Chopper's Politics
393 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 months ago - ★★★★ - 57 ratingsThe Telegraph's weekly politics podcast, presented by Christopher "Chopper" Hope. The podcast has interviews with top politicians and commentators and analysis from the Telegraph’s Westminster team.
Chopper's Politics is a must listen for those who want to understand British politics, delving into various aspects of policy, key players, and the internal movements of Westminster’s political parties. With a focus on the Conservative Party (Tories), the podcast examines the party’s policies, strategies, and ideologies. The podcast offers insights into prominent figures within the party, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson.
With a keen eye on the ever-evolving political landscape, the podcast explores the impact of the Red Wall - the traditionally Labour-supporting areas in the North of England that shifted allegiance to the Conservatives in recent elections - and the dynamics between the Conservatives and the Labour Party, led by Keir Starmer.
In addition to Conservative and Labour politics, the podcast delves into the dynamics of other political parties like the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish National Party providing analysis and discussions on their policies and strategies.
The podcast widens its scope to include discussions on the political climate in London, with a particular focus on the leadership of Mayor Sadiq Khan. It delves into the intricacies of Westminster, the seat of British political power, and examines the notion of the Westminster Bubble, where decisions and discussions can sometimes appear disconnected from the realities of the wider population.
With a strong emphasis on policy analysis, "Chopper's Politics" provides a platform for informed conversations surrounding British elections and their implications on topics such as geopolitics, foreign policy, international relations, and the evolving role of the United Kingdom in the global arena.
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Episodes
The Lockdown Files: Episode 6, The Forgotten Victims
November 09, 2023 07:48 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBIn January 2021, the first Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccines made their way into people’s arms. By mid-march, 11 million people had received the jab. After successive lockdowns, it felt like a way out. But now, more than two years on, storm clouds are gathering. Today, 80 of them are preparing to sue Astrazeneca. They say that until now, no one has wanted to hear their stories. So we’re telling them. Find out more: ‘We were told the vaccine was safe - but what happened has been life-changing’...
The Lockdown Files: Episode 5, The Fallout
August 18, 2023 10:44 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MBIn the face of major disasters, it is perhaps inevitable that there will be missteps. And when the dust settles, people are asked to account for their actions. How is history going to judge the government’s response to COVID? In this last episode of the Lockdown Files podcast, the investigations team at the Telegraph investigates potential mistakes at the heart of the pandemic response. Shutting schools, a lack of oversight with financial support and questions over whether lockdown would ...
The Lockdown Files: Episode 4, Project Fear
August 11, 2023 03:00 - 34 minutes - 31.6 MBIs it ever ok to scare the public? In this episode, the reporters dig into leaked messages which show a discussion between Matt Hancock and one of his team. They say “We frighten the pants off everyone with the new strain” and “When do we deploy the new variant”. The exchanges speak to a so-called “Project Fear”, which prompts the team to ask government ministers about whether decisions made were the right ones… We also speak to the adviser behind some of the government's messaging… A...
The Lockdown Files: Episode 3, The Case on Care Homes
August 04, 2023 03:00 - 31 minutes - 28.8 MBTens of thousands of care home residents died during the pandemic. Many people see it as the government’s biggest failure. Matt Hancock’s Whatsapp messages lifted the lid on conversations behind key decisions. But it wasn’t just the messages which were revealing… The team behind the Lockdown Files unearths new documents suggesting an unnerving offer made to care homes in Durham and Birmingham. Read more about the Lockdown Files here: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/lockdown-files | For 30 days’ ...
The Lockdown Files: Episode 2, The Road to Lockdown
July 28, 2023 10:03 - 24 minutes - 22.7 MBThe Investigations team looks back on the early days of the pandemic. How prepared was the government? Was lockdown inevitable? But they hit a stumbling block - they may have 100,000 messages, but there’s a gap in March. So the team decide that if they can’t read where those key decisions were made, they’d do the next best thing: speak to people who were in the room where it happened Read more about the Lockdown Files here: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/lockdown-files | For 30 days’ free acce...
The Lockdown Files: Episode 1, The Leak
July 21, 2023 04:00 - 19 minutes - 18.1 MBIn January 2023, reporters at the Telegraph are called into a meeting. The newspaper has got something big. Matt Hancock’s Whatsapps from when he was the Health Secretary, during the pandemic: 100,000 messages. The reporters start digging. Rate and Review the Lockdown Files podcast here: https://podfollow.com/the-lockdown-files | Read more about the Lockdown Files here: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/lockdown-files | For 30 days’ free access to The Telegraph: www.telegraph.co.uk/lockdownfilesp...
BONUS: Richard Sharp's Exclusive Exit Interview from the BBC
July 08, 2023 05:00 - 41 minutes - 38 MBIn this bonus episode of Chopper's politics, former BBC chairman Richard Sharp joins Chris for his 'exit interview' to discuss the controversial events surrounding his departure. Over a round of black velvets they discuss his opinions on former PM Boris Johnson, why he's in favour of a charter renewal and his advice for his successor. For 30 days' free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/chopper | Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Cheerio... with Gove, Rees Mogg, Forde and Cox
July 07, 2023 05:00 - 51 minutes - 46.8 MBOver 360 episodes, 8.2 million listens and one Red Lion Pub, welcome to the last edition of Choppers Politics Podcast. Joining the Telegraph's legendary political journalist Chris Hope in Westminster's finest drinking hole is star of Spitting Image: Idiots Assemble, comedian Matt Forde, discussing comedy in a woke world as well as bringing some of his finest political impressions. Two big beasts of the Tory party also join Chris, including Jacob Rees Mogg airing his concerns about the priv...
Cheerio... with Gove, Rees Mogg, Forde and Cox
July 07, 2023 05:00 - 51 minutes - 46.8 MBOver 360 episodes, 8.2 million listens and one Red Lion Pub, welcome to the last edition of Choppers Politics Podcast. Joining the Telegraph's legendary political journalist Chris Hope in Westminster's finest drinking hole is star of Spitting Image: Idiots Assemble, comedian Matt Forde, discussing comedy in a woke world as well as bringing some of his finest political impressions. Two big beasts of the Tory party also join Chris, including Jacob Rees Mogg airing his concerns about...
School children identifying as Lions & Tigers & Bears, oh my!
June 30, 2023 05:00 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MBIt’s been a week when the economic picture has worsened for millions of us and to discuss the government wrestling with the problem - and how Liz Truss was right - is Ranil Jayawardena, a former Tory Cabinet minister in Truss’s administration. As Labour surge ahead in the polls, MP Rosie Duffield - sidelined by the leaders of her own party - joins Chris to discuss whether the party is ready for governing the country. Plus, schools have been at the forefront of recent news with reports of s...
School children identifying as Lions & Tigers & Bears, oh my!
June 30, 2023 05:00 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MBIt’s been a week when the economic picture has worsened for millions of us and to discuss the government wrestling with the problem - and how Liz Truss was right - is Ranil Jayawardena, a former Tory Cabinet minister in Truss’s administration. As Labour surge ahead in the polls, MP Rosie Duffield - sidelined by the leaders of her own party - joins Chris to discuss whether the party is ready for governing the country. Plus, schools have been at the forefront of recent news with rep...
Banks, Boris and the "blob"
June 22, 2023 23:30 - 43 minutes - 40.1 MBTreasury minister Andrew Griffith MP hot-foots it across the road to the Red Lion pub to tell Christopher Hope that he thinks banks should help families who are seeing their mortgage costs spiral, and face the awkward question of how he'd deal with a business that had three CEOs in the space of a year (Conservative Party, take note). Also on the podcast, Joy Morrissey MP, one of only seven Conservative MPs who voted against the privileges committee report into Boris Johnson, and a whip no l...
Boris blames kangaroo court: has Johnson gone "full Trump"?
June 15, 2023 23:30 - 44 minutes - 40.6 MBOn the day the former PM faces having his parliamentary pass removed after being found to have “deliberately” misled MPs over partygate, Christopher Hope is joined in the Red Lion by Boris Johnson's long-time pal, legendary pollster Frank Luntz. Frank thinks comparisons to Trump are unfair on Johnson, but bemoans the fact his friend did not take the seriousness of his post more seriously. Also on the podcast, the so-called grandfather of Brexit, Bill Cash MP, on why he's retiring and whethe...
"Disinformation" with David Davis
June 09, 2023 16:33 - 53 minutes - 49.1 MBFinally the Covid inquiry starts next week - and the Government is in a right old tangle over what to do about it. Veteran Conservative MP and former Cabinet Minister David Davis joins Christopher Hope in the Red Lion to voice his concerns about the shadowy Government body called the Counter Disinformation Unit, which was used to spy on lockdown critics and why he'd only give the current government a 6/10. Also on the podcast, we explore what would Labour do about the Covid Whatsapp row, if...
Back to work, back to Boris, and the Taxing Tories
June 02, 2023 05:00 - 46 minutes - 42.9 MBWith the advent of AI and concerns over 8 million 'economically inactive' people in Britain, we thought it was high time we asked Mel Stride MP, Work and Pensions Secretary, back to the Red Lion pub for a chinwag. Hot off his heels and hot off the press was Onward think-tank Director Sebastian Payne brandishing the findings from their report "Missing Millennials", which sets out the challenge facing the Tories with younger voters. And in a week where Whatsapps from Boris Johnson are domina...
Borders, bonking and Liam Byrne
May 26, 2023 05:00 - 45 minutes - 41.9 MBImmigration. The issue which drove so many people to vote to leave the EU before the 2016 EU referendum is back in the news and rising as an issue. Alp Mehmet, Chairman of Migration Watch, popped by the Red Lion pub to discuss the newest immigration figures of 606,000 net. It’s also been a big week for Labour's plans for the economy with Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves jetting off (pun intended) to America to deliver her "business model for Britain" speech. One senior Labour MP who is doin...
Hope, charity and "lying bastards"
May 19, 2023 07:00 - 49 minutes - 45.3 MBOlympian James Cracknell joins Christopher Hope in the Red Lion to explain why he hopes become a Tory MP, appropriately in Henley on Thames, and how he would react if a certain blonde, former PM tapped him on the shoulder and asked him to step aside... Also on the podcast, Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer MP, fresh from a busy few weeks with the Coronation and then Eurovision, encourages Britain to embrace its cultural soft power, and urges charities to stay out of politics. Plus former produ...
"We are slipping into authoritarianism"
May 11, 2023 23:30 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MBSir Charles Walker MP joins Christopher Hope in the Red Lion this week to express his fears that we are descending into authoritarianism, after arrests of protestors this weekend at the Coronation. Plus as the MP for Broxbourne is not seeking re-election, he gets a few more things off his chest, such as how MPs these days are just "superannuated citizens advice bureaus". Ouch. Also on the podcast, Miriam Cates MP debates the nature of conservatism and reveals why she cried when the...
"We are slipping into authoritarianism"
May 11, 2023 23:30 - 47 minutes - 43.2 MBSir Charles Walker MP joins Christopher Hope in the Red Lion this week to express his fears that we are descending into authoritarianism, after arrests of protestors this weekend at the Coronation. Plus as the MP for Broxbourne is not seeking re-election, he gets a few more things off his chest, such as how MPs these days are just "superannuated citizens advice bureaus". Ouch. Also on the podcast, Miriam Cates MP debates the nature of conservatism and reveals why she cried when the Governme...
Local Elections: Tories take a battering but can Labour claim victory?
May 05, 2023 17:06 - 28 minutes - 26.5 MBSir Keir Starmer claims that Labour is on course to win a majority at the next general election, after the party made gains and the Tories suffered heavy losses at local elections across England. But is claiming a Conservative crumbling to be a Labour win correct? Electoral Calculus's Martin Baxter and the Sunday Telegraph's Tony Diver join Christopher Hope at Telegraph Towers to discuss. Plus former digital minister Matt Warman MP discuss the other hot topic of the moment - no, not the Co...
Bring back campaigner Boris says Greg Hands
April 28, 2023 15:05 - 38 minutes - 35.3 MBChristopher Hope gets a field trip this week, leaving the Red Lion behind for Lewes in Sussex. Chopper is joined by Conservative Party Chairman, Greg Hands and mental health minister and local MP Maria Caulfield, as they went out knocking on doors ahead of next week's local elections. Hands is quick to say that Sunak plays well on the doorsteps, but do the voters we hear from agree? And which former leader would he like to see being more vocal (clue is in the title, listeners). Plus the Co...
Could the Conservatives claw back into the election race?
April 20, 2023 23:30 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBTory grandee Sir Robert Syms makes a startling prediction to Christopher Hope in the Red Lion this week - he thinks his party can win the next election. The MP for Poole Symes thinks that people's political views are not as fixed as they used to be, and once the ship has steadied, Sunak can give the party a vision to inspire voters. Also on the podcast, Baroness Anne Jenkin explains the impact that smartphones are having on young people's perceptions of sex: "they have porn in the...
Could the Conservatives claw back into the election race?
April 20, 2023 23:30 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBTory grandee Sir Robert Syms makes a startling prediction to Christopher Hope in the Red Lion this week - he thinks his party can win the next election. The MP for Poole Symes thinks that people's political views are not as fixed as they used to be, and once the ship has steadied, Sunak can give the party a vision to inspire voters. Also on the podcast, Baroness Anne Jenkin explains the impact that smartphones are having on young people's perceptions of sex: "they have porn in their pocket...
A deep dive into Britain's newest trade deal - the CPTPP
April 13, 2023 23:30 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBChopper is off frolicking in the sun so this week Dia Chakravarty is in the podcast hotseat for an in-depth look at a subject that saw Conservative MPs starting their Easter holidays with a spring in their step - the CPTPP, or the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. Not exactly catchy, is it? Amanda Tickel, Head of Tax and Trade Policy at Deloitte UK, and Liam Halligan, Economist and Telegraph columnist break down what the CPTPP is and how it differs from ...
What can the current crop of Conservatives learn from Lawson?
April 06, 2023 23:30 - 44 minutes - 40.6 MBIt’s been a week of reflection, and so we brought quiet contemplation to the Red Lion pub this week. With the death of Nigel Lawson earlier this week reminding Tories of a time when the Government was bold about tax cuts, Sir John Redwood MP joins Christopher Hope to talk about what the current crop of Conservatives can learn from the late former Chancellor. And as we mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement, veteran Telegraph journalist Philip Johnston reflects on that sei...
Peter Mandelson: ‘I’ve yet to meet a Tory who says they are going to win’
March 31, 2023 20:01 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBIt's a bumper episode for Chopper's Politics listeners this week, don't say we don't treat you. Lord Mandelson joins Christopher Hope on the week that former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was barred from standing as Labour candidate. He muses on whether Sir Keir Starmer might actually want Corbyn to run against him ("I couldn't possibly say..."), reveals how impressed he is by the upcoming crop of Labour candidates, "absolutely as good, if not better, than those we selected in the 1990s befor...
Can Labour capitalise on SNP chaos post-Sturgeon?
March 26, 2023 19:50 - 33 minutes - 31 MBNote: this episode was recorded before Humza Yousaf was announced as the new leader of the SNP on Monday 27th March 2023. Ahead of the SNP leadership contest result, Christopher Hope brings you a Scotland special edition of Chopper's Politics. The Telegraph's Scottish Political Editor, Simon Johnson, and columnist and staunch unionist Alan Cochrane, head to the studio to talk about the role of the Greens in the future of Scotland and whether the unionist parties, whisper it, might...
Can Labour capitalise on SNP chaos post-Sturgeon?
March 26, 2023 19:50 - 33 minutes - 31 MBNote: this episode was recorded before Humza Yousaf was announced as the new leader of the SNP on Monday 27th March 2023. Ahead of the SNP leadership contest result, Christopher Hope brings you a Scotland special edition of Chopper's Politics. The Telegraph's Scottish Political Editor, Simon Johnson, and columnist and staunch unionist Alan Cochrane, head to the studio to talk about the role of the Greens in the future of Scotland and whether the unionist parties, whisper it, might be in ta...
A brief Brexit rebellion and a bleak week for Boris
March 24, 2023 00:30 - 40 minutes - 36.8 MBThis week two of the Conservative Party's obsessions reared their head yet again: Boris Johnson and Brexit. You may think you've everything there is to know about either subject but no, there's more, so Christopher Hope has invited a cavalcade of distinguished guests to the Red Lion pub to chew the fat on everyone's pet subjects. Conservative Home Editor Paul Goodman gives his assessment of whether we could see a Boris by-election, and why he believes the former PM is doomed to channel Bilb...
The winners and losers of Jeremy Hunt's Budget
March 15, 2023 20:22 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBTaxes, childcare and Brexit beer boost: The Telegraph's Camilla Tominey and Gordon Rayner join Christopher Hope to give us the top lines of Jeremy Hunt's Budget. Will the Chancellor keep the promise he made to Chopper on this podcast in January that his priority will be bringing down business taxes? Listen to find out (although we suspect you can take a guess...)! For 30 days' free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/chopper | Sign up to the Chopper's Politics newsletter...
Managing migration and Macron
March 10, 2023 00:30 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBYvette Cooper MP joins Christopher Hope on the week that Rishi Sunak unveiled his plans to tackle illegal immigration. Conservatives think that illegal migration is the one policy area where the party can beat Labour, but the Shadow Home Secretary unsurprisingly disagrees. She tells Chopper that Labour ministers will set themselves the objective to stop all small boats' crossings in the English Channel. Plus in a show of cross-party praise, she hails Theresa May's work to help victims of pe...
The Journalist and the Whistleblower: The inside story of the Lockdown Files
March 04, 2023 07:45 - 22 minutes - 20.6 MBMore than 100,000 WhatsApp messages. 2.3 million words - the equivalent of three copies of the King James Bible. You’ve read the headlines about the Telegraph’s extraordinary examination of the Lockdown Files - and now you can hear from some of the journalists behind it. Christopher Hope is joined by the woman with the WhatsApps, Isabel Oakeshott, and Investigations Editor Claire Newell, in the newsroom where it happened. The pair tell Chopper how the team found the stories among the man...
Has Brexit finally been done?
February 28, 2023 18:45 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBPrime Minister Rishi Sunak, alongside the European Union president Ursula von der Leyen, announced details of the Windsor Framework this week, a deal he's hoping will put an end to the past six and a half years of wrangling to an end. So is the Brexit hurly-burly done? Has the battle been finally won? Joining Christopher Hope in the Red Lion to chew the fat is former Brexit adviser to Theresa May, Raoul Ruparel, on how this deal differs from its forebears. Plus the DUP's Sammy Wi...
Has Brexit finally been done?
February 28, 2023 18:45 - 37 minutes - 34.4 MBPrime Minister Rishi Sunak, alongside the European Union president Ursula von der Leyen, announced details of the Windsor Framework this week, a deal he's hoping will put an end to the past six and a half years of wrangling to an end. So is the Brexit hurly-burly done? Has the battle been finally won? Joining Christopher Hope in the Red Lion to chew the fat is former Brexit adviser to Theresa May, Raoul Ruparel, on how this deal differs from its forebears. Plus the DUP's Sammy Wilson retu...
Will no one rid me of this troublesome former PM?
February 23, 2023 22:39 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBBoris Johnson is turning into one regular headache for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. So this week Christopher Hope is looking at three spheres where the former PM is intent on sticking his oar in. First, the Brexit impasse in Northern Ireland. The DUP's Sammy Wilson joins Chopper to discuss whether Boris' interventions on a trade deal are helpful, whether a change in Westminster leadership could make a difference, and casts doubts on whether Rishi Sunak even understands the concept of the Un...
Sturgeon says goodbye and what it means for Scotland
February 16, 2023 14:05 - 18 minutes - 17.1 MBWell, if there was any danger of recess getting boring, Nicola Sturgeon had other ideas. Just as Chopper was taking a well-earned holiday, the First Minister shocked Scotland and the United Kingdom by resigning after eight years in the job. So where does this leave Scotland and the future of the union, and what will be the ripple effect on Westminster? The Telegraph's Gordon Rayner and Alan Cochrane head to the studio to discuss just that, whether Sturgeon will end up backseat driving for t...
Capital punishment, pitiful polling and pogo sticks
February 09, 2023 18:47 - 34 minutes - 31.2 MBNew deputy chair of the Conservative Party, Nickie Aiken MP joins Christopher Hope in the Red Lion this week to vigorously defend her co-chair Lee Anderson, after he got into hot water this week for his views on hanging. The MP for Cities of London and Westminster blames the coverage of her colleague on snobbery from "intelligentsia", plus she decries polling in the Telegraph this week that puts the Tories down by a whopping 23%. Former Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg has a different vi...
Happy Birthday Brexit?
February 03, 2023 06:00 - 44 minutes - 40.6 MBThis week, Christopher Hope returns to his spiritual home, the Red Lion pub, to discuss, you guessed it, Brexit. Three years on from leaving the E.U., many grumblings rumble on. So joining Chris to discuss the Northern Ireland protocol, the Union and more, David Jones (Deputy Chairman of the European Research Group) & Alex Phillips (Former Brexit Party MEP & GB News Broadcaster). In fact, Alex has an announcement of her own. Plus, as the country is crippled by strikes and with another Nurs...
Talking taxes with Jeremy Hunt
January 27, 2023 18:58 - 22 minutes - 20.6 MBChristopher Hope swaps the Red Lion for Number 11 Downing Street this week, as he sits down with Jeremy Hunt. The Chancellor tells Chopper that he and the Prime Minister are committed to cutting taxes, but won't be drawn on when, and that his focus this year will be on business and taking advantage of Brexit. Plus, he tries to woo the over 50s back into work, rules out running for leader again, and (very importantly) reveals his favourite fast food. For 30 days' free access to The Telegraph...
Let them eat cake
January 20, 2023 13:34 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MBThe last of the Hope family's Christmas cake joins the guests in the Red Lion this week, and Wes Streeting is the first to take Christopher Hope up on the offer of having a slice. The Shadow Health Secretary insists that Labour wouldn't be the "fun police" to ban cakes in offices following comments this week from the chair of the Food Standards Agency, explains why he won't "wag his finger" at people who use private healthcare and proclaims that he's up for a debate about his proposed NHS re...
Cash for litter
January 14, 2023 00:30 - 41 minutes - 37.7 MBRebecca Pow joins Christopher Hope in the Red Lion for some coffee in a china mug, as the Environment minister talks about the announcement that plastic cutlery, plates and polystyrene cups will soon be banned. She also reveals that a 'cash for trash' scheme looks set to get the green light, so get your litter pickers ready! Also on the podcast, John Baron expresses his dismay at the Foreign Office's shambolic handling of the issue of British Council's contractors stranded in Afghanistan,...
Take Back Control
January 06, 2023 00:30 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBOn the week that the Prime Minister announced his 5 promises to voters, Science Minister George Freeman joins Christopher Hope to give his suggestions for 5 reasons to be cheerful, including getting rid of EU red tape, focusing on the "10% daft regulations" first. Also on the podcast, Shadow Cabinet Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds reacts to Sir Keir Starmer's reappropriation of the Brexit slogan "Take Back Control", and, after writing a biography of former Labour leader Wilson, what ...
Take Back Control
January 06, 2023 00:30 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBOn the week that the Prime Minister announced his 5 promises to voters, Science Minister George Freeman joins Christopher Hope to give his suggestions for 5 reasons to be cheerful, including getting rid of EU red tape, focusing on the "10% daft regulations" first. Also on the podcast, Shadow Cabinet Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds reacts to Sir Keir Starmer's reappropriation of the Brexit slogan "Take Back Control", and, after writing a biography of former Labour leader Wilson, what the curre...
2022 in Review
December 31, 2022 14:09 - 49 minutes - 45 MB2023 is almost upon us, so join Christopher Hope, Gordon Rayner and Camilla Tominey to reflect on the wacky year just gone in Westminster. We've had four Chancellors, three Prime Ministers, two different monarchs and one 'tractor' watching MP, so plenty to discuss, plus a look ahead to what might be in store in the New Year. For 30 days' free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/chopper | Sign up to the Chopper's Politics newsletter: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/pol...
2022 in Review
December 31, 2022 14:09 - 49 minutes - 45 MB2023 is almost upon us, so join Christopher Hope, Gordon Rayner and Camilla Tominey to reflect on the wacky year just gone in Westminster. We've had four Chancellors, three Prime Ministers, two different monarchs and one 'tractor' watching MP, so plenty to discuss, plus a look ahead to what might be in store in the New Year. For 30 days' free access to The Telegraph: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/chopper | Sign up to the Chopper's Politics newsletter: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politicsnews...
Strikes, sexism and why MPs' second jobs are OK
December 23, 2022 06:00 - 56 minutes - 51.8 MBTwas the strike before Christmas... on this week's festive edition of Choppers' Politics: Frances O'Grady gives her final interview as the General Secretary of the TUC, discussing strikes and the current gridlock between union leaders and the government. Robert Halfon MP, previously an outspoken and campaigning backbencher, swings by the Red Lion pub to explain how now, as a Minister of State in the Department of Education, he's taking that spirit and applying it to students affected by ...
Small boats and the silver exodus
December 16, 2022 00:30 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBSir Robert Buckland KC and Jonathan Gullis bring their views on how to tackle the migrant crisis to the Red Lion this week. Robert Buckland calls talk of withdrawing from the European Convention of Human Rights "a red herring" fuelled by the fact the word Europe is "catnip" for some of his Conservative colleagues. Then Jonathan Gullis talks about his failed Bill to force Rishi Sunak to ignore rulings from Strasbourg over the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda, and why he was just tr...
Small boats and the silver exodus
December 16, 2022 00:30 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBSir Robert Buckland KC and Jonathan Gullis bring their views on how to tackle the migrant crisis to the Red Lion this week. Robert Buckland calls talk of withdrawing from the European Convention of Human Rights "a red herring" fuelled by the fact the word Europe is "catnip" for some of his Conservative colleagues. Then Jonathan Gullis talks about his failed Bill to force Rishi Sunak to ignore rulings from Strasbourg over the deportation of asylum seekers to Rwanda, and why he wa...
Further strikes, fewer houses, and Farage
December 08, 2022 17:22 - 40 minutes - 37 MBJames Sunderland, former Colonel in the Royal Logistics Corps, joins Christopher Hope in the Red Lion to talk about why the MP for Bracknell thinks the government needs to stop relying on the armed forces to step in over strike action and suggests that "Mr Lynch and his cronies" should perhaps try earning what soldiers earn. Strong words. Also on the podcast, UK Director of think-tank More in Common, Luke Tryl, says that if political marmite figure Nigel Farage returned it could turbocharg...
A leap of faith
December 02, 2022 00:30 - 44 minutes - 41.2 MBAll of Christopher Hope's guests this week are encouraging or have taken a leap of faith. Former Levelling Up Secretary Simon Clarke, now in the freedom of the backbenches, joins Chopper in the Red Lion to urge his fellow conservatives to rethink onshore windfarms and central housing targets and not fall for a "NIMBY's charter". Also on the podcast, William Wragg, MP for Hazel Grove, discusses why he's made the leap into leaving parliament after the next election despite only being 34. Pl...