Keir Starmer’s last stand – will Labour force him out?

Peter Murrell's mafia-style SNP & could the Reform-Restore feud hand Burnham Makerfield?

This week: the Peter Murrell scandal and the collapse of the SNP’s moral authority. After Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband and the party’s former chief executive pleaded guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from SNP funds, Michael and Madeline ask what this reveals about the party that dominated Scottish politics for more than a decade. Was this simply one man’s disgrace – or a symptom of a political machine that had grown too powerful, too closed and too complacent? Also on the podcast: the growing split on the right. As Rupert Lowe’s Restore threatens to divide the Reform vote in the Makerfield by-election, could Andy Burnham be saved by a battle between Nigel Farage and his former allies? And finally: the rise of the well-worriers. From Zoe and Oura rings to sleep scores, glucose monitors and heart-rate variability, the middle classes are no longer just trying to be healthy – they are trying to measure every flicker of human existence. Is all this self-tracking making us fitter, or just more neurotic? Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree [https://www.spectator.co.uk/follow-your-podcasts/] to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts [https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/]. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

If Burnham loses Makerfield, Labour is finished – Maurice Glasman | Part two

Maurice Glasman returns for the second part of his conversation with Michael and Maddie – this time to ask whether the Makerfield by-election could write Labour’s obituary notice. As Andy Burnham prepares to take on Reform in one of Labour’s old heartlands, Maurice explains why this contest will reveal whether working-class affection for the party still survives. He discusses Nigel Farage’s rise, why Reform has been able to make such deep inroads into Labour territory and whether Burnham can really persuade voters that he speaks for them. They also discuss the future of the Labour leadership, why Maurice thinks Shabana Mahmood is ‘head and shoulders’ above the other contenders and whether the party can escape what he calls its ‘progressive palsy’. Plus: the Greens, the failures of universities and Maurice’s advice to Kemi Badenoch on how the Conservatives can recover. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree [https://www.spectator.co.uk/follow-your-podcasts/] to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts [https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/]. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Maurice Glasman: how the progressives killed Labour | Part one

Maurice Glasman, Labour peer and founder of Blue Labour, has spent years warning that Labour has lost touch with the people it was created to represent. In the first of a two-part conversation on Quite right!, he joins Michael and Maddie to explain why he thinks Keir Starmer’s project was never really Labour at all – and why the party’s working-class traditions have been replaced by progressive liberalism. They discuss Labour’s roots in community, sovereignty and the dignity of work; how Brexit exposed the divide between Labour and liberalism; and whether Starmer’s response to Southport marked a turning point. Maurice also sets out what a genuinely Labour government might have done differently on immigration, welfare, industrial strategy, defence and AI – and why Reform’s rise should not come as a surprise. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree [https://www.spectator.co.uk/follow-your-podcasts/] to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts [https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/]. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Forget Wes, this is who we really need as PM

In this week’s Q&A: as Wes Streeting finally breaks cover, which former prime minister would you parachute into No. 10 to save the country? Michael makes the case for Palmerstonian vigour, while Maddie weighs up Lord Salisbury and Pitt the Younger – and asks whether almost any past occupant of Downing Street would be preferable to the current one. Also this week: is Britain being dragged back towards the EU? After Nick Clegg suggested Britain should rejoin a reformed European Union by 2036, Michael and Maddie ask whether the Brexit question is really settled – and whether Keir Starmer is trying to realign with Brussels by stealth. Plus: Jilly Cooper and the brilliance of Tory-coded fiction. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree [https://www.spectator.co.uk/follow-your-podcasts/] to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts [https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/]. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Keir Starmer’s last stand – will Labour force him out?

This week: Keir Starmer’s leadership is in crisis. As pressure builds on the Prime Minister, Michael and Madeline ask whether Starmer can survive the rebellion now gathering pace in his own party. They discuss the runners and riders who could replace him, from Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner to Andy Burnham – and the risks each would pose for Labour. Could Burnham find a safe seat? Would Streeting trigger open warfare with the left? And would a change of leader mean anything beyond a change of name? Produced by Oscar Edmondson. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree [https://www.spectator.co.uk/follow-your-podcasts/] to find out more. For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts [https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/]. Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.