Coffee House Shots

Has Lindsay Hoyle overstepped?

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Sir Keir Starmer can breathe a sigh of relief this afternoon, thanks to Lindsay Hoyle. The Speaker has selected Labour’s amendment on a Gaza ceasefi...

Starmer moves to quell ceasefire rebellion

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today Keir Starmer has moved his party’s position on a ceasefire in Gaza as he seeks to quell what could the biggest rebellion of his leadership. MP...

Are citizens' assemblies the future?

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the Times today is the latest instalment of Tom Baldwin's authorised biography of Keir Starmer. It includes reports that Labour chief of staff Sue ...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 18/02/24

18 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.Alexei Navalny is dead, and our government says Putin is responsible. The Tor...

Do accents still matter in politics?

17 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The new MP for Kingswood has been under fire for apparently changing his accent over the course of his political career. Does this matter? And if so, ...

Labour triumphs in by-election brace

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Labour has the won two by-elections in Wellingborough and Kingswood, overturning big Conservative majorities in the process. Party chairman Richard Ho...

UK tips into recession – what's left of Sunak's priorities?

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This morning's figures show that the UK went into a technical recession last year. Forecasts suggest it will be a short and shallow recession, but how...

Have the Tories given up on Wellingborough & Kingswood?

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Inflation figures released this morning have remained at 4 per cent – a worry for Rishi Sunak's five pledges. There are several hurdles are still to...

Can Labour learn from its mistakes?

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer has rolled back on his support for the Rochdale by-election candidate, Azhar Ali over further comments made about on Israel-Palestine. Jo...

Can Starmer stamp out Labour's antisemitism?

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Labour faces another antisemitism battle as their candidate for the Rochdale by-election said that Israel allowed the October 7th attacks as a pretext...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 11/02/24

11 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.Michael Gove thinks problems with the housing market could drive young people...

Is the Labour party already fractured?

10 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Having ditched the green investment pledge, Keir Starmer faces questions over what the Labour party actually stands for. And without a clear vision, h...

Boris Johnson accused of sabotaging Ukraine peace talks

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tucker Carlson released his highly anticipated interview with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin last night. The two-hour long discussion was dominated by...

Is Starmer right to ditch his £28 billion green pledge?

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Later today Keir Starmer is expected to officially kill off Labour's £28 billion green investment pledge. With the centrepiece of their public policy...

Is the prime minister gaffe-prone?

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It has been a gaffe-filled week for Rishi Sunak. At PMQs today the prime minister was chastised by his opposite number for an ill-judged comment about...

What Liz Truss's PopCon launch was really about

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Liz Truss is back! This time with a conference called 'Popular Conservatism', bringing together voices in the Conservative party and aiming to 'delive...

Rishi Sunak admits to failing on NHS waitlists

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak is in Belfast to mark the return of Stormont after a two-year deadlock. With Sinn Fein now the leading party, can the government pitch thi...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 04/02/2024

04 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. Michelle O'Neill becomes the first nationalist first minister of Northern I...

Arlene Foster: 'a united Ireland is not around the corner'

03 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week in Westminster has been dominated by the news that we can expect to see power sharing restored at Stormont in the near future. James Heale g...

Should ex-MPs stop shilling for foreign rulers?

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In his Telegraph column, Fraser Nelson makes the case that it's time to ban former politicians accepting jobs from foreign rulers. The likes of Tony B...

Is Labour the party of business?

01 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At the 'Labour Business Conference 2024', shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves wooed business with a pledge that Labour would not raise corporation tax in ...

Sturgeon paints herself as perfect at Covid Inquiry

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Nicola Sturgeon was emotional whilst giving evidence at the Covid inquiry today – a highly anticipated part of the inquiry given the issue of delete...

What could still scupper Northern Ireland's power-sharing plan?

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After hours of late night negotiations, power sharing looks like it's back on in Stormont – or is it? James Heale talks to Katy Balls and TalkTV's P...

Why Sunak wants to ban vapes

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak has outlined plans to ban disposable vapes, and is hoping to change vape packaging to make it less appealing to children. Why?James Heale ...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 28/01/24

28 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning’s political shows. Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch says she wants no part in Tory plotting....

Would Trump and Starmer get on?

27 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump seems to have the Republican primaries wrapped up. He’ll almost certainly be up against Joe Biden on 5 November in the general election...

Fraser Nelson: governments should never own our press

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

NHS consultants have (narrowly) rejected another pay increase offered to them by the government. They will not immediately go back on strike, and will...

The Plot: part II

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak seems to be facing his own 'plot'. But unlike in Nadine Dorries' now infamous book, it's not a secret cabal orchestrated by Dougie Smith h...

Does Simon Clarke’s intervention matter?

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tory MP Simon Clarke called for Rishi Sunak to resign last night. In a piece in the Telegraph, he wrote that the Prime Minister was ‘uninspiring’...

Are the Houthi strikes working?

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The UK launched a new set of strikes on eight Houthi targets last night. Typoon jets dropped £30,000 Paveway bombs on an underground storage site and...

How far will Hunt cut taxes?

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jeremy Hunt said he would look to cut taxes in the March budget. In the Mail on Sunday, he said he would look to emulate the late Nigel Lawson, who a...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 21/01/24

21 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday's political shows. Grant Shapps calls Netanyahu's rejection of a two-state solution  'disappointing',...

How is Cameron's comeback coming along?

20 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As problems in the Middle East and war on the continent dominate the headlines, David Cameron has been front and centre in his new role as foreign sec...

Why won't the Tories back Birbalsingh?

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Katharine Birbalsingh, headteacher at the Michaela community school in Brent, is being challenged in the High Court over a policy which allegedly bans...

Is the ERG a spent force?

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After much back and forth, the Rwanda Bill passed last night with only 11 votes against while other critics, such as Lee Anderson who resigned his par...

Why Lee Anderson's exit is a problem

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last night Rishi Sunak faced the largest rebellion of his premiership over amendments to the Rwanda bill. There were also three resignations – deput...

Isaac Levido’s warning to the Tory party

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

With the Tories reeling from yesterday's poll in the Telegraph, it is interesting that the party’s official election strategist Isaac Levido was alr...

Is there a plot to oust Sunak?

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Polling published in the Telegraph has ruffled more than a few feathers in Westminster today. The YouGov survey shows that the Tories are on course t...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 14/01/2024

14 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday’s political shows. Conflict in the Middle East is escalating, as the UK and US launch retaliatory st...

Why few voters like Sunak

13 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

New polling from JL Partners shows how Rishi Sunak has changed, in the eyes of the public. They found that while Sunak was initially seen as a direct ...

Britain and US launch airstrikes against Houthis

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last night the US and the UK launched airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen whose continued attacks are disrupting trade in the Red Sea. The decis...

Can the economy win Tory votes?

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

James Heale speaks to Kate Andrews and Katy Balls about Rishi Sunak's new strategy to focus more on the economy as the election year kicks off. Can Ri...

Post Office scandal: government to exonerate victims

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At PMQs today Rishi Sunak took the opportunity to announce that the government will be introducing legislation to 'swiftly' exonerate the victims of t...

Paula Vennells hands back her CBE

09 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Paula Vennells, the former head of the Post Office, has handed back her CBE. Will her decision put more pressure on politicians like Ed Davey, the Lib...

The problem with Chris Skidmore's resignation

08 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Chris Skidmore has formally announced his resignation today, triggering another by-election in the process. His departure from the Commons is in prote...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 07/01/2024

07 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The election year is here, and Sunak is still under pressure. Do leaked documents suggest he doubts the efficacy of the Rwanda scheme? Starmer wants '...

How will Sunak and Starmer run their election campaigns?

06 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak has all but confirmed that this year’s general election will take place in autumn. How will the Prime Minister, and Keir Starmer, run th...

Why aren't the Lib Dems doing better?

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Liberal Democrats began their 2024 campaigning this week by unveiling a huge poster branding them as ‘Ed Davey’s Tory Removal Service’, but ...

Did Sunak steal Starmer's thunder?

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Keir Starmer delivered his new year's speech, promising 'Project Hope' ahead of the general election. Critics claimed the speech was rhetoric heavy, l...

Would strike talks be different under Labour?

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As junior doctors begin the longest strike in history, Lucy Dunn speaks to Isabel Hardman and Kate Andrews about whether public support for industrial...

Is Rishi fishy on the asylum backlog?

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak has claimed that the Conservatives have cleared the 92,000 asylum claims, despite figures showing the backlog still stands at tens of thou...

2023: The year in review

21 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How well did Rishi Sunak do on his five pledges? Are we any clearer on what Keir Starmer stands for? Is the SNP done for in Scotland? On this episode,...

Sunak gets tetchy during Rwanda and Israel grilling

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak appeared in front of the Liaison Committee this afternoon. In an interview with The Spectator last week, the PM said that he was enjoying ...

Is British support for Israel wavering?

18 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Foreign Secretary David Cameron and Defence Secretary Grant Shapps have signalled a shift in the British position towards the Israel-Gaza conflict, su...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 17/12/2023

17 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday’s political shows. Baroness Michelle Mone admits she lied about her involvement in PPE deal but also...

Will we avoid recession in 2024?

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The big economic news of the week was that the Bank of England has held interest rates at 5.25 per cent for the third consecutive time. This was the e...

Another by-election looms for Rishi

14 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The big political news today is the Standards Committee recommendation against Scott Benton, meaning a likely by-election in Blackpool South. He was t...

Who are the ‘five families’ of Tory rebels?

13 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Tories are reeling from a week of painful infighting over Rwanda. Who are the ‘five families’ of Conservative dissenters?James Heale speaks to...

Sunak wins the Rwanda vote – but the battle is far from over

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The government has won this evening’s vote on the ‘safety of Rwanda’ bill comfortably at 313 votes to 269 against. This means Rishi Sunak has ma...

What if Rishi Sunak loses his crunch Rwanda vote?

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak faces the first major test of his premiership today over the second reading of the Rwanda bill. How could the day play out? And what will ...

What Sunak really said about lockdown

11 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It was Rishi Sunak's turn at the Covid Inquiry today. The Prime Minister faced questions on Eat Out to Help Out, his relationship with No.10, tiers an...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 10/12/2023

10 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday's political shows. On Wednesday Robert Jenrick resigned over the government's Rwanda legislation, so t...

Do the Tories have a death wish?

09 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Nick Robinson asked Suella Braverman on the Today programme this week whether the Tories had a death wish. She said no. But why is the party, when it'...

Is Rishi's Rwanda Bill doomed?

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak is stuck in a migration quagmire and will be spending the weekend drumming up support from MPs ahead of the vote on his amended Rwanda bil...

What Jenrick’s resignation means for Sunak’s premiership

07 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Kate Andrews speaks to James Heale and Katy Balls about Robert Jenrick's resignation last night and whether this is another sign of Tory party implosi...

Boris faces the music at the Covid inquiry

06 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It was a big day in the Covid inquiry as Boris Johnson gave evidence for the first time. Just as Johnson launched into an apology during his opening s...

Are the Tories too little to late on migration?

05 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As James Cleverly meets leaders in Rwanda to sign a new asylum treaty, the government has laid out a series of plans to bring down legal migration. So...

Was Starmer right to praise Thatcher?

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This weekend Keir Starmer's team took the opportunity to discuss Margaret Thatcher in an op-ed for the Sunday Telegraph. Whilst Starmer also praised o...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 03/12/2023

03 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from today's political shows. Winter means incoming trouble for the NHS. The health secretary blames industrial ac...

The memory and legacy of Alistair Darling

02 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Former chancellor Alistair Darling passed away this week, aged 70. To discuss his career, life and legacy, Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and Cath...

Will Boris surprise at the Covid inquiry?

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As Matt Hancock appears before the Covid inquiry for a second day, we take a look at the revelations from the former health secretary, including the a...

Is Labour being ‘fundamentally dishonest’?

30 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jeremy Hunt said last night that Labour’s economic plans are ‘fundamentally dishonest’. Is he right, and are the Tories really just as bad? Nat...

Has Robert Jenrick gone rogue?

29 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick, long thought of as one of Rishi Sunak's closest allies in Parliament, hinted yesterday at a row with the Prime Mi...

Has No.10 lost its marbles?

28 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

An extraordinary row has broken out between the British and Greek governments over the future of the Parthenon Marbles. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsot...

Sunak under pressure to curb legal migration

27 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak is on the defensive over legal migration. After figures late last week revealed net migration hit a record 750,000 in the year to December...

Should Sunak reduce immigration?

25 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Figures out this week put net migration at 672,000 in the year to June 2023. Should the government cut the number of work visas, to immediately reduce...

What happened in Dublin?

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There were riots in Dublin last night. Looters smashed shops, and burnt police cars in a night of unrest in the capital of Ireland. What provoked the ...

Have we seen peak migration?

23 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After much Whitehall spin, the official figures are now in. Net migration in the year to June hit 672,000, down from 745,000 in 2022. A total of 1.2 m...

The truth about Hunt’s ‘tax cutting’ Autumn Statement

22 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Chancellor today delivered his fiscal update, branding it as an ‘Autumn Statement for Growth’. In it, he announced a series of tax cuts for bo...

Did Covid expose a 'failure of imagination'?

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week it is the scientists’ turn to appear before the Covid Inquiry with Sir Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer and Sir Patrick Vallance. J...

Why has Rishi Sunak made five more pledges?

20 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

James Heale, Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson look ahead to the Autumn Statement this week. Will Rishi Sunak commit to cutting taxes? And with barely a ye...

Katy Balls' Sunday Roundup - 19/11/2023

19 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Katy Balls presents highlights from this week's political shows. It's an economy special, as Jeremy Hunt prepares to deliver his autumn statement nex...

What will fix Britain’s prisons?

18 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

HMP Bedford was issued with an urgent notification yesterday, meaning it must immediately make reforms to improve. It’s the fifth prison to receive ...

Can Sunak shift the dial?

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The chancellor Jeremy Hunt will deliver his autumn statement next week and Rishi Sunak will be hoping to stamp his authority onto a fracturing party a...

Should Starmer worry about the ceasefire rebellion?

16 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Fifty-six Labour MPs rebelled last night and voted for an SNP amendment calling for a ceasefire in Israel and Gaza. Keir Starmer had ordered his party...

Supreme Court rules Rwanda scheme unlawful

15 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court has ruled that the government scheme to deport illegal migrants to Rwanda is unlawful. Why? And how will Rishi Sunak respond? Will h...

Suella tells Rishi: 'You have repeatedly failed to deliver'

14 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When Suella Braverman was sacked on Monday she warned that she would have more to say in due course, and has just released her resignation letter. It ...

Will the Tory right be happy with Sunak's reshuffle?

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak has spent today selecting new people for his Cabinet. With MP's to the right such as Suella Braverman removed from office, has Rishi Sunak...

Sunak’s reshuffle: refresh or rewind?

13 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s reshuffle day in Westminster. Suella Braverman is out as Home Secretary, replaced by James Cleverly, with former prime minister David Cameron m...

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 12/11/2023

12 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from this week's political shows. The Palestine march on Saturday was accompanied by violence after far-right grou...

Has Nadine Dorries lost the plot?

11 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week Nadine Dorries’s new book The Plot: The Political Assassination of Boris Johnson has been published, and it has ruffled some feathers in W...

Is Suella Braverman safe for now?

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Despite mounting pressure from Conservative MPs to remove Suella Braverman, no announcement has been made yet. How much pressure is Rishi Sunak facing...

What is Suella Braverman up to?

09 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Suella Braverman has again dominated conversation with her controversial rhetoric, this time comparing the pro-Palestinian marches to the Orange March...

Will Mark Rowley ban the pro-Palestine protests?

08 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak met with Met Commissioner Mark Rowley today to discuss the pro-Palestine protests planned for the Remembrance weekend. Sunak has called th...

What did King Charles say?

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It was the King’s speech today. King Charles announced that the government would introduce new laws to, among other things, force criminals to atten...

Is Suella Braverman in trouble over rough sleepers?

06 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Home Secretary sparked fury over the weekend for her comments on homelessness, suggesting that rough sleepers using tents is a 'lifestyle choice'....

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 05/11/2023

05 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from this week's political shows. The Israel-Palestine conflict is creating division in the UK, with pro-Palestine...

Has WhatsApp ruined government?

04 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

WhatsApps between officials in Boris Johnson’s government have been centre-stage at the Covid inquiry this week. Is the app encouraging on-the-hoof ...

Was Rishi Sunak's AI summit a success?

03 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This week the prime minister hosted his landmark AI summit at Bletchley Park which wrapped up with an interview with Elon Musk, who warned that AI wil...

Has the Bank of England done enough to stave off recession?

02 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Bank of England has once again taken the decision to hold interest rates at their 15-year high. There is growing market consensus that this second...