Welcome to the Spectator Christmas podcast. I'm Isabel Hardman.

After ups and downs, wins and losses, celebrations and commiserations,

2016 is finally in its twilight hours. We've sat some of the spectators' top staff and contributors down

with a glass of mould wine to steady their nerves as we ask the big questions.

What happened in 2016?

And what's coming in 2017?

First, with an eye fixed firmly back in June, I'm joined by Tim Shipman, the political editor of the Sunday Times and author of All Out War,

Nick Cohen and Spectator editor Fraser Nelson to discuss the first political earthquake of the Sunday Times and author of All Out War, Nick Cohen and Spectator editor Fraser Nelson

to discuss the first political earthquake of the year, Brexit. So Tim, you were writing your book

over the summer in the weeks and months straight after the referendum. How surprised did you find

the members of the Leave camp that they'd actually managed to win? I think the politicians were probably more surprised than some of the backroom boys.

I think Dominic Cummings, he was running Vote Leave, was always fairly confident that he could win

if he could get the politicians to do what he wanted them to do.

But Boris, as we all know, sort of went into it on a little bit of a wing in a prayer,

not necessarily expecting to triumph.

And Michael Gove, as we know, went to bed on referendum night and had it in his head that he might

lose by up to 15 points. So I think everyone was a little bit surprised. And you say in the book

that Michael Gove was actually quite surprised by the fallout personally from his decision to back leave.

Surely a man of his insight and self-awareness shouldn't have been

surprised that David Cameron, for instance, might have been a little bit peeved. Well, I think Aaron Banks

has a phrase about people he dislikes where he says there's nothing so stupid as clever people.

And Michael Gave is one of the cleverest men in Westminster, but I think most people who know him

...