Where does this leave Brexit? Is the p...
May’s offer to work with Corbyn and Brexit is delayed again
06 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The prime minister concluded a long cabinet debate this week by deciding to work with the Labour party, thus annoying many Tories. Will they broker a ...
Third defeat for Theresa May's deal, the PM vows to bow out
30 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Theresa May brought her Brexit deal for a third vote this week. Once again it failed to get through. Where does this leave Brexit? Is the UK heading f...
Brexit is officially delayed, May changes her tune and no-deal chances rise
23 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
After a tumultuous week in Westminster, Britain's departure from the EU has been delayed until at least April 12, while Theresa May tried to pin the b...
Theresa May's Brexit deal fails again, total chaos ensues
16 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The prime minister brokered legal tweaks to her Brexit deal and brought it back for MPs to vote on. It failed to pass once again. We discuss all the C...
Back to Brexit stalemate and tackling knife crime
09 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Geoffrey Cox spent much of this week in Brussels but failed to negotiate any kind of Brexit breakthrough. With another meaningful vote due next week, ...