Coffee House Shots

Stephen Flynn on Reform, Sturgeon & a second referendum

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, MP for Aberdeen South, joins Lucy Dunn for a special episode to assess the place of the SNP in British p...

Who won 2025? with Quentin Letts

19 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As is fast becoming a tradition on Coffee House Shots at this time of year, James Heale and Tim Shipman are joined by sketch writer Quentin Letts to g...

Daniel Finkelstein on anti-Semitism, Nick Fuentes & viral hate

18 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nick Fuentes is a 27-year-old American influencer with a growing following. He believes America has been subverted by rich, powerful Jews. He was rece...

A ‘classically awful’ PMQs to round out the year

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today was the final PMQs of the year – and it was certainly not a classic. It is customary for the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition t...

Why Britain needs to wake up to extremism

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the world reacts to the attacks on Bondi Beach in Australia, Conservative peer Paul Goodman joins Tim Shipman and James Heale to discuss the failur...

The Liaison Committee exposed Starmer’s weaknesses

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s nearly Christmas, but there is still lots of excitement to be had in Westminster, including Keir Starmer’s trip to the Liaison Committee. Thi...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 14/12/2025

14 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.The government unveils its plan to reduce violence against women, as Sydney i...

Will Scotland switch course in 2026? with Gordon McKee

13 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Spectator heads into Christmas a little bit less Scottish as we bid farewell to our political correspondent Lucy Dunn. Before Lucy leaves for STV,...

‘Growth is not Labour’s priority, it’s hilarious’

12 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The British economy is shrinking. Figures just released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that GDP fell by 0.1 per cent in the three mo...

Does Farage really want to be Prime Minister?

11 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How does Reform go from political insurgents to a government in waiting? Political editor Tim Shipman gives an insight into his interview with Nigel F...

Kemi is on a roll

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Kemi Badenoch’s good form continues at Prime Minister’s Questions. The Tory leader was once more visibly enjoying herself today as she feasted on ...

Is a Ukraine peace deal inching closer?

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week Keir Starmer hosted the French President and the German Chancellor in Downing Street as the E3 moved closer to a landmark agreement: seizing...

Why Kemi is safer than Keir

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This morning Kemi Badenoch has staged a presser setting out the terms for a new (alternative) national grooming gangs inquiry – a move that has reop...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 07/12/2025

07 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.Youth unemployment is rising quickly. What is the government's plan?And, Zara...

‘Superadvisers’ and the Starmer paradox: who really runs No. 10?

06 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This weekend’s Coffee House Shots digs into the growing debate over whether Keir Starmer should tack left on the economy as voters peel away to the ...

Brexit's back – and so is Truss

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There has been a flurry of UK-European activity across Britain this week, with the German state visit in London, the Norwegian Prime Minister signing ...

The murky world of political donations

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Reform are in the money. This morning the Electoral Commission has dropped the latest figures on political donations, and Reform are streets ahead. Fo...

PMQs: at least Kemi is enjoying herself

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It was PMQs today and it is clear to see that Kemi Badenoch is starting to enjoy herself. She opened with the departure of the head of the Office for ...

Lammy on trial over plans to scrap juries

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today we’re going to be talking about David Lammy, and his brand new plans to drastically reduce the number of jury trials in the UK in an attempt t...

Did Rachel Reeves lie?

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lots has happened over the weekend – Your Party (as they are now actually called) have proven to be the gift that keeps on giving, there been anothe...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 30/11/2025

30 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.Rachel Reeves says she can be trusted. But did she lie in the run-up to the b...

Disraeli to Reeves: how each Chancellor drank their way through the Budget

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout the years, the only person permitted to drink inside the House of Commons is the Chancellor, so what has been the tipple of choice for each...

The black hole myth & the brain drain conundrum

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With Budget week finally at an end, certain mysteries remain. Chief among them is why the Chancellor decided to give an emergency speech preparing the...

The OBR on the Budget leak & why they're always wrong

27 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Shipman sits down with Professor David Miles of the Office for Budget Responsibility the day after a Budget overshadowed by an extraordinary leak....

Rachel Reeves’s farcical Budget

26 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Budget days go, today was unprecedented. The complete list of measures announced by Rachel Reeves – along with their costings and economic impact...

Why Reeves's smorgasbord Budget won't fix Britain

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

James Nation, managing director at Forefront Advisers, and Michael Simmons join James Heale to analyse what we know, one day ahead of the Budget. Jame...

Britain's expensive energy problem – with Claire Coutinho

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Britain has an energy problem – while we produce some of the cleanest in the world, it's also the most expensive, and that's the case for almost eve...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 23/11/2025

23 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. This week, Labour’s crucial budget is almost here, and Trump’s peace pla...

Why Britain needs more Yimbys

22 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Curtis and Maxwell Marlow may have different political ideologies, but they agree on one key diagnosis: Britain is broken. Their solution can be...

Covid report: ‘a £200 million I told you so’

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Yesterday we had the publication of the second module of the Covid Inquiry on the decision-making at the heart of government. It confirmed a toxic and...

Is Labour turning blue?

20 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

While we wait for the findings of the Covid Inquiry into the decision-making during the pandemic, Shabana Mahmood has given a statement in the Commons...

PMQs: Labour's 'dog whistle politics'

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Neither Kemi Badenoch nor Keir Starmer performed very well at Prime Minister’s Questions: both fluffed their lines early on. Badenoch managed to sug...

Mahmood's right turn, as migration figures revised – again

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Economics editor Michael Simmons and Yvette Cooper's former adviser Danny Shaw join Patrick Gibbons to react to the Home Secretary's plans for asylum ...

Shabana Mahmood vs the asylum system

17 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This afternoon, the Home Secretary will set out in the House of Commons her proposed reforms to the asylum system. The headline changes proposed by Sh...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 16/11/2025

16 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.Labour are set to announce a raft of new measures to fix an asylum system the...

Why are so many prisoners accidentally released? With H.M. Chief Inspector of Prisons

15 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Britain’s prisons are a legislative problem that has beset successive governments. New revelations show 91 accidental early releases in just six mon...

What is going on in the Treasury!?

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With less than a fortnight to go until the Budget, it seems Rachel Reeves has performed an almighty U-turn. At the beginning of the week, the establis...

Politics or economics – which is Labour worst at?

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been another bruising week for the British economy. New GDP figures reveal that growth has almost flatlined, inching up by just 0.1 per cent be...

Wes for PM?

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Conspiracy or cock-up? Westminster is abuzz after what appears to be a plan to decapitate Wes Streeting has spectacularly backfired. A flurry of late-...

Labour's vibes are all wrong

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With two weeks until her Budget, Rachel Reeves has received more bad news: unemployment is now at its highest level since the pandemic. With the Chanc...

What now for the BBC?

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It seems that the BBC is once again setting the news agenda – via tales of its own incompetence. The Corporation has spent days battling accusations...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 09/11/2025

09 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.On Remembrance Sunday, Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Richard Knighton says t...

What Trump II can teach Britain

08 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What lessons does America have for our politics? While progressives look to Zohran Mamdani for inspiration on how to get elected successfully, the rea...

Pain is inevitable for Rachel Reeves

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A year ago, the Chancellor called her £38 billion tax rise a ‘one-and-done’ move. Now she looks set to rinse and repeat, with reports that a 2p i...

Why energy is the new political battleground

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With three weeks until the Budget, the main political parties have been setting out their economic thinking. Each faces the same bind: anaemic growth,...

The most bizarre PMQs ever

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In a crowded field, today’s could have been the most bizarre PMQs ever.From David Lammy pronouncing ‘I am the Justice Secretary’ as if it were a...

Reeves prepares the public for tax hikes

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It is three weeks until the Budget – and Rachel Reeves wants to get her narrative out there. The Chancellor held an early morning press conference t...

Farage: trust me with the economy

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With Reform leading in the polls, Nigel Farage is determined to ensure that nothing can impede its growth. This morning he sought to bolster his credi...

Introducing... Reality Check

02 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Introducing The Spectator's newest podcast, Reality Check with economics editor Michael Simmons. Like what you hear? Search 'Reality Check' wherever y...

The inside story of Kemi's first year

01 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

‘On the day of the local elections, when the Tories suffered a historic setback, Kemi Badenoch went to the gym and got her hair done,’ Tim Shipman...

Andrew (Mountbatten Windsor) saves the Chancellor

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Happy All Hallows’ Eve, everyone – and there is something spooky going on with Rachel Reeves and a property in Dulwich. Yesterday she was leading ...

What happened at the Parliamentarian of the Year Awards?

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There are a few sore heads at 22 Old Queen Street this morning because it was The Spectator’s Parliamentarian of the Year Awards last night.From Luc...

Who will 'take back control' of the economy?

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Kemi Badenoch continues to look more confident at PMQs – although there are always going to be some easy goals when you lead on the economy. Today s...

Migration, the customs union & a £40bn black hole?

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There are reports that the OBR will downgrade Britain’s productivity growth forecasts, increasing the size of the black hole facing the Chancellor a...

Is the Home Office fit for purpose?

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With the news that the Home Office has spent billions of taxpayers' money on asylum hotels – and following the accidental release of the Epping sex ...

Has Starmer misled parliament? Plus Lucy Powell wins

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We thought when we organised this podcast that there would just be the newly announced deputy Labour leader to discuss – Lucy Powell beat Education ...

Caerphilly by-election: 'a tale of two faces'

24 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On the face of it, the Caerphilly by-election result is a disaster, a drubbing and a humiliation for Keir Starmer’s Labour party. A once secure bast...

What’s inside Farage’s brain?

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With every new poll predicting a Reform win at the next general election, the party continues its preparation for government. James Heale joins Oscar ...

Grooming gangs: Kemi accuses Labour of a 'cover up'

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve just had PMQs, which have become much more interesting now that Kemi Badenoch has got her act together. She led on the Grooming Gangs Inquiry ...

Britain's doom loop continues

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel Reeves is hosting an investment summit in Birmingham, trying to turn the narrative away from Britain's economic 'doom loop' ahead of next month...

Can Reform run a council?

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There have been lots of movements in foreign affairs over the weekend, including a potential collapse of the Gaza peace deal, a Trump–Putin bilatera...

Thatcher & Reagan's special relationship

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

To mark the centenary of Thatcher’s birth, Michael Gove is joined by Charles Moore, her biographer, and Peggy Noonan, speechwriter to Ronald Reagan,...

Antisemitism, Chinese spies & GB's economic fragility

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's been a rough week for the government: the row over the collapsed Chinese spy trial has rolled on, all while the Chancellor has been trying to lay...

The truth about Chinese espionage

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Shipman's bombshell cover piece for the magazine this week explains how the collapsed spy trial blew up in the government’s face. As well a...

Are the Tories to blame for the China spy scandal?

15 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer did not go into Prime Minister’s Questions with the intention of resolving the row over the collapse of the Chinese spying case: he mer...

China spy scandal: 'a masterclass of ineptitude'?

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Shipman and Charles Parton, China adviser at the Council on Geostrategy, join James Heale to discuss the ongoing fallout over the collapse of the ...

Spy scandal: what is Labour's policy on China?

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a ‘great and beautiful day’, as Donald Trump wrote in the guestbook at the Knesset, where he will address the Israeli parliament after the ...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 12/10/2025

12 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.A ceasefire begins in the Middle East, as world leaders prepare for Monday's ...

Who is the greatest ever conservative?

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From wartime leadership to economic revolutions, Conservative figures have shaped Britain’s past and present. But who stands out as the greatest of ...

How can the Tories turn it around? Live

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded live in Manchester, during the Conservative Party conference, Michael Gove sits down with Tim Shipman, Madeline Grant and Tim Montgomerie to ...

Whisper it quietly, peace in the Middle East?

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump says Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of his Gaza peace plan. During an extraordinary round table on the Antifa organisati...

Finally we know what Badenoch stands for

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This morning Kemi Badenoch wrapped up Tory conference with a speech that will – for now at least – calm Tory jitters. The Tory leader’s hour-lon...

Who's listening to the Tories? Live from conference

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Shipman, James Heale and Lucy Dunn record live at Conservative party conference in Manchester. What's the mood at conference – and has Kemi done...

Economy: can we trust the Tories again?

06 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tim Shipman and Michael Simmons join Lucy Dunn live at Manchester for Conservative party conference. It's day two, and we've heard from shadow chancel...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 05/10/2025

05 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.Kemi Badenoch launches the Conservative Party Conference, the home secretary ...

Debate: what next for the British right?

03 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The general election result of 2024 reflected – among other things – a collapse of trust among British voters in the Conservatives. How can t...

Manchester attack: Michael Gove on the rise of antisemitism

03 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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, whic...

Kemi Badenoch's plan to save the Tories

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Prime Minister was set to announce his crackdown on the existing rights of refugees at the European Political Community meeting today; however, he...

Labour's deputy divisions: insider vs outsider?

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 clo...

Starmer delivers 'the speech of his life'

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We have just heard the Prime Minister’s headline speech at Labour Party Conference and – whisper it quietly – that might have been Keir Starmer’...

Shabana Mahmood in conversation with Michael Gove – Labour Conference 2025

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Whilst a certain noisy northern mayor has positioned himself as the problem child of conference 2025, The Spectator finds another Labour politician fa...

Labour conference: 'a holiday from reality'?

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Labour party conference has kicked off in Liverpool, and the Chancellor has just delivered her keynote speech.‘Security, security, security’ was t...

Labour’s ‘levelling up’ agenda – Michael Gove interviews Steve Reed

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On the eve of Labour’s party conference, the Spectator's editor Michael Gove sits down with Steve Reed MP, the new Secretary of State for Housing, C...

ID cards are back: will they work?

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Labour machine has whirred into gear to try and contain a certain Northern mayor’s mischievous interventions this week, by announcing a big cont...

Starmer's make-or-break conference

25 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 jo...

What is 'Manchesterism'?

24 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Ed Davey pitches himself as the anti-Farage

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Liberal Democrat party conference in Bournemouth has concluded with a speech from leader Sir Ed Davey. While the current crop of Liberal Democrats...

Farage goes after Boris

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nigel Farage has unveiled his most radical immigration plan yet – scrapping indefinite leave to remain for migrants – in a move designed to revers...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 21/09/2025

21 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.The UK has officially recognised the state of Palestine. In the morning of Ke...

Should Britain recognise Palestine?

20 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The government is expected to press ahead with recognition of Palestinian statehood, before a formal declaration at the United Nations. Prime Minister...

Inside the 'Your Party' meltdown

19 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Who would have thought it? Jeremy Corbyn’s insurgent party co-venture with Zarah Sultana seems to have imploded before it even got going. On Thursda...

Trump’s state visit was a ‘news bonanza’

18 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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’...

Andy Burnham’s ‘fantasy politics’

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 no...

Will Trump's state visit save Starmer?

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Why Danny Kruger’s defection to Reform matters

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The big news in Westminster today is that there has been another defection to Reform. But this time it feels slightly different: a front bench Tory wi...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 14/09/2025

14 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.It feels like an unnervingly normal week for this Labour government, with ano...

What does Trump want from his state visit?

13 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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. K...

Will Mandelson bring down McSweeney?

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The fallout from Lord Mandelson's sacking continues. All eyes are now on Keir Starmer's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney – could he take the fall for...

Prince of Darkness sacked (again)

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Another week, another departure. Conservative MP Neil O'Brien – who serves in the shadow cabinet as minister for policy renewal and development – ...

Badenoch skewers Starmer over Mandelson’s Epstein link

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Kemi Badenoch has just skewered Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions on the topic of Peter Mandelson’s association with the convicted paedop...