Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 06/09/2026

0:00Support comes from wise, the smart way to manage the currencies you need around the world. Your life is global, your money should be too. Some providers promise no fees on overseas transfers. Don't be fooled. Extra costs often hide in bloated exchange rates. Choose wise. You can send, spend and receive money in over 40 currencies. Count on the exchange rates that you'd usually see on Google. That's how millions save billions on hidden fees. Be smart, get wise, visit wise.com, season C's apply. Hello and welcome to Coffee House shops, the spectators daily politics podcast. I'm Isabelle Harbland and this is the Sunday Roundup. This week it's more controversy for Reform UK as two of Nigel Farage's senior officials are forced to step down after being filmed discussing about how to break foreign donations rules. Footage released by Channel 4 showed James Orl and Downjuks arranging for opinion polls to be

1:01paid for, using money from a US businessman. Nigel Farage was also shown a to meeting thanking would-be donors who were in fact undercover journalists from the group for bait him. In an interview with Laura Coonsburg, Nigel Farage claimed he had been told everything was above board. Did you not know that it was illegal for foreign firms to donate to UK political parties? Of course I know that. But were you just not paying attention to what you were asking the question? No, because I was told he was giving it to a UK family trust. Oh sorry, a family office that was based on New York. He said in your presence, Laura. I am not. I am not a compliance officer. I was in the middle of the canvassing in the Clackson by election. I turn up. I frankly wasn't even listening. You weren't listening. I just asked, is it all above board? I was just there to come and say hello. So you weren't listening when you were discussing donations of thousands and thousands of cars? I was told that there was a global family office based in London. So the money could have come from Singapore. The money could have come from all over the world. You know, income

2:04could have come from all over the world into a family office based in London. I know the I know electoral law. You know, I know donation law better than anybody. Frankly, the two individuals involved here have never been involved in farm raising before. And they shouldn't have been involved directly in farm raising. They should have done basic checks and nobody, nobody should be brought to me unless they've been invested properly. For I've said that this latest thing was an example of the disproportionate targeting of himself and reform by an establishment ecosystem that wants to stop the new kids on the block. He also said that his family have been impacted to the extent that they have been begging him to step away from politics. I was angry over the summer. I'm not now. I've moved on. We're having a great conference. I'm enjoying life. I enjoyed the bi-election campaign. I've been aggrieved because of the impact and things that have been done to my family, most of which I had not talked about in public, many of which are frankly monstrous, are not screws in me and are not in the public domain.

3:06And did that upset me hugely over the course of the summer? I would admit that it did. I would admit that it did very, very much to the point where for the first time really, in my political career, you know, I haven't got my family's support. They would rather have packed it up and walked away. So yeah, it's been double. Have you thought about packing it in and walking it away? If your family's... I haven't. I haven't. But when you've got your family begging you to, it's not easy. But I think we're through that now. I believe we're through that that period. I think the general public do understand that, you know, I have got some unusual circumstances that others don't have to deal with. And yeah, you know, we're back here. It's a big conference, an energetic conference. We had a bad start with a few little local difficulties as we've discussed. But you can see the party's very big. It's all local difficulties, isn't it? You've lost two of your most senior people. You can't just laugh it off. You can laugh it off. You lose people in,

4:09you lose people in life, in business, in politics. It happens for all sorts of reasons. Keir Starmer has announced he is standing down as the MP for Hoben in St Pancras, triggering a by-election. Sagaal Abdiwali, the current leader of Camden Council, has been tipped as a front-runner to take over from Starmer. On Sky News, John Staplet asked Reforms Robert Generick, whether he thought that comments made by his colleague, Zia Yusuf, about Abdiwali had been racist. The by-election has been called in Hoben and St Pancras. This week, not very favourable or fertile territory for reform historically, that part of the whole world. Well, we'll see. Your colleague, Zia Yusuf, the home of fair spokesperson for York Party said the front-runner being foisted on the people of Hoben by Labour to replace the former Prime Minister Keir Starmer in our parliament was born in Somalia. Do you understand what's happening? I mean, we had Jonathan Reynolds on the programme earlier who just said that is plain racist. It is, isn't it? No. Why? Because I think the point that Zia is making is that,

5:11you know, there's no rule against people standing for our parliament to work on in this country. Is the voice phase? Do you understand what's happening? What does that mean? Well, I think the point is making is this, is there's no rule against people standing who weren't born in this country, who came for whatever reason here, and people have done that in the past. But Somalia is a wrong in the past? No, I don't know this person, so I'm not here to cast aspersions upon her, but I do want people to sit in our parliament who are... Well, she's there for a community for over a decade as a volunteer committee. A trustee for local chance in this country. A school governor at two of the schools and a local government. Well, maybe she is someone who is entirely patriotic and supported this country. I would just say, and this is the point... That's what I say. This is the point I think Zia was making. That is not everyone, sadly, in our current House of Commons. But you put you... But you put you... I have been shocked by what I've seen in the House Commons a recent times. Well, let me finish my point. Why are there people standing for parliament at the moment? In fact, sitting in the House of Commons who are more interested in whether an airport is being built in Miirpur than whether the bin's strike is cleared in Birmingham. That is something

6:16I'm very badly wrong with our politics. I don't like sectarian politics. I want people who are solely interested in putting the interest of our country. But you know nothing about you. Well, I said I don't... Well, I just told you about her background. Well, that doesn't necessarily... You're impugning someone. You're impugning someone's integrity and patriotism on the basis of the fact that she was born in Somalia. So all Somali should be... I'm saying... I'm saying... It's not about whether she's from Somalia or the United States or wherever. I'm saying that if you weren't born in this country and you stand for parliament, it's a legitimate question to ask, where are your loyalties? Are you going to put the interests of Britain first? And you would not believe how much time is wasted in the House of Commons debating things... Like nothing to do with this country whatsoever and how many people stand up and make the case for Pakistan or Gaza as if they were representing those places and not their own constituents. And I want that to end. Since Andy Burnett became Prime Minister, he has repeatedly claimed that the UK took a wrong turn in the 1980s under Margaret Thatcher.

7:21Speaking to Laura Kreamsberg, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds insisted that Labour was not focused on the past. What do you mean in brass tax? Because I think a lot of people watching and listening carefully in the last month hear that and think, okay, that means nationalisation, that means the government owning things. It doesn't necessarily mean that. So, as I've said, there are some areas where that has had to be the case. That has been the only viable option. It's a menu. In some cases, it will be about enabling things. I mean, the £2 bus cab, this is very popular, is state public control to some extent of the prices, but delivered in partnership with the private sector. So this is not going to be about, the mistake that some tourists are making when they see this. Is this about looking to the past? This is about looking back to the 70s. No. That's what it sounds like when Andy Burnett keeps saying, oh, things went wrong for decades ago. When it's about addressing what I think has been a real driving force for British politics, which is this sense that people have, that they have lost power. And it's also relaxed directly, by the way, to the fact it is far too hard

8:21to do things in this country. You have to get so many agencies, so many legal authorities to build basic infrastructure, which then makes it at a cost more than our right. But that's a bit regulation. No, that's a different thing. That's a bit regulation, which would be brought in many cases by successive Labour governments. Public control can mean regulation, can mean better regulation. And on GB News, Camilla Tobini interviewed Andrew Griffith, who has become the new shadow chancellor. Griffith has emphasised his experience in business and commitment to fiscal responsibility. Tomini pointed out that Griffith was a Treasury Minister when Liz Truss announced her disastrous mini-budget. Are you definitely fiscally responsible, Andrew Griffith? As the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham has pointed out, you were a Treasury Minister when Liz Truss and quasi-quarting came out with their mini-budget that nearly broke the British economy. There's only one person responsible for the Liz Truss budget, and that's Liz Truss. I was very junior minister at the time. I wasn't cited on that budget. My portfolio did not include

9:22tax and spend decisions. But look, the person that I am, Camilla, and you can see that this week, when I set out in two days after my appointment, proper plans fully costed to fund the defence of our nation. Something that John Healey claimed to have resigned over back in the summer. He's been the real chancellor for two whole months. Absolutely nothing, kicking the can down the road. I want people to be able to sleep safe in their beds at night, knowing that our nation is being defended securely, but also that their finances, their jobs, their savings and investments are safe, are in safe hands. That's who I am. That's who I'm going to be. Well, get onto John Healey in just a minute, I promise, because I have been asking Jonathan Reynolds about him in defence spending. But just briefly though, you did praise Liz Truss for her economic programme, didn't you? You were quite keen on that mini-budget. Well, it wasn't all bad, Camilla. Any plans to cut taxes, to get the economy growing,

10:22to get people building to reduce some of the thicker of regulation. But I'll be really clear, there was one fatal flaw, fatal mistake in that budget. The plans didn't fully add up, they didn't explain where all the money is coming from. That is exactly the position that this government right now is in, and the interest rates that they are having to pay on our debt are even higher. The nation is paying more than £100 billion a year, simply for the privilege of borrowing money, that's more than twice the amount we spend on defence. That is no way to run an economy. So fiscal responsibility will underline everything we do. That is who I am. That's what I did in my 25 years in business. Someone's, I think, pointed out this week that that exceeds the entire business experience of the entire Labour cabinet. But the judge me by my actions, week one, finding a fully costed plan to fund our defences. And every tax cut that we promise, and we will be a tax cutting conserved of government, will be fully costed, we will explain where the money is

11:23coming from. Okay, but you have just admitted that you worked in a treasury that came out with a budget where the sums didn't add up. And as I also said, Camilla, is that I was not responsible for tax and spend. I first saw that budget the night before, after the markets had closed, the night before, when it had already gone to press. I wasn't in the cabinet, I wasn't the author, I wasn't the architecture, architect. It was a clear mistake that party has learnt from that mistake. Liz Truss accepted responsibility and apologized at the time. My focus is how we go forward. How do we build plans to grow our nation? Plans for the 2030s and a responsible, fiscally responsible, set of conservative plans. That's who I am. Judge me by my actions. You can see what we've done this week in terms of a fully costed plan to fund the nation's defences properly. That's all for this week. I'm Isabel Harbman and this podcast was produced by Joby Del Brill. If you enjoy coffee house shots, don't forget to click the follow button on whatever platform you're listening to us on.

12:26That way you'll get the latest episode straight to your feed as soon as it's released. And do subscribe to our daily evening blend email. It's a free roundup of all the political news each day, along with analysis and a diary on what to expect next. Just go to spectator.co.gk forward slash blend. Thanks for listening and I hope you join us again next week. Support comes from wise the smart way to manage the currencies you need around the world. Your life is global. Your money should be too. Some providers promise no fees on overseas transfers. Don't be fooled. Extra costs often hide and bloat at exchange rates. Choose wise. You can send

13:28spend and receive money in over 40 currencies. Count on the exchange rates that you'd usually see on Google. That's how millions save billions on hidden fees. Be smart. Get wise. Visit wise.com.