The Edition: will Labour learn the wrong lessons from the locals?

This week: Lara Pendergast is joined by Tim Shipman, Lionel Barber and Alice Loxton, author of Eleanor: A 200-Mile Walk in Search of England’s Lost Queen. They unpack Michael Gove’s cover piece which asks whether the local elections will push Labour further to the left. As the Greens threaten Labour in its metropolitan heartlands and Reform eats into its working-class vote, is Keir Starmer facing a battle for the soul of his party? They also consider the collapse of the political centre, the weakness of Britain’s current leadership class, and why being ‘not Keir Starmer’ may not be enough. Also this week: King Charles’s diplomatic triumph in Washington. After his address to Congress, did the King succeed where politicians often fail – managing Donald Trump while quietly defending Nato, Ukraine and constitutional restraint? Plus: are millennials being made ill by ultra-processed ‘health’ foods? And finally, the panel admits to their own unlikely collections – from fridge magnets to political memorabilia. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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The Edition: will Labour learn the wrong lessons from the locals? is an episode from The Spectator Podcast by The Spectator.

This episode is 33:20 long.

This episode was published on May 7, 2026.

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