Shows / Political Fix
Political Fix
The Financial Times takes you into the corridors of power to unwrap, analyse and debate British politics with a regular lineup of FT correspondents and informed commentators. New episodes available every Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
- Political Fix
Starmer in a spin as the ‘Dark Lord’ bites the dust
After the toe-curling revelations about Lord Peter Mandelson’s connections with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the ambassador’s departure seemed…
- Political Fix
Bonus ep: How the UK is navigating the Trump era
US President Donald Trump is coming to the UK next week. What can we expect from his visit? And where do things stand between the US and the UK? In this…
- Political Fix
Rayner, Reeves and Reform
It wasn’t the start to the new parliamentary term that Prime Minister Keir Starmer hoped for. His insistence that his focus is now on “delivery, delivery…
- Political Fix
Farage, flags and the ghosts of Labour’s past
Just as Sir Keir Starmer was stealing a few days' summer holiday, Reform unveiled its immigration policy, former Labour heavyweights called for a withdrawal…
- Political Fix
The mess in the NHS
England’s NHS is in a ‘critical and deteriorating condition’ - those are the words of Lord Darzi who investigated the state of the NHS for the new Labour…
- Political Fix
Starmer's superpower: soft power?
Maga arrived in Chipping Norton this week, heralding an intense round of British diplomacy ahead of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska on Friday. Ukraine is top…
- Political Fix
Introducing Swamp Notes: The real cost of gutting USAID
Political Fix is on a break this week. In its absence, we're taking the opportunity to introduce you to its sister podcast, Swamp Notes, the weekly US politics…
- Political Fix
Why Starmer changed his mind about Palestinian statehood
Prime Minister Keir Starmer plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the UN General Assembly. The decision comes after some Labour MPs and…
- Political Fix
One year in opposition
As MPs head back to their constituencies for the summer, the Political Fix panel reflects on the year in opposition for Kemi Badenoch and her Conservative…
- Political Fix
The Afghan files: the inside story on the catastrophic leak
One of the gravest security lapses in UK history came to light this week after a judge lifted a superinjunction on a catastrophic data leak that could have…
- Political Fix
Resetting Franco-British relations: the cross-channel contract
Emmanuel Macron made his state visit to the UK this week – the first EU leader to do so since Brexit. It heralded a reset between France and Britain, dubbed…
- Political Fix
A year of Keir
This week marks a year of Keir Starmer’s government. But if Labour was expecting to celebrate the anniversary – it didn't pan out that way. Despite claiming a…
- Political Fix
Starmer’s welfare woes
Sir Keir Starmer faced a huge rebellion from within his own party this week after scores of MPs opposed changes to make it tougher to collect some disability…
- Political Fix
Starmer on standby
Will he? Won’t he? President Donald Trump has given little indication as to whether America will join in the conflict between Israel and Iran. So where does…
- Political Fix
Reeves sets Labour’s course – but what will it deliver?
Labour’s long-awaited spending review dropped this week. Rachel Reeves unveiled funding settlements for government departments – and a newly upbeat tone after…
- Political Fix
Facing down a fiscal firestorm
UK chancellor Rachel Reeves has had an action-packed week. She made a U-turn on winter fuel payments, announced plans to spend billions of pounds on new…
Political FixComing soon: The Wolf-Krugman Exchange
In a special six-part series of The Economics Show, Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman discuss…
- Political Fix
Who’s afraid of Nigel Farage?
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Reform party leader Nigel Farage clashed on economic issues this week. Farage said his party was the champion of the working…
- Political Fix
Is Labour’s post-Brexit reset a victory or a betrayal?
The UK and EU announced a historic deal to ‘reset’ their relationship this week. Keir Starmer called the deal a “win-win”, while a “gobsmacked” Kemi Badenoch…
- Political Fix
Labour's immigration crackdown
It’s been another turbulent week for Labour after Keir Starmer announced a crackdown on legal migration. The prime minister gave what has since become a…
- Political Fix
Ask Political Fix: Trade, tax and leftwing pacts
Our first Q&A special episode is finally here! You sent in questions, now our panel answers them. Is the UK-US trade deal worth the paper it’s signed on? Could…
- Political Fix
Local elections special: end of the two-party duopoly?
This week, we’ve seen Reform UK trounce Labour and the Conservatives across England in local elections. Nigel Farage’s party has secured a fifth MP, clinched…
- Political Fix
Reform on the march? Our local elections guide
Ahead of England’s local elections next week, the Political Fix team pick the races to watch and what’s at stake for the main parties, as voters head to the…
- Political Fix
What is a ‘woman’ in law? The Supreme Court ruling
The UK Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling this week about the legal definition of a woman in equality legislation. Judges ruled that a woman is someone who…
- Political Fix
Markets or Trump: who’s in charge?
The markets have gone haywire since Donald Trump’s announcement — and then pause— of a host of new US tariffs. Host Lucy Fisher is joined by Political Fix…
- Political Fix
Trump’s trade war: trouble ahead for Britain
Donald Trump has shaken up the global economy with his seismic new tariffs this week. UK exports to the US will now face a 10 per cent levy – less than many…
- Political Fix
Doom, gloom and not much headroom: Spring Statement
Rachel Reeves was forced to slash spending to balance the books in her Spring Statement this week. Welfare spending will be cut more deeply than initially…
- Political Fix
Austerity redux? Spring Statement lookahead
It’s crunch time for chancellor Rachel Reeves next Wednesday, when she will present her Spring Statement to parliament. Downgraded growth forecasts and deep…
- Political Fix
Starmer’s ‘Project Chainsaw’: the NHS, Whitehall, welfare
“The world’s largest quango is scrapped” – that’s how the government framed the abolition of the NHS management body this week. It was the latest target in Sir…
- Political Fix
Will Starmer sink or swim in Trump’s world?
Sir Keir Starmer has won plaudits from across the political spectrum for his handling of the rapidly growing rift between the US, Europe and Ukraine – but can…
- Political Fix
The Starmer-Trump love-in
Donald Trump showered praise on Keir Starmer during the UK prime minister’s visit to the White House this week, describing him as ‘special’, a ‘beautiful man’…
- Political Fix
‘America is now an adversary’
The future of Ukraine and the defence of Europe will dominate when Keir Starmer jets out to the White House for talks with Donald Trump next week. Can the UK…
- Political Fix
The right to die: who should have the final say?
The bitter and emotional wrangling over the assisted dying bill reached new heights in parliament this week, following proposed changes to a key safeguard. Is…
- Political Fix
Trump and Reform: Is US-style populism set to sweep the UK?
Donald Trump has stunned the world with a raft of extraordinary interventions this week, prompting Keir Starmer to keep his head down. But what happens when…
- Political Fix
Growth – and damn the consequences?
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has sought to place rocket-boosters under the UK economy this week – with a vow to prioritise growth over the environment or nimbyism…
- Political Fix
Trump turbulence: How should Labour play it?
Donald Trump returned to the White House this week, with a host of radical plans that threaten to heavily affect the UK – spanning tariffs, the Ukraine war…
- Political Fix
Reeves vs the markets
Turmoil in the bond markets has caused turbulence for Rachel Reeves this month, with grumbles about her performance – and that of the UK economy – growing…
- Political Fix
Musk and the new political playbook
Elon Musk’s hostility towards the UK government, and Sir Keir Starmer in particular, continues to escalate – prompting concerns he’s been radicalised by his…
- Political Fix
2025: Labour’s year of pain?
After a rocky start in office for Labour, the next 12 months will prove pivotal for the UK government. Sir Keir Starmer must grapple with dismal popularity…
- Political Fix
Quizmas special: Political Fix’s nerd out!
Who threatened to launch an aquatic assault on the Dutch town of Leiden? And which political candidate pledged to force water bosses to take a dip in British…
- Political Fix
Farage: more popular than the PM
Reform UK is now beating Labour in one pollster’s survey, while party leader Nigel Farage is Ladbrokes’ favourite to succeed Keir Starmer as the next prime…
- Political Fix
Will Starmer’s new milestones become millstones?
Sir Keir Starmer unveiled six fresh pledges as part of a major government reset this week, which included diluting a green target and redefining his economic…
- Political Fix
Assisted dying: The vote
MPs will vote on assisted dying this week for the first time in almost a decade. There are ramifications for the NHS, questions over legal oversight, and…
- Political Fix
Labour’s beef with farmers
After winning swaths of rural seats in the general election, Labour’s relationship with the countryside has nosedived, amid a row over the government’s plan to…
- Political Fix
EU or US? UK plays piggy in the middle
As Donald Trump makes his first appointments, speculation in Whitehall grows: will the UK move closer to the US or cosy back up with the EU?The FT’s Lucy…
- Political Fix
The UK in Trump’s world
Despite past criticism of Donald Trump, Sir Keir Starmer has sent ‘hearty’ praise to the president-elect for his victory this week. But what will transatlantic…
- Political Fix
Live Budget special: How will the UK secure growth?
It’s been two days since chancellor Rachel Reeves put a £40bn tax increase at the heart of a plan to fix the country’s “broken” finances and public services…
- Political Fix
New chancellor, new rules
Rachel Reeves has rewritten her fiscal rules on the eve of her seismic first Budget next week. She says her new borrowing rule will help get Britain building…
- Political Fix
Cabinet fightback: the revolt over spending
Rachel Reeves’s plans for a tough spending round later this month have sparked a fierce revolt among a raft of cabinet ministers. But will their protests make…
- Political Fix
Martin Wolf on the UK economy: ‘Why I’m worried’
What kind of economy did Labour inherit this summer, and how does Britain measure up to international comparators? Political Fix host Lucy Fisher sits down…
- Political Fix
100 days of Labour: Starmer’s stuttering start
As Labour reaches 100 days in government we take stock of how Sir Keir Starmer and his team have performed. Host Lucy Fisher is joined by Political Fix…
- Political Fix
‘Let’s be more normal’ – and rival Tory strategies
Who’s up and who’s down in the Tory leadership race after the four-day beauty parade at the party’s conference in Birmingham? Host Lucy Fisher and Political…
- Political Fix
Starmer’s ‘weird’ week: from Liverpool to New York
Labour’s conference in Liverpool should have been a celebratory event after its landslide win in the July election. Political editor George Parker, standing in…
- Political Fix
Is the shine coming off Saint Starmer?
A growing controversy around Lord Waheed Alli’s donations to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria risks tarnishing the new government, while…
- Political Fix
A terminal diagnosis for the NHS?
A government-commissioned review has found the NHS on life support. Can Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer succeed where his predecessors have failed in turning…
- Political Fix
Labour and business: friends or foes?
With a planned overhaul of employment law imminent and moves to renationalise rail companies, we’re asking whether Labour has got it in for business. The FT’s…
- Political Fix
Labour’s descent into ‘miserabilism’
A 'painful' Budget awaits this autumn and things will get 'worse before they get better', Sir Keir Starmer warned this week. But is Labour taking a risk…
- Political Fix
Swamp Notes: Democrats find a feeling at the DNC
Democrats from across the US gathered in Chicago for their presidential convention this week, promising to move past the Donald Trump-era of American politics…
- Political Fix
How do you solve a problem like Elon Musk?
The billionaire owner of X, Elon Musk, has launched attacks on the UK government following the riots. So, how should Keir Starmer’s government deal with the…
- Political Fix
‘A fractious and divided country’
Sir Keir Starmer has told police to stay on ‘high alert’ for more disorder, as rafts of rioters receive lengthy jail sentences in Britain’s courts. Has the…