Coffee House Shots
The Spectator
300 episodes
Daily political analysis from The Spectator's top team of writers, including Michael Gove, Tim Shipman, Isabel Hardman, James Heale and many others.
More about the show
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes page 6 of 6
-
Andrew's arrest spells trouble for Labour
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been released under caution after he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office – the image of him sat slumped in the back of a car while leaving Norfolk police station on…
-
How prepared is Britain for war? – with Gen Sir Nick Carter
General Sir Nick Carter, former chief of the defence staff, joins Tim Shipman to discuss Britain's military preparedness – or rather, lack thereof. While a friendlier US presence at the Munich Security Conference may…
-
Is Reform now part of the ‘orthodoxy’?
It is Robert Jenrick’s big day out today. The newly-minted Reform ‘shadow chancellor’ made his first speech this morning, where he had the chance to show what kind of chancellor he would be and – sporting a snazzy pair…
-
Nigel Farage unveils his shadow cabinet
Reform UK is no longer a one-man band. Nigel Farage has unveiled Reform's four spokesmen for the “great offices of state” at a press conference in Westminster. Recent Tory defector Robert Jenrick has been given the…
-
Can Starmer protect the country (and himself)?
Following a weekend at the Munich Security Conference, there have been reports that the Prime Minister is set to sign off on a huge increase in defence spending. While this comes at a time of increasing threats to…
-
Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 15/02/2026
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. European allies say Russia is responsible for Alexei Navalny's death. And the government's Palestine Action ban is ruled unlawful by the High…
-
Starmer, Mandelson & HMT: why Gordon Brown has never been more relevant
James Macintyre joins James Heale to discuss his new biography of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown: Power With Purpose. While the book has been years in the making, little did James know that it would end up…
-
Can Starmer escape his problems in Munich?
Keir Starmer has headed to Germany for the Munich Security Conference to meet allies and discuss defence, NATO and the war in Ukraine. He is expected to meet Chancellor Merz and President Macron later, before…
-
Is Antonia Romeo what the civil service needs?
When a PM is in crisis, what do they do? Sack the head of the civil service. Having lost both his Chief of Staff and Director of Communications at the beginning of the week, Keir Starmer resolved to make it a hat-trick…
-
Keir Starmer gets angry
PMQs today and – as predicted – Keir Starmer came out worst in a pretty unpleasant session. Kemi Badenoch pinned the Prime Minister on the continued Mandelson fallout and now the scandal over Matthew Doyle, the former…
-
Is Starmer back from the brink?
After a dramatic day in Westminster, the threat to Starmer appears to have receded – at least in the short term. But with the Gorton and Denton by-election less than three weeks away, (more) trouble could be on the…
-
McSweeney resigns – is Starmer next?
Morgan McSweeney resigned yesterday as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff and – while it was not a surprise, given his role in appointing Peter Mandelson – the news that the Prime Minister has now lost his closest aide and…
-
Morgan McSweeney quits - Sunday Roundup 08/02/2026
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. Morgan McSweeney has resigned as Keir Starmer's chief of staff, just hours after Pat McFadden said he could see 'no point' in making such a…
-
Jonathan Hinder: ‘I don’t know if Starmer should fight the next election’
On this special edition of Coffee House Shots, Tim Shipman is joined by Jonathan Hinder – a rising star of the back benches and a blue Labour acolyte – for a candid discussion about the state of the Labour party and…
-
Keir's worst week – but Kemi's best?
The sun is setting on Keir Starmer’s worst week in No. 10 – but potentially Kemi’s best. We go into the weekend with MPs publicly calling for his most senior aide, Morgan McSweeney, to step down because of his role in…
-
Could the herd move on Starmer?
James Heale, Tim Shipman and Oscar Edmondson discuss the continuing fallout over the Mandelson scandal. The mood amongst Labour MPs is pretty dire – following a bruising PMQs and a government climbdown over the release…
-
The Mandelson scandal could spell the end for Starmer
Another impressive PMQs from Kemi Badenoch – but she had plenty of ammunition to deploy after the Peter Mandelson scandal took a bleaker turn this week. The Prime Minister clearly wanted to make a strong statement in…
-
Gorton & Denton by-election: everything you need to know
Coffee House Shots is on the road today. James Heale and Megan McElroy have travelled up to the frozen north to speak to the candidates who are lobbying locals in the lead-up to the Gorton and Denton by-election. This…
-
What next for Peter Mandelson?
It is one of the staple headlines of British politics: Peter Mandelson has resigned. The so-called Prince of Darkness was sacked as US ambassador last September, yet that has done little to stem the flow of stories…
-
Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 01/02/2026
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. More Epstein files bring Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson back into the spotlight, and Keir Starmer’s returns from his trip to…
-
How should the UK manage its relationship with China?
As Keir Starmer's visit to China draws to a close, Sam Olsen – who runs the States of Play substack – and Times columnist Cindy Yu join Patrick Gibbons to discuss how the UK should manage its relationship with China.…
-
Rayner vs Streeting – and what is 'active government'?
In his column this week, Tim Shipman has finally hit upon an answer to the age-old question: what is Starmerism? After a concerted effort from his team to tie the Prime Minister down to a definitive ‘-ism’, he has…
-
Is centrism dead? | with David Gauke, vice-chair of Prosper UK
Is centrism back? This week a group of former Tory heavyweights – including Ruth Davidson, Andy Street, Amber Rudd and David Gauke – have launched a new group aimed at reclaiming the centre ground and dispelling the…
-
Breaking news: Lammy was good at PMQs
It is our solemn duty to inform listeners that David Lammy won deputy PMQs at a canter today. To be frank, it was a low-rent affair. Andrew Griffith was the Tory sent out to question David Lammy while Keir Starmer is…
-
What does Starmer want to achieve in China?
Keir Starmer lands in China tonight as he becomes the first British Prime Minister to visit since Theresa May in 2018. Sam Hogg from the Oxford China Policy Lab and James Heale join Patrick Gibbons to assess the…
-
Suella Braverman defects – not another one!
It’s psychodrama all round on Coffee House Shots today. Between Andy Burnham – who over the weekend was denied the opportunity to stand in the Gorton and Denton by-election – and Suella Braverman – who has just…
-
Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 25/01/2026
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning’s political shows. Labour block Andy Burnham from standing as an MP, Ed Davey says we're in a Cold War, and a new centre-right movement is launched. Become a…
-
Reasons to be optimistic | with Michael Gove, Tim Stanley, Steve Baker & David Goodhart
Post-holiday depression, failed New Year’s resolutions and battered bank balances: January’s Blue Monday has long been branded as the most miserable day of the year. Headlines warn of ongoing war, political turmoil and…
-
Does British politics reward traitors or faithfuls?
With the Conservatives on watch for further defectors, academic Richard Johnson and Conservative peer Danny Finkelstein join James Heale to discuss whether British politics rewards traitors or faithfuls. Richard points…
-
Andy Burnham is back in the game – and Robert Jenrick reveals all
Three big stories for James Heale and Tim Shipman to pick over today: Andy Burnham’s return, the Donald Trump that refuses to go away, and the continued fallout of Robert Jenrick’s defection to Reform. This afternoon…
-
Starmer turns on Trump
Keir Starmer scored a rare win at PMQs, talking tough on Trump in light of the President’s escalating rhetoric on Greenland and the Chagos Islands. Kemi Badenoch pressed the Prime Minister on foreign affairs and…
-
The scandal of China’s ‘super embassy’
China's controversial ‘super embassy’ has been approved, after years of debate over the security risks. Campaigners had called on ministers not to give the site the green light, given its proximity to important…
-
Greenland: why Europe needs to 'grow up' | with Tim Marshall
Donald Trump has thrown another diplomatic hand grenade. This weekend, the President threatened sweeping tariffs on countries backing Greenland’s independence – a move that has rattled European capitals and reignited…
-
Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 18/01/2026
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. Donald Trump says it's tariffs or a deal for Greenland. And Robert Jenrick is the latest in a growing list of Reform recruits. Become a…
-
Debate: what's the point of the Lib Dems?
As Ed Davey condemned Donald Trump's military manoeuvres abroad, Annabel Denham looked on and asked 'what's the point of the Liberal Democrats?'. Thinking about the Lib Dem's longstanding europhile stance, the senior…
-
Jenrick vs Badenoch: who won yesterday's defection?
Yesterday was a breathless day in Westminster. The defection of Robert Jenrick spawned plenty of headlines and even more memes. But now that the dust has settled, how has the news been received? Was it a total victory…
-
Inside Jenrick & Reform's shotgun marriage
Robert Jenrick has sensationally defected to Reform. After a day that started with his sacking from the Conservatives – over plotting to reject – continued with the will-he-won’t-he drama of whether Farage would accept…
-
Is Jenrick joining Reform?
Kemi Badenoch has sacked Robert Jenrick from the shadow cabinet, removed the Tory whip and suspended his party membership. In a video on X she claims, ‘I was presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that he was…
-
What's the future of the Scottish Tories?
The leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Russell Findlay MSP, sits down with James Heale to look ahead to May's pivotal Holyrood elections. He pushes back against the threat from Reform, arguing that Nigel Farage is…
-
Why Ed Davey is happy being boring
The Liberal Democrats have unveiled a new strategy on the NHS. Sir Ed set out his big, bold plan this morning: scrapping the UK–US pharmaceutical deal to redirect £1.5 billion into social care. It sounds like a…
-
Zahawi defects: are Reform becoming Tories 2.0?
How many Tories is too many? That’s the question Westminster is asking after the unveiling of Reform’s latest defector. Nadhim Zahawi, Boris Johnson’s brief-lived Chancellor of the Exchequer, is Nigel Farage’s latest…
-
Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 11/01/2026
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. Trump wants Greenland, Iran wants regime change, and Peter Mandelson gives his first interview since he was sacked as US ambassador. :Produced…
-
Mums for Reform?
Britain’s mums are backing Nigel Farage. One in five Mumsnet users intend to vote for Reform at the next general election, the first time a party other than Labour has topped its poll. Having been more negative towards…
-
Keir Starmer, pub harmer
Another year, another U-turn. We expect that the Labour government will be forced to climb down on forthcoming increases to the business rates bills faced by pubs in England. This comes after ferocious industry…
-
How Reform plans to govern
2025 was the easy part for Reform. If they win the election, however, how do they actually govern? In The Spectator this week, Tim Shipman writes about the party’s plans to tackle Whitehall bloat, bypass the Lords and…
-
Why is Keir Starmer so irritable?
It is the first Prime Minister’s Questions of the new year – and Keir Starmer returns to the Commons already under pressure. With major international crises unfolding, Kemi Badenoch used PMQs to question whether the…
-
International statesman or 'never here Keir'?
From 'regime change' in Venezuela to Russia's war in Ukraine, the Labour government is trying to navigate complicated situations across foreign affairs. Having appeared to weather the domestic reaction to the situation…
-
Regime change in Caracas ... but not Westminster
It’s our first podcast back in the office of 2026 – and the year has started with a bang, of course, after the successful US operation to remove Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela. He will appear in a Manhattan court later…
-
Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 04/01/2026
Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. This week, the US sends shockwaves across the globe with its capturing of Venezuelan president Maduro. And Keir Starmer sits down for a big…
-
John Curtice: what to expect in 2026
James Heale sits down with Sir John Curtice, the doyen of British polling, to take stock of an extraordinary year in UK politics and to look ahead to what 2026 might hold. Curtice explains why the rise of Reform UK…
More in News
The Daily
The New York Times
Up First from NPR
NPR
Pod Save America
Pod Save America
The Megyn Kelly Show
SiriusXM
NPR News Now
NPR
The Tucker Carlson Show
Tucker Carlson Network
Morning Wire
The Daily Wire
Serial
Serial Productions & The New York Times
The Headlines
The New York Times
The Bulwark Daily
The Bulwark
Bulwark Takes
The Bulwark
Letters from an American
Heather Cox Richardson
Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.