Podcast
Instant political analysis from the Spectator‘s top team of writers, including Katy Balls, James Heale, Isabel Hardman, Cindy Yu, Kate Andrews and many others.
Instant political analysis from the Spectator‘s top team of writers, including Katy Balls, James Heale, Isabel Hardman, Cindy Yu, Kate Andrews and many others.
Coffee House Shots
A new poll from ComRes has shown Scottish Labour taking second place in tomorrow’s local elections, overtaking the Scottish Conservatives. On the podcast, James Forsyth explains the torrid flip-flop that Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Tories, has made over partygate, first calling for Boris Johnson to resign before rowing back (‘He thought that the
Play 9 mins
Coffee House Shots
Campaigning in the local elections is entering its final few days. But what are the expectations for the Tories and Labour and can they be met? Both leaders Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer have already put their foot in it to some degree, with the Labour leader getting rather too defensive about his lockdown mid-work
Play 13 mins
Coffee House Shots
A big congratulations to Linda Nelson who has just become a British citizen. Fraser details the long and taxing journey it took for his wife to reach this point in his Telegraph column this week and asks why as an immigrant nation do we make becoming British so challenging for new arrivals? On the podcast,
Play 20 mins
Coffee House Shots
Labour has admitted that deputy leader Angela Rayner, was also at an event where Keir Starmer was pictured drinking a beer. Could the pair be fined? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Kate Andrews
Play 19 mins
Coffee House Shots
This has been a bad week for the reputation of the House of Commons. From inappropriate comments toward female MPs, three cabinet ministers facing sexual misconduct claims and one MP accused of watching pornography in the chamber. Can anything be done to change this grotesque culture? And is it Westminster specific or an issue with
Play 17 mins
Coffee House Shots
The chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris has started an investigation after a female Tory MP reported that she had seen a male colleague watching pornography in the House of Commons. This comes in the wake of the Mail On Sunday‘s Angela Rayner/Basic Instinct story, and of the Sunday Times’s investigation that three current cabinet ministers are
Play 14 mins
Coffee House Shots
Today a pre-briefing on what Boris Johnson plans to say to the Cabinet about the cost of living crisis was released. He wants them to brainstorm ideas to ease the pain felt by the British public in the face of rising prices of food and energy. The catch, is these have to be non-fiscal ways.
Play 13 mins
Coffee House Shots
French President, Emmanuel Macron secured victory over the weekend. But with the election over, will we see a reset in relations between the UK and France? Apart from support for Ukraine, there has been little the governments on either side of the Channel have agreed on. Katy Balls is joined by Isabel Hardman and James
Play 12 mins
Coffee House Shots
At the beginning of the year, letters from Conservative MPs looked to be reaching the 54 threshold needed to trigger a no-confidence vote in Boris Johnson. Most would think a fixed penalty notice from the Met would bring us at least back to those levels. And though there have been some full-throated calls of support
Play 18 mins
Coffee House Shots
Boris Johnson has met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to discuss defence, energy and trade ties. Will he be able to secure a trade deal with India?Meanwhile back at home, Boris Johnson faces an investigation by the Commons Committee of Privileges over claims he misled Parliament on partygate. All to be discussed as Katy Balls
Play 9 mins
Coffee House Shots
The government’s response to Labour wanting to refer the Prime Minister to the Privileges Committee – who could then rule that he mislead the Commons – has been messy. At first, Conservative MPs were to be forced to vote with the government against the motion, but No. 10 then changed its position, saying it would be a
Play 13 mins
Coffee House Shots
Tomorrow there will be a vote in the Commons where Labour is pushing for an investigation into whether Boris Johnson is in contempt of Parliament over his comments on partygate. Which way will the Tory MPs vote? ‘Tory MPs are sick to the back teeth of partygate now‘ – James Forsyth. All to be discussed
Play 11 mins
Coffee House Shots
Boris Johnson faced MPs today for the first time since he was issued a fine for breaking lockdown rules. He apologised in the Commons, but maintained that he did not know he was breaking any rules at the time. Is that enough? Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth.
Play 13 mins
Coffee House Shots
Cindy Yu, Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls discuss the Prime Minister’s remarkable ability to keep his head above the surface of even the choppiest waters.
Play 13 mins
Coffee House Shots
This week the government has announced a pilot scheme meant to address the increasing number of asylum seekers dangerously crossing the English Channel. While some have criticised this plan as expensive and immoral it could prove to be popular among large swathes of Conservative voters. Cindy Yu talks with Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls about
Play 12 mins
Coffee House Shots
After the news of the fixed penalty notices, Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson and Rishi Sunak paid their fines and issued a public apology. For Boris, the reaction has been surprisingly positive compared to the beginning of the year. The majority of cabinet ministers have come out in support of the Prime Minister, but
Play 14 mins
Coffee House Shots
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have been told that they are going to be fixed penalty notices by the Metropolitan Police over parties held in Downing Street. The Chancellor has already had a tough week – might he now resign? Could Tory MPs push the Prime Minister out of No. 10? Isabel Hardman speaks to
Play 15 mins
Coffee House Shots
Crispin Blunt, a Conservative MP, was forced to apologise today after he tweeted support last night for Imran Ahmad Khan, another Tory MP who was found guilty of sexual assault. His statement called the verdict ‘a dreadful miscarriage of justice’ that relied on ‘lazy tropes of LGBT+ people’. ‘The condemnation has been pretty universal. I
Play 11 mins
Coffee House Shots
Rishi Sunak has referred himself to Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser to investigate whether he followed the rules on ministers’ interests. After the row over his wife’s tax status has built up, how much has the past week weakened his position as a possible contender for the Tory leadership?‘The two top players in the Tory party
Play 13 mins
Coffee House Shots
Ahead of the first round of France’s presidential elections on Sunday, Katy Balls asks whether Emmanuel Macron will be able to justify his apparent distance from the campaign trail. Taking part in the discussion with Katy Balls are Spectator contributor Jonathan Miller, Georgina Wright, from Institute Montaigne, and The Spectator‘s data journalist Michael Simmons.
Play 14 mins
Coffee House Shots
The Rishi Sunak star seems to be falling further every day. The latest revelation is that he and his wife, Akshata Murthy held American green cards for some time while Rishi was Chancellor. The response from his crisis coms team has been muddled at best. Is there any way for the former golden boy to
Play 10 mins
Coffee House Shots
The government is publishing its long-awaited energy security strategy today, but Labour has criticised it for the strategy’s lack of action on onshore wind, among other concerns. Has Boris wrongly buckled to backbenchers on a policy that would have been efficient and popular? Cindy Yu speaks to Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman. Isabel argues that
Play 10 mins
Coffee House Shots
The National Insurance hike comes into effect today which is going to hit doubly hard when coupled with the ever-increasing cost of living. While we are all going to feel this burden on our bank accounts, Rishi Sunak is taking his first major political blow. Is there anything he can do to bounce back, or
Play 15 mins
Coffee House Shots
There has been a wave of backlash against the government’s announcement that it intends to privatise Channel 4. What’s behind their decision? Some argue it could be politically motivated given that Channel 4 has historically been a left-leaning news organisation. Also on the podcast, Iain Anderson has resigned as the UK’s LQBTQ business champion over
Play 13 mins
Coffee House Shots
The government will publish its long-awaited energy security strategy this Thursday. The plan, which has been repurposed since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, is expected to include commitments to reduce the 6 per cent of energy Britain currently gets from Russia, and pledges to increase the use of nuclear energy. But could net zero, a priority
Play 13 mins
Coffee House Shots
This week it looks like the war in Ukraine is turning. The Ukrainian resistance has moved from the defensive to the offensive against their invaders and American intelligence has reported that the Russian forces are struggling by almost every metric. Though for the Western world this is a very encouraging sign what does a true
Play 24 mins
Coffee House Shots
The cost of living crisis became a reality as millions today face a £700 per year price hike to their energy bills. What can the government do to support those that fall into fuel poverty? Also on the podcast, the government has quietly approved the takeover of Newport Wafer Fab by a Chinese owned technology
Play 11 mins
Coffee House Shots
We’ve learnt from a speech this morning from GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming that the Russian army is in even more disarray than was previously thought. This has led some to think that not only could the Ukrainians succeed in holding the Russians at bay but even opens up the possibility of them retaking some of
Play 12 mins
Coffee House Shots
Despite the fines issued yesterday, Keir Starmer’s attacks at Prime Minister’s Questions today failed to land on Boris Johnson. In part, this was down to the Prime Minister’s ‘remarkably pugnacious’ attitude, according to James Forsyth on this episode. What’s more, it seems that Conservative MPs are happy to allow partygate to take a back seat
Play 12 mins
Coffee House Shots
Partygate is back in the news with fines being issued by the Metropolitan Police to twenty individuals. But this is not the end of the matter, this is only the first batch of fines and the full Sue Grey report is still to come. Is this scandal still enough to bring down the Prime Minister
Play 11 mins