Was Brexit worth it – and can Burnham save Britain? – with Tom McTague

Was Brexit worth it – and can Burnham save Britain? – with Tom McTague

June 18, 2026 · 54 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the implications of Brexit and its impact on British politics with insights from various guests.

For this week’s  Edition , William Moore is joined by the  Spectator ’s assistant editor Isabel Hardman and the editor of  The New Statesman  Tom McTague. Plus, in a special episode this week, the  Spectator ’s economics editor Michael Simmons joins for the first half of the episode, before political editor Tim Shipman jumps in later on. This week: was Brexit worth it? As we approach the tenth anniversary of the vote to leave the European Union, the  Spectator ’s editor – and former prominent Vote Leave campaigner – Michael Gove makes the case that not only was Britain right to leave, but it has benefitted from leaving. The past decade however has been marked by domestic political chaos, so to what extent was Brexit a symptom or a cause of deeper problems with the British state? Tom argues that whatever your thoughts on Brexit itself, most people in Britain – including in Makerfield – feel nothing has changed; it has been a ‘damp squib’. The author of  Between The Waves , which charts the decision to Leave back to the Second World War, explains that while Brexit might not have been inevitable, there was always going to be a…

People in this episode

Host: William Moore

Guests: Isabel Hardman, Tom McTague, Michael Simmons, Tim Shipman

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Spectator, The New Statesman

Books & works: Between The Waves

Places: Britain, European Union, Makerfield

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