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Robert Shrimsley

UK chief political commentator and executive editor

Robert Shrimsley is UK chief political commentator and executive editor of the Financial Times. He writes a weekly column on British politics and for the FT weekend magazine. Before this, he served as the FT’s chief political correspondent, news editor, managing editor of FT.com and editorial director.
Email Robert Shrimsley @robertshrimsley  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)
  • Thursday, 2 January, 2025
    Kemi Badenoch
    Farage and why Badenoch does not have time to ‘watch this space’

    Chatter about a Boris Johnson return illuminates the depth of the Conservative party’s funk

    An Ann Kiernan illustration of Kemi Badenoch standing on an iceberg that is being circled by sharks
  • Thursday, 2 January, 2025
    Inside Politics
    Can Labour sell a softer prisons policy?

    The sweeping, costly reforms needed to relieve overcrowded jails will test Labour’s resolve in persuading the public

    Prisoners walk out of jail
  • Friday, 20 December, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: what was the year’s best present?

    My London travel pass is amazing, and it appals me. Can we really afford to give free public transport to those of us who don’t need it?

  • Thursday, 19 December, 2024
    Political Fix podcast41 min listen
    Quizmas special: Political Fix’s nerd out!

    Lucy Fisher puts the pod’s wise men and women to the test

  • Thursday, 19 December, 2024
    UK economy
    Time for Keir Starmer to remember he is first lord of the Treasury

    With growth at the heart of his policy platform, the prime minister is remarkably passive on the economy

    Illustration of Sir Keir Starmer’s head in profile, with a torch-like beam of graphs streaming from his eyes
  • Friday, 13 December, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: should I make rules for my house guests?

    Both sides should set their expectations. I’ll go first — mi casa is not su casa 

  • Thursday, 12 December, 2024
    Keir Starmer
    Keir Starmer and the Cummings consensus

    The Tories fell short of their rhetoric — if the PM is following their path, he needs to learn why reform has failed in the past

    Ellie Foreman-Peck illustration of Dominic Cummings looking on as Keir Starmer shakes a model of the Whitehall building.
  • Friday, 22 November, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: what’s it like not being on Ozempic?

    First, rude. Second,  here’s my diary of not joining the queue for the super drug

  • Saturday, 16 November, 2024
    ReviewBooks
    Triumph to tragedy — a cautionary tale of politics

    Two books, from Anthony Seldon and Tim Shipman, capture the decline of the Conservative party

    Three people in a room, one is standing waving his arms in the air, a woman is sitting and amother man in a scarf is standing, holding a laptop
  • Friday, 15 November, 2024
    FT MagazineUS-UK relations
    Ask Shrimsley: how do I keep a relationship special?

    If you’re buttering up a US president, neediness and flattery will get you everywhere

  • Thursday, 14 November, 2024
    UK foreign policy
    Donald Trump, the final facilitator of Brexit

    Britain must relearn the art of the deal or risks being buffeted by big power politics

    Ellie Foreman-Peck illustration of Trump’s hair as a tsunami over Westminster
  • Friday, 8 November, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: can you BBC Verify that for me?

    Is the Beeb being self righteous again? Or offering us a model for reinforcing our own cred when others doubt it?

  • Thursday, 7 November, 2024
    Populism
    Anger is the defining energy of western politics

    Quelling the rage is a democratic imperative across the world

    Illustration of a politician at a lectern with his clenched fist held up and his head on fire
  • Friday, 1 November, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: Am I a real working person?

    So what if you work and you’re a person? In what way is that a qualification?

  • Friday, 1 November, 2024
    Life and Art from FT Weekend podcast31 min listen
    Culture Chat: the bonkbuster world of ‘Rivals’

    We discuss ‘Rivals’, the Disney+ adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s romance novel. Lilah is joined by Robert Shrimsley and Harriet Fitch Little

  • Wednesday, 30 October, 2024
    UK Autumn Budget 2024
    Goodbye to low-tax Britain

    One does not need to subscribe to hyperbolic Tory rhetoric to recognise that this Budget heralded a major shift

    Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves walks with the red budget box outside her office on Downing Street in London
  • Friday, 25 October, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: Can I call you Rob?

    Barely a week goes by without someone deciding it’s friendly to shorten my name. This is a basic misjudgment 

    An illustration of Robert Shrimsley carrying a takeaway coffee up with the initial ‘R’ on the side
  • Friday, 25 October, 2024
    UK Autumn Budget 2024
    Reeves should embrace the freedom of disapproval

    The UK chancellor and PM Keir Starmer need to dispense with the excessive caution of opposition

    Ellie Foreman-Peck illustration of the red Budget briefcase with a barbed wire handle
  • Friday, 18 October, 2024
    Political Fix podcast38 min listen
    Cabinet fightback: the revolt over spending

    Plus, the English justice system in crisis

  • Friday, 18 October, 2024
    FT MagazineTelevision
    Ask Shrimsley: were the ’80s as much fun as Jilly Cooper says?

    Absolutely. Although I don’t remember doing any of that stuff myself

  • Thursday, 17 October, 2024
    UK politics21 min
    Sketchy Politics: Labour pains

    How will Labour handle their first Budget?

    Sketchy Politics: Labour pains
  • Thursday, 17 October, 2024
    Conservative party UK
    Why Tory leaders win the diversity challenge

    The party’s recent record shows that Badenoch’s ascent to leadership favourite is no accident

    Ellie Foreman-Peck illustration of different hands clasping each other’s wrists.
  • Friday, 11 October, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: Am I a comedy Jew?

    Amid unfunny stereotypes, these portrayals of neurotic families contain some uncomfortable truths

  • Thursday, 10 October, 2024
    UK Government
    The battle of Labour’s three brains

    Tensions between the priorities of working people and progressive supporters are now complicated by the Treasury

    Illustration of three glass jars with brains inside: working people brain, progressive brain and treasury brain
  • Friday, 4 October, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: I’ve borked Britain. Is it time to write my memoirs?

    Yes, please do. Everyone is dying to know why it wasn’t your fault

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