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George Parker, political editor of the Financial Times, looks back at the political week in which the Conservative party's biggest donor, Frank Hester, was reported to have used racist language about Diane Abbott, Britain's first black woman MP. It overshadowed a new government announcement on extremism which was unveiled by Communities Secretary Michael Gove. To discuss both those stories George is joined by one of the Conservative party's most prominent black politicians, Shaun Bailey, who was a former candidate for Mayor of London and now sits in the House of Lords, and Lord Mann, a former Labour MP who is now the government's independent adviser on antisemitism.
Following news that the government intends to bring forward a mechanism to ban foreign state ownership of UK newspapers George is joined by Baroness Stowell, Conservative Chair of the Lords Communication and Digital Committee, and Lionel Barber, the former editor of the Financial Times.
The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, was quizzed by MPs this week about his Budget in which he made a further cut to National Insurance. Lord Macpherson, a former Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, discusses whether the Chancellor could phase out national insurance altogether and looks at the economic situation in this election year and beyond.
And, after a torrid week, are the wheels coming off the Number Ten operation? And can anything lift the darkening mood among Tory MPs? To discuss that George brings together Sir Craig Oliver, former Downing Street Director of Communications, and Katy Balls, political editor of The Spectator.