x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Coffee House Shots

Daily political analysis from The Spectator"s top team of writers, including Michael Gove, Tim Shipman, Isabel Hardman, James Heale, Lucy Dunn and many others. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

news daily news

All Episodes

15:53

Andrew (Mountbatten Windsor) saves the Chancellor

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/31

Happy All Hallows’ Eve, everyone – and there is something spooky going on with Rachel Reeves and a property in Dulwich. Yesterday she was leading the news after admitting to renting out her family home following the move into No. 11 without getting the required licence from Southwark Council. There are a number of mitigating circumstances – not least the fact that the lettings agent said they would obtain the licence – but the Prime Minister has been forced to put out a statement. He backs her, for

en

17:00

What happened at the Parliamentarian of the Year Awards?

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/30

There are a few sore heads at 22 Old Queen Street this morning because it was The Spectator’s Parliamentarian of the Year Awards last night.From Lucy Powell’s jibe at Morgan McSweeney (and Tim Shipman, for that matter) to Robert Jenrick’s jokes falling flat, it was an eventful evening of good-natured hazing, naval-gazing and – of course – recognising the best and worst of Westminster. Who came out on top?Oscar Edmondson debriefs with Tim Shipman, Michael Simmons and Natasha Feroze.Produced by Oscar

en

14:07

Who will 'take back control' of the economy?

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/29

Kemi Badenoch continues to look more confident at PMQs – although there are always going to be some easy goals when you lead on the economy. Today she pressed the Prime Minister on Labour’s manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, VAT or national insurance – which he dodged – as well as repeating her offer to work with Labour towards a cross-party solution to the welfare problem. What do we know about the Budget at the end of next month? And are we any closer to understanding what a ‘working

en

13:56

Migration, the customs union & a £40bn black hole?

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/28

There are reports that the OBR will downgrade Britain’s productivity growth forecasts, increasing the size of the black hole facing the Chancellor at the end of the month. This continues the spate of bad news for the Chancellor on the economy – but can we trust the figures? James Heale and Michael Simmons join Patrick Gibbons to talk about what this means ahead of the budget, whether anger over the money wasted on asylum hotels can be linked to the cost-of-living crisis and what Rachel Reeves is

en

14:16

Is the Home Office fit for purpose?

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/27

With the news that the Home Office has spent billions of taxpayers' money on asylum hotels – and following the accidental release of the Epping sex offender – Tim Shipman and James Heale discuss this most shambolic of government departments. Is it fit for purpose? Can Shabana Mahmood fix the cursed department? And, if not, who will voters turn to instead?Produced by Megan McElroy and Patrick Gibbons.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to

en

13:35

Has Starmer misled parliament? Plus Lucy Powell wins

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/25

We thought when we organised this podcast that there would just be the newly announced deputy Labour leader to discuss – Lucy Powell beat Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson by 87,407 votes to 73,536. But instead we also have evidence the Prime Minister may have lied to Parliament over the collapse of the China spy case, and there is a manhunt under way to recapture a dangerous criminal released by mistake.Bad news clearly comes in threes for No. 10: Lucy Powell was not their pick for the job;

en

16:02

Caerphilly by-election: 'a tale of two faces'

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/24

On the face of it, the Caerphilly by-election result is a disaster, a drubbing and a humiliation for Keir Starmer’s Labour party. A once secure bastion of the Welsh Labour heartlands fell without a squeak from the governing party. Their vote collapsed to a miserable 11 per cent, while Plaid Cymru won with 47 per cent and Reform surged to second place with 36 per cent. The result suggests Labour is on course to surrender a boatload of seats at the 2029 general election, both to Reform and to whatever

en

16:04

What’s inside Farage’s brain?

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/23

With every new poll predicting a Reform win at the next general election, the party continues its preparation for government. James Heale joins Oscar Edmondson and Tim Shipman to talk about his article in the magazine looking at what – or who – is shaping Reform’s intellectual revolution. Cambridge intellectual James Orr, close friend to J.D. Vance, has recently joined as an adviser, following in the footsteps of recent defector Danny Kruger, who was widely seen as an intellectual heavyweight on

en

14:13

Grooming gangs: Kemi accuses Labour of a 'cover up'

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/22

We’ve just had PMQs, which have become much more interesting now that Kemi Badenoch has got her act together. She led on the Grooming Gangs Inquiry after a fourth survivor quit the inquiry over fears that it’s being watered down. She went as far as to say that the government is in a ‘briefing war against survivors’, and accused Labour of a ‘cover-up’. Nigel Farage attempted to upstage proceedings with his own stunt – he watched from the public gallery to make the point that he isn’t given the chance

en

10:40

Britain's doom loop continues

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/21

Rachel Reeves is hosting an investment summit in Birmingham, trying to turn the narrative away from Britain's economic 'doom loop' ahead of next month's budget. But the harbinger of bad economic news Michael Simmons – who joins James Heale and Patrick Gibbons on the podcast – points to the news today of soaring government borrowing costs, and expected higher inflation figures tomorrow. Plus, what have some politicians made of further developments in the Prince Andrew scandal?Produced by Patrick

en

10:51

Can Reform run a council?

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/20

There have been lots of movements in foreign affairs over the weekend, including a potential collapse of the Gaza peace deal, a Trump–Putin bilateral and new revelations about the China spy case. But closer to home, all eyes are on Kent Council, Reform’s flagship administrative project run by Linden Kemkaran (formerly of this parish).Over the weekend, a Zoom call was leaked to the Guardian, in which council leader Kemkaran used some choice language – many are calling it a Jackie Weaver moment, if

en

40:15

Thatcher & Reagan's special relationship

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/17

To mark the centenary of Thatcher’s birth, Michael Gove is joined by Charles Moore, her biographer, and Peggy Noonan, speechwriter to Ronald Reagan, to reflect on the chemistry that bound the two conservative leaders. Both outsiders turned reformers, they shared not only ideology but temperament – ‘They were partners in crime,’ says Peggy.Yet it wasn’t all harmony. As Charles notes, the pair weathered serious rifts – over nuclear weapons, Grenada and the Falklands. Even in disagreement, they ‘wanted

en

13:28

Antisemitism, Chinese spies & GB's economic fragility

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/17

It's been a rough week for the government: the row over the collapsed Chinese spy trial has rolled on, all while the Chancellor has been trying to lay the groundwork ahead of next month's budget. Then, overnight, another issue has emerged as fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv football team have been banned from attending a football game against Aston Villa next month, leading to accusations of antisemitism.Tim Shipman and Michael Simmons join James Heale to discuss the day's developments. Tim reveals how

en

13:24

The truth about Chinese espionage

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/16

Tim Shipman's bombshell cover piece for the magazine this week explains how the collapsed spy trial blew up in the government’s face.As well as raising ‘serious questions’ about Keir Starmer’s judgment and Jonathan Powell’s role, ‘the affair reveals a Whitehall tendency to cover up the gory details of foreign spying in the UK’. According to Tim, four ‘highly credible sources in the upper echelons of the last government… have revealed that far worse scandals have been hushed up’. One, involving

en

13:40

Are the Tories to blame for the China spy scandal?

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/15

Keir Starmer did not go into Prime Minister’s Questions with the intention of resolving the row over the collapse of the Chinese spying case: he merely wanted to avoid the pressure building too much. He announced in a long statement at the start of the session that the government would be publishing its three witness statements, and then spent the rest of his sparring with Kemi Badenoch arguing that this was all the fault of the previous government anyway. So who is to blame, the Tories or Labour

en

12:59

China spy scandal: 'a masterclass of ineptitude'?

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/14

Tim Shipman and Charles Parton, China adviser at the Council on Geostrategy, join James Heale to discuss the ongoing fallout over the collapse of the Westminster spy case. Security minister Dan Jarvis answered an urgent question on the matter late on Monday in Parliament, stringently denying that the government played an active role in collapsing the case. But, as Charles and Tim stress, the case still doesn't add up. Is it as simple as the government not wanting to offend China? And is the deputy

en

15:58

Spy scandal: what is Labour's policy on China?

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/13

It’s a ‘great and beautiful day’, as Donald Trump wrote in the guestbook at the Knesset, where he will address the Israeli parliament after the final hostages were handed back to Israel. It is, of course, a historic piece of diplomacy, and the conversation in Westminster has turned to the extent to which the UK was involved. Bridget Phillipson claimed over the weekend that Britain played a ‘key role’ in bringing about peace – much to the chagrin of Mike Huckabee, the US Ambassador to Israel, who

en

13:31

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 12/10/2025

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/12

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.A ceasefire begins in the Middle East, as world leaders prepare for Monday's peace summit. And questions linger over the collapsed Chinese spy trial.Produced by Joe Bedell-Brill.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.ukHosted on Acast. See

en

39:25

Who is the greatest ever conservative?

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/10

From wartime leadership to economic revolutions, Conservative figures have shaped Britain’s past and present. But who stands out as the greatest of them all? In this conversation, recorded live at Conservative Party Conference: Katie Lam makes the case for William Pitt the Younger, Camilla Tominay nominates Margaret Thatcher, William Atkinson points out the number of young Tories who now idolise Enoch Powell, and Neil O’Brien explains why all conservatives should know about Jerzy Popieluszko. Who

en

40:13

How can the Tories turn it around? Live

Coffee House Shots ·

2025/10/10

Recorded live in Manchester, during the Conservative Party conference, Michael Gove sits down with Tim Shipman, Madeline Grant and Tim Montgomerie to discuss how the Tories can turn their fortunes around. Do the Tories need to show contrition for their record in government? Has the party basically been split ever since the Coalition years? And does Nigel Farage need to set a deadline for Tory to Reform defectors? Plus – from Canada to Italy – which countries do British Conservatives need to look

en

3,104 results

Similar Podcasts

Expres Ráno

Expres FM

PBS News Hour - Full Show

PBS News

CD Voice

China Daily

Israel Today: Ongoing War Report

Noa Levi

Jeffrey Epstein: The Coverup Chronicles

Bobby Capucci