About this episode

The episode discusses the political dynamics between Reform UK and Restore Britain, including their potential impact on the Labour party and the implications of missing WhatsApp messages.

For this week’s  Edition , Lara Prendergast is joined by the  Spectator 's political editor Tim Shipman, the writer Guy Stagg and the author and host of How to Fail Elizabeth Day. This week, the guests discuss whether Nigel Farage’s Reform UK can see off the threat from Rupert Lowe’s Restore Britain. Restore Britain’s success may be modest and, so far, very online but that doesn’t mean they won’t hinder Farage’s effort to reach Number 10. If polls from the Makerfield by-election are anything to be believed, Restore could have a real impact. The battle for the tight is also having an impact across the political spectrum too – should Labour move further to the right to appeal to Reform and Restore's disgruntled voters, or should they simply ignore them? For Elizabeth Day, there is an ‘ironic and beautiful symmetry’ to the Reform versus Restore dynamic, which almost makes her nostalgic for the 'Tory boy' politics of post-Thatcher era. Also this week: from Makerfield to Mandelson, the government has been busy this week responding to the latest tranche of messages released on Monday. Yet – were some missing? Tim discusses the missing messages of Starmer loyalist Darren Jones…

People in this episode

Host: Lara Prendergast

Guests: Tim Shipman, Guy Stagg, Elizabeth Day

Topics covered

• politics
• elections
• Labour party
• Reform UK
• Restore Britain
• WhatsApp messages

Keywords

• Reform UK
• Restore Britain
• political dynamics
• Labour party
• WhatsApp messages
• by-election
• Elizabeth Day

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Reform UK, Restore Britain

Places: Makerfield, Istanbul, Belfast

More episodes of The Edition

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• The Pope's AI warning – and how Restore split the right, again · May 28, 2026 · 48 min
• Why Labour’s fate will be decided in the Strait of Hormuz · May 21, 2026 · 36 min
• ‘This is deranged!’: Labour’s civil war is distracting from the real crisis · May 14, 2026 · 46 min

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