Now on weekends the Sunday Sweet looking at the stories of the week. Time for the Sunday Sweep, where we look back at the issues of the week and just talk about the body politic here and all around the world. And I'm delighted to say that again. The host of The Spectator Australia's Fired Will podcast and contributor to gb and Sky News, Will Kingston is with us on the line from the United Kingdom. But you've been in Oz, haven't you?
Will? Good alek I have. I got back to he throw at six am this morning, so yeah, nice, you can city for a few weeks and now in Blighty, lovely.
We might start with the news at the Caterhan early yesterday on our show, which was that Donald Trump now hiking steel tariffs to fifty percent. He says he plans to increase tariffs on foreign steel imports from twenty five percent. The doubling of these levies taking effect on June four. These could further push up prices for mature or used
in housing, vehicles and other goods. That adds already to our inability to build homes quickly and affordably, and this will have impacts all around the world made.
Yeah, it will. Well, there's always two ways of looking at this, the politics of it, and then there's the consequences on the politics. Trump's actually got this acronym that's being labeled against him now, taco. I don't know if you've heard about this. Trump always chickens out, yes, and it's actually it's starting to get a bit of traction, and it's the kind of thing which Trump would really hate.
So I do wonder whether if he then goes back on these tariffs like he has on some of the others, or if there is further judicial pushback, the reputation which he wants to cultivate as a strong man could actually take a bit of a hit. And we've got those midterm elections coming up next year, so there will be implications there. That's the politics side. But you're right to point out that the reality is with all the other tariffs, they will make things more expensive to make, which therefore
will make things more expensive to buy for consumers. Now, if in the long term that this plays out, that he can somehow manage to bring more workers back to America, well that's hunky dory, but it doesn't change the fact that for American consumers and Australian consumers. It's going to cost more to buy cars, and that's something which I think when we talk about costs of living, that's a real problem. Yeah.
The other point about Trump is, and I have heard the taco thing, but he does try to get a deal. Now, if he wants, for example, to get an extra hundred on something, he might initially go with two hundred. If he settles for a hundred, he's got what he originally wants. Is that the other way of looking at taco or the taco idea.
Potentially, But this is the thing I struggle with, and that is he's at different times given different reasons to tariffs. At one time he basically says that it's really just a four D chess tactic to try and get trade deals with other countries and really get them to lower their tariff levels. And at other times he's basically saying, well, no, we're going to keep the tariffs forever, and they're a way for us to bring workers back to America. And
those two things are in tension with each other. In fact, they're contradictory. So it would actually be helpful if he did provide more clarity and what's the real purpose of these But that, to your point, is not really the Trump mo so time will tell it.
Will Now I want you to tell me about reform in the UK, the Reform Party. This is Nigel Farras and I guess, as you well know, mate, in Australian politics now the conservative, traditionally center right parties are I don't think it's unfair to say turmoil, or at least they're having to rebuild and over in the UK was seeing Nigel Faraj and his party do very well. I don't know if what happens they're necessarily happens here, but give us your take on all of this.
Yeah, I think you've hit the nail on the head. I would say more than turmoil for the Conservatives in the UK and for the Liberal National parties in Australia, I think they're both in existential threat under threat. If you look at the Conservatives, they basically let the public down for fourteen years. Everything they said they would do they didn't and as a result of that there is a very real chance that they are wiped off the
electoral at the next election, which would be extraordinary. They are the most successful party of any political party in modern Western political history, and Reform have capitalized on that. The poll of polls which comes out, which is basically an amalgamation of all the different polls over the last couple of weeks, came out only an hour or so ago and it pointed to what would be if an election was held tomorrow, a landslide win for Reform, which
would put Nigel Fargen's Prime minister. And basically, I think I think they've got a that over just thirty percent of the total vote. I think Labor came in at about twenty four the Conservatives boys that if these numbers hold, and again keep in mind four years ago a long time, but you would see the Conservatives wiped off to face the map, you would say, Nigel Farage's prime minisign. You would see Labor be dumped after one terming government. And
I think we'll get to this. But the enduring issue, the issue above all else, which is driving this real anger amongst electorates is both legal and illegmigration.
Immigration isn't that interesting? And the center right here, as you know, they were talking a big game about reducing immigration to nearer the long term averages and I think you've only got to look at the ability to get around our productivity problem, lack of housing and other infrastructure. It seems and it doesn't have to be necessarily forever, but it just seems to be common sense. But again
the liberal National parties went to the people. It ended up being the case from many of the likely suspects in the commentariat that that was anti anti the Australia, that we've become a migrant nation. It led to certain groups and Chinese. I often refer to Chinese Australians running away from the center right coalition. But it intrigues me that this is made about race and culture. It's purely here in mathematics. Is it mathematics in England or is it more to do.
With culture, so mathematics the issue? Or on a per capita base, its especially been more immigrations Australia than the UK in recent years, but the feeling around how the culture is changing is worse than the UK. I was trying to work it out myself when I was back in Sydney a few weeks ago. I think it is
because the Australian population is more spread out. Therefore the effects of immigration are more diluted as opposed to the UK, where if you go now to parts of London, if you go to parts of Birmingham, to go to parts of Newcastle, you do not feel like you're in England. And look, there are too many people who say, oh, well, it's racist to say that we'll be driving down Edgeway roads in the central of London's day and it could
have been Islamabad. It was absolutely shocking. Now people go like, this just doesn't feel like the England that that it once did. And you put into the mix that and I think this is another distinction with Australia. There is a higher there is higher amounts of Islamic immigration, which has led to in many instances a real feeling of cultural fracture, feeling that so particularly more conservative fundamentalist Islamic communities,
their values are not commandal with western liberal democracy. It's led to a real anger in parts of the UK. We're seeing that in parts of western Sydney. We're seeing that in parts of Victoria, as you know, but not nearly to the same level of intensity. And as a result of that, people here are just fed up and if they don't see the numbers go down in dramatically.
Then kiss Dama is toast you've also got. And this is something which luckily Australia has largely solved, the illegal boat problem, which is just getting worse and worse here.
And Nigel Farage what sort of character as you know, Peter Dutton and even just sent a Nampa jimper Price. Can you believe it? They were? They were at least compared or thought to be introducing Trump like politics to Australia. And again the commentariat, the likely suspects say, well, you know, Australians rejected that what are the similarities if there are similarities with Farage and Trump?
Well, yeah, it's interesting you say that because I always think Farage a bit like Dusn't actually is trying very consciably to disassociate himself with Trumpian tactics. So he's making a very deliberate effort to move from I guess the
right to the center. And he's but at the same time, in terms of similarities, it's this sort of kind of right wing populism which isn't necessarily right wing on economics, like he's still keen to spend money, probably more money than I would like, as more of a fiscal conservative kind of guy. But the similarities are kind of this right wing almost like kind of populous economics, real hardline on immigration, and then a real plea to kind of bring back some pride in British identity in the same
way that Trump would say make America great again. Trump Farage is playing off this feeling that this country in decline and you need to basically bring it back in some way. So he's playing a sense of grievance and he's doing it very successfully at the moment.
The way back for the Liberal Party, it's a very big question that I don't expect you to have it real an't it too. But you've seen the ascension of Susan Lee as leader. There's been, of course the little fight between the Coalition Party members or the Nationals and the Liberal Party. We've seen ministers that will shadow ministers dump like Sarah Henderson and Jane Hume too. Women, and of course that's another area of discussion, more women or not.
Is there an obvious way back that you look at this and with your knowledge and experience, what would you be saying.
Well, number one, get some guts. Basically, you know, we have this argument around the broad church of the Liberal Party, and in the past there's been social conservatives and critical liberals and it's been how do you keep that group together? The broad church has been blown up and now you've just got these vaguely right wing people all wandering around in different directions, and there's been no discussion, no real attempt to try and say what is the purpose of
the Liberal Party in twenty twenty five? I cannot believe the Liberal Party went to an election basically promising higher taxes than labor and basically promising that they would spend money then labor, at least in the first two years after the election. It's like, what that kind of got me thinking? What is the point of you in twenty twenty five? So they need to very quickly work out what does it mean to be to be a conserve
party in politics in twenty twenty five. I suspect it is similar to the platform that Reform is running on in the UK, which is to be tougher on legal immigration and to reduce legal immigration numbers. It is to promote pro growth policies by just bringing in more migrants but by reducing taxes, but then also having the guts to reduce spending commensarily at the same time, and it's also basically not shying away from cultural issues when appropriate
in the way that Dutan did. The reality is that this was the Seinfeld election. Look, it was the election about nothing, and when you look back at the end, people said, you know, I need to have something to believe in from the right of Polics and doesn't didn't give them that. Sadly, I don't think Susan leg will either. You look at where the world is going now. Nazeron ditched it recently, Reform will ditch it if they win government. I think the Labor Party even now will walk away
from net zero. Quietly, the world and everyone that matters in the world is moving away from net zero, and Australia increasingly looks like this bizarre statistic outlier. The fact of the matter is you can do this sort of symbolic singling nonsense and make no mistake, this is symbolic because it won't impact the global climate and one iota
when times are good. But when times are tough for Australians, and times are going to get tougher with the economy in the next three years, you can't afford this sort of stuff. Cheap energy is one of the keepers to a strong economy, and it's also one of the easiest ways that you reduced cost of living, and you just cannot do it when you're tying one hand behind your
back with net zero. So the thing with the Liberal Party, and I'm sick of them continue arguing about how to get to new net zero and the whole nuclear thing. The argument should be we are going to ditch zero, but once again I'm not sure whether they have the guts to be able to do it.
Yeah. You can hear more of Will of course on the Spectator Australia's Fire at Will podcast. See him on Sky News. He's often on with bolt GB News as well. We'll look after yourself, mate, Thank you for staying up for us. Great to hear your voice. We'll talk again soon.
Thanks lud chiersmute