Chopper's Politics

Suella Braverman joins Christopher Hope at the Conservative Party Conference, and causes a stir by accusing rebel colleagues of staging a coup against the 45p top rate of income tax. The Home Secretary stays on the fence on her party's latest row, whether benefits should rise in line with inflation next year, declares that she's proud of the British Empire, and boldly let's on that her "ultim...

Jacob Rees-Mogg has the dubious honour of joining Christopher Hope at the Conservative Party Conference in the wake of the government's 45p tax cut U-turn. The Business and Energy Secretary scoffs at the idea that the Chancellor should resign, has strong words about how he'll approach China in his new role and declares that he would be more than happy for fracking to take place in his garden. Plus...

It's a 2-for-1 deal on Chopper's Politics guests, as both Michael Gove and Jake Berry join Christopher Hope live at the Conservative Party Conference. After causing a stir on the broadcast rounds on Sunday morning, former Cabinet minister Michael Gove gave Prime Minister Liz Truss more headaches by calling for the decision to scrap the 45p top rate of income tax to be reversed, but denies the titl...

Julian Jessop , Economic Fellow at the Institute for Economic Affairs, joins Christopher Hope to talk about what went wrong for Trussonomics, and why he believes it's a case of fleshing out the plan, not about doing a U-turn. Also on the podcast, Restore Trusts' Zewditu Gebreyohanes takes Chopper through her concerns about the National Trust and why it's not just a case of a 'war on woke'. Plus th...

As the opposition's party conference takes place in Liverpool, Christopher Hope is joined by two Labour bigwigs from past and present. Architect of New Labour and now Chairman of Global Counsel, Peter Mandelson joins Christopher Hope to talk about why he believes the public thinks it is safe to vote Labour again, how Sir Keir Starmer's power is that he's "more national than ideological" and confes...

From levelling up to trickling down: Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng's announcements today signal a seismic shift in policy from the new government. But will his and Liz Truss' gamble on future growth pay off, how does it affect the public, and how will Labour respond? To unpack the announcement Christopher Hope is joined in the studio by Whitehall Correspondent Tony Diver and Associate Editor Gordon Ra...

Just like Westminster Hall which, this week especially, encompasses politics, history and the monarchy, so too does this episode of Chopper’s Politics. Historian Andrew Roberts joins Christopher Hope to talk about potential pitfalls facing Charles III, what the new monarch can learn from history, and why he's in favour of 'Elizabeth the Good' as a moniker for Queen Elizabeth II. The Telegraph...

This episode was recorded before the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Lord Martin Callanan , junior minister at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, joins Christopher Hope to explain the “bazooka” of Government spending the new Prime Minister has announced to deal with the impending energy crisis, and how it will impact us all. And director general of the IEA, Mark Littlewood ,...

Note: this was recorded on the afternoon of Monday 5th September, before Cabinet announcements. She beat off stiff competition but Liz Truss is, finally, after "the longest job interview in history", the new leader of the Conservative Party and very shortly the leader of the country. But now the leadership contest is over and a tsunami of real life troubles is headed for Westminster, how will the...

Ahead of finally finding out who the next Prime Minister will be, writer Matt Ridley joins Christopher Hope to give his 10 rules for the next Tory leader to live by, and, given the winter we have coming ahead, we're sure either Sunak or Truss would appreciate a how-to-guide. Matt warns Chopper about the dangers of 'crony capitalists' and people who claim to be able to predict the future, and hopes...

Former Environment minister Rebecca Pow joins Christopher Hope to discuss the topic taking the Telegraph comment section by storm this week - sewage pumping into our waterways. Rebecca says that "the whole sewage issue is being completely blown out of all proportion" but that she does understand concerns, plus the MP for Taunton Deane suggests some unusual ways you can make the most of water you u...

Rishi Sunak, former Chancellor and now Tory leadership hopeful, has a cup of tea and a doughnut with Christopher Hope at his campaign HQ. We've heard about his policies ad infinitum these last few weeks (feels like longer, doesn't it listeners), so while we do hear about tax and his childhood, he also tells Chopper how he's not paying too much attention to the polls, reveals his binge watch viewin...

Chopper's taking a summer break, so in his absence we're bringing you one of the Conservative Party leadership hustings, chaired by the Telegraph's own Camilla Tominey in Cheltenham. The final two candidates were grilled on pivotal topics, from tax cuts and reforms to the economy, that will shape party members’ decisions - and Britain’s future.  With six official hustings down and six more to...

As the mud-slinging between the Tories goes on, the rest of us are dealing with train strikes, delays at Dover and passport panics. Kit Malthouse , new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, joins Christopher Hope in the Red Lion pub, to talk about how his role is to get a grip on these issues (and why it's not an issue that he was chairing COBRA meetings rather than Boris Johnson...). The MP for N...

And then there were two. After the longest two weeks in existence, the final candidates in the Tory leadership election have been decided - Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss. But is it possible that some Conservatives are getting seller’s remorse with regards to their recently departed leader? Former party treasurer Lord Cruddas of Shoreditch - Peter Cruddas - joins Christopher Hope in the Red Lion to mak...

The knives are out in Westminster as Conservative MPs vie to become the next leader of the party. It's the battle of the slogans: will Britain be "Ready for Rishi" or will P.M. be PM? The Telegraph's Associate Editor for Politics, Christopher Hope, is back in the Red Lion pub and joined by cheerleaders for two of the candidates, David Davis MP and Steve Baker MP . The latter was setting out his st...

They say a week’s a long time in politics, but for Boris Johnson, the past 24 hours must have felt like an eternity. A bruising PMQs, a blistering Liaison Committee and over 50 ministerial resignations, the most in modern history. To unpack the latest news and analysis, and to try and understand what’s next, Associate Editor Camilla Tominey is joined in the studio with Associate Editor Gordon Rayn...

This week saw SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon made her intentions very clear to hold an indyref2, just 8 years since the last "once in a lifetime" referendum in 2014. But is her move legal? Former Conservative Scottish Secretary David Mundell joins Christopher Hope to unpack what exactly is going on. Also joining Chris in the Red Lion pub this week is MP for Ashfield Lee Anderson, who's courted controv...

The biggest rail strike in a generation might mean the trains aren't moving, but politics certainly is. The Telegraph's own Gordon Rayner joins Christopher Hope to chew the fat after the Conservatives faced bruising losses in both Tiverton and Honiton, and Wakefield, and wonders whether there was a coded message in Oliver Dowden's resignation letter, after the Party Chairman fell on his sword in t...

Attorney General Suella Braverman joins Christopher Hope in the Red Lion on a week where her role has been thrown in the spotlight. She apologises for using the term "all options are on the table" when it comes to the UK's relationship with the European Court of Human Rights, following their invention on sending asylum seekers to Rwanda, and defends the controversial policy. Plus the Attorney Gene...

The gloves are off when it comes to Conservatives voicing their thoughts on their leader this week, so Christopher Hope invites both sides of the argument to the Red Lion to duke it out (with words, that is). Northern Ireland Minister and long-time Johnson ally, Conor Burns MP, makes his case in defence of the Prime Minister, letting listeners know that Boris Johnson isn't someone to give up light...

The Telegraph's Associate Editor Camilla Tominey and Whitehall Correspondent Tony Diver join Christopher Hope at Telegraph towers to react to Monday night's no confidence vote in Boris Johnson. The Prime Minister may have secured the support of 211 Tories against 148 rebels, but are there still choppy waters ahead? The gang place their bets on if the PM will still be leading the party by the next...

It's a week of pageantry, parties and platinum pudding for Her Majesty's Jubilee, so Christopher Hope decided to call up the Shadow Justice Secretary, Labour's Steve Reed, to talk about Labour's relationship to patriotism. The MP for Croydon North tells Chris that Labour's relationship to national pride under Jeremy Corbyn was 'an aberration', that some unease might come from confusing narrow nati...

No, not Wagatha Christie; the hottest story of the week has of course been the Sue Gray report, and Christopher Hope gets the reaction from a fantastic collection of guests on this week's Chopper's Politics. Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt makes the short trip to the Red Lion pub to say that her party need to 'get on with it' to prove their worth post partygate, to talk about our first trade deal wi...

Rebecca Pow, The Environment Minister, joins Christopher "Chopper" Hope to explain why on earth she's asking us to befriend an insect, explains how she's working on cleaning up our rivers (and not just for wild swimming) and reveals why she takes a leaf out of Prince Charles' book and talks to her plants. Also on the podcast, head of the English Football League, Rick Parry, on the role the beautif...