Podcast

Coffee House Shots

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

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

Coffee House Shots

Why Scottish independence is not inevitable

A number of polls in recent days have shown a majority support for Scotland staying in the UK. Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls about how Scottish independence is not inevitable.

Play 13 mins

Coffee House Shots

Was that Keir Starmer’s best PMQs?

Keir Starmer pushed the PM on the 1 per cent pay rise for nurses at PMQS today. Did shorter, snappier questions bring results for the Labour leader? Isabel Hardman speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

Play 10 mins

Coffee House Shots

Sunak’s NHS pay rise headache

NHS chief Simon Stevens today confirmed that the health service budgeted for a 2.1 per cent pay rise this year (rather than the 1 per cent being recommended by the government), putting pressure on the Treasury to stump up more cash. What are their options, how are Tory backbenchers reacting, and can Starmer turn the

Play 14 mins

Coffee House Shots

Will the government respond to Harry and Meghan interview?

The government has so far kept quiet about Harry and Meghan’s shocking interview with Oprah, in which – among other revelations – the couple claimed that a member of the royal family made racist comments about their son Archie’s skin colour. But with Boris Johnson set to host a government press conference at 4pm today,

Play 13 mins

Coffee House Shots

Is an early election on the cards?

With economic growth of over seven percent forecast for 2022, could 2023 be an election year? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth about the next poll’s likely date.

Play 14 mins

Coffee House Shots

Is a one per cent pay rise fair?

Unions are threatening strike action after the government recommended a one per cent pay increase for nurses in England. Will the backlash force a U-turn, and what will the public make of it? Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson.

Play 13 mins

Coffee House Shots

Budget Day Two: Has Rishi survived the scrutiny?

Day Two is sometimes when the budgets come unravelled. But Rishi Sunak’s Budget seems to have survived the scrutiny of the polls, pundits and papers. Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

Play 14 mins

Coffee House Shots

Will Rishi Sunak’s budget give Britain a boost?

Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged a further £65bn in today’s budget, bringing the government’s total spending during coronavirus to more than £400bn. But aside from splurges on extending furlough and the Universal Credit uplift, and new ‘restart grants’ offered to ailing businesses, the first belt-tightening measures were announced. Income tax thresholds will be frozen, and cooperation

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Coffee House Shots

Will Brand Rishi take a hit?

Rishi Sunak has been a popular Chancellor, mainly because he’s responsible for pandemic giveaway after giveaway. But with tomorrow’s Budget, the tone will begin to change. Can he get through it unscathed? Katy Balls talks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth.

Play 13 mins

Coffee House Shots

Can the government contain the Brazilian variant?

Contact tracers are trying to find a person infected with the Brazilian variant of coronavirus, after they incorrectly returned their testing form. How serious is the new strain’s arrival, and could it have been stopped with a stricter quarantine policy? Isabel Hardman speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

Play 10 mins

Coffee House Shots

What did we learn from Alex Salmond’s evidence?

Katy Balls, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson discuss Alex Salmond’s appearance before the Holyrood inquiry into how the Scottish government handled complaints of sexual misconduct made against him.

Play 16 mins

Coffee House Shots

Tory nerves grow over Sunak’s budget

The Chancellor is expected to announce tax hikes in next week’s budget as he looks to bolster the public purse and reassure markets. With capital gains and cooperation tax in his sights, how will the decision go down with Tory MPs? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Kate Andrews.

Play 14 mins

Coffee House Shots

Will teacher assessed grades work?

Teachers will assess pupil’s grades next year, the Education Secretary said today. Has the decision come too late, and will it disadvantage students? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

Play 17 mins

Coffee House Shots

Will Gove greenlight immunity passports?

Michael Gove will lead a government review into immunity passports. Does his appointment make IDs a foregone conclusion, what will they look like, and when can we expect to see their domestic rollout? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.

Play 19 mins

Coffee House Shots

Sturgeon versus Salmond

Alex Salmond has pulled out from his appearance in front of the harassment complaints committee, where he was expected to give evidence about an alleged breach of the ministerial code by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Fraser Nelson speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls about the SNP implosion.

Play 20 mins

Coffee House Shots

The lockdown roadmap explained

Boris Johnson has finally set out his roadmap for easing lockdown. On the episode, Katy Balls talks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth about what to expect over the next few months.

Play 12 mins

Coffee House Shots

Has Carrie divided No. 10?

Yet more personnel changes have happened in Downing Street, with Oliver Lewis the latest to depart. The weekend papers were full of briefings that Carrie Symonds is the reason for the latest strife. Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson about how much truth there is in that.

Play 15 mins

Coffee House Shots

Boris’s climate conundrum

While coronavirus has dominated the last year in politics, domestic issues are creeping back onto the agenda. Near the top of the list is reaching Net Zero by 2050 – not least because climate-conscious Joe Biden is now in the White House. Can Britain hit its target? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Sam

Play 13 mins

Coffee House Shots

Has Macron stolen Boris’s G7 thunder?

Emmanuel Macron has said wealthy nations should begin donating up to five per cent of their vaccines to Africa. It comes as Boris Johnson hosts a virtual G7 today – Joe Biden’s first multilateral meeting. Has the French president stolen Boris’s thunder? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

Play 10 mins

Coffee House Shots

Why Starmer is no modern day Beveridge

Today’s speech from the Labour leader was billed to be ‘Beveridge-style’. On the podcast, Kate Andrews tells Katy Balls and James Forsyth why it was nothing of the sort, and they strategise what Starmer should have said.

Play 15 mins

Coffee House Shots

Why is the government banking on lateral flow tests?

It’s not the Forsyth Spit Bucket, but it may help us ease lockdown. Cindy Yu talks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls about why the government is banking so much on rapid tests, given that vaccination was meant to be the route out.

Play 17 mins

Coffee House Shots

Will rapid testing bring back nightclubs?

Nadhim Zahawi this morning said that scientists are working on rapid Covid tests to reopen large events. The vaccine deployment minister said that ‘new technologies’ are being trialled at the Porton Down laboratories, and ruled out the government introducing vaccine passports. Cindy Yu speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

Play 9 mins

Coffee House Shots

What does Boris’s ‘cautious’ approach mean for lockdown easing?

Despite the UK hitting its target of giving 15 million people their first vaccine dose by 15 February, Boris Johnson said the path to reopening will be ‘cautious but irreversible’. What does this approach mean for the return to normal life? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.

Play 18 mins

Coffee House Shots

Is the government doing enough to fix the cladding crisis?

With the government facing a backbench revolt over how to fix the pressing issue of unsafe cladding on high rise buildings, Katy Balls asks Conservative MP Bob Blackman and the Spectator’s assistant editor Emma Byrne about the government’s response so far.

Play 17 mins

Coffee House Shots

Will the economy bounce back after lockdown?

Despite the GDP figures from the ONS today, the Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane has written an optimistic commentary today, arguing why he thinks the British economy will bounce back after Covid restrictions end. Katy Balls talks to Kate Andrews, the Spectator’s Economics Correspondent, and James Forsyth about that possibility.

Play 18 mins

Coffee House Shots

Are Tory lockdown-sceptics returning in force?

After a brief winter hibernation, it seems that the lockdown-sceptic wing of the Conservative party is returning in force. Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth about the increasing clamour to reopen society and whether the government really has shifted the goalposts for easing lockdown.

Play 18 mins

Coffee House Shots

Boris Johnson sets out the new normal on vaccines

At PMQs today, Boris Johnson said the public would need to ‘get used to the idea of vaccinating and then revaccinating in the autumn, as we come to face these new variants.’ The government’s contract with the Wrexham factory that helps make the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has been extended to August 2022 at the earliest, so

Play 10 mins

Coffee House Shots

China hawks suffer a setback

The government has managed to delay a backbench rebellion on the so-called ‘genocide amendment’ today, using what Iain Duncan Smith called ‘arcane procedural games’. The Trade Bill amendment, which would have seen courts given the power to designate abuses as a genocide, was expected to have a significant number of Tory backers. Katy Balls discusses

Play 15 mins

Coffee House Shots

Should the government be more concerned about the South African variant?

Latest research from the University of Oxford shows that their vaccine has ‘minimal protection’ against the South African variant of the coronavirus. Should the government be doing more to protect UK borders? Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth.

Play 13 mins

Coffee House Shots

Will Boris Johnson’s Northern Ireland gamble pay off?

Sensing an opportunity after the EU triggered Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the British government is in talks with the EU over compromises to the agreement. Will this gamble pay off, or could it backfire to stoke tensions on the island of Ireland? Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Denis Staunton, London

Play 14 mins