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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)
  • Friday, 13 September, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: do I have to sing the national anthem?

    Ostentatious patriotism can be controversial — particularly if you choose not to take part

  • Wednesday, 11 September, 2024
    UK politics
    Labour needs Reeves to be an imperial chancellor

    She already has a political empire, but she must command it — and neutralise damage from the government’s early mistakes

    Illustration of Rachel Reeves holding a paint brush in front of a painting of Big Ben which is being painted over a portrait of Margaret Thatcher (her hair is just visibile above Big Ben). Kier Starmer stands on the other side of the canvas gesturing towards it
  • Friday, 6 September, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: Can you spare me your Oasis ticket stories?

    It’s definitely, maybe unacceptable to go on about it

  • Wednesday, 4 September, 2024
    Conservative party UK
    Conservatives need a leader who can battle irrelevance

    The contest to head up the defeated party must establish the Tories as the only serious opposition

    Ewan White illustration of a person talking through a megaphone with a sticker of the Union Jack on it.
  • Friday, 30 August, 2024
    Political Fix podcast35 min listen
    Labour’s descent into ‘miserabilism’

    Plus, who’s up and who’s down in the Tory leadership race

  • Friday, 30 August, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: Should I try ‘raw-dogging’?

    No, it doesn’t mean what you think – this new display of machismo is much, much duller than you can possibly imagine

  • Wednesday, 28 August, 2024
    Keir Starmer
    Why Starmer can’t escape the politics of performance

    The lack of a world-class communicator poses real risks for Labour

    Ellie Foreman-Peck illustration of Keir Starmer holding two expressionless theatre masks
  • Friday, 23 August, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: Should I ‘qwit’ Twitter?

    Whatever you do, make sure it’s all about you

  • Wednesday, 21 August, 2024
    Labour party UK
    Starmer’s trade union summer of love will soon sour

    Public service reforms to both rail and health are coming swiftly down the track

    Illustration of Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves shaking hands with the unions, represented by a big power salute fist and a line of people. Starmer has his fingers crossed behind his back
  • Friday, 16 August, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: am I a snob?

    There’s no shame in it, except when it comes to one particular snobbery

    Illustration of a man in glasses, shirt and jacket shrugging his shoulders and holding out his upturned hands
  • Wednesday, 14 August, 2024
    UK riots
    UK needs no lessons from apologists for rioters

    The historic mission of mainstream politics is to listen to the real communities, not their malign mouthpieces

    Ann Kiernan illustration of a Banksy-style graffiti of a rioter about to throw a brick but who has a surveillance camera in his face and a hand reaching out to him with handcuffs.
  • Friday, 2 August, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: how spicy should a speech at a wedding be?

    These days pushing the boundaries is more acceptable, but don’t forget to read the room

  • Wednesday, 31 July, 2024
    UK politics
    Rachel Reeves and the limits of clever politics

    The chancellor’s scrapping of social care plans shows how short-term tactics continue to let down the UK

    Ellie Foreman-Peck illustration of Rachel Reeves struggling with a black hole
  • Friday, 26 July, 2024
    Political Fix podcast35 min listen
    Labour confronts £20bn black hole

    Plus, the FT’s Gill Plimmer on the HS2 debacle

  • Friday, 26 July, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: do we really have to play a game?

    Board games, strategy games and, heaven forbid, Scrabble. There is nothing worse than enforced communal activity in the name of fun

  • Wednesday, 24 July, 2024
    UK society
    When five go mad on the motorways

    Stiff sentences for climate activists underscore the crucial distinction between protest and disruption

    Ellie Foreman-Peck illustration of just stop oil protesters behind bars.
  • Friday, 19 July, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: Is it all over for public schoolboys?

     If you think the purges spell an end to privilege, you haven’t been paying attention

  • Thursday, 18 July, 2024
    UK politics
    Keir Starmer’s never-ending insurgency

    Those around the prime minister want to wage a permanent campaign for change that voters will give them credit for

    Illustration of Keir Starmer in a beret with a red start on it against a red background
  • Friday, 12 July, 2024
    Political Fix podcast41 min listen
    Keir Starmer’s debut on the global stage

    Plus, the FT’s William Wallis on the state of the UK’s dangerously overcrowded prisons

  • Friday, 12 July, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: How do I make sure that everyone knows I was promoted?

    You might want to begin with the phrase ‘Some personal news . . . ’ or a ‘Just Promoted’ lapel badge has essential honesty

  • Wednesday, 10 July, 2024
    UK politics
    The very resistible rise of Nigel Farage

    Reform UK poses a real threat on the radical right but an improving economy and sense of hope is the best defence

    Illustration of Farage as a mythical creature
  • Friday, 5 July, 2024
    UK general election 2024
    The fight for the UK right has begun

    Conservatives need to understand why they lost this election

    A man and a woman walk down a city street holding hands
  • Friday, 5 July, 2024
    Political Fix podcast59 min listen
    Election special: Starmer moves into Number 10

    The FT’s top political commentators answer listeners’ questions about the general election result

  • Friday, 5 July, 2024
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Ask Shrimsley: is wild hair the sign of a bad politician?

    The new right populists are opting for less challenging styles than Trump and Johnson

    Cartoon shows a man in jacket pulling his hair out
  • Friday, 5 July, 2024
    Instant InsightUK general election 2024
    Starmer stands supreme but he cannot ignore the Reform surge

    Tories suffer a punishment beating from the voters

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