The Capitalist

Is Rory Stewart 2019’s answer to Nick Clegg? Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson thinks so. Like Nick Clegg, she said of the unlikely star of the early phases of the Tory leadership contest, he...

4 Juni 201928min

My guest for the first in a new run of Free Exchange episodes is the New York Times columnist and bestselling author David Brooks. His previous books include The Road to Character, The Social Animal a...

24 Maj 201923min

We spend an awful lot of time worrying about the political weather. But behind the day-to-day drama, the political climate is changing too - and in fundamental ways. One of the biggest shifts in recen...

12 Apr 201933min

Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does. Westminster’s Brexit crisis continues to deepen and the mood on all sides in SW1 continues to darken. Which is why this week on Free Exchange my co...

5 Apr 201939min

Ever since Theresa May wrote to Donald Tusk to trigger Article 50 two years ago, March 29th, 2019, has been a Brexit lodestar. The UK’s planned departure date has been a point of comparative clarity i...

20 Mars 201934min

Tony Blair was arguably the most electorally successful Prime Minister in recent British history. And yet, if you ask British voters today what they think of the man behind New Labour the answer is no...

14 Mars 201933min

If someone utters the word ‘neoliberal’ in a political debate, chances are they’re using it as a term of abuse. However, in recent years, a small but growing group have tried to reclaim the word, tran...

7 Mars 201944min

My guest this week is Gisela Stuart. Gisela was elected as the Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston in the 1997 landside that brought New Labour to power. Her seat had returned a Conservative MP for the...

27 Feb 201958min