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Best of the Spectator

The Spectator Podcast: Boris's last try

Best of the Spectator

The Spectator

News Commentary, News, Daily News, Society & Culture

4.4785 Ratings

🗓️ 24 October 2019

⏱️ 38 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, the government looks close to the finishing line – now all Boris needs is an election (00:40). And as months of grenade attacks blight Swedish neighbourhoods, we get to the bottom of why Sweden doesn’t want to talk about its rise in violent crime (17:40). And last, is there really a right way to speak English (27:30)?

With James Forsyth, James Mills, Paulina Neuding, Amir Rostami, Mark Mason, and Sam Leith.

Presented by Lara Prendergast and Katy Balls.

Produced by Cindy Yu and Christy Cooney.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This episode is sponsored by More Than a Number, the brand new podcast from ICAEW.

0:05.7

Search for More Than a Number in your podcast app to hear Louise Cooper and thought leaders

0:09.9

unpacking the numbers behind some of the most pertinent questions of our time.

0:18.2

Hello and welcome to The Spectator Podcast. I'm Lara Prendergars. Boris Johnson's on a path to

0:24.4

passing his deal, but is he going to try and go for an election first? And as months of grenade

0:29.4

attacks blighted Swedish neighbourhoods, we get to the bottom of why Swedes don't want to talk about

0:34.1

the rise in violent crime. And finally, does grammar matter?

0:39.4

First up, although Boris Johnson hasn't yet passed his Brexit deal, James Forsyth and Katie Balls

0:44.9

write in this week's cover piece that the Prime Minister is in a stronger position now than he was

0:49.2

on the first day he took the job. Now, all he needs is an election. So what are his new tactics? Katie and James

0:56.6

speak to James Mills, former advisors Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell. James, in our cover pieces this

1:02.5

week in The Spectator, we point out the reasons why some Tories at least are feeling

1:06.9

fairly optimistic about their chances if that election does happen in the near future.

1:12.6

Why is that?

1:13.8

The reason number 10 are straining out of the leash to have an election.

1:16.6

We discussed this before we wrote the piece is essentially this, is he has succeeded in squeezing the Brexit party down to a manageable level for the Tories.

1:26.8

And he has shown them that he is the guy

1:29.4

trying to get Brexit done. Brexit party are now down to 11%. That is a far lower share of the vote

1:37.7

than he had when he became Prime Minister. But at the same time, getting a deal has changed things

1:43.5

because I think there were quite a few Tory MPs

1:46.1

in Remain-leading seats who normally have very large majorities, who are beginning to get a bit

1:50.6

worried that fighting a no-deal election could be, or an election where the Tories were at the very

...

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