Farewell Sir Gavin, for the third time
Political Fix
Financial Times
4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 12 November 2022
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Rishi Sunak forced Sir Gavin Williamson out from his government this week, the third time the former cabinet minister has been made to quit. Why did Sunak hire the controversial former chief whip in the first place? And what does his departure say about the prime minister's judgment?
Plus, we look ahead to next week's Autumn Statement and where the Treasury's tax and spend axe will fall.
Presented by Sebastian Payne, with chief UK political commentator Robert Shrimsley, deputy opinion editor Miranda Green, chief political correspondent Jim Pickard and special guest Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation.
Produced by Anna Dedhar and Howie Shannon. The sound engineers were Persis Love and Jan Sigswoth.
-Read the latest on https://www.ft.com/world/uk
-Follow @SebastianEPayne
-Subscribe to https://www.ft.com/newsletters
Audio: Sky News / BBC / The Bunker
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This is a paid advertisement from BetterHelp. |
| 0:02.5 | FT Political Fix is brought to you by BetterHelp Therapy Online. |
| 0:06.6 | Life comes with a lot of decisions and it's hard to know the right path sometimes. |
| 0:10.6 | A therapist can help you map out what you really want |
| 0:13.7 | so you can get excited about the future. |
| 0:16.0 | BetterHelp offers convenient, professional online therapy on your schedule |
| 0:20.4 | by phone, chat or video call. |
| 0:22.8 | Get 10% off your first month at betterhelp.com slash political fix |
| 0:27.8 | that's BetterHELP.com slash political fix. |
| 0:33.4 | Rishi Sunak lost the first senior minister of his government this week |
| 0:37.9 | when Sir Gavin Williamson was forced to resign |
| 0:40.9 | following a slew of allegations involving bullying. |
| 0:45.1 | Unequivocally, the behaviour complained off was unacceptable |
| 0:48.6 | and it is absolutely right, it is absolutely right |
| 0:52.4 | that the right honourable gentleman has resigned. |
| 0:55.4 | Welcome to Payne's Politics, your essential insider guide to Westminster |
| 1:02.1 | from the Financial Times, with me Sebastian Payne. |
| 1:06.0 | In this week's episode we'll be delving into the resignation of Williamson |
| 1:10.2 | which you've heard Sunak discuss in the House of Commons there |
| 1:13.6 | why he was hired in the first place and why it was obvious he had to go. |
| 1:18.7 | Plus we'll be looking at what it tells us about the Prime Minister's judgment |
| 1:23.0 | and where the Home Secretary, Suala Barveman will be next to leave. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Financial Times, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Financial Times and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.