logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2024
28m 25s

Inside the Tory plot to oust Rishi Sunak

THE TIMES
About this episode

A former adviser to the prime minister is working with a secretive group of Tories to remove him from office before the general election. MPs have been out publicly backing Rishi Sunak and denying their involvement, but it risks setting off yet another civil war in the party. So who are the rebels? 

This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: thetimes.co.uk/storiesofourtimes. 

Guest: Steven Swinford, Political Editor, The Times.

Host: Luke Jones.

Clips: Times Radio, Parliament Live, 10 Downing Street, BBC News, BBC Radio 4 Today, Sky News, BBC Breakfast. 

If you enjoyed this episode, you might like this one too: Keir Starmer’s Blairite playbook

Get in touch: storiesofourtimes@thetimes.co.uk

Find out more about our bonus series for Times subscribers: 'Inside the newsroom'

This podcast was brought to you thanks to subscribers of The Times and The Sunday Times. To enjoy unlimited digital access to all our journalism subscribe here.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
Q&A: Israel on a knife edge, freedom of movement back on the cards and what next for Christa Pike?
Following this week’s elections in Israel, will Benjamin Netanyahu cling on as Prime Minister? Why did Christa Pike’s execution fail? And as Andy Burnham weighs up a return to free movement with the EU, have the political class ever accepted Brexit? You asked, so we answered, in ... Show More
25m 39s
Yesterday
What does the budget mean for you?
Chancellor John Healey has delivered the first budget of Andy Burnham’s government. It was a deliberately low-key statement marked by a string of small policy announcements, and thin on detail when it came to the government’s two biggest fiscal headaches: defense spending and the ... Show More
31m 37s
Oct 28
Prepping goes mainstream - how ready should we be?
Last Friday, the UK government told British households to have three days’ worth of food and water in their homes, as insurance against national emergencies. Now, the UK is prepping. But what exactly are the threats? Are we lagging behind our European cousins when it comes to rea ... Show More
25m 37s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2022
How to Remove a Tory Prime Minister
<p>Matt Chorley hears from people who were in the room with previous Conservative Prime Ministers as they were forced out from office. The Times' Political Editor Steven Swinford analyses how close Boris is to following them.</p><br><p>PLUS: Melanie Reid and James Forsyth discuss ... Show More
39m 44s
Jan 2024
Who’s behind the Tory plots?
<p>The FT’s Whitehall Editor Lucy Fisher is joined by the FT’s George Parker and Robert Shrimsley to lift the veil on the Tory party plots against the prime minister. As rightwingers prepare to launch the new Popular Conservatives (PopCons) group and the demand for a new directio ... Show More
31m 6s
Jan 2022
The row over Number 10 parties during the 2020 lockdown
<p>This week we’re devoting the episode to the “partygate” row which has blown up in Westminster. After the prime minister revealed he attended a party, calls for his resignation grew in and outside of the Tory party. Can he survive? Does his fate lie in the hands of a senior civ ... Show More
35m 9s
Dec 2023
Rwanda plan reignites Tory civil war
<p>Infighting has erupted once again within the Tory ranks over Rishi Sunak’s last-minute treaty with Kigali and emergency legislation to save his Rwanda removals plan. The FT’s Lucy Fisher is joined by colleagues Miranda Green and Jim Pickard to explain what’s happened and discu ... Show More
29m 20s
Dec 2023
Sunk! Is Sunak’s Tory Party over?
It’s been a bruising 24 hours for Rishi Sunak including a ministerial resignation, emergency prime ministerial press conference and a former home secretary now firmly on manoeuvres. Amol and Nick discuss the Today programme’s exclusive interview with that former home secretary, S ... Show More
50m 16s
Jun 2022
Could Boris Johnson survive a vote of confidence?
The campaign to remove Boris Johnson as Prime Minister is building. The steady trickle of letters from Conservative MPs declaring they have no confidence in him and criticism from high-profile dissenters has sparked speculation that there could be a vote as early as next week.Ano ... Show More
26m 30s
Oct 2023
Rishi Sunak’s ‘questionable radicalism’
<p>Rishi Sunak is pitching himself as the change candidate at the next election with a raft of policy shake-ups - but does the substance match the rhetoric? The FT’s Whitehall editor Lucy Fisher is joined by columnist Robert Shrimsley and political editor George Parker to discuss ... Show More
31m 52s