James Heale

James Heale

James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.

Saturday

James Heale

Labour MP: I’ll challenge Starmer for leader

From our UK edition

In the aftermath of Thursday’s shellacking, a steady stream of Labour MPs have been coming out and calling on Keir Starmer to quit. Their tone has varied: some are much more coded than others. On Cofffee House, we have a rolling list that now stands at more than 30. A key tell is those arguing for ‘an orderly transition' – the subtext for which is ‘enough time until Andy Burnham can get into parliament’. The Mayor of Great Manchester would need months, not weeks, to fight and win a by-election that would allow him to return to parliament and thus claim the leadership. The precarious route by which that would happen has been enough to sew doubts in the minds of much of the Parliamentary Labour party (PLP).

Should he stay, or should he go? | with Maurice Glasman
James Heale

Should he stay, or should he go? | with Maurice Glasman

From our UK edition

11 min listen

As the full picture of the local elections emerges, Labour faces a dilemma: stick with Keir Starmer, or put forward an alternative. Calls for Starmer to resign have intensified, and we are braced for MPs to stick their heads above the parapet this weekend. The message from the Prime Minister is that he ‘will not go’ and will not set out a path for his resignation either. So where does Labour go from here? Lord Glasman joins Tim and James to discuss the battle for the soul of the Labour party. Should they return to their traditions, or continue to ‘limp along in a state of paralysis’?

Friday

James Heale

Labour is set for a Wales wipe-out

From our UK edition

After a century of hegemony, Welsh Labour is set for an historic wipe out tonight. Results for the 96-man Senedd are still coming in but all signs point to the natural party of Welsh government being consigned to a distant third place. Both Plaid Cymru and Reform have been effective in recent weeks in squeezing the Labour vote by framing the Welsh elections as a two-horse race. Much as we saw in the Caerphilly by-election, it looks like Labour has been squeezed out of the contest. That means a very bad evening looms for Eluned Morgan, first minister since 2024. She has lost in Ceredigion Penfro and thus become the first sitting head of government in the United Kingdom in modern times to lose her seat.

James Heale

The local elections winners & losers, in 10 mins

From our UK edition

10 min listen

This is your evening local elections update delivered by James Heale, Tim Shipman and Noa Hoffman – all in just 10 minutes. As results come in across the country, they take each party in turn. Have the Greens done as well as we all thought they would? Is this proof that Reform have not reached their peak? Can Labour recover from this total drubbing? And should the Tories be – quietly – pleased with themselves?

The local elections winners & losers, in 10 mins
James Heale

Coffee House live: has Farage finished Labour?

From our UK edition

Results are pouring in from across the country, in what Nigel Farage is calling ‘the British midterms’. Swathes of council seats across England have turned teal, from Newcastle-under-Lyme to Essex. Both the Liberal Democrats and Greens have made modest gains, with few rays of light outside the capital for the Conservatives. Yet the main action is still to come with results expected later today for the Scottish and Welsh parliaments. Reform UK is expected to make the biggest gains in both while Plaid Cymru and the SNP are confident of taking the respective First Ministerships in Cardiff and Edinburgh.  Discussing all of this on SpectatorTV are Tim Shipman, Noa Hoffman and special guests Lord Glasman, pollsters Scarlett Maguire and Luke Tryl plus STV star Lucy Dunn.

James Heale

Essex Man is voting Reform

From our UK edition

There are numerous election stories playing out today. But one that unites both Labour and the Conservatives is the disappearance of their supposed heartlands. Across the north of England, long-held Labour seats are going teal – a trend we can expect to see repeated in the south of Wales later today. The Tories, meanwhile, have had some patches of success in areas of London – but are getting absolutely hammered on the fringes in Havering and in Essex. During the election campaign, Nigel Farage was keen to talk up the importance of Essex. It was the only area he visited twice on the campaign trail: an indication that he saw it as ground zero in the battle to destroy the Conservatives.

James Heale

Local elections briefing: what you need to know as Reform sweeps the country

From our UK edition

33 min listen

It’s results day, and Nigel Farage is the local elections winner – again. A wave of teal has swept the country, stealing Labour seats from Hartlepool to Havering. This election was sold by insurgent parties as a referendum on Keir Starmer and the story of Labour’s election so far is that they’re haemorrhaging votes on all sides – including to the Tories in Westminster. So what can we interpret so far? Will Starmer get the message and will the herd move against him? Michael Gove speaks to Tim Shipman, James Heale and Charlotte Pickles, chief executive of thinktank Re:State, at this morning’s Coffee House Shots breakfast briefing.

James Heale

Why Tories in London are cheering today

From our UK edition

'Two nations; between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are as ignorant of each other's habits, thoughts, and feelings, as if they were dwellers in different zones.' Disraeli's words from 1845 are relevant today when considering the tale of election night 2026. For London has voted very differently to the rest of England, with Reform keen to distinguish between results which include the capital and those that exclude it. A teal tide has swept the country, but much of London remains resistant: a reflection of demographics, social factors and established voting patterns. That is good news for Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives, who have long signalled that London would be where they were focusing much of their efforts in this election campaign.

James Heale

Farage is the local election winner – again

From our UK edition

It was a little before 3 a.m that Nigel Farage sauntered in to the spin room at Millbank Tower, where an overnight election party was being hosted for journalists. Reform's leader reeled off a list of positive areas before declaring: 'This for me was our Becher's Brook. If we cleared Becher's Brook and landed well, we would go on and win the Grand National. And what is very clear is our voters will stick with us, now, all the way through.' That is a microcosm of the overall election night: Labour trounced, Reform triumphant, with the Tories out the picture across swathes of Britain You can see why Farage is feeling optimistic. In Hartlepool, where voters flew a blimp of Boris Johnson just five years ago, now all twelve councillors are Reform.

Thursday

James Heale

The greatest political books ever: how many have you read?

From our UK edition

40 min listen

It’s polling day! Tim and James take the opportunity to go through their favourite political books ever, fiction and non-fiction. They discuss the books that have shaped their understanding of politics and make the case for the top spot. Is your favourite on the list? Have you read their number one? And which rankings would you dispute? They discuss with Megan McElroy. If you enjoy Coffee House Shots, you can join Tim Shipman and James Heale live as the election results roll in. Will Starmer survive the night? Are Reform and the Greens about to redraw the political map? And what happens next? Along with a panel of familiar faces and special guests, get the only analysis you’ll need as the political fallout begins. Watch live on Friday at 3 p.m.

Wednesday

James Heale

Is the Green party alliance coming apart?

From our UK edition

After a wildly successful first eight months, Zack Polanski is facing a chronic case of boom and bust. The Green leader has endured a fairly torrid end to an otherwise successful local elections campaign, amid a string of stories about his online posts, previous claims and array of candidates standing in Thursday’s local elections. In the past 24 hours, three different stories have dropped. First, the Times revealed that Polanski had once claimed he was a ‘spokesman’ for the British Red Cross. Then, the Daily Mail reported that 30 council candidates were being probed for alleged antisemitism – following Andrew Gilligan's revelations about Green candidates in The Spectator. For how much longer can the Greens remain a party of both Caroline Lucas and Mothin Ali?

James Heale

Are the Greens repeating Corbyn’s mistakes?

From our UK edition

18 min listen

As voters prepare to go to the polls in a set of local elections that could redraw the political map, we examine the ‘outsiders’ on today’s episode – starting with the Greens. After Zack Polanski’s grilling on the Today programme, are the Greens facing the same scrutiny that once engulfed Labour under Jeremy Corbyn? Also on the podcast: Tim writes a letter to Britain’s aspiring prime ministers. What does Keir Starmer still lack? Does Andy Burnham have a plan beyond Manchesterism? And why do so many politicians seem to hate politics? Noa Hoffman discusses with Tim Shipman and James Heale.

James Heale

Kemi Badenoch: ‘I’m the one holding Labour to account’

From our UK edition

It is 11:26 a.m. and Kemi Badenoch is on her second drink of the day. The Tory leader is out visiting a craft brewery in Suffolk. ‘I’m not a beer drinker’, she admits, while sampling its signature line – ‘so if I like it, it must be good’. The gin is to more to her taste, and she takes a hearty gulp before bustling around the brewery to promote the Conservatives’ small business focus. Later, she gets to hammer a mallet to batter a sealed cask shut – a weapon she might wish to wield at some of her recent defectors. The past 12 months have been a tale of two narratives for Badenoch. Her personal ratings have undergone an impressive improvement, helped by a series of confident performances in parliament.

Tuesday

James Heale

Who will survive the local elections?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

The local elections are nearly upon us. Political editor Tim Shipman and deputy political editor James Heale bring you the one-stop shop podcast with everything you need to know ahead of the day. What could happen to Keir Starmer, what will a really bad day look like for Labour, and is the political map about to be redrawn? If you enjoy Coffee House Shots, you can join Tim Shipman and James Heale live as the election results roll in. Will Starmer survive the night? Are Reform and the Greens about to redraw the political map? And what happens next? Along with a panel of familiar faces and special guests, get the only analysis you’ll need as the political fallout begins. Watch live on Friday at 3 p.m. here, and tap the bell now to be notified in advance.

Thursday

James Heale

The end of the peer show

From our UK edition

16 min listen

Hereditary peers have left their red leather benches for the final time. The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act became law earlier this year, which removes all hereditary peers' right to speak and vote in Parliament by virtue of their family ties. Critics have described their role as indefensible, but others accuse Labour of political point-scoring and vandalising the upper house – removing a 'living part of Britain's constitutional inheritance'. James Heale and Megan McElroy discuss – joined by Lord Strathclyde and Lord Courtenay.

The end of the peer show

Wednesday

James Heale

Starmer is defining the battle for Scotland

From our UK edition

In Scotland, a changing of the guard is near. But while Hearts are set to break the duopoly of Celtic and Rangers this season, there is no sign of the SNP yielding its iron grip on power. This, though, is a triumph less of technical brilliance than a series of own goals by Labour’s team captain. Facing a stagnant economy and middling public services, Scots are being asked at next week’s Holyrood elections to answer the oldest question in politics: ‘Who’s to blame?’ The answer, it seems, is ‘not the SNP’. If Starmer is to be felled in the coming weeks, vengeful Scots will be leading the charge The nationalists have governed Scotland for nearly 20 years; Labour has been in power in Westminster for little more than 20 months.

Monday

James Heale

Can the King handle Trump?

From our UK edition

King Charles is about to travel to Washington to visit President Trump. The brief? Fix the strained relationship. No pressure! Can royal diplomacy steady relations? Will the trip be awkward given Trump's recent words on Starmer, Chagos, The Falklands, and Canada? Does the King have what it takes to navigate such a diplomatic minefield? Elsewhere, Morgan McSweeney will appear before MPs tomorrow to explain his actions relating to the appointment of Lord Mandelson as ambassador to the United States. Given he's already said he doesn't recognise portrayals of himself in the media, is he going to come out swinging? Tim Shipman and James Heale discuss.

Can the King handle Trump?

Saturday

James Heale

‘I used to be Labour. No more.’ – who will win Wales?

From our UK edition

15 min listen

Is Labour about to lose Wales? That’s what the polling suggests. After 27 years, Wales is seeking change. The beneficiaries look to be the outsiders, Plaid Cymru and Reform UK. Why is it this moment in particular that people are seeking new answers? In this special episode of Coffee House Shots, James Heale goes on the road across the Welsh valleys with Luke Tryl, UK Director of More in Common. Attending a series of focus groups, speaking to people on the doorsteps and across towns in the UK, they try to find out where Wales is heading in the local elections on May 7. Produced by Megan McElroy.

'I used to be Labour. No more.' – who will win Wales?

Friday

James Heale

Is Lord Hermer fit to be Attorney General?

From our UK edition

The long-debated assisted dying bill is expected to fail in the House of Lords today – described by the bill's leading advocate Lord Falconer as failing 'not on its merits' but 'due to procedural wrangling'. Natasha Feroze speaks to Tim Shipman and James Heale about whether that is a fair description of the bill. Plus the Telegraph investigation into Attorney General Lord Hermer's previous roles taking legal action against British troops who served in Iraq and what this means for his suitability to his role in government.

Is Lord Hermer fit to be Attorney General?

Thursday

James Heale

‘Worse than the worst of Boris Johnson’ – are Labour turning on Starmer?

From our UK edition

19 min listen

Somewhere in the documents surrounding Peter Mandelson’s ambassadorial appointment, the Spectator's political editor Tim Shipman reveals, is a text Keir Starmer sent the night before the announcement. ‘You’ll be brilliant in challenging circumstances,’ he told the Prince of Darkness. ‘And after many years of our discussions, we get to work together side by side. I really look forward to that.’ The message was leaked after a week in which the Prime Minister’s relationship with senior civil servants has collapsed. Tim says Starmer’s ‘apparent incomprehension of the very process he advocates has led officials to conclude he is no better than the predecessor he most deplores – Boris Johnson’. Has Starmer become the very thing he sought to destroy?

‘Worse than the worst of Boris Johnson’ – are Labour turning on Starmer?