
Why Labour’s fate will be decided in the Strait of Hormuz
From The Edition by The Spectator
May 22, 2026 · 36 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the impact of the Strait of Hormuz on the Labour government's fate, featuring insights from various guests on political authority and historical female figures.
For this week’s Edition , Lara Prendergast is joined by The Spectator 's John Power, feminist campaigner Julie Bindel and former adviser to Boris Johnson – and co-host of the In The Room podcast, Cleo Watson. They explore the idea that the Strait of Hormuz, not Makerfield, will determine the fate of the current Labour government. Starmer may be facing a challenge to his authority from mayoral shapeshifter Andy Burnham, but neither the PM or the wannabe MP will be rewarded if grocery and energy prices continue to soar. How much can be done to insulate Britain from future pain? And do they trust Labour to do so? Also this week: is Wes Streeting a better option than Burnham? Julie reveals her own run-ins with the now-backbench MP but concedes that Wes may be 'the least bad option’. Plus: what can we learn from female political trailblazers of the past? Are there any merits to lists of the greatest books? And, following the release of series two of Rivals , Cleo reveals she was once asked to put together a list of the best orgasm scenes from Jilly Cooper’s novels... Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast…
People in this episode
Host: Lara Prendergast
Guests: John Power, Julie Bindel, Cleo Watson
Topics covered
- Labour government
- Strait of Hormuz
- political authority
- energy prices
- female political trailblazers
- book recommendations
Keywords
- Labour
- Strait of Hormuz
- politics
- energy prices
- Wes Streeting
- Andy Burnham
- female trailblazers
- Jilly Cooper
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Labour, The Spectator
Books & works: Rivals, Jilly Cooper’s novels
Places: Strait of Hormuz, Britain
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