Podcast
Instant political analysis from The Spectator’s top team of writers, including Michael Gove, Isabel Hardman, James Heale, Lucy Dunn and many others.
Instant political analysis from The Spectator’s top team of writers, including Michael Gove, Isabel Hardman, James Heale, Lucy Dunn and many others.
Coffee House Shots
The ‘lost’ texts sent by Boris Johnson to Lord Brownlow over his Downing Street flat refurbishment continues to dominate the headlines today. As the story unravels, it’s a sign that the Tory sleaze issues hitting Boris at the end of 2021 will continue way into the new year. ‘It’s not going to go down well
Play 11 mins
Coffee House Shots
In yesterday’s Cabinet debate, Jacob Rees-Mogg called on Boris Johnson to abandon the planned hike in national insurance, amid warnings of a looming cost of living crisis. This is not the first time the leader of the Commons has criticised the government following his opposition to tougher Covid restrictions. Might this be a sign that
Play 10 mins
Coffee House Shots
The first PMQs of 2022 was a little different. It was Angela Rayner’s turn to step up to the dispatch box whilst Keir Starmer is isolating having tested positive for Covid. Rayner went after Boris Johnson on inflation and the cost of living crisis looming in Britain, criticising the government for refusing to cut VAT
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Coffee House Shots
Keir Starmer arrived in Birmingham today to deliver his agenda-setting speech, outlining Labour’s vision for the future. The opposition leader had to tread the delicate path between offering a substantial, policy-based agenda whilst holding his cards close to his chest. ‘One of the challenges of opposition in the midterm is, they come up with new
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Coffee House Shots
The government has delayed making any announcements about further Covid restrictions in the face of Omicron for weeks. But with more data coming in every day about this new variant, seemingly showing it leads to a lot less hospitalisations than previous waves, will there even be any new measures at all? ‘The science and the
Play 15 mins
Coffee House Shots
Boris Johnson chaired a Cabinet meeting yesterday to discuss the imposition of new Covid restrictions over Christmas. After three hours, the Prime Minister emerged to announce that no new restrictions had been decided on. These meetings are usually called for the Cabinet to rubber-stamp a decision made by Boris and his advisers, so what’s changed?
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Coffee House Shots
Boris Johnson once boasted that you couldn’t hold a cigarette paper between him and David Frost, the man he brought on to take Brexit over the line. Yet this key ally has resigned when the Prime Minister is at his most vulnerable. In his resignation letter, Lord Frost cites his concerns on whether the country
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Coffee House Shots
Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and James Johnson, the co-founder of the J. L. Partners polling company, about what the Conservative defeat in North Shropshire means for the Prime Minister’s future.
Play 13 mins
Coffee House Shots
The Conservative majority of 23,000 was wiped out overnight in North Shropshire, with Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan winning the by-election by nearly 6,000 votes. Tory MPs are already making their frustrations known, with Roger Gale saying Boris Johnson has ‘one more strike and he’s out’, and John Redwood saying it’s ‘Time to listen to Conservatives.’
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Coffee House Shots
Today saw record numbers of Covid cases with infections higher than the January 2021 lockdown. In reaction to soaring cases, Boris Johnson held a press conference yesterday. Although nothing new was announced, he pushed further on the booster program and encouraged the public to rethink their socialising ahead of Christmas.Many people believe the PM is
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Coffee House Shots
Last night Boris Johnson suffered the biggest rebellion of his Tory premiership. But, unlike his predecessor, he still managed to get his vote through with Labour’s support. Nearly 100 Conservative MPs voted against the government’s plans for vaccine passports. Their reasons for rebelling varied. For some, they want to send a message to the PM
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Coffee House Shots
Christopher Whitty has told the public he expects a ‘significant increase’ in Omicron hospitalisations over the next few weeks. The chief medical officer is concerned about the pressures this new variant will put on the NHS. Could he be overreacting? In contrast, there are encouraging signs coming from South Africa that continue to show that
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Coffee House Shots
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
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
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
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.
Play 12 mins
Coffee House Shots
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Play 15 mins
Coffee House Shots
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
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
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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