How damaging is the Owen Paterson fiasco to the Tories' reputation?

<div>The Owen Paterson story continues today with the government u-turning quicker than expected. This came after realising that allowing Tory MPs to mark their own homework by scrapping the standards committee might cause more outrage than they first thought. Leaving them now in a situation described by James Forsyth as, <em>'an infinitely worse position for absolutely everyone involved.'</em></div><div><br></div><div>James is joined by Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls to discuss this, self-inflicted, political nightmare. </div><div><br></div><div>Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:</div><div><a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/voucher">www.spectator.co.uk/voucher</a> </div><div><br></div><div>Ready Katy's blogs on the Paterson affair here:</div><div><a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/coffee-house">https://www.spectator.co.uk/coffee-house</a></div><div><br></div><div>And stay on top of all the day's news with our Evening Blend Newsletter:</div><div><a href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/blend">www.spectator.co.uk/blend</a> </div><p>Become a <em>Spectator </em>subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/follow-your-podcasts/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">spectator.co.uk/adfree</a> to find out more.</p><br><p>For more <em>Spectator</em> podcasts, go to <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcasts/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">spectator.co.uk/podcasts</a>.</p><br><p>Contact us: [email protected]</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>