Conservative party

Katy Balls joins Coffee House Shots for the last time as the Spectator’s political editor. Having joined the magazine ten years ago – or six prime ministers in Downing St years – what are her reflections on British politics? Katy’s lobby lunch partner from the Financial Times Stephen Bush joins Katy and Patrick Gibbons to try and make sense of a turbulent political decade, work out where the greatest risk is to the current Labour government, and attempt to make some predictions for the next ten years.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons. 

With just over two weeks to go until the May elections, the latest national polling suggests an almost three-way split between Reform, Labour and the Conservatives. But will this translate to the locals? And, given these particular seats were last contested in 2021 amidst the ‘Boris wave’, how will the parties judge success?  The Spectator’s deputy political editor James Heale and More in Common’s Luke Tryl join Lucy Dunn to discuss. Will the story of the night be Tory losses and Reform  gains? Or will it be about the government’s performance against opposition parties? Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Katie Lam was elected as a new Conservative MP, for Weald of Kent, at the 2024 election. While studying at Cambridge she was president of the Cambridge Union and chairman of the Conservative Association, and she was later a special advisor – first under Boris Johnson in the business unit at Number 10, and then later working on counterterrorism with Suella Braverman. In between university and politics, she worked at Goldman Sachs and at AI-specialists Faculty, and she is also an accomplished lyricist and scriptwriter having co-written five musicals. She was appointed a Tory assistant whip last year when Kemi Badenoch took over as leader. On the podcast, Katie talks

Slashing the winter fuel allowance, maintaining the two child benefit cap, cutting international aid, cutting the civil service, axing NHS bureaucracy, possibly slashing welfare expenditure… you’d be forgiven for thinking the Conservatives were in power. But no, these are all policies pursued by the current Labour government. So on today’s Saturday Shots Cindy Yu asks Michael Gove and James Heale, is Keir Starmer a Tory? While Michael admits to giving Starmer a ‘painful’ two cheers, he does say there is historic precedent for Labour governments enacting right-leaning measures: from Jim Callaghan’s migration policies to the economic ones of Ramsay MacDonald. How has Starmer got away with it? And what does

Julia Lopez has been the Conservative MP for Hornchurch and Upminster since 2017. Her first political experience was working for the then-MP for the Cities of London and Westminster Mark Field, before she became a councillor for Tower Hamlets – working to improve the standards of an area marred in scandal and heightened community tensions. She went on to hold ministerial roles under three Prime Ministers and is now the PPS to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. On the podcast, Julia talks to Katy Balls about the impact Margaret Thatcher had on the politics of her family, how she gained political experience touring London’s sewers and skyscrapers, and the mixed emotions of

For the second week in a row, the leader of the opposition seemed to struggle at Prime Minister’s Questions, ending up accusing Keir Starmer of being ‘patronising’ after having a couple of her questions rebuffed. Cindy Yu talks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman. Produced by Cindy Yu.

Simon Hart joins James Heale to talk about his new book Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip. Having stepped down at the 2024 election, Simon has become the first former Chief Whip to publish his diaries. What are his reflections on the Conservatives’ time in office? Simon explains why his decision to resign under Boris Johnson was so difficult, why the Rwanda vote under Rishi Sunak was their finest hour, and why the Whips’ office is really the government’s HR department. Just how Ungovernable was the Tory Party? Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Kemi Badenoch has been Conservative Party leader for 100 days. Her party is fighting for survival, and she faces an uphill task greater than many of her predecessors: Reform UK surging in the polls, a depleted talent pool of just 121 MPs, and the hangover of 14 years of Conservative rule leaving her hamstrung on issues such as immigration and the economy. Has she managed to transform the party? What will the next 100 days look like? Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Paul Goodman. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Labour heavyweight John Prescott’s funeral took place yesterday with former Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown leading the tributes. What is Prescott’s legacy? And does the current Labour Party have politicians that emulate his appeal? Lucy Dunn speaks to James Heale and former Blair adviser John McTernan about how Prescott was the glue that held Labour together during the Blair-Brown years. Also on the podcast, they discuss the borders and migration bill which Labour published this week. The bill sees the government adopt many measures that they voted against when in opposition. Does this show that Labour have what it takes to tackle immigration? Meanwhile the Conservatives still haven’t

Tuesday night’s Reform fundraiser was designed to spook the Conservative party, says Conservative peer and journalist Paul Goodman on today’s episode. He talks to Cindy Yu and James Heale about whether Kemi Badenoch can keep her cool under Reform’s domination of the airwaves. Produced by Cindy Yu.