Quite right!: the political Islam debate
Best of the Spectator
The Spectator
4.3 • 826 Ratings
🗓️ 25 March 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Search ‘Quite right!’ wherever you are listening now, to hear the episode in full.
This week: the row over political Islam and a bigger question beneath it. After Nick Timothy’s comments on public prayer in Trafalgar Square caused a political firestorm, Michael and Madeline ask whether Britain can still have an honest debate about faith, free speech and the public square. Where is the line between coexistence and an assertion of dominance – and are politicians too afraid to confront it?
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, this is Madeline Grant, host of Quite Right alongside Michael Gove. |
| 0:04.3 | If you want to hear the latest episode of Quite Right in full, then you can do so on its dedicated podcast channel. |
| 0:10.1 | Just search Quite Right wherever you are listening now. |
| 0:13.1 | Listeners on the best of Spectator playlist can enjoy a section of our discussions, |
| 0:17.0 | but for the full thing, please seek out the Quite Right channel. |
| 0:20.3 | While you're there, click the follow button to never miss an episode. |
| 0:23.4 | And why not give us a rating and review? |
| 0:25.4 | It really helps us out. |
| 0:26.9 | Happy listening. |
| 0:33.7 | Hello and welcome to The Spectator podcast, Quite Right. |
| 0:36.9 | I'm Michael Gove, editor of The Spectator. |
| 0:38.9 | And I'm Madeleine Grant, assistant editor and parliamentary sketchwriter. |
| 0:42.3 | And this week we'll be examining the furority that's been generated by Nick Timothy's comments |
| 0:47.1 | about whether or not Islamic prayer in Trafalgar Square is a form of domination. |
| 0:51.7 | And with the enthronement of a new Archbishop of Canterbury, the first ever female Archbishop of Canterbury, we'll be discussing the future of the Church |
| 0:58.5 | of England. And also we'll be discussing another wannabe female leader, Angela Rainer, |
| 1:03.1 | would she be better than Kyrgyzor? |
| 1:07.2 | Is political Islam trying to dominate our society? This is a debate that has arisen in recent days. |
| 1:13.3 | Ever since the Suffolk MP and Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy put out a tweet |
| 1:19.7 | talking about a public Islamic prayer in Trafalgar Square and referred to it as an act of domination. |
| 1:29.2 | This sparked an enormous ferroarie, |
| 1:34.7 | as you know, and many figures across politics, but particularly within the Labour Party, |
... |
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