The Edition: does Nigel Farage really want to be Prime Minister?
Best of the Spectator
The Spectator
4.3 • 826 Ratings
🗓️ 20 March 2026
⏱️ 46 minutes
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Summary
Nigel Farage is a shark – hell bent on devouring Britain's political class, as illustrated with the Spectator's cover story this week, co-authored by James Heale and Tim Shipman. Yet, from rows over the pension triple lock to stagnation in the polls, it isn't clear that Farage has a strategy for power. Reform may win the battle of the Right, but does its leader really want to be Prime Minister?
For this week's Edition, host Lara Prendergast is joined by the Spectator's Chairman Charles Moore, deputy political editor James Heale and Times Radio broadcaster Jo Coburn. The panel ponder the idea that Farage may crave power without responsibility. As James puts it, Farage is akin to a southern revivalist – but is momentum waning? For Charles, the Commons is still the 'cockpit of the nation', meaning the Conservatives hold a numerical advantage over Reform in driving the agenda. Addressing the crunch point of the local elections in May, Jo says it is clear that Labour will be 'hoisted by their own petard' and that the Greens offer a more 'successful repository' for those seeking radical change. What is clear is that British politics has never been more unpredictable.
As well as Reform's path to power, the group discuss: how the Iran crisis could be described as 'Suez in reverse' – and is exposing Britain's defence deficit; if regime change in Cuba could be Trump's next target; and their reflections on the greatest city of Earth – London.
Plus: should we defund or defend the BBC? Charles and Jo give a brief taste of the Spectator's debate next week on what to do about the British institution. Charles argues that Spectator readers would be 'instinctively sympathetic' to the Beeb's inheritance but 'disappointed' by its current status, while Jo says that the BBC is always trying to change, warning 'diminish it at your peril'. For tickets to this – and other events – head to spectator.co.uk/events.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | On Tuesday the 24th of March, our speakers will debate the motion, |
| 0:04.0 | this House believes we should abolish the licence fee. |
| 0:07.2 | Spectator Chairman Charles Moore and the telegraphs Alison Pearson |
| 0:10.2 | will propose the motion with Spectator editor Michael Gove |
| 0:13.4 | and former BBC America editor John Sopel opposing. |
| 0:16.8 | I'm Isabel Hardman and I'll be in the chair to maintain decorum and take your pressing questions. |
| 0:22.2 | Join us on Tuesday the 24th of March at 7pm and book your tickets at The Spectator.com |
| 0:27.7 | forward slash debate. |
| 0:34.7 | Hello and welcome to the edition from The Spectator. |
| 0:38.1 | I'm Lara Prendergars, the Spectator's executive editor, and the latest issue of the magazine has just gone to press. |
| 0:46.3 | To discuss what's in it, I'm joined now by our chairman and the Daily Telegraph columnist, Charles Moore, |
| 0:52.2 | the Times Radio broadcaster Joe Coburn, and our deputy |
| 0:56.0 | political editor, James Hill. |
| 1:02.6 | In this week's cover, our political editor, Tim Shipman and James, assess reform's current |
| 1:08.0 | strategy for power. And James, the cover is a riff on the famous Jaws poster |
| 1:13.3 | with Farage as the shark. Who has he got in his sights? Well, principally, Kimi Bade-Mock, |
| 1:18.9 | but he also will have, by the time the next election, Kirstama and the Labour Party as well. |
| 1:24.3 | And really, this is his long-term strategy and approach of trying to eat into both the |
| 1:29.0 | main parties. But right now, I think that it's been quite telling how in the last six months he's been using the phrase the party of the centre-right, the battle for the centre-right much more. And it's clear that I don't think in the system we have, both the Conservatives and Reform can really be viable parties for power at the same time. |
| 1:45.2 | So he's very much saying May the 7th is going to be key, taking out some of those key areas. There's Tory heartlands, places like Essex, for instance, and setting a deadline for Tory defectors by that point. So it's all about trying to make the party, predominant party on the centre-right, over the next six weeks or so, and lots of |
| 2:00.8 | campaigning across the country. And for this piece, you spent time with Farage. What kind of mood was he in? |
| 2:06.0 | He was in a pretty good mood, actually. He loves campaigning. And I think this is the interesting |
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