Labour’s ‘levelling up’ agenda – Michael Gove interviews Steve Reed
Coffee House Shots
The Spectator
4.4 • 2.1K Ratings
🗓️ 26 September 2025
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On the eve of Labour’s party conference, the Spectator's editor Michael Gove sits down with Steve Reed MP, the new Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government. The government has announced an historic £5 billion package of funding for 'national renewal' – designed to revive high streets, parks and public spaces. Reed explains how he thinks Labour can win back 'forgotten' communities through building 1.5 million houses through this Parliament, allocating fair funding for councils and devolving more powers to local government. Is this Labour's own 'levelling up' agenda?
Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.
For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.
Contact us: [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The economic tumult of the past month has forced many people to take another look at their finances |
| 0:04.7 | and whether their retirement plans are on track. This is where having an experienced wealth manager |
| 0:09.4 | can make all the difference because it's not just trying to hit a number, it's about planning |
| 0:13.1 | the life and lifestyle that you want to lead. Charles Stanley wealth management can help you chart |
| 0:18.0 | your financial course, guiding you on to when you can retire |
| 0:20.9 | comfortably, as well as how to best pass on your wealth to the next generation, unless you're planning |
| 0:25.1 | to spend it all. For more information, visit www.charshavenstandly.comco.uk today to schedule a free, |
| 0:32.5 | no-obligation call to discuss your situation. And remember, investment involves risk. |
| 0:47.6 | Hello and welcome to the special coffee house shots. I'm Michael Gove. And on the eve of the Labour Party Conference, I'm interviewing Steve Reid, the new Secretary of State at the Ministry for Housing, |
| 0:52.2 | communities and local government. And there's a peak on edge to it for me, because Steve is now in charge of the department, |
| 0:57.6 | which during my misspent youth, I was the Secretary of State Force. Steve, welcome to the |
| 1:03.2 | spectator. It's a great thing to be in charge of, I think, one of the most interesting |
| 1:08.6 | departments in Whitehall. What's your |
| 1:11.1 | particular vision? What are your priorities for your time? Well, it's the second department I've |
| 1:14.6 | been in in government, and it's the second time I've been in a department where you were one of |
| 1:18.7 | the predecessors, Michael. So I'm tracking you around a bit. But it is a fascinating department. |
| 1:23.5 | It's so important to people's experience of everyday life. And it's a place that you can do real |
| 1:29.2 | granular politics, and that interests me. Obviously, my marching orders from the Prime Minister |
| 1:34.9 | is he wants me to get 1.5 million homes built over the course of this Parliament. And we need to do |
| 1:43.2 | that to address the housing crisis. |
| 1:45.0 | So I've had the developers in the first couple of days. I've been talking to some of the |
| 1:50.0 | local authorities about what the barriers might be. And we're putting together an acceleration package |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Spectator, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Spectator and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.