Coffee House Shots

Will MPs save Owen Paterson?

02 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With the fishing war between the UK and France not necessarily over but at least at a ceasefire, today's Shots focuses on the Commons. Conservative MP...

How can we define COP26 success?

01 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

COP26 is officially underway with world leaders meeting this morning. But what can these presidents and prime ministers promise given their domestic p...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 31/10/21

31 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman brings you the best of Sunday's political interviews, with Alok Sharma, Ed Miliband, Tina Stege, Owen Paterson and Kemi Badenoch.Become...

Why have the fishing wars reignited?

30 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and the Paris-based journalist John Lichfield about the nature of the dispute between France and the UK over fishing r...

Should the NHS be prescribing e-cigarettes?

29 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The new year is fast approaching and if your resolution is to quit smoking, the taxpayer will now cover the cost for your new vape. Opinions differ on...

How was the Budget received?

28 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Budget was revealed yesterday, but what do Rishi Sunak's conservative colleagues make of it? To discuss this, another row with the French about fi...

Verdict: Rishi Sunak's Budget

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak's Budget, as much as it was trailed ahead of time, still had a couple of surprises - including a return of the 0.7 per cent aid budget and...

Why is the Speaker so cross?

26 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Budget week rolls on. But today in the house the Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle voiced his displeasure at how much had been told to the press before tomorr...

What can we expect from Budget Week?

25 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's Budget Week and Rishi Sunak has already telegraphed a lot of what we can expect from it, branding it as a good news affair including NHS spending...

Cindy Yu's Sunday Roundup - 24/10/21

24 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Cindy Yu presents the highlights from Sunday's politics shows, with Rishi Sunak, Rachel Reeves and Dr Katherine Henderson.Become a Spectator subscrib...

Is the inflationary tiger about to bite?

23 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Katy Balls talks to Kate Andrews and James Forsyth about the prediction from the Bank of England's chief economist that the UK's inflation rate could ...

What will Sunak reveal in next week's Budget?

22 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Chancellor is making final preparations to his Budget, announced next Wednesday. On the podcast, Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls ab...

Who's to blame for the booster delay?

21 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Compared to our extremely strong vaccine rollout, the booster numbers are not doing so well. But what is causing the slow take-up? Cindy Yu is joined ...

Did Starmer win PMQs?

20 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

There was a sombre tone as Boris Johnson faced Keir Starmer at the despatch box for PMQs. This was seen as one of the Labour leader's most successful ...

What is the Heat and Buildings Strategy?

19 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With COP26 fast approaching, the Heat and Buildings Strategy has been published today along with the Net Zero Strategy. But what do these papers mean ...

What have we learnt since Friday's attack?

18 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Parliament meets today to pay tribute to David Amess MP who was stabbed to death at his constituency surgery last week. But what have we learnt about ...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 17/10/21

17 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman rounds up the highlights from Sunday's political shows, with clips from Priti Patel, Lisa Nandy, Gordon Brown, and Lindsay Hoyle. Bec...

Will the energy crisis ruin Christmas?

16 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As the temperature starts to fall, the question for the global economy is: how long will energy prices remain high? Industrial production has already ...

Tory MP David Amess dies after constituency attack

15 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

David Amess, the MP for Southend West, has died after being stabbed at his constituency surgery. Essex Police say that a 25-year-old man has been arre...

How concerned should we be about the rising Covid numbers?

15 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With the R-number being higher than 1.0 for some days now, could we be seeing some of the least invasive covid restrictions being put back into place ...

Why is Sajid Javid picking a fight with doctors?

14 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

GPs have been promised £250 million to improve their services, but only if they increase face-to-face appointments. The Health Secretary must meet th...

Can Frost renegotiate the protocol?

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In an attempt to save the Northern Ireland Protocol, the EU has promised ‘very far reaching’ changes which are due to be revealed tomorrow. Domini...

What did we learn from the Covid report?

12 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Katy Balls and James Forsyth dissect the Covid report to see if anyone came out smelling like roses. They also look at the ongoing gas crisis and how ...

Will manufacturing shut down due to the energy crisis?

11 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With the energy crisis showing no signs of improving, many industries warned over the weekend that they may have to shut down some manufacturing point...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 10/10/21

10 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents the highlights from Sunday's political shows, with Kwasi Kwarteng, Jonathan Reynolds, Lord Heseltine and Dr Jenny Harries. Be...

How did Liz Truss become the star of Tory conference?

09 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson about the rise of 'Trussmania' that seemed to be sweeping the Conservative party conference in Man...

Will the housing U-turn hurt the Tories?

08 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The former housing secretary, Robert Jenrick delivered a warning to his former colleagues in government yesterday that a failure to build new homes wi...

Is Boris back in business?

07 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Although Boris won over the audience during his conference speech, the opinion polls might say otherwise. Starmer's voice of reason could be starting ...

What was the point of Boris’s speech?

06 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Marking the end of the conference, Boris Johnson gave what James Forsyth describes as ‘the most Boris speech possible’. The Prime Minister set out...

Tories tussle over working from home

05 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It is day three at the Conservative party conference and, as Isabel says on the podcast, Boris Johnson started the day a ‘little tetchy’ on his mo...

LIVE at Conservative Party Conference

04 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Katy Balls, James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman and Fraser Nelson are joined by special guest, the American pollster Frank Luntz, in this episode of Coffee ...

What's the mood at Tory conference?

03 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Conservative party conference is underway, and Boris Johnson appeared on The Marr Show this morning to talk about the petrol crisis, the shortage ...

What's this EFFing crisis about?

02 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Ministers are bracing for the ‘EFFing crisis’ - that’s energy, fuel and food. As shortages are set to continue for months ahead, the knock-on ef...

Is the petrol crisis good for the government?

01 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A shortage of HGV drivers has led to empty petrol pumps and talk that supermarket shelves could be empty come Christmas. Delivery firms want the gover...

Should Cressida Dick go?

30 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As Wayne Couzens receives his sentence today, Harriet Harman has called for Cressida Dick to resign over the Met's handling of the death of Sarah Ever...

Did Starmer’s speech save Labour conference?

29 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After a rocky few days, Sir Keir Starmer has delivered his first in person speech as Labour leader to conclude the 2021 Labour Party Conference. The 9...

Why is Labour ignoring the fuel crisis?

28 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With petrol and gas supply issues still continuing Labour doesn't seem to be focusing on this important issue gripping the nation. Instead, though Sta...

Does Labour have a message?

27 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With images of long queues at the petrol station dominating social media this weekend, not due to lack of petrol but lack of drivers, the Labour party...

Starmer distances himself from Rayner

26 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Angela Rayner said the government were 'homophobic, racist, misogynistic... scum' at a Labour party conference event this weekend. Responding to the r...

Will the energy crisis leave Britons cold?

25 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For this week's Saturday Coffee House Shots, Katy Balls, Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth sit down with John Kemp, senior energy analyst at Reuters to ...

What's causing the petrol shortage?

24 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

First gas, now petrol. The strange thing is there is no actual lack of petrol just a dearth of drivers to bring it to the stations. There are differin...

What was the point of Starmer's essay?

23 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer released a nearly 12,000-word essay about what he stands for as the Labour leader. But who was it for? And while Starmer braces himself f...

How did Dominic do at PMQs?

22 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With Boris Johnson still on his American trip, it was up to the deputies to cross swords in PMQs today. Dominic Raab, the newly-minted deputy prime mi...

What do Boris and Biden want?

21 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Prime Minister is in America to meet Joe Biden and discuss COP26 and the new Aukus security pact. But what do the two leaders hope to achieve? Als...

Why does the gas crisis matter so much?

20 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With many smaller energy companies folding because of a steep rise in the cost of gas, how long will it take before the bigger firms turn to the gover...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 19/09/21

19 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents the highlights from Sunday's political shows, with Alok Sharma, Sir Ed Davey, Caroline Lucas and Gerard Araud. Become a Spect...

Can Gove remake conservatism?

18 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Gove has been tasked with transforming levelling up from a soundbite to an agenda. What will this look like? And what Michael Gove will we get...

Boris chairs the new Cabinet - what's next?

17 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As Boris Johnson today chairs the first meeting of his new cabinet, he's focused on delivering on his levelling up agenda. What's the plan? To discuss...

What the Aukus pact says about Britain’s foreign policy

16 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With the Commons still reeling from the reshuffle, the UK, US, and Australia have formed a new security alliance, the Aukus pact. Many have seen this ...

What to make of the reshuffle?

15 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson has reshuffled his cabinet. Gavin Williamson is gone. Dominic Raab is no longer Foreign Secretary, but is now the Deputy Prime Minister,...

What are Javid's winter Covid plans?

14 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Health Secretary Sajid Javid today laid out his two plans for dealing with Covid this winter. The first, Plan A, proposes a booster shot for everyone ...

Why has the government ditched vaccine passports?

13 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the weekend, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that the government would be scrapping plans for a vaccine passport system - at least for...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 12/09/21

12 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman rounds up the highlights from Sunday's political shows. Today's best bits come from Sajid Javid, Jonathan Ashworth and Nicola Sturgeon....

Twenty years on, what is the lingering impact of 9/11?

11 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's been 20 years since the 11 September attacks and their effect has had a lasting impact on the world. Katy Balls talks to Fraser Nelson and James ...

Should the Tories be concerned by their drop in the polls?

10 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Labour are ahead of the Conservatives in a poll for the first time since January. It comes just days after Boris Johnson announced his government's pl...

What do the Tory abstentions mean for Boris?

09 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson has got his social care payment plan past the Commons, but there were a fair number of Tory abstentions, who still have a philosophical ...

How is Boris keeping the Tories so unified?

08 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the first session of PMQ's completely Covid restriction free, Keir Starmer proved that the Prime Minster wouldn't commit to definitely getting rid ...

Will a broken manifesto promise to fund social care pay off?

07 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson admitted in the House of Commons today that he is breaking the manifesto promise of not raising taxes in order to get rid of the NHS wai...

Are the Conservatives still a low tax party?

06 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With the vaccine secretary Nadhim Zahawi declaring on the radio that the Conservatives were a 'party of fair taxation', could the government be lookin...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 05/09/21

05 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman rounds up the highlights from Sunday's political shows, with today's podcasts featuring Nadhim Zahawi, Lord Philip Hammond, Lisa Nandy,...

Are Britain and America drifting apart?

04 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a speech this week, Joe Biden said America will focus more on threats from Russia and China and less on foreign interventions. The US President sig...

Is Boris Johnson about to betray his manifesto?

03 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Despite pledging not to raise taxes in the 2019 manifesto, rumours abound in Westminster that Boris Johnson is about to increase National Insurance in...

Why isn't No 10 stopping the Wallace-Raab war of words?

02 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In an interview for the latest issue of The Spectator, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace hits back at Dominic Raab's suggestion that it was military inte...

Raab faces Afghanistan grilling from MPs

01 Sep 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dominic Raab was hauled before the Foreign Affairs Committee today to answer questions about how the government handled the withdrawal from Afghanista...

Who is to blame for Afghanistan exit failures?

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Pentagon says the UK pushed to keep Abbey gate at Kabul airport open, which was later the site of a terrorist attack that killed 13 US soldiers an...

What if vaccines can't end the pandemic?

28 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

New data from Israel shows that the Delta variant is getting through the protection offered by double jabs, even though the vaccines do lessen symptom...

What does the Kabul attack mean for Biden?

27 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After the attack on Kabul's airport by Isis, President Biden addressed the world last night and mourned for the 13 US marines who were killed. But wit...

The last days of the Kabul airlift

26 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Chaos surrounds the Hamid Karzai airport today as two explosions and a potential knife attack has left at least 13 dead. The attacks are suspected to ...

Why Raab's holiday answers only raised more questions

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In his first broadcast round since coming back from Crete, Raab's handling of the questions surrounding his holiday have only managed to fuel the conv...

Is the 'gentler, kinder' Taliban already gone?

24 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As many had expected, President Biden has not agreed to extend the August 31 deadline despite pleas from Nato allies in today's G7 call. Meanwhile, th...

Will Biden agree to Boris's Afghanistan request?

23 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Prime Minister has requested Washington to extend the August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of US troops from Kabul. But will Joe Biden acquiesce,...

Can ministers ever go on holiday?

21 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With Dominic Raab in the firing line for his £40,000 Crete holiday, the Coffee House Shots team reflects: can ministers ever go on holiday? And if th...

Is Raab the victim of a witch hunt?

20 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

While Dominic Raab continues to weather charges of incompetence and call for resignation, it is the Health Secretary Sajid Javid who might not have an...

Should Dominic Raab be sacked?

19 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Pressure on the Foreign Secretary is piling up after the Daily Mail revealed today that Raab had rejected the strong advice of Foreign Office civil ...

Have Tory backbenchers lost faith in Boris?

18 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This morning was the first time that we saw the chamber of the House of Commons full since the pandemic began. MPs were called back from recess to dis...

What will the British Parliamentary response be to Afghanistan?

17 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With Parliament being called back from recess tomorrow, including the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab who maybe stayed on the beach a touch too long gi...

What will the West response be to the Taliban takeover?

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Defeat in Kabul now means that the Taliban have effectively taken over Afghanistan. Katy Balls talks to Fraser Nelson and Isabel Hardman to discuss th...

Is the West in retreat?

14 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The south of Afghanistan is now under Taleban control, after the group took the cities of Kandahar and Lashkar Gah this week. Meanwhile, Britain and A...

Will Britain regret the Afghanistan withdrawal?

13 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With things on the ground in Afghanistan accelerating from bad to worse so fast that  the Americans are now even worried about the safety of their em...

Is the Taleban's success a surprise?

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Taleban are continuing their advance through Afghanistan, and are on the cusp of taking control in the major cities of Herat and Kandahar. The gro...

Will Williamson be moved from education?

11 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch could replace Gavin Williamson as education secretary in the next reshuffle, according to reports today. Should he b...

What's wrong with grade inflation?

10 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A record number of students got As or A*s in their A levels this year. After last year's fiasco, teachers were given the responsibility of grading the...

How deep is the Boris/Rishi divide?

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With the Chancellor's leaked letter to the Prime Minister (which apparently he'd never seen) showing some disagreement about COVID policy, is this an ...

Will a Scotland 'love bomb' woo voters?

07 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon seem to be battling for the position of most amiable leader. The First Minister invited Johnson to meet with her on ...

Will Johnson's mining misstep cost him?

06 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Prime Minister joked yesterday that thanks to Margaret Thatcher closing coal mines, the UK 'had a big early start and we're now moving rapidly awa...

What if Covid was leaked?

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

US intelligence agencies are combing through reams of documents from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, according to reports from CNN, which could provi...

Why has Boris snubbed Sturgeon?

04 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson is visiting Scotland today, but has declined an offer from Nicola Sturgeon for a meeting. Why doesn't the PM want to meet with the First...

Why are 16-year-olds being given a vaccine?

03 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Nicola Sturgeon said she expects that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will soon be recommending that those aged 16 and above will ...

Boris Johnson’s popularity problem

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a ConservativeHome poll on who should replace Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak came out on top. It comes as the Chancellor is reportedly pushing the PM t...

Should Britain boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics?

31 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Team GB has had a brilliant start in Tokyo - can the government learn lessons on how to pick and nurture talent? And looking to the Beijing Winter Oly...

What's the point of the 'amber plus' list?

30 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A row is brewing with France over the government's decision to put the country on an 'amber plus' list, where restrictions on quarantine are tighter. ...

Is there a 'cunning plan' behind vaccine passports?

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With over two thirds of young people now vaccinated, does the messaging on how to reach the final third need to shift? And are the government putting ...

Is quarantine-free travel a risk?

28 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fully vaccinated travellers from the EU and US could be allowed to come into the Uk without quarantining, under plans being discussed by the governmen...

Are vaccine refusers 'selfish'?

27 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On a visit to Glasgow today, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove went further than other politicians have in saying that those who refuse the vaccine...

What will make young people get vaccinated?

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

University students could need to be double-vaccinated if they want to attend lectures or stay in halls, according to reports today. Young people have...

Was the government right to delay 'freedom day'?

24 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's our first 'freedom' weekend, but it was only a few weeks ago when our own Fraser Nelson and Kate Andrews clashed heads over the most sensible way...

Could cases have peaked?

23 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Daily cases have fallen again today, leading to cautious optimism that - perhaps - cases in this exit wave have peaked. Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls a...

Can No. 10 stem the 'pingdemic'?

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today the CBI gave a stern warning that the test and trace app is 'closing down the economy'. Despite this, the government's key workers list - promis...

Why isn't Starmer properly scrutinising the government?

21 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

On the 80th anniversary of Prime Minister's Questions, viewers were treated to a distinctly lacklustre performance today. James Forsyth argues that St...

How much vaccine coercion will Boris use?

20 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

It's the day after 'freedom' day and it's not entirely clear just how free we are, with the prime minister last night say that from September nightclu...