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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)

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  • Friday, 22 September, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Living next door to a jailbreak

    A recent high-profile prison escape hit closer to home than anticipated

  • Thursday, 21 September, 2023
    The best books of the week
    The Abuse of Power — Theresa May points the finger of blame

    Unreflective of her own failings, the former PM is big on public duty but weak on solutions

    A woman in blue walks towards a podium
  • Wednesday, 20 September, 2023
    UK politics
    Sunak’s Conservatives are betting against the future

    There has been a breakdown in the economic promise that previously swung voters to the right as they got older

    Illustration of a chart line which is mostly red with a short section of blue. Above the red line is a crawling baby, then a child, then an adult and an older adult. Above the blue line is a very old person and a grave
  • Friday, 15 September, 2023
    FT MagazineSocial Media
    How social media killed the protest

    For a certain kind of activist, politics has been reduced to pure performance

  • Wednesday, 13 September, 2023
    Conservative Party UK
    The plot to smash the Conservative party

    Either by starting a new party, or seeking to steer the existing Tories to the right, the populists are on the move

    Illustration of the Conservative tree logo with two people taking axes to its trunk
  • Tuesday, 12 September, 2023
    Politics39 min
    Sketchy Politics: Are all the pieces in place for Starmer?

    UK political commentator Robert Shrimsley and deputy opinion editor Miranda Green sketch out Labour's possible paths to power

    Sketchy Politics: Political Bingo
  • Friday, 8 September, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Weight-loss jabs and other drugs to save me from myself

    The new anti-obesity drug Wegovy presents an exciting opportunity to get healthy without any effort

  • Wednesday, 6 September, 2023
    Rishi Sunak
    Sunak’s problem is that Britain has stopped listening to the Tories

    The impression is of a country that does not work as it should and a government which has run out of answers

    Ewan White illustration of a food can painted with a union jack flag and with a fuse that forms the outline of Rishi Sunak’s face
  • Tuesday, 5 September, 2023
    UK politics13 min
    Why Labour rejects a wealth tax | FT Interview

    The FT's Robert Shrimsley interviews Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, and John McTernan, a former senior aide to last Labour prime minister Tony Blair

    FT Interview: Rachel Reeves
  • Friday, 1 September, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Surrendering to the joy of sensory underload

    What I learnt from 90 minutes with almost no distractions

  • Wednesday, 30 August, 2023
    Brexit
    Rejoining the EU remains a very distant dream

    Even returning to the single market or customs union is a hard argument for an electorate queasy about reopening divisions

    Ellie Foreman-Peck illustration of an EU star as shooting star out of the reach of grasping hands
  • Friday, 11 August, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Trump case shows America needs some special verdict options

    Too dangerous? Not convenient? Sometimes a simple conviction would just cause too many problems

  • Wednesday, 9 August, 2023
    Keir Starmer
    Starmer won’t give the Tories an opportunity — that’s their opportunity

    Labour’s caution has drawn the opposition on to Conservative territory

    Keir Starmer walks away from the spotlight holding a single-stemmed rose as it drops red petals on the floor behind him
  • Friday, 4 August, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Graduation days are all about the parents, stupid

    The ceremony should be seen as a thank you for two decades of parenting

  • Thursday, 3 August, 2023
    Political Fix podcast35 min listen
    Rishi Sunak’s dash for oil and gas

    The PM says he’s on the side of motorists. Plus, Labour’s upcoming Scottish test

  • Wednesday, 2 August, 2023
    UK politics
    The myth of the motorist in politics

    Today’s equivalents of ‘Mondeo man’ care less about their cars than about the stalled economy.

    Illustration of three voting booths with the back end of a Mondeo, white van and Galaxy sticking out under the blue curtain in each
  • Friday, 28 July, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    We regret to say that this column has been delayed by rain

    No one is more disappointed than the author. But he blames the cricket

  • Wednesday, 26 July, 2023
    UK politics
    The Conservative war on Big Everything

    Opposing costly green policies could be the strategy the Tories need in their fight against liberal orthodoxy

    Illustration of Rishi Sunak in armour and on a horse. He is driving a spear into a Ulez sign
  • Friday, 21 July, 2023
    FT MagazineRobert Jenrick
    The Robert Jenrick guide to interior design

    If it’s something austere but age-appropriate you’re after, the Tory immigration minister is your man

    An illustration of Robert Jenrick painting over a mural of Mickey Mouse with a roller
  • Wednesday, 19 July, 2023
    UK tax
    There is no low-tax option at the next UK election

    Both major parties have yet to be totally honest with the electorate

    A man in a suit and bowler hat rides a hot air balloon with word tax written across it
  • Friday, 14 July, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Tony Blair still defines the UK political playbook

    George Osborne’s wedding guests aren’t the only ones still dancing to New Labour’s tune

  • Wednesday, 12 July, 2023
    Conservative Party UK
    The Conservative crisis of capitalism

    As schisms in the party emerge over the right model for growth, the upshot is an inconsistent mess

    Illustration of piles of coins with a picture of Margaret Thatcher’s face and the words ‘Margaret Thatcher, Iron Lady’ on each coin
  • Friday, 7 July, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    Is this self-referential enough for you, Wes Anderson?

    Robert Shrimsley, 58, made the decision to see ‘Asteroid City’. It left him mired in existential questions  

  • Wednesday, 5 July, 2023
    UK politics
    Badly run Britain needs lessons in management

    Our public services are not the envy of the world and Whitehall reform is desperately needed

    Illustration of the UK as a machine made of cogs, about to blow, with puffs cogs flying off.
  • Friday, 30 June, 2023
    FT MagazineLife & Arts
    An encounter with the world’s most expensive grape

    My irritation rose with the sense I was being conned by panic and moral pressure. On the other hand, it would cost more if things turned bad

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