Coffee House Shots

Andy Burnham pitched Britain to the UN this week as an 'honest broker' on artificial intelligence, only for Washington to ask OpenAI and Anthropic to make Britain's AI Security Institute wait its turn. Michael Simmons is joined by James Heale and Tim Shipman to discuss James's column on the backlash, data centres and whether Burnham's Makerfield test will make room for AI innov...

After fresh polling from YouGov put the Tories ahead of Reform UK today, the leader of the opposition has set out plans to get people off of unemployment benefits, and limit what successful claimants can spend it on. James Heale is joined by Tim Shipman and Michael Simmons to weigh up the policy proposal, another poll from Survation, and whether Andy Burnham will go to the country for an early ele...

Donald Trump has forced a rethink of the Chagos deal, after publicly criticising the agreement during his meeting with Andy Burnham. Is Labour preparing to abandon one of Keir Starmer’s most controversial foreign policy decisions? And, with Labour conference approaching, could Burnham be tempted to call a general election? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Noa Hoffman and Tim Shipman. Produced by Oscar Ed...

Andy Burnham is off to meet Donald Trump. What can he expect from his first face-to-face with the US president? Tim Shipman and Freddy Gray discuss the diplomatic choreography behind the meeting, the issues likely to come up – from Ukraine and Iran to the Houthis – and whether Burnham risks upsetting the Labour left with his stance on Saudi Arabia. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. Become a Spectator s...

Patrick Gibbons is joined from Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton by deputy political editor James Heale and Michael Stephens, a senior associate fellow at RUSI and who is now the party’s prospective parliamentary candidate for Maidstone. They discuss Ed Davey’s attempt to put more substance behind the stunts, how the party can keep making gains across the south east and whether defence and n...

From the hallways of the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton, the Spectator 's deputy political editor James Heale speaks to foreign affairs spokesman Calum Miller MP about the party’s pitch on growth, what Andy Burnham means for the Lib Dems and why Britain should pursue closer defence ties with Europe. Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast wi...

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. Ed Davey talks popularity contests, and Bridget Phillipson defends the government ahead of Andy Burnham's first meeting with Donald Trump. 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 . Co...

Military and intelligence chiefs across Europe are sounding increasingly stark warnings about the threat posed by Russia, from cyber attacks and sabotage to drones and hybrid warfare. But is Britain taking the danger seriously enough – and are the armed forces actually ready for what might come next? Patrick Gibbons is joined by Tim Shipman and Noa Hoffman to discuss Britain’s military preparednes...

In this episode, we return to a live Spectator event asking: have women ever had it so good? The Spectator’s commissioning editor Lara Brown is joined by Zoe Strimpel, author of Good Slut ; Spiked columnist Ella Whelan; feminist writer Julie Bindel; and broadcaster and former Conservative MP Miriam Cates, as they debate women’s freedom, feminism, sexual liberation and the changing relationship bet...

More voters than ever before say they are willing to vote tactically at the next election, according to new polling from More in Common, and the trend is not running Reform's way – even Conservative supporters are more ready to lend their vote to the Lib Dems than to Nigel Farage. James Heale and Tim Shipman are joined by the pollster's executive director, Luke Tryl, to discuss the findings and wh...

New inflation figures – showing the highest increase for several months – have done little to insulate John Healey from the stormy weather of the British economy. James Heale is joined by Michael Simmons and Tim Shipman to unpack what the rise might mean for Labour's upcoming budget. How much worse can it get? Produced by Henry Lloyd. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast with...

Labour is facing growing criticism from rural Britain, with the Countryside Alliance calling for a ‘rural reset’ between the government and the countryside. Noa Hoffman and James Heale are joined by Tory peer and Countryside Alliance chairman Nick Herbert to discuss why Labour has lost the trust of rural communities - from the family farm tax and trail hunting to plans to licence game shooting.&nb...

Reform UK received a record-breaking £72 million in donations over the weekend from two crypto billionaires – meaning the party has received almost twice as much in 24 hours as all political parties combined have received in donations this year. Noa Hoffman and James Heale discuss how Reform will spend the money, the government’s plans to cap political donations from British expats, and what the p...

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. Reform have newfound riches. What does this mean for the future of political donations in the UK? 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.uk Hosted...

Andy Burnham has announced his intention to change a law which bars him from advising the King on appointments to the Church of England. The Victorian-era law explicitly bars Catholics like Burnham, as well as Jews – but doesn't prevent those of other Christian denominations, other faiths – like Hindu Rishi Sunak, or atheists like Keir Starmer. So, if the law is going to be changed to address this...

England's 15-year-olds came eighth in the world for science, ninth for reading and tenth for maths in Tuesday's Pisa results, though it took the education secretary, Lucy Powell, hours to send the congratulatory message. James Heale is joined by Tim Shipman and the shadow education secretary, Laura Trott, to go through the numbers, why Labour wants to unpick the reforms behind them, and whether a...

James Heale joins Patrick Gibbons to react to the news that MPs have voted against Assisted Dying. The vote was close – 286 vs 270 – but not a knife-edge, and several MPs changed their minds compared with previous votes earlier this year. What conclusions can we draw? Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfr...

The topic of assisted dying returns to Parliament today, with a vote scheduled in the Commons this afternoon. Labour MP Lauren Evans has used her private member's bill to reintroduce it, after Kim Leaderbeater's attempt failed, running out of time during the last parliamentary session. Then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer voted for the Bill; now, Andy Burnham has pledged to abstain, saying that –...

After plans emerged for the Cabinet Secretary, Dame Antonia Romeo, to consolidate power across the civil service this week, Oscar Edmondson is joined by James Heale and Tim Shipman, to discuss this week's political column , in which Tim unpacks the potentials motives behind the new alpha at the very top of Whitehall. Produced by Henry Lloyd Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcas...

It's only Burnham's second PMQs and he's already dropped a clanger. He may have handed the Conservatives their next election slogan after declaring that ‘national security cannot come at the expense of social security’. Has the Prime Minister exposed the fault line at the heart of his government? Noa Hoffman is joined by Isabel Hardman and Tim Shipman to discuss Burnham’s approach to welfare and d...

Ed Miliband has made his first major intervention as Foreign Secretary, with Britain set to announce a trade ban on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The move comes amid increasingly strained relations between London and Jerusalem – and marks Andy Burnham’s first big foreign policy fight. Oscar Edmondson is joined by James Heale and Michael Stephens to discuss whether the sanctions will have a...

Sir Malcolm Rifkind joins Tim Shipman and James Heale to discuss the future of the conservatism and tells The Spectator why Kemi Badenoch is the person to bring the Conservative Party back from the brink.  He explains why he thinks Reform is already losing momentum, why Nigel Farage is ‘not fit to govern’, and why Andy Burnham could actually help the Conservatives at the next election. He als...

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. Nigel Farage is on the defence again, after two senior Reform officials are forced to step down. James Orr and Dan Jukes were filmed arranging to break rules on foreign donations with journalists pretending to have access to money from an American businessman. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast w...

Noa Hoffman, James Heale and Tim Shipman host a special live recording of Coffee House Shots from Reform conference. They discuss whether a damaging 48 hours for the party have breached the walls of Birmingham’s NEC, whether Nigel Farage can weather serious questions over Reform’s funding, and whether Zia Yusuf should throw his phone in the nearest river and get off Twitter. Produced by Oscar Edmo...

There are grey clouds over day two of Reform UK’s conference after a Channel 4 investigation caused heads to roll. The party announced this morning that Dan Jukes, Nigel Farage’s right-hand man, and James Orr, Reform’s head of strategy, have stood down and left the conference. ‘They have left the building and they won’t be coming back,’ chairman Lee Anderson said. Footage broadcast by Channel 4 on...