The Fourcast

Rachel Reeves has just delivered her Labour conference speech as the UK’s first female chancellor, defending the “hard but fair” choices that Labour will have to make. She called Labour the party of “economic responsibility”, but there remains much discontent over winter fuel allowance cuts to pensioners, and then there’s a donation scandal that’s dressed much of the conversation at this year’s co...

Sir Keir Starmer was surely hoping Labour’s conference would be a celebration of his landslide election victory - but with bitter briefings against his chief of staff Sue Gray coming from within No 10, more stories of ministers taking freebie gifts and a potential union rebellion over the winter fuel allowance - the new prime minister could face a very different reception in Liverpool. And on top...

Elon Musk has been criticised over comments he made on Twitter/X in the wake of the apparent attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump, saying "no one is even trying to assassinate" Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. The White House has condemned Musk’s comments and he has since deleted them, saying they were a joke, but this is far from the first time Musk’s posts on X have caused outrage...

A damning new report, commissioned by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his health secretary Wes Streeting, has laid bare the shocking state of the NHS - crumbling buildings, outdated machines and thousands of patients unnecessarily dying because of long waits in A&E. In response to Lord Darzi’s report, the PM says the NHS “must reform or die” - but what will that reform actually look like?  This is...

The long anticipated presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris has happened - Trump says he won and afterwards Harris got a Taylor Swift endorsement - but how has it gone down with voters? Joining Matt Frei on this episode of The American Fourcast to discuss all this and more are Christine Emba, staff writer at The Atlantic, and Republican strategist Kristin Davison. Produced by S...

The Grenfell Inquiry into the tower block fire that killed 72 people in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea has delivered a devastating final report that names and shames many - but inquiries into infected blood, Covid and the Post Office have also revealed rot at the core of Britain’s institutions - so can and, more importantly, will anything be done? To discuss the findings of the Grenf...

Tim Walz, Barack and Michelle Obama, and even Oprah Winfrey have taken to the DNC stage to lay the ground for Kamala Harris’ run for the White House. But have the upbeat and optimistic speeches actually galvanised any support from the rest of America? Harris fundraised four times as much as Trump in July, a whopping $500 million, as supporters were inspired after Biden’s resignation, but can she s...

Nancy Pelosi has been at the top of US politics for nearly 40 years - as the first, and only, woman in US history to serve as speaker of the House, she has played a central role in some of the most consequential American events of the last two decades, from the Iraq war to the US Capitol attack and Donald Trump’s impeachment. In her latest book, “The Art of Power: My Story as America’s First Woman...

Kamala Harris has chosen Governor Tim Walz as her Vice President for the 2024 Democrat ticket. After considering nearly a dozen candidates, Harris landed on Walz who has been described as having the most "progressive record" of any of the other contenders. Walz was an early supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, championed abortion rights into state law, and expanded free school meals & paid worker le...

Vice President Kamala Harris is the favourite to be the Democratic nominee for president after Joe Biden’s shock decision to drop out of the race - but can she really beat Donald Trump?   Some polls suggest Kamala Harris is even less popular than Joe Biden, especially in the crucial swing states and like president Biden - she’s stumbled a few times in public - leading some to write her off - but h...

An assassination attempt, J.D. Vance - a relatively unknown Ohio Senator - picked as Donald Trump’s Vice President, and current President Joe Biden desperately clinging on to his own nomination - it’s been another huge week in American politics and there's still one day left at the Republican National Convention where Donald Trump is due to speak - so what will happen next? We’re in Milwaukee wher...

After a week-long victory lap in the UK, Sir Keir Starmer flew to America for the Nato summit where he met US President Biden and Ukraine’s president Zelenskyy - but his Western allies have been in a less celebratory mood than Britain’s new prime minister. The far left and right are resurgent across Europe with France politically paralysed after Emmanuel Macron’s snap election gamble, while Joe Bi...

The Conservative party have suffered their worst ever defeat and Keir Starmer has been swept to power in a landslide victory - but huge challenges are waiting in the new prime minister’s intray and while he has a massive majority now in Westminster, his support across the country is on shakier grounds.   Some of Labour’s big names, who thought they’d be helping to form a new government, are out -...

If the polls are to be believed, Sir Keir Starmer could be set to beat Rishi Sunak’s Conservative’s and gain a record majority in Parliament, but perhaps with one of Labour’s lowest shares of the vote.  Despite promises on tax, voters believe they will pay more, and are sceptical about things getting better. Turnout is expected to be historically low.  The Lib Dems are heading for a lower share of...

It’s less than one week until election day, and so far the headlines have been dominated by betting scandals, the rise of Reform, and Rishi Sunak’s D-Day blunder. So can the prime minister do anything now to avoid what many polls suggest could be the worst ever result for the Conservative Party? He desperately wants attention to turn to Keir Starmer and what Labour would actually do if they win th...

Ed Davey has now joined Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak scrambling to check who in their party could get caught up in the betting saga - but is this story on the scale of the expenses scandal or Partygate or is it all just a bit of juvenile stupidity?  If it is, why are people at the heart of the UK’s biggest political parties making these kinds of decisions? And what does all this say about the elec...

The SNP have released their manifesto and, on the first page, they’ve promised again to make Scotland independent - but with polling suggesting that Labour are heading for a landslide victory, including a majority of the seats in Scotland, could this be the end of the independence cause?  Or, paradoxically, might it end up being the best thing for the independence campaign?  Support for Scottish i...

Labour have launched their manifesto with just two things on the cover - a picture of Keir Starmer and the word “change” - but how much change are they actually offering when it comes to the big issues of the day such as Brexit, Ukraine, the housing crisis, climate change and the economy?  Labour appears to be on course to win power with a safety first strategy that promises relatively little, lea...

Rishi Sunak has unveiled his manifesto, promising billions in tax cuts and lower immigration - but after his D-Day disaster and Nigel Farage back in the game, is it enough to shift the dial in the election or even enough to stop the right-wing of his own party turning on him before polling day? And with Reform creeping up in the polls, can Farage’s party really overtake the Tories to become the op...

Rishi Sunak has apologised and admitted it was a “mistake” to leave D-Day commemorations early, but many in the Conservative Party are already furious with the prime minister and Labour’s Keir Starmer has said he “has to explain” the decision.   So why did he do it? Having spent the campaign so far reaching out to the very voters who hold respect for history and veterans so dear.  Is this the mome...

Devastating polling, the return of Nigel Farage and more talk of defections - it was almost looking like a truly nightmarish week for Rishi Sunak, but then came the TV leaders debate with Keir Starmer and the Conservative’s claim that a Labour government will raise taxes by £2,000 per household. Keir Starmer failed to effectively deny the Conservative attack line until the second half of the debat...

Reports that Labour are set to bar Diane Abbott from standing in the general election have sparked outrage, with the veteran MP accusing Keir Starmer of purging the party’s left wing and alienating voters.  But is the Labour leader and his inner circle willing to lose left-wing voters, if it means they can concentrate on winning over disaffected Conservatives and bringing back Labour supporters wh...

Campaigning is underway after Rishi Sunak’s shock decision to call a snap general election - and the decision by Nigel Farage not to stand as a candidate for his Reform UK party might play to his favour - yet many are still puzzled by his decision.  The Conservatives are twenty points behind in the polls and even the prime minister recently admitted he’s unlikely to win. So why go now? And why in...

Are Labour and the Conservatives already prepping for the election?  Both Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are certainly behaving like they are. The Labour leader launched his first steps to change Britain, but will that help the party on the doorstep? And this week saw more culture war issues being flagged by Conservatives. Rishi Sunak wrote about his horror at disturbing gender ideology being taught...

For the second time in a fortnight, the Conservatives have been dealt a jaw-dropping blow - another MP has defected. This time, it is Dover MP and rightwinger, Natalie Elphicke, who crossed the floor moments before Prime Minister's Questions, to join forces with the opposition.     The move has certainly sparked anger and confusion for both Labour and the Tories, and Keir Starrmer is being grilled...