The Edition: Claws out for Keir, Mamdani’s poisoned apple & are most wedding toasts awful?

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🗓️ 3 July 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

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Summary

This week: one year of Labour – the verdict

In the magazine this week Tim Shipman declares his verdict on Keir Starmer’s Labour government as we approach the first anniversary of their election victory.

One year on, some of Labour’s most notable policies have been completely changed – from the u-turn over winter fuel allowance to the embarrassing climb-down over welfare this week. Starmer has appeared more confident on the world stage but, for domestic audiences, this is small consolation when the public has perceived little change on the problems that have faced Britain for years. Can Starmer turn it around?

Tim joined the podcast alongside the Spectator’s editor Michael Gove. What would they say Starmer’s greatest mistake, and biggest success, have been over the past year? (1:46)

Next: would Zohran Mamdani ruin New York?

In the magazine this week, the Spectator’s deputy US editor Kate Andrews writes about Zohran Mamdani – the self-declared ‘democratic socialist’ who defied expectations to become the Democratic Party’s presumptive candidate for the New York City mayoral election this November.

From a little-known state assemblyman to the mayoral heir presumptive – how did Mamdani do it? And what effect could his policies have? Kate joined the podcast alongside the Spectator’s US editor Freddy Gray. (24:03)

And finally: ‘admit it – most wedding toasts are awful’

Are wedding toasts as awful as Madeline Grant says they are in the magazine this week?

Maddie writes about the trend for multiple speeches at weddings, beyond the traditional three, blaming creeping Americanisms and the feminist revolution, amongst other things. These, compounded with widespread poor oratory skills, means the playbill looks ‘fuller and fuller’ and guests are denied a moment to ‘at least dull the horror with alcohol’. Should we push back against the trend?

Maddie joined the podcast alongside professional speechwriter Damian Reilly. (35:37)

Hosted by William Moore and Gus Carter.

Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Transcript

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0:49.9	Hello and welcome to the edition podcast from The Spectator, where each week we shed a little light on the thought process behind putting the world's oldest weekly magazine to bed.
0:54.8	I'm William Moore, Spectator's Features Editor.
0:57.1	And I'm Gus Carter, the Spectator's Deputy Features Editor.
1:00.4	On this week's podcast, we ask, what's gone wrong in Kirstama's first year as Prime Minister?
1:05.4	Is New York about to elect a socialist mayor, and are most wedding toasts really that awful?
1:23.6	Music socialist mayor, and are most wedding toasts really that awful? In his cover piece for the magazine this week, Tim Shipman gives his verdict on Kirstarmer's first year in government.
1:31.1	From unruly backbenchers to plummeting polling numbers, things don't seem to be going well for the Prime Minister, but can he turn it around?
1:39.0	Tim joined the podcast to discuss along with the spectator's editor, Michael Gove.
1:46.7	Tim, you've written your excellent cover piece this week about just how much
1:51.5	Kirst Armour's government is struggling after its first full year in office.
1:56.3	And, I mean, there's scoop after scoop in this piece, but you begin by revealing this memo produced by
2:02.8	Morgan McSweeney, the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, just ahead of Labor's victory in which
2:08.8	he lays out his analysis, I suppose, of how Labour could fail.
2:15.6	I wondered if you could give a listeners a slight flavour of what's in that memo.
2:20.0	And do you think it's fair to say that his diagnosis has been proven to be correct?
2:23.3	Yeah, it's almost a blueprint for how to go about failing, isn't it?
2:26.6	Which has been followed almost to the letter.
2:29.6	I mean, it sort of points out, you know, McSweeney's big sort of insight was that they always need to be campaigning and they need to, from the very beginning, start trying to win a second election.
	...

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