Podcast

Coffee House Shots

Instant political analysis from The Spectator’s top team of writers, including Michael Gove, Isabel Hardman, James Heale, Lucy Dunn and many others.

Instant political analysis from The Spectator’s top team of writers, including Michael Gove, Isabel Hardman, James Heale, Lucy Dunn and many others.

Coffee House Shots

How to do a spending review

Labour’s spending review is expected on the 11th of June, when we will find out which government departments face cuts and which costs have been ringfenced. This can set the tone for politics for months to come as it gives a clue to which priorities matter most – especially in times of fiscal restraint – and

Play 21 mins

Coffee House Shots

Is the welfare state about to expand?

James Heale and Michael Simmons join Patrick Gibbons to discuss the speculation that Labour could scrap the two-child benefit cap. Is this just red meat for the left of the party or is it a sign that public opinion around welfare has shifted? And, with mixed messages on the economy, can the country afford to

Play 18 mins

Coffee House Shots

Why is antisemitism so pervasive? Irving v Lipstadt 25 years on

This spring marks the 25th anniversary of the landmark judgment in the infamous Irving v Lipstadt Holocaust denial case. David Irving sued American academic Deborah Lipstadt after she had described him as a Holocaust denier in her 1994 book, for his claims that Jews had not been systematically exterminated by the Nazis. Given the burden

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Coffee House Shots

Michael Gove on Starmer vs the workers: why Labour needs to learn to love Brexit

Spectator editor Michael Gove joins Natasha Feroze to talk about his cover article this week: ‘Starmer vs the workers’, the real Brexit betrayal. Michael puts forward his arguments for why Labour should learn to love Brexit, should take back control to protect British jobs and industries, and could use Brexit as an opportunity to harness AI

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Coffee House Shots

David Gauke on prisons, probation & the political reaction to his review

Former Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor David Gauke joins James Heale to talk about his review into prison sentencing. The former Tory minister was appointed by the current Labour Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, but says there is a clear centre-right argument for prison reform. He talks James through his policy proposals and the political reaction

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Coffee House Shots

Live by the rule of law, die by the rule of law

The Independent Sentencing Review chaired by former Lord Chancellor David Gauke has today announced its suggested reforms which sees a major shift from imprisonment to community-led sentencing. Measures include the recommendation that convicted criminals leave prisons after serving around one-third of their sentence, that short prison sentences of up to 12 months are drastically reduced

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Coffee House Shots

Winter fuel U-turn and a rift at the heart of government

After sustained speculation and a local elections drubbing, Keir Starmer announced today at PMQs that the government will be softening their policy on winter fuel. Whilst it won’t come into effect for some time, they have agreed to ensure that ‘more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payment.’  This comes hours after a memo was

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Coffee House Shots

What has reaction been to the UK-EU deal?

Fallout continues from yesterday’s summit and the announcement of a deal between the UK and EU – or is it fair to call it ‘fallout’ as, despite criticism over the deal from Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch, has the public got Brexit fatigue?  James Heale and Michael Simmons join Patrick Gibbons to talk about the

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Coffee House Shots

EU-UK reset: ‘brexit betrayal’?

As EU leaders arrive in London for a summit hosted by Keir Starmer, there has been an announcement that the UK and EU have reached a deal. The UK has extended its agreement on EU fishing boats in British waters, while in return fewer checks on British food exports are expected. There have also been

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Coffee House Shots

Debate: should Kemi Badenoch go?

Kemi Badenoch has come in for criticism since becoming leader of the opposition – for her energy, her performances at PMQs and her inability to galvanise her shadow cabinet. On this podcast, James Heale hosts the trial of Kemi Badenoch and asks whether someone else might be better placed to take the Tories into the

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Coffee House Shots

Can the assisted dying bill survive?

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill is back in the Commons for the report stage today – returning to parliament for the first time since major changes were made to the legislation. While Leadbeater has insisted the bill is coming back ‘even stronger’ than before, support among MPs appears to be fading. The mood

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Coffee House Shots

Mixed signals for Labour as GDP rises but the rich leave

The Prime Minister is in Albania today to focus on immigration: the government has announced that the UK is in talks to set up ‘return hubs’ with other countries to send failed asylum seekers abroad.  Unfortunately for the government though, also going abroad are Britain’s millionaires. In the cover article for this week’s Spectator, our economics

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Coffee House Shots

Is Badenoch getting better, or is Starmer getting worse?

Prime Minister’s Questions today, and there was lots on the agenda. It is often a fool’s game to guess what the leader of the opposition will lead on, but today she had a wide choice of ammunition – from unemployment to welfare to the government’s new stance on migration to the war in Gaza. Kemi

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Coffee House Shots

Are Labour ‘pandering’ to Nigel Farage?

Keir Starmer has succeeded in keeping immigration at the top of the news agenda for another day – although he may not be happy with the headlines. After his set-piece announcement yesterday, the Prime Minister is caught between fire from both sides. On the left, he is accused of ‘pandering’ to Nigel Farage and even

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Coffee House Shots

Have Labour out-Reformed Reform on immigration?

Keir Starmer has kicked off what may be one of his most significant weeks in the job with a white paper on immigration. In it, the government details its plan to ‘take back control’ of migration, promising that numbers will fall ‘significantly’ – although no target number has been given. The plan includes the following:

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Coffee House Shots

Coffee House Shots Live with Zia Yusuf and Jacob Rees-Mogg

The post-mortem has begun on a historic set of local elections – but where does each party go from here? Is Reform unstoppable? Is Kemi the one to lead the Conservative rebuild? Do Labour really ‘get it’? Michael Gove, James Heale and Lucy Dunn are joined by special guests Zia Yusuf and Jacob Rees-Mogg to

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Coffee House Shots

US trade deal: ‘a political win, not an economic win’

On Thursday afternoon Prime Minister Keir Starmer gave a speech about closing the long-awaited UK-US trade deal. Not that his announcement went without a hitch however; after first directing lobby journalists to the wrong Jaguar Land Rover factory in Coventry, Starmer then had his limelight stolen by the election of a new Pope. Although, Labour’s

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Coffee House Shots

White smoke on a US trade deal

It’s a massive day for the Labour government and for Keir Starmer, as the UK becomes the first country to sign a trade deal with the US following the tariff turmoil of last month. Donald Trump described it as a ‘full and comprehensive deal’ … although we are still waiting for some of the details

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Coffee House Shots

Do the Tories hate free trade? Plus, Reform hits new polling high

Lots to talk about today, including new polling which puts Reform on 29 points compared to the Tories on just 17. We’ve also just had the first PMQs since the local elections. But the trade deal announced yesterday between the UK and India is dominating the headlines, with many concerned about some of the concessions

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Coffee House Shots

Why Reform’s rise isn’t a surprise

It’s day five of recriminations after the local elections, with politicians, pollsters and journalists alike still trying to make sense of what just happened. On today’s podcast, Rachel Wolf gives her verdict: we should not be shocked by Reform’s surge. She argues that Nigel Farage’s success should have been predicted – that it’s the same,

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Coffee House Shots

Ash Regan on the rise of Reform in Scotland, what is a woman and why ‘no-one resigns anymore’

In this special edition of Coffee House Shots, Lucy Dunn speaks to the Holyrood leader of the pro-independence Alba party, Ash Regan. Regan was formerly a member of the SNP and even ran to be the party’s leader after Nicola Sturgeon resigned in 2023. She defected to the late Alex Salmond’s Alba party 18 months ago

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Coffee House Shots

Does Keir Starmer ‘get it’?

As the parties regroup following the local elections, both Labour and the Conservatives have to face a miserable result. Lucy Dunn speaks to Isabel Hardman and pollster Luke Tryl about the anger and disillusionment amongst the electorate, and why Keir Starmer message ‘we need to go further and faster’ can’t cut through. 

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Coffee House Shots

Local elections live: is Reform unstoppable?

The word ‘unprecedented’ is often overused in politics, but these local elections have proved to be just that. The headline is: sweeping success for Reform.  Nigel Farage’s ‘teal tsunami’ comes at the expense of the main parties – turning the two-party consensus on its head. The recriminations for Labour and the Tories have already begun.

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Coffee House Shots

Local elections: Reform seizes Runcorn in teal tsunami

Votes are being counted across England, but there is a clear early winner from these local elections: Nigel Farage. His party triumphed in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election this morning, overturning a 14,000-odd majority and winning by just six votes! Elsewhere, Andrea Jenkyns triumphed in Lincolnshire; Reform came second in a number of mayoral races;

Play 14 mins

Coffee House Shots

Michael Gove on how to spin a bad election

Voters have gone to the polls today for a historic set of local elections. The polling indicates a rough night for the two main parties and a good showing for Reform, the Lib Dems and the Greens. So be prepared for a lot of election-night spin from both Labour and the Tories. To talk through

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Coffee House Shots

What is Tony Blair up to?

Tony Blair is making waves in Westminster today after his institute published a report on net zero that appears to undermine Ed Miliband and Labour’s green agenda. In his foreword – while not directly critical of the UK government – he encouraged governments around the world to reconsider the cost of net zero. Many have

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Coffee House Shots

Revenge of the centrists: Carney wins in Canada

Mark Carney has won the Canadian election, leading the Liberal Party to a fourth term. Having only been Prime Minister for 6 weeks, succeeding Justin Trudeau, this is an impressive achievement when you consider that Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives were over 20 percentage points ahead in the polls earlier this year. Trump’s rhetoric against Canada –

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Coffee House Shots

‘The spring of discontent’

Are we looking at a spring of discontent? It’s the final push ahead of this week’s local elections, and what Keir Starmer wants to talk about is expanding the NHS app – which he says will cut waiting lists and end the days of the health service living in the ‘dark ages’. However, what people

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Coffee House Shots

‘An era of five-party politics’: John Curtice on the significance of the local elections

Legendary pollster Prof Sir John Curtice joins the Spectator’s deputy political editor James Heale to look ahead to next week’s local elections. The actual number of seats may be small, as John points out, but the political significance could be much greater. If polling is correct, Reform could win a ‘fresh’ by-election for the first time,

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Coffee House Shots

Is Robert Jenrick on manoeuvres?

Despite this being the week that Kemi Badenoch finally showed some steel in PMQs, it’s Robert Jenrick who has been stealing the headlines. That’s for lots of reasons – mainly his comments about a potential Tory Reform pact, which he clarified on Good Morning Britain this morning, saying: ‘Kemi Badenoch and I are on exactly the same

Play 17 mins