Coffee House Shots
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Coffee House Shots
Daily political analysis from The Spectator's top team of writers, including Michael Gove, Tim Shipman, Isabel Hardman, James Heale and many others. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Recent Episodes
3334 episodes
Burnham's northern queens
Appointment into Andy Burnham's new cabinet went late into the evening: Wes Streeting to defence, plus the comeback queens – Louise Haigh, Lucy Powell...
Burnham, Healey, Miliband & Mahmood become the big four
Andy Burnham has continued to announce his new cabinet: John Healey as Chancellor, Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary and Shabana Mahmood remains in the...
Burnham's new cabinet – who's in & who's out?
As Andy Burnham unveils his first Cabinet, join Tim Shipman and James Heale for a special live edition of Coffee House. Who’s in, who’s out? What do t...
'Burnham will make enemies' – why MPs must be whipped | Simon Hart
Andy Burnham has promised to turn the whips’ office into an ‘HR department’ – but the former chief whip Simon Hart warns that the approach is ‘naive’...
Happy Coronation Day!
Andy Burnham will today be crowned Labour leader, before entering Downing Street on Monday. His first speech is expected to argue that Labour has lost...
Reeves out, Shabana in?
Rachel Reeves has delivered what is likely to be her valedictory Mansion House speech, defending her record on growth, borrowing and the public financ...
Farewell, Sir Keir Starmer
Keir Starmer has delivered his final PMQs. It was a more cordial occasion compared to most weeks, with Kemi Badenoch exchanging jokes with the outgoin...
Kemi wages war on the 'Tory wets'
Kemi Badenoch has declared war on the Tory wets, removing the whip from Gavin Barwell after Theresa May’s former chief of staff criticised her leaders...
Is Ann Widdecombe’s murder being politicised?
The murder of Ann Widdecombe has sent shockwaves through Westminster and reignited the debate over politicians’ security. But with questions still una...
How we plan to beat Reform | Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative chairman
The Tories will not stand a candidate against Nigel Farage in the Clacton by-election – and on today’s podcast Conservative party chairman Kevin Holli...
The definitive guide to 'Manchesterism'
Everyone in Westminster is trying desperately to peer inside Andy Burnham’s head and work out what ‘Manchesterism’ really is – and in the magazine thi...
Labour is one big happy family | with Chris Curtis MP
Nominations openned today for the next Labour leader and – spoiler alert – it looks as though Andy Burnham might clinch it. We strongly suspect he wil...
Inside Reform's by-election masterplan
Nigel Farage’s Clacton by-election gamble has not gone quite to plan: the major parties have called his bluff and refused to stand. Is this now a Pote...
Nigel Farage rage quits
Nigel Farage has resigned as an MP to force a by-election in Clacton, where he intends to stand again.
It comes as scrutiny mounts over Reform U...
Has Farage blown it?
Nigel Farage is facing fresh questions over his finances, after reports about George Cottrell – ‘Posh George’ – and his role in funding staff and secu...
Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 05/07/2026
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning’s political shows.
Nigel Farage is in the spotlight again over his finances. And Labour b...
Anthony Scaramucci on Trump, Corruption & America at 250
As Americans mark the 250th anniversary of the 1776 Declaration of Independence, Anthony Scaramucci joins the Spectator to provide his assessment of t...
REVEALED: Treasury abandons numeracy to boost diversity
A scoop by The Spectator’s news editor has taken Westminster by storm this week, after it emerged that the Treasury had ditched the numerical reasonin...
Reform is right to fear the return of Boris
Boris is (sort of) on manoeuvres, as Tim Shipman reports in this week’s magazine. There are signs that the former Conservative prime minister and one-...
The secrets of the Spectator summer party
As the nation holds its breath to see if England will be progressing in the World Cup, the bottles of Pol Roger are on ice for the post-match after pa...
Defence Investment Plan – a looming problem for Burnham
The Defence Investment Plan is published today in Parliament. All eyes are on how much Dan Jarvis managed to secure (£15 billion), given the dramatic...
The Burnham agenda: who will pay for it?
Andy Burnham has set out his big pitch to the country: a ten-year plan for devolution, reindustrialisation and a new ‘Number 10 of the North’. But, as...
Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 28/06/2026
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.
One week on from the end of Keir Starmer's premiership, Labour all but...
Is Britain ungovernable?
We are on course for yet another prime minister – our seventh in just ten years. With statistics like that, and after watching the now-familiar patter...
Would Burnham be 'Labour's first female PM'?
Another agenda-setting cover piece from Tim Shipman has ruffled feathers in Westminster. The controversy centres on a line from a senior Labour source...
How to solve Britain’s maternity crisis
Donna Ockenden's report on Nottingham NHS maternity scandal is out today, revealing 'horrendous' failings. It involves cases of negligence, cover ups,...
Kemi Badenoch’s victory lap
Supercharged by a by-election victory in Aberdeen South and Starmer’s resignation, Kemi Badenoch delivered a drive-by at PMQs today. She took aim at m...
Does Burnham have a plan? (No)
Andy Burnham is back in Westminster, Sir Keir Starmer has resigned and Wes Streeting has said he will not contest the leadership election. Labour rebe...
It's over – Keir Starmer resigns
It’s over. Sir Keir Starmer has finally done the deed and quit. After years spent berating the Tories for constantly changing leader, fighting among t...
Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 21/06/2026
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.
Keir Starmer is on the brink. Is he announcing his departure on Monday...
Why Makerfield changes everything | Tim Shipman, James Lyons, Luke Tryl & Michael Simmons
Andy Burnham has won what may come to be seen as the most consequential by-election in recent memory. Political journalism has a tendency towards hype...
Andy Burnham wins by a landslide – what happens next?
In the end, it was not even close. Andy Burnham has won the Makerfield by-election by a landslide, putting him on course to be Britain’s next prime mi...
LIVE: The Brexit Debate | Michael Gove & Claire Fox vs Dominic Grieve & Matthew Parris
Watch The Brexit Debate in full at https://www.spectator.com/brexit
Ten years on from the Brexit referendum, Britain is far from taking flight....
How quickly could Starmer be deposed?
Voters head to the polls tomorrow in Makerfield for what could be the most consequential by-election in modern British history. If Andy Burnham wins b...
How to beat Burnham | with Reform UK's Gawain Towler
Westminster is braced for the Makerfield by-election at the end of this week but – as we get closer to polling day – opinion seems to have shifted. Wh...
Why Trump’s Iran deal won’t save Starmer
Donald Trump has announced a deal to end the war between Iran and the US, but in Westminster, the relief comes with serious questions. What does the d...
Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 14/06/2026
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.
John Healey's resignation puts Keir Starmer in trouble again. And Refo...
Can Starmer survive the MoD exodus?
A second defence minister has resigned in protest at Keir Starmer’s failure to fund Britain’s armed forces. Al Carns, a former Royal Marines colonel,...
‘It’s beyond embarrassing, it’s dangerous’: why Britain must fund defence | Sir Richard Barrons
Britain’s defence review is now a year old – but the government is still arguing over how to pay for it. John Healey, the (now former) defence secreta...
Defence Sec resigns: 'Keir can't keep Britain safe'
John Healey has resigned as Defence Secretary. In a blistering letter to the Prime Minister, he said: ‘You have been unable, and the Treasury has been...