Tim Shipman is political editor of The Spectator.
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On today’s Coffee House Shots, Tim Shipman is joined by Michael Gove to reflect on the terrorist attack at Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, which left two people dead. They discuss how the Jewish community has long warned of rising anti-Semitism, often forced to fund its own security, and how inflammatory rhetoric on recent pro-Palestinian
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The Prime Minister was set to announce his crackdown on the existing rights of refugees at the European Political Community meeting today; however, he has flown back to chair a Cobra meeting after a terror attack in Manchester. Two people have been killed and at least two others injured after a driver allegedly rammed a
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The Spectator’s cover story this week is an interview with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch ahead of the Tory party conference. Reflecting on the criticism she received for being seen as slow on policy announcements, she says that the position the Conservatives were in was ‘more perilous than people realise’ and compares herself to the CEO
Kemi Badenoch is in ebullient form. She promises the Conservative party conference, which begins this weekend in Manchester, will be ‘more fun than usual’. But that does not mean the Tory leader plans to sweep on stage like Reform’s Andrea Jenkyns. ‘I won’t be wearing any jumpsuits with sequins on,’ Badenoch says. ‘I won’t be
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Tim Shipman and Claire Ainsley from the Progressive Policy Institute join Patrick Gibbons to reflect on Labour’s party conference as it draws to a close in Liverpool. This conference has been received positively for Labour but, on the final day, a hustings for the deputy leadership demonstrated that divides remain under the surface. Is Lucy
The consensus before Keir Starmer’s speech to the Labour party conference was that he needed to make ‘the speech of his life’. He did so. It was not the greatest conference speech I’ve seen, far from it, but it was the best Starmer has made and not because it was shot through with content. However,
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We have just heard the Prime Minister’s headline speech at Labour Party Conference and – whisper it quietly – that might have been Keir Starmer’s best yet. As briefed out beforehand it was a patriotic address, with lots of flag waving in the room as he presented his version of patriotism in contrast to a
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The Labour machine has whirred into gear to try and contain a certain Northern mayor’s mischievous interventions this week, by announcing a big controversial piece of policy. The news that ID cards – Tony Blair’s pet project – will be introduced has splashed all the front pages, demoting Andy Burnham to yesterday’s news. It’s a
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Labour conference kicks off this weekend in Liverpool – but the mood going in is far from triumphant. On today’s Coffee House Shots, Lucy Dunn is joined by Tim Shipman and More in Common’s Luke Tryl to take the temperature ahead of Labour’s big set-piece. They discuss why some voters already see Starmer as ‘just
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First: who has the Home Secretary got in her sights? Political editor Tim Shipman profiles Shabana Mahmood in the Spectator’s cover article this week. Given Keir Starmer’s dismal approval ratings, politicos are consumed by gossip about who could be his heir-apparent – even more so, following Angela Rayner’s defenestration a few weeks ago. Mahmood may
After a fortnight in which Keir Starmer lost both Angela Rayner and Peter Mandelson but also reshaped his cabinet and his Downing Street team, one of the Prime Minister’s senior aides remarked to a friend: ‘Would I swap the last two weeks? Probably not, because the cabinet we’ve got and the No. 10 we’ve got
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Andy Burnham, Manchester’s mayor and self-styled champion of the North, is openly flirting with a return to Westminster just days before the Labour Party conference. In a revealing interview, he outlined his ‘Manchesterism’ – a blend of business-friendly socialism and public control of essential services – though what that actually means remains unclear. Typically, he
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Nigel Farage has unveiled his most radical immigration plan yet – scrapping indefinite leave to remain for migrants – in a move designed to reverse the so-called ‘Boriswave.’ James Heale explains how this would affect hundreds of thousands already living in the UK, why the party claims it could save £250 billion, and whether any
Robert Jenrick has warned that he is ‘absolutely terrified’ Britain is heading for a debt crisis ‘unless Rachel Reeves changes course very quickly’. ‘That will be a financial crisis of a scale akin to what we experienced in 2008,’ he warned. ‘That will mean tens of thousands of homeowners potentially facing the repossession of their
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Donald Trump has been in the UK this week on an unprecedented second state visit – an honour that he said last night at a state dinner he ‘hopes’ is reserved only for him, to much amusement in the room. Humility doesn’t come naturally to the President, but he does seem genuinely humbled by the
After Keir Starmer’s calamitous fortnight, the No. 10 official was reflective: ‘Some people say: “Your worst day in government is better than your best day in opposition.” That’s horseshit. Those people haven’t worked in government.’ The mood in Starmer’s top team after the resignation of Angela Rayner and the sacking of Peter Mandelson is, one
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Donald Trump might be in the UK for the state visit, but it’s Labour pains that are dominating the headlines and, predictably, there is a typical northern lad who thinks he could be just what the party needs. Despite having made two previous (failed) attempts at the leadership, Andy Burnham is on manoeuvres. He does
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Keir Starmer has lost another aide, MPs are debating what the Prime Minister knew about Mandelson’s links to Epstein and a new poll has Lucy Powell as the favourite to win Labour’s deputy leadership race against education secretary Bridget Phillipson. Could things be any worse for Starmer? With US President Donald Trump touching down at
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Donald Trump touches down in Britain next week for his state visit and political editor Tim Shipman has the inside scoop on how No. 10 is preparing. Keir Starmer’s aides are braced for turbulence; ‘the one thing about Trump which is entirely predictable is his unpredictability,’ one ventures. Government figures fear he may go off
I can’t remember when I last wrote anything as reckless, but the last week has been a good one for Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives, perhaps the best since she won the leadership last November. After months of ineffectual performances (not least the week before when Badenoch missed an open goal on Angela Rayner’s stamp
