🎧 Is Boris Back?

Episode summary: David and Helen talk to Nick Timothy, former chief of staff in Downing Street under Theresa May, about the future for Boris Johnson’s government. Is he now safe from leadership challenges? Can he hold together the coalition that won the 2019 election? Is Keir Starmer the one under pressure? Plus we discuss where the next big destabilising threat to this government might come from: Scotland, Northern Ireland, the EU, China? Talking Points: Is Johnson’s political position more secure now? - If the government can end on a high note with the vaccine rollout, that might be what people remember. Boris probably doesn’t want to be an austerity prime minister. - Sunak wants to get the economy moving and send some signals to the market that there’s fiscal responsibility. - Sunak may also want to create a fiscal dividing line with Labour. - But without financial market pressure, it’s hard to see how Sunak is going to win this argument about fiscal probity. - Political reality, and new voters, may push the Tories toward…