Podcast

Coffee House Shots

Instant political analysis from the Spectator‘s top team of writers, including Michael Gove, 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 Michael Gove, Katy Balls, James Heale, Isabel Hardman, Cindy Yu, Kate Andrews and many others.

Coffee House Shots

How big could tomorrow’s Tory rebellion be?

Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls, James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson about the contents of – and the potential fallout from – Boris Johnson’s address to the nation last night.

Play 12 mins

Coffee House Shots

Should Boris be worried about North Shropshire?

Isabel Hardman talks to Katy Balls and the New Statesman‘s Stephen Bush about the possibility of an upset next Thursday in the seat recently vacated by Owen Paterson.

Play 17 mins

Coffee House Shots

Is Boris in for a Christmas rebellion?

Boris Johnson’s problems are not going away anytime soon and he is facing extreme pressure on several fronts going into the weekend. Hypocrisy charges from the media and the Labour Party, more scandal regarding the No. 10 flat refurbishment, and a massive Tory rebellion regarding his Plan B measures. Not to mention his recent announcement

Play 12 mins

Coffee House Shots

How much trouble is Boris in over his Downing Street flat?

Cindy Yu speaks to Isabel Hardman and Kate Andrews about the level of Conservative support for the Prime Minister after his latest Covid restrictions, and the Electoral Commission’s findings about the refurbishment of the flat above No. 11.

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Coffee House Shots

What’s Boris’s new Covid plan?

Cindy Yu talks to Kate Andrews, Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson about the contents of the Prime Minster’s latest Covid press conference.

Play 15 mins

Coffee House Shots

Partygate: how much trouble is Boris in?

It is all kicking off in Westminster. A leaked video has emerged where the former Prime Minister’s spokesperson is seen laughing when questioned about a Christmas party at 10 Downing Street last year. In yet another blow, many Conservatives shared their dismay at the leaked footage. At PMQs, Boris Johnson said that he is furious

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Coffee House Shots

How damning is the whistleblower’s Afghanistan report?

A new 40-page document written by Raphael Marshall, a former desk officer at the Foreign Office, depicts a disorganised mess in the handling of this year’s Afghanistan withdrawal. ‘I think the picture that is painted of chaos… it raises a whole slew of questions.’ – James Forsyth Katy Balls and James Forsyth dissect some of

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Coffee House Shots

Will Boris’s crime crackdown backfire?

Boris Johnson is launching a week of crime-related government announcements. Tackling middle-class drug use tops the agenda today, and the Prime Minister watched police raid a home in Liverpool this morning as part of ‘Operation Toxic’ to infiltrate county lines drug dealing. But with a report from the Sunday Times revealing that traces of cocaine

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Coffee House Shots

Should you snog a stranger this Christmas?

With the Omicron variant putting everyone on edge, there has been quite a bit of mixed messaging from the government about how we should all be conducting ourselves this festive period. With a bizarre emphasis placed on snogging – some preaching caution, others saying snog away. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard people say the

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Coffee House Shots

What’s behind the reduced majority in Old Bexley and Sidcup?

The by-election last night was a result for the Tories. However, their majority for this seat fell dramatically. Labour tried to badge it as good news for them, claiming that they are ‘back in business’. But the poor voter turnout was more likely the reason for the fall in Tory votes rather than a swing

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Coffee House Shots

Will the UK copy Europe with new Covid restrictions?

A lot of news coming out of Europe this week. From French President Emmanuel Macron calling Boris Johnson a clown, to more extreme Covid prevention methods rolling out in Germany. Will Anglo-French tensions cool, boil or simmer? Are we going to see the return of talks about Covid passports and vaccine mandates? Isabel Hardman looks

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Coffee House Shots

Is Boris in trouble over No.10’s Christmas party?

Keir Starmer went on the attack today at PMQs. The controversy over last years Christmas party resurfaced, with accusations that No.10 breached lockdown rules. He then went on to criticise the government’s new hospitals program. Boris was dealt another blow, this time from his own side. Tory MPs are in uproar about the threats of

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Coffee House Shots

What’s the aim of Labour’s second reshuffle?

Yesterday Keir Starmer’s Labour Party announced a new reshuffle of its shadow cabinet. It just coincidentally happened on the same day Angela Rayner gave a big speech on Tory sleaze, leading some to speculate on friction within the party. ‘What you can’t avoid is that they ultimately decided to do the reshuffle on a day

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Coffee House Shots

How is the government handling Omicron?

We are slowly learning more and more about this new Covid variant, but it could be weeks before we know just how contagious and harmful it could be. Wasting no time, over the weekend the government has banned travel from certain countries and tightened domestic Covid measures. ‘It’s fair to say that ministers are anxious

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Coffee House Shots

Is Macron weaponising the migrant crisis?

The migrants that tragically lost their lives in the English Channel has caused Anglo- French relations to further deteriorate. There is a theory however, that it suits Macron’s agenda to be in a perpetual war with the Brits. Could this be the case when migrants are still in the hands of the traffickers? ‘These people-smuggling

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Coffee House Shots

What is the Nu variant?

A new Covid variant dubbed ‘Nu’ has been discovered in South Africa and the UK has already put travel restrictions in place. Though early tests have shown that Nu is more transmissible, we don’t know conclusively if it is any more deadly or can evade vaccines. ‘We don’t know yet, whether this variant is more

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Coffee House Shots

Can Priti solve the migrant crisis?

The 27 migrants that tragically lost their lives whilst trying to cross the English Channel have sparked urgent appeals for Priti to resolve the migrant crisis. However, there is still no stopping some migrants attempting to flee their homes. ‘By 8.30 this morning, three more boats had arrived on the coast, even after the news

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Coffee House Shots

Did Starmer beat Boris?

With multiple weeks of bad publicity and rumours of some Conservative MPs sending in letters of no confidence, today’s PMQs witnessed much more noise than last week’s. However, is the Prime Minster hitting back at critics, including a more confident Keir Starmer, effectively? ‘Today I thought Keir Starmer looked like he was actually really enjoying

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Coffee House Shots

What’s behind the social care rebellion?

It has been a challenging week for Boris. Following the Peppa Pig speech, immediately after the Owen Paterson u-turn, the party may be starting to lose patience. This could have implications for the government’s future, shown most recently by the rebellion on the social care bill. Many MPs did a ‘no show’ and the government’s majority fell

Play 9 mins

Coffee House Shots

Is the Prime Minister’s shtick wearing thin?

During the last general election campaign, Boris Johnson’s persona as the improvisational, brash, comedian was endearing to many voters and those in his party. But with multiple weeks of own goals and bad press is this attitude beginning to look careless rather than amusing? ‘People are now looking out for the next banana skin’ –

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Coffee House Shots

Is the UK facing a lockdown like Austria’s?

Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson about the latest lockdown in Austria, the prospect of Germany following suit, and Austria’s plans for mandatory vaccination.

Play 13 mins

Coffee House Shots

How can Priti Patel stop migrant crossings?

Priti Patel has blamed the European Union’s freedom of movement for the ‘mass migration crisis’ that Britain is facing. In a visit to Washington, the Home Secretary said: ‘the real problem on illegal migration flows is the EU has no border protections whatsoever — Schengen open borders’. Tories MPs are reportedly frustrated at the government’s

Play 12 mins

Coffee House Shots

Are Conservatives disembarking the Boris train?

The announcement of the Integrated Rail Plan has left many, including a number of Conservative MPs, disappointed due to the proposed new routes and notable omissions. This comes at a bad time for Boris Johnson who is already in the dog house over his handling of the Owen Paterson affair. ‘Boris Johnson is not in

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Coffee House Shots

How long will the ‘Tory Sleaze’ scandal run?

Now entering its second week, the foray around members of parliament holding second jobs shows no sign of dying down. And, unfortunately, it seems whatever Boris Johnson tries to do to get himself out of this situation, he appears to just be digging himself and his party a deeper and deeper hole. ‘Boris Johnson hadn’t

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Coffee House Shots

What do the new lobbying rules mean for MPs?

The Prime Minister has written to the Commons Speaker to propose new lobbying rules for MPs. While some may welcome the measure, like former PM Theresa May, who gave a blistering critique of the way the Owen Paterson affair was handled, others in his party might not be so happy. ‘The challenge for him is

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Coffee House Shots

Was COP a flop?

COP26 is now over, but was it a flop? Even Alok Sharma, the President of COP26, apologised on the last day for ‘the way this process has unfolded’, as he teared up when announcing the final agreement to phase down, rather than phase out, coal. On this episode, Cindy Yu talks to Fraser Nelson and

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Coffee House Shots

Will levelling up split the Tories?

Since the cabinet met on Thursday to map out their levelling up agenda, we take another look at what this ambiguous slogan really means and how important it is for a Tory majority in the next election. Can we compare the UK levelling up to other places? Gove recently referenced 15th century Florence. But what

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Coffee House Shots

Can British troops fix Poland’s migrant crisis?

British troops have been deployed to the Polish border as part of a ‘reconnaissance’ mission, as Poland tries to stop migrants crossing from Belarus. Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, backed by Russia, is flying Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni citizens into his country and encouraging them to cross the border into Poland. As the United States turns

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Coffee House Shots

Why won’t Boris apologise?

After the government abandoned plans to overhaul the Commons standards rules, Rishi Sunak has said the government needs to ‘do better’. Will the PM show some contrition soon? Max Jeffery talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls. On the podcast, James Forsyth says: ‘He really doesn’t like apologies, never has done. So when he doesn’t

Play 12 mins

Coffee House Shots

Is Britain a corrupt country?

Boris Johnson today has said that Britain is not a corrupt country, but what does it mean that he felt the need to say that? On today’s Coffee House Shots, Fraser Nelson points out that there is no clear firebreak to the present string of sleaze stories; and James Forsyth estimates that around a quarter

Play 13 mins