Reform UK may be leading in the polls on a mandate to hit net zero migration – but could this come sooner than Nigel Farage may think? Michael Simmons returns to Reality Check to explain what's really going behind Britain's migration figures.

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Michael Simmons reflects on some of the economic highs and lows of 2025.

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The Spectator’s Michael Simmons in conversation with Greg Jackson, CEO & Founder of Octopus Energy and non-executive member of the Cabinet Office Board

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Junior doctors, now known as resident doctors, will strike from December 17 to 22, which Wes Streeting has said will 'wreck Christmas'. The doctors are demanding a 26 per cent salary rise over the next few years to make up for the erosion in their pay in real terms since 2008 – this is on top of a 28.9% increase they have had over the last three years. Michael Simmons takes a look at their claim over the erosion of their pay in real terms, explains why Wes Streeting is right to call them 'moaning minnies' and offers an alternative solution instead.

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The Chancellor laid our her plans to scrap the two-child benefit cap in the Budget last week. Previously Rachel Reeves and the Prime Minister were against lifting the cap, but pressure from Reform and the back benches meant the government u-turned. The Resolution Foundation has backed this policy, arguing that it will help lift children out of poverty. But is this based on dodgy data? Michael Simmons investigates.

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Lifestyle economist Christopher Snowdon joins Michael Simmons to explore how weight-loss drugs like Ozempic could reshape health, policy and the economy. From the WHO’s call for mass production to flawed obesity cost estimates, failing ‘nanny state’ interventions and the future of food companies, Snowden argues that these drugs are a genuine game-changer — and warns that much of current public health thinking is fast becoming obsolete.

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As Budget days go, today was unprecedented. The complete list of measures announced by Rachel Reeves – along with their costings and economic impacts – was leaked by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) an hour before the Chancellor took to her feet. The OBR apologised and called it a ‘technical error’. The headline is tax hikes to the tune of £26 billion, income tax thresholds will be frozen again and the tax burden will hit a record high at 38 per cent of GDP. Was this the most farcical Budget in history?

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Rachel Reeves is due to deliver her budget this Wednesday. Throughout the years, the only person permitted to drink inside the House of Commons is the Chancellor. What has been the tipple of choice for each Chancellor dating back to Benjamin Disraeli? Michael Simmons and James Heale drink their way through the ages, discuss the historical context of each budget, and question whether Rachel Reeves has the toughest job yet.

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