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
Labour goes to war (again)
The opposition Labour party was consumed by infighting this week after Sir Keir Starmer botched a shadow cabinet reshuffle, leading to questions about whether…
- Political Fix
The Tories conquer Hartlepool
Thursday's local elections resulted in gains for Boris Johnson's Conservatives, including a historic win in the Hartlepool by-election. What does this mean for…
- Political Fix
Cash for curtains, curtains for Arlene Foster
Boris Johnson is facing three inquiries into the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat. Why hasn't the prime minister offered a clear explanation of what…
- Political Fix
'Favours for chums', and the football debacle
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has accused the prime minister of sleaze after allegations that friends can text him seeking special treatment. Is lobbying…
- Political Fix
Greensill, Cameron and Whitehall's revolving door
The collapse of Greensill Capital and the involvement of former prime minister David Cameron have raised serious questions about the UK's lobbying regime. We…
- Political Fix
Britain's vaccine setback
Britain’s vaccination programme suffered a setback this week over the use of the AstraZeneca jab — the workhorse of the UK immunisation effort — among younger…
- Political Fix
UK vs EU vaccine tussle
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 to…
- Political Fix
AstraZeneca vaccine tribulations
The UK encountered the first bumps in its vaccine roll out programme, as the government warned supplies of the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab would drop significantly…
- Political Fix
Harry and Meghan, and the government
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 issues for…
- Political Fix
Sunak's spend now, tax later Budget
Chancellor Rishi Sunak presented his second Budget this week, tearing up Conservative economic orthodoxy with billions of pounds of spending and tax rises…
- Political Fix
UK Budget preview and Salmond vs Sturgeon
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. Will he…
- Political Fix
Data, not dates, for easing lockdown
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 map next…
- Political Fix
Held in hotels and is Starmer stalling?
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 are enough…
- Political Fix
Vaccine triumphs and the lockdown question
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…
- Political Fix
A plan for exiting Covid lockdown
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 businesses due to…
- Political Fix
Biden, Boris and Brexit
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 shared…
- Political Fix
Enforcing lockdown as vaccines ramp up
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. Are enough…
- Political Fix
Back to national lockdown
UK prime minister Boris Johnson put England into its third lockdown this week, as the new strain of coronavirus risked the health service being overwhelmed…
- Political Fix
Brexit has arrived
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 Johnson…
- Political Fix
Brexit: the moment of truth
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, we…
- Political Fix
Time running out for Brexit trade deal
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 the process…
- Political Fix
Covid vaccine arrives, Douglas Ross on the future of the UK
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 UK ready…
- Political Fix
Rishi's spending review and fears for new tiers
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 foreign…
- Political Fix
Why Johnson's splashing cash on climate and defence
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 enough to…
- Political Fix
What Cummings' exit means for Downing Street
In a dramatic week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson lost two of his key aides, chief adviser Dominic Cummings and director of communications Lee Cain, both senior…
- Political Fix
What Biden means for Johnson
With Joe Biden on the cusp of becoming the 46th US president, how will Boris Johnson recalibrate and repair transatlantic relations? We discuss whether the two…
- Political Fix
Labour's day of reckoning
Keir Starmer made the dramatic move to suspend Jeremy Corbyn from the Labour party this week, following an investigation into anti-Semitism. Is a new and…
- Political Fix
Boris vs Burnham
The prime minister found himself at odds with northern leaders this week, as disputes grew over localised coronavirus restrictions. Is Boris Johnson facing a…
- Political Fix
Gloves come off over coronavirus
Boris Johnson's coronavirus strategy was yet again tested to breaking point this week, as Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer and leaders of northern English…
- Political Fix
Coronavirus clampdowns go regional
Tension over coronavirus rules pervaded local and national UK politics this week as the north of England faced further restrictions, and pubs and restaurants…
- Political Fix
Tories dream of Terra Australis
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 — put the…
- Political Fix
Coronavirus returns as Chancellor Sunak walks a tightrope
Prime Minister Boris Johnson introduced further restrictions to halt the spread of Covid-19 in the UK but faced a backlash from Conservative MPs. Chancellor…
- Political Fix
Tory tribes go back to war
Boris Johnson found himself in another parliamentary stand-off over Brexit legislation this week, and eventually found a compromise with rebellious…
- Political Fix
Brexit deal or no deal?
Boris Johnson's government is bringing in a new law — the internal market bill — that threatens to undermine the UK's withdrawal agreement with the EU. Will…
- Political Fix
Bridget Phillipson on Labour's long-term strategy
In the latest from our special interview series, the FT's Sebastian Payne talks to Bridget Phillipson, Labour's shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, about…
- Political Fix
Sunak's tax dilemma
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 economy…
- Political Fix
Government U-turns and the blame game
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 government making…
- Political Fix
Will Boris Johnson move from chairman to chief executive?
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 the prime…
- Political Fix
Ed Davey on the Lib Dem’s radical reform agenda
In the latest from our summer interview series, Sebastian Payne talks to Ed Davey, Liberal Democrat leadership candidate, about why he thinks the party’s…
- Political Fix
Weighing the cost of a historic recession
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, but the…
- Political Fix
Tracking the virus before schools return
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 back into…
- Political Fix
Sajid Javid’s verdict on the Johnson government
In the latest from our summer interview series, former UK chancellor Sajid Javid joins Sebastian Payne for a discussion on whether the government has the right…
- Political Fix
Lockdown tightens in the north
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 lockdowns…
- Political Fix
Russian meddling and Scottish independence
The long-awaited report on Russian interference in British politics was finally released this week. Although it is no smoking gun, what should Westminster do…
- Political Fix
Amber Rudd on why PM is getting it wrong on equality and Brexit
Former home secretary Amber Rudd finds the state of the Conservative party "devastating” and "embarrassing". In the second episode of a special interview…
- Political Fix
Downing Street vs the Conservative party
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 intelligence committee…
- Political Fix
Sunak's snacks to save the economy
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 the tide…
- Political Fix
Jeremy Hunt on the lessons of Covid-19
In the first episode of a special summer interview series, Sebastian Payne talks to Jeremy Hunt, former health secretary and chair of the health select…
- Political Fix
Boris the builder and the UK’s offer to Hong Kong
The FT politics podcast has relaunched as 'Payne's Politics' and in this first episode presenter Sebastian Payne and his guests analyse Boris Johnson's plan to…
- Political Fix
The great British unlocking, plus RLB and Sedwill are out
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 moving too…
- Political Fix
U-turns on free school meals and tracking app, No10 wades further into culture war
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 responded by…
- Political Fix
Conservative anger grows over Covid crisis, and should statues be pulled down?
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 Boris Johnson…
- Political Fix
Quarantine fallout, queueing in parliament, chaos at the top and the UK’s offer to Hong Kong
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 and MPs…
- Political Fix
The battle to save Dominic Cummings and the launch of test and trace
Westminster has been engulfed by the extraordinary row over Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings and whether he broke the UK’s lockdown rules. How…
- Political Fix
School wars, tracing app woes, Boris Johnson’s health charge U-turn and back to Brexit
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 not safe…
- Political Fix
Johnson’s easing plan begins, mixed messaging and the rising cost of furlough
Boris Johnson revealed his gradual plan for taking the UK out of lockdown, but his government’s new strategy was undermined by confused messages. Why has…
- Political Fix
Slowly easing the lockdown, rising costs and how Keir Starmer will lead Labour
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 move…
- Political Fix
Boris Johnson returns, lifting the lockdown with the R rate and Britain’s alarming death rate
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 R rate?…
- Political Fix
Coronavirus latest: hitting 100k daily tests, tracing our contacts and Boris Johnson returns
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? Is the…
- Political Fix
Coronavirus latest: Lockdown extended, exit strategies at home and in Europe and Brexit delay ruled out
Dominic Raab, standing in for Boris Johnson while the prime minister recovers from Covid-19, announced this week another three weeks of social distancing. What…