Rayner, Reeves and Reform
Political Fix
Financial Times
4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 5 September 2025
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It wasn’t the start to the new parliamentary term that Prime Minister Keir Starmer hoped for. His insistence that his focus is now on “delivery, delivery, delivery” was eclipsed by the furore surrounding the deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, over her tax affairs. To discuss where her precarious position leaves Starmer, plus his attempts to get the economic agenda back on track, host George Parker is joined by political correspondent Anna Gross, FT columnist and author of the daily Inside Politics newsletter Stephen Bush, and FT economics commentator Chris Giles. Plus, as the party conference season kicks off, the team looks at what’s on the menu for Reform UK supporters at their first ever conference.
Follow George on Bluesky or X: @georgewparker.bsky.social, @GeorgeWParker; Stephen @stephenkb; Anna @AnnaSophieGross and Chris @chrisgiles_
Going to the FT Weekend Festival at Kenwood House Gardens in London on Saturday September 6? George and Lucy Fisher will be hosting a breakfast event, talking politics and podcasts, in the Experience Tent from 9.45am. FT Live has a 10% discount for all FT podcast listeners with the promo code FTPodcasts. Find a registration link to use with the discount here
Send a question, ideally as a voicenote, to our email address: politicalfix@ft.com
Sign up to Stephen Bush's morning newsletter Inside Politics for straight-talking insight into the stories that matter, plus puns and tongue (mostly) in cheek. Get 30 days free here
Want more?
The UK is a Fiscal Saint not a Sinner
Reform UK ‘going to the next stage’, says deputy leader
Keir Starmer seeks to get a grip on UK economy with new hires
This episode of Political Fix was presented by George Parker, and produced by Philippa Goodrich. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Original music and mix by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa
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 | If people have any form of cash savings, your bank is, it's highly likely that's the worst place on earth. |
| 0:10.1 | You could leave your money in your bank's current account. |
| 0:13.7 | If you're looking for a straight talking podcast about money and pensions, you've just found it. |
| 0:18.9 | On the Pension Confident podcast, we get into the personal finance |
| 0:22.3 | questions that really matter. Join me, Philippa Lam, for the Pension Confident podcast. Find us |
| 0:27.9 | wherever you get your podcasts. I spoke to my family about it. I spoke to my ex-husband who has been an incredibly supportive person |
| 0:41.1 | because he knows that all I've done is try and support my family and help them. |
| 0:47.6 | Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rainer there, clearly emotional, |
| 0:51.7 | having admitted she swerved a massive tax bill. |
| 0:55.1 | I can be clear. I am very proud to sit alongside a deputy prime minister who is building |
| 0:59.8 | 1.5 million homes, who has bringing the biggest upgrade to workers' rights from a generation |
| 1:05.4 | and who's come from a working class background to be deputy prime minister. |
| 1:10.0 | And that's the prime minister, backing his embattled deputy |
| 1:13.0 | at the first prime minister's questions of the new term. |
| 1:16.6 | It wasn't exactly how Kirstama had wanted to kick off phase two of his Labour project. |
| 1:22.3 | The shake-up of his economic team at number 10 |
| 1:24.5 | intended to make his operation more powerful |
| 1:27.0 | was overshadowed |
| 1:28.4 | by Rainer's tax troubles. We'll be looking at the Angela Rainer saga, of course, but we'll also |
| 1:34.4 | peer under the bonnet of the Stama shuffle, as he and his Chancellor prepare for an autumn |
| 1:39.3 | budget, which will almost be a winter budget. A date has been set for November the 26th. |
| 1:45.7 | Meanwhile, it's the start of the party conference season, |
... |
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.

