Coffee House Shots

Can Reform conquer Scotland?

29 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Dissatisfaction with the established political parties is driving a ‘tartan bounce’ in Scotland for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Far from being an ...

How to do a spending review

28 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Labour’s spending review is expected on the 11th of June, when we will find out which government departments face cuts and which costs have bee...

Is the welfare state about to expand?

27 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

James Heale and Michael Simmons join Patrick Gibbons to discuss the speculation that Labour could scrap the two-child benefit cap. Is this just red me...

Why is antisemitism so pervasive? Irving v Lipstadt 25 years on

26 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This spring marks the 25th anniversary of the landmark judgment in the infamous Irving v Lipstadt Holocaust denial case. David Irving sued American ac...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 25/05/2025

25 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Michael Simmons presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.Rayner defends Labour's winter fuel payments U-turn, and fends of...

Michael Gove on Starmer vs the workers: why Labour needs to learn to love Brexit

24 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Spectator editor Michael Gove joins Natasha Feroze to talk about his cover article this week: 'Starmer vs the workers', the real Brexit betrayal. Mich...

David Gauke on prisons, probation & the political reaction to his review

23 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Former Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor David Gauke joins James Heale to talk about his review into prison sentencing. The former Tory minister w...

Live by the rule of law, die by the rule of law

22 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Independent Sentencing Review chaired by former Lord Chancellor David Gauke has today announced its suggested reforms which sees a major shift fro...

Winter fuel U-turn and a rift at the heart of government

21 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After sustained speculation and a local elections drubbing, Keir Starmer announced today at PMQs that the government will be softening their policy on...

What has reaction been to the UK-EU deal?

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fallout continues from yesterday's summit and the announcement of a deal between the UK and EU – or is it fair to call it 'fallout' as, despite crit...

UK-EU reset: ‘brexit betrayal’?

19 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As EU leaders arrive in London for a summit hosted by Keir Starmer, there has been an announcement that the UK and EU have reached a deal. The UK has ...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 18/05/2025

18 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning’s politics shows.As the government wraps up negotiations with the EU, some believe the deal w...

Debate: should Kemi Badenoch go?

17 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Kemi Badenoch has come in for criticism since becoming leader of the opposition – for her energy, her performances at PMQs and her inability to galv...

Can the assisted dying bill survive?

16 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Labour MP Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying bill is back in the Commons for the report stage today – returning to parliament for the first time sinc...

Mixed signals for Labour as GDP rises but the rich leave

15 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Prime Minister is in Albania today to focus on immigration: the government has announced that the UK is in talks to set up 'return hubs' with othe...

Is Badenoch getting better, or is Starmer getting worse?

14 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Prime Minister’s Questions today, and there was lots on the agenda. It is often a fool’s game to guess what the leader of the opposition will lead...

Are Labour 'pandering' to Nigel Farage?

13 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer has succeeded in keeping immigration at the top of the news agenda for another day – although he may not be happy with the headlines.Af...

Have Labour out-Reformed Reform on immigration?

12 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer has kicked off what may be one of his most significant weeks in the job with a white paper on immigration. In it, the government details ...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 11/05/2025

11 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.The home secretary announces new measures to curb immigration numbers, and St...

Coffee House Shots Live with Zia Yusuf and Jacob Rees-Mogg

10 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The post-mortem has begun on a historic set of local elections – but where does each party go from here? Is Reform unstoppable? Is Kemi the one to l...

US trade deal: ‘a political win, not an economic win’

09 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On Thursday afternoon Prime Minister Keir Starmer gave a speech about closing the long-awaited UK-US trade deal. Not that his announcement went withou...

White smoke on a US trade deal

08 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a massive day for the Labour government and for Keir Starmer, as the UK becomes the first country to sign a trade deal with the US following th...

Do the Tories hate free trade? Plus, Reform hits new polling high

07 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lots to talk about today, including new polling which puts Reform on 29 points compared to the Tories on just 17. We’ve also just had the first PMQs...

Why Reform’s rise isn't a surprise

06 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s day five of recriminations after the local elections, with politicians, pollsters and journalists alike still trying to make sense of what just...

Ash Regan on the rise of Reform in Scotland, what is a woman and why ‘no-one resigns anymore’

05 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this special edition of Coffee House Shots, Lucy Dunn speaks to the Holyrood leader of the pro-independence Alba party, Ash Regan. Regan was former...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 04/05/2025

04 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The two main parties are reeling after local elections in which Reform surged to huge wins. Wes Streeting has admitted that Reform could be Labour’s...

Does Keir Starmer 'get it'?

03 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the parties regroup following the local elections, both Labour and the Conservatives have to face a miserable result. Lucy Dunn speaks to Isabel Ha...

Local elections live: is Reform unstoppable?

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The word ‘unprecedented’ is often overused in politics, but these local elections have proved to be just that. The headline is: sweeping success f...

Local elections: Reform seizes Runcorn in teal tsunami

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Votes are being counted across England, but there is a clear early winner from these local elections: Nigel Farage. His party triumphed in the Runcorn...

Michael Gove on how to spin a bad election

01 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Voters have gone to the polls today for a historic set of local elections. The polling indicates a rough night for the two main parties and a good sho...

What is Tony Blair up to?

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tony Blair is making waves in Westminster today after his institute published a report on net zero that appears to undermine Ed Miliband and Labour’...

Revenge of the centrists: Carney wins in Canada

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Mark Carney has won the Canadian election, leading the Liberal Party to a fourth term. Having only been Prime Minister for 6 weeks, succeeding Justin ...

'The spring of discontent'

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Are we looking at a spring of discontent? It’s the final push ahead of this week’s local elections, and what Keir Starmer wants to talk about is e...

‘An era of five-party politics’: John Curtice on the significance of the local elections

26 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Legendary pollster Prof Sir John Curtice joins the Spectator’s deputy political editor James Heale to look ahead to next week’s local elections. T...

Is Robert Jenrick on manoeuvres?

25 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Despite this being the week that Kemi Badenoch finally showed some steel in PMQs, it’s Robert Jenrick who has been stealing the headlines. That’s ...

Who do voters trust most on the economy?

24 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been in Washington D.C. this week at the IMF’s spring meetings, and will meet US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tomor...

St George’s Day: who is the most patriotic leader?

23 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Happy St George’s Day! To celebrate, we thought we would discuss who is the most patriotic political leader — and why some struggle to communicate...

Does Starmer know what a woman is?

22 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Parliament is back after the Easter holiday and the Supreme Court ruling over 'what is a woman' continues to dominate talk in Westminster. The Prime M...

How the Liberal Democrats conquered Middle England

21 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Liberal Democrats’ foreign affairs spokesperson Calum Miller, elected as the new MP for Bicester and Woodstock last year, joins James Heale to t...

10 years of politics as Balls bows out

19 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Labour Together? Party morale & the threat of Reform

18 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Former Labour MP Jonathan Ashworth and Patrick Maguire from The Times join Katy Balls for her penultimate Coffee House Shots podcast as The Spectator'...

How Wes Streeting will make or break Starmer

17 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Gove and Katy Balls join James Heale to discuss their interview with the Health Secretary Wes Streeting included in this week’s special East...

How will the parties judge success at the local elections?

16 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Has a US-UK trade deal inched closer?

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Donald Trump’s policies on tariffs keep shifting, leaving countries scrambling to react, there has been some good news for Keir Starmer and the L...

Scunthorpe's steel and Birmingham's bins: a tale of two Labours

14 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Panic has subsided over the British Steel crisis as Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, while visiting the site in Scunthorpe, confirmed that the raw...

'Nationalisation in all but name': the blame game over British Steel

13 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Parliament was recalled from Easter recess for a rare Saturday sitting of Parliament yesterday, to debate the future of British Steel. Legislation was...

Tariff turmoil: the end of globalisation or a blip in history?

12 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Globalisation's obituary has been written many times before but, with the turmoil caused over the past few weeks with Donald Trump's various announcem...

The economy is growing!

11 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Finally, some good news for your Friday: the economy is growing! Just when everyone seems to be revising down expectations of growth, the Office for N...

'The art of the deal'?

10 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two days ago, talk of a 90-day pause on Donald Trump’s ‘reciprocal tariffs’ was branded ‘fake news’ by the White House. But yesterday, the P...

What could a US-UK trade deal look like?

09 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Trump’s levies have kicked in today: including an astonishing 102 per cent tariff on China – after it missed the deadline to withdraw its retaliat...

What happened at the Liaison Committee?

08 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Parliament is about to go into recess for the Easter holiday and so – as is customary – Keir Starmer sat in front of the Liaison Committee this af...

Is Trump the new Truss?

07 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The fallout from Trump’s tariffs continues. Last week, Donald Trump ended the free-trade era that has underpinned growth for decades (and potentiall...

Marine Le Pen: justice or lawfare?

05 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Marine Le Pen, president of Rassemblement National (National Rally) was found guilty this week of embezzling EU funds to boost her party’s finances....

Five years on, who is Keir Starmer?

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today marks five years since Keir Starmer became leader of the Labour party. In that time, he has gradually purged Labour of its leftist wing and wres...

Trump's tariffs explained

03 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's the day after America 'reclaimed it's destiny', or so Donald Trump says. The President announced a raft of 'reciprocal' new tariffs from the Whit...

Should Starmer impose retaliatory tariffs? Plus local elections lookahead

02 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s World Tariff Day – or Liberation Day, depending on what you prefer to call it – but we won’t know for certain what levies Donald Trump wi...

Welcome to Terrible Tuesday

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Britain’s real economic pain starts today. Overnight, the cost of living has jumped once again: energy, water, broadband, public transport, TV licen...

What to expect on 'World Tariff Day'

31 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week will see ‘World Tariff Day’ – as those in Westminster are not-so-excitedly calling Wednesday – when Donald Trump will announce a wav...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 30/03/2025

30 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning’s political shows.Former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gives his first interview sinc...

Michael Heseltine on Thatcher, Boris and Badenoch

29 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

An MP for 35 years, Michael Heseltine served as Environment Secretary and then Defence Secretary in Margaret Thatcher’s government. Following his we...

Coffee House Shots Live with Maurice Glasman, David Frost and James Kanagasooriam

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Join Katy Balls, Michael Gove, Lord Glasman, Lord Frost and pollster James Kanagasooriam as they unpack the highly anticipated Spring Statement and it...

Reeves goes on the defensive

27 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s the morning after the afternoon before, and Rachel Reeves has just finished her broadcast round, where she has faced tough questions and negati...

Labour's 'Sabrina Carpenter' Budget

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This afternoon, Rachel Reeves made good on her promise to deliver only one fiscal set piece per calendar year by announcing what is widely being consi...

Could Cabinet turn on Reeves?

25 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Hard hats on for the Spring Statement tomorrow, where at around midday Rachel Reeves will deliver her fiscal update (read: significant fiscal set piec...

Can Britain dodge Trump's tariffs?

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Reports in the papers today say that the British government is considering scrapping its digital services tax – largely levied at American tech comp...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 23/03/2025

23 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. Rachel Reeves defends her record as chancellor ahead of the Spring Statemen...

Were we right to lock down? Michael Gove vs Toby Young

22 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On 23 March 2020, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the unprecedented decision to put the UK into lockdown. To mark the 5th anniversary of t...

Does Kemi have a plan?

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's been Kemi-takes-action week for the Conservatives, with the leader of the opposition trying to prove that she can – in fact – do policy. She ...

Can Keir trust Macron?

20 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a big day in defence. Keir Starmer began the day in Barrow talking about nuclear subs and will end the day in a meeting of the ‘coalition of ...

Spring Statement or ‘Emergency Budget’?

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The question that everyone in Westminster wants answered is what will actually be included in next week’s Spring Statement. Previously, the Spring S...

Inside Labour's welfare split

18 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This afternoon we had Liz Kendall’s long-awaited address in the Commons on Labour’s plans for welfare reform. The prospect of £5 billion worth of...

Can the Tories save their education legacy?

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Bridget Phillipson's schools bill is back in the Commons today. The scope of the legislation is twofold: firstly, looking at the welfare of children i...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 16/03/2025

16 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.NHS England will be demolished as Labour make sweeping changes to the NHS, an...

Is Keir Starmer a Tory?

15 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Slashing the winter fuel allowance, maintaining the two child benefit cap, cutting international aid, cutting the civil service, axing NHS bureaucracy...

The UK economy is shrinking - how much pressure is Rachel Reeves under?

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

New figures from the Office for National Statistics show the UK economy unexpectedly shrunk by 0.1% in January. This comes only a few weeks after the ...

Why Labour are abolishing NHS England

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It was widely briefed that the main focus of Sir Keir Starmer’s speech in Yorkshire today was his plan to do away with Whitehall red tape. What was ...

What will Nicola Sturgeon's legacy be?

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Nicola Sturgeon has announced her intention to step down at the next Scottish Parliament election in May 2026. One of the original MSPs elected to Hol...

Has Ukraine called Putin’s bluff?

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last night there was a huge breakthrough in Ukraine peace talks, with Zelensky accepting a US proposal for a ceasefire and placing ‘the ball in Puti...

Starmer facing welfare rebellion

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There is a row on the horizon over welfare cuts. Yesterday’s meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) was packed, with many lobby journalists...

Have Reform blown it?

10 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Loyal listeners will remember that just three months ago we released a podcast asking: Is 2025 Farage’s year? The answer was ‘yes’, provided Ref...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 09/03/2025

09 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.Pat McFadden addresses Starmer's 'coalition of the willing', and incoming ref...

Who would be a Conservative? – Kate Andrews vs Michael Gove

08 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s a special (and emotional) edition of Coffee House Shots this Saturday because it is the last with Kate Andrews on this side of the Atlantic. Sh...

How long will Starmer’s ‘war bounce’ last?

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Trump has been stealing the headlines when it comes to Ukraine this week, but Europe – and whether it can stay united in the face of the US pulling ...

Labour's 'two tier policing' headache

06 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Labour have found themselves facing accusations of enabling ‘two tier policing’ following new guidelines from the Sentencing Council. Shadow Justi...

Could spending cuts herald a ‘winter of discontent for Labour’s left’?

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With reports of ‘billions’ of spending cuts earmarked for the Chancellor’s Spring Statement, taking place later this month, Michael Gove and Kat...

Where does Trump's suspension of Ukraine aid leave Europe?

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Overnight President Trump made another extraordinary move in his ongoing attempt to broker a deal between Ukraine and Russia, suspending all U.S. mili...

Can Starmer stick to his promises to Ukraine?

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Along with the French President Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer seems to be spearheading Europe's diplomatic efforts to secure a lasting peace deal for ...

Was Zelensky ambushed at the White House?

01 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Zelensky's much anticipated meeting at the White House finished in an angry clash between the Ukrainian President, JD Vance and Donald Trump. The Vice...

Coffee House Shots Live with Robert Jenrick and Jonathan Ashworth

01 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Spectator’s Katy Balls, Michael Gove and Kate Andrews were joined by special guests Robert Jenrick and Jonathan Ashworth for a live podcast, rec...

How Starmer won over the Donald

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Unbelievably, Keir Starmer arrives back from Washington today after a successful meeting with Donald Trump. In fact, it’s hard to see how it could h...

Can Starmer charm Trump?

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer is in D.C. for what will probably be one of the most important bilateral meetings of his premiership. The goal is to charm Trump and secu...

Why is Kemi struggling at PMQs?

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Is Kemi Badenoch a 'realist'?

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Kemi Badenoch has today given a major speech outlining the Conservatives’ commitment to ‘realism’ in their foreign policy. She said, ‘You cann...

Ukraine war, three years on

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Today marks three years since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. From early fears of a swift Russian victory to the Kharkiv offensi...

Cindy Yu's Sunday Roundup - 23/02/2025

23 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cindy Yu presents highlights from Sunday morning’s political shows.After an extraordinary week of anti-Zelenskyy attacks by Trump, the UK government...

How the Whips' office really works

22 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

Starmer's Scottish headache

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

'What does a party get after nearly two decades in office, collapsing public services, an internal civil war and a £2 million police investigation? R...

Can Farage navigate the Trump-Zelensky maze?

20 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump's latest comments on Ukraine and its leader have united the British political spectrum in condemnation – almost. Nigel Farage has tread...

Why Rachel Reeves is safe, for now

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Foreign affairs are inescapable this week, with the readout from the meeting yesterday between Russian and American diplomats in Saudi Arabia. We unde...

How Europe’s consensus on Ukraine broke down

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The future of Ukraine is being decided in a meeting between US and Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia today. So far, we understand that America will in...