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Hello and welcome to the edition from The Spectator. I'm Laura Prendergast, The Spectator's Executive Editor,

and the latest issue of the magazine has just gone to press. To discuss what's in it,

I'm joined now by our political editor, Tim Shipman, the journalist and former editor of the Financial Times,

Lionel Barber, and the historian Alice Loxham.

Thank you all for joining.

This week's cover has the headline, Starmageddon.

And in it, our editor, Michael Gove, says that as the Greens advance and Labour moves to the left, that are dark times ahead.

Tim, I should start by saying we are recording this ahead of the results from the local elections,

but do you agree with Michael's point that we seem to be seeing a drift towards the left?

Well, on principle, I was agree with what my editist.

It's generally a good position. But I think Michael and I, both writing about politics, found ourselves in the same position

this week, which is that we kind of roughly know the gist of what's going to happen in the local

elections, but other people will be reading the magazine after we know exactly what's happened.

So what Michael's done here in his very eloquent and considered way is effectively point to

the strains within the Labour Party and why that's

pushing them in the leftward direction. And the point that he sort of makes is as much a sort of

psychological one as a political one. Because I think the results will show that Labor is

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