Deals, donations and damage limitation

6 snips

Dec 5, 2025

Guest

Jim Pickard

Robert Shrimsley, chief political commentator for the Financial Times, joins Miranda Green, Deputy Opinion Editor, and Jim Pickard, Deputy Political Editor. They dive into Keir Starmer's defense of Labour's Budget amidst skepticism about fiscal misrepresentation. The panel discusses Nigel Farage's prediction of a Tory-Reform UK deal, bolstered by a significant donation, and the potential impacts on upcoming elections. Additionally, they explore rising mental health diagnoses and the implications of Labour's welfare strategies as the political landscape evolves.

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INSIGHT

OBR Publication Failings Exposed

The OBR's pre-published report was accessed via predictable URLs, exposing weak IT and publication controls.
Robert Shrimsley and George Parker note journalists and traders can exploit such predictable links for scoops.

INSIGHT

OBR-Treasury Relationship Broke Down

Tensions between the Treasury and the OBR preceded the resignation of Richard Hughes and reveal a breakdown in working relations.
Miranda Green argues the OBR's independence and operational pressures make blaming Hughes for IT failures problematic.

INSIGHT

Budget: Truth Versus Omission

Rachel Reeves highlighted a fiscal 'hole' while the OBR had offsetting inflation and earnings changes that mostly neutralised it.
Jim Pickard says Reeves told the truth but omitted material information on positive offsets.

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Sir Keir Starmer started the week with not one but two speeches defending his party’s Budget decisions in the wake of claims that chancellor Rachel Reeves had misled the public and fellow MPs about the state of the nation’s finances. Was his sell convincing? The prime minister also brought up Brexit, but as panellist Robert Shrimsley points out, Starmer was characteristically unclear as to whether the Labour party was ultimately leaning into or out of the EU.

Plus, host George Parker and the rest of the panel, Miranda Green and Jim Pickard, discuss the FT report that Nigel Farage told Reform UK donors he expects his party to do some sort of deal with the Tories in the run-up to the next general election — potentially helped by the single biggest donation any UK political party has had from a living donor.

Follow on Bluesky: George, Miranda, Jim, Robert

Want more? Free links:

Farage tells donors he expects Reform UK will do an election deal with the Tories

Head of UK fiscal watchdog quits after Budget leak

UK government orders review into rising diagnoses of mental health conditions

Janan Ganesh: The rise of unpopular populism

UK envoy to Moscow enters race to be next ambassador

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Presented by George Parker, and produced by Lulu Smyth. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Original music and mix by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.

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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com.

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