Coffee House Shots

Labour are ahead of the Conservatives in a poll for the first time since January. It comes just days after Boris Johnson announced his government's plan to fix social care: a rise in National Insurance. Should the Tories worry? Katy Balls is joined by James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson.  Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find o...

Boris Johnson has got his social care payment plan past the Commons, but there were a fair number of Tory abstentions, who still have a philosophical issue with this policy. Also with vaccine passports seemingly just around the corner, could this be another battleground for a Conservative rebellion?  Katy Balls is joined by Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth to discuss.  Become a Spectator subscriber...

In the first session of PMQ's completely Covid restriction free, Keir Starmer proved that the Prime Minster wouldn't commit to definitely getting rid of the NHS waiting list within three years or the risk of people having to sell their homes to pay for care. But Boris Johnson seemed pretty bullet proof with not a whiff of tory rebellion even though some of his new policies go against his members m...

Boris Johnson admitted in the House of Commons today that he is breaking the manifesto promise of not raising taxes in order to get rid of the NHS waiting list and fund social care, but will this move work for the Prime Minister politically.  Katy Balls and James Forsyth discuss.  Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out m...

With the vaccine secretary Nadhim Zahawi declaring on the radio that the Conservatives were a 'party of fair taxation', could the government be looking at rebellion from its right with its new plans for tackling the social care crisis?  Katy Balls in conversation with James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.   Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co....

Isabel Hardman rounds up the highlights from Sunday's political shows, with today's podcasts featuring Nadhim Zahawi, Lord Philip Hammond, Lisa Nandy, Gordon Brown and General Sir Nick Carter. 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@sp...

In a speech this week, Joe Biden said America will focus more on threats from Russia and China and less on foreign interventions. The US President signalled that his country would return to using 'over the horizon' drone strikes against terrorist targets, and would need to prove it was 'competitive' in combatting emerging threats. Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, addressed this in an interview...

Despite pledging not to raise taxes in the 2019 manifesto, rumours abound in Westminster that Boris Johnson is about to increase National Insurance in order to raise funding for healthcare and social care. Katy Balls talks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth about whether the government has other options. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co...

In an interview for the latest issue of  The Spectator , Defence Secretary Ben Wallace hits back at Dominic Raab's suggestion that it was military intelligence which failed the British side when it comes to evacuation planning. On the podcast, Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth about the increasing public acrimony between the two secretaries of state, and ask - why isn't No 10 putting...

Dominic Raab was hauled before the Foreign Affairs Committee today to answer questions about how the government handled the withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Foreign Secretary faced tough questions about being on holiday during the crisis, risk reports produced from his own department, and whether a portrait of the Queen in Britain's Kabul embassy was taken by Taliban militants. How did he fare? Ci...

The Pentagon says the UK pushed to keep Abbey gate at Kabul airport open, which was later the site of a terrorist attack that killed 13 US soldiers and 170 Afghans. Dominic Raab took on today's broadcast round and defended the work of the Foreign Office during the evacuation process, but said the intelligence community's assessment of the strength of the Afghan government was wrong. Who is to blam...

New data from Israel shows that the Delta variant is getting through the protection offered by double jabs, even though the vaccines do lessen symptoms. With this and cases rising in the UK again, could it be that vaccines can never offer us the highly effective protection once hoped? Perhaps natural immunity is the strongest of all, as one study (yet to be peer-reviewed) showed this week. Isabel...

After the attack on Kabul's airport by Isis, President Biden addressed the world last night and mourned for the 13 US marines who were killed. But with this grim event already being politicised by the Republicans, what will the lasting damage to the president legacy be? Isobel Hardman in conversation with Kate Andrews and Fraser Nelson.  Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast w...

Chaos surrounds the Hamid Karzai airport today as two explosions and a potential knife attack has left at least 13 dead. The attacks are suspected to be suicide bombers from ISIS-K, as the American and British military had feared. What does this mean for the evacuation in its last days? Cindy Yu talks to Isabel Hardman and Lucy Fisher, deputy political editor of the Telegraph . Become a Spectator...

In his first broadcast round since coming back from Crete, Raab's handling of the questions surrounding his holiday have only managed to fuel the conversation further, with choice quotes such as 'the sea was closed that day'. Cindy Yu talks to Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls about what went wrong with the Foreign Secretary's handling of the issue. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this p...

As many had expected, President Biden has not agreed to extend the August 31 deadline despite pleas from Nato allies in today's G7 call. Meanwhile, there are signs that the veneer of the new and reformed Taliban is already beginning to crack in Afghanistan. Katy Balls talks to Isabel Hardman and Fraser Nelson. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to specta...

The Prime Minister has requested Washington to extend the August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of US troops from Kabul. But will Joe Biden acquiesce, amidst warnings from the Taliban that there will be 'consequences' if the US stays longer? Isabel Hardman talks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree...

With Dominic Raab in the firing line for his £40,000 Crete holiday, the Coffee House Shots team reflects: can ministers ever go on holiday? And if they do, should they be sticking to the domestic ones, and at what point of a political crisis does one decide to turn back? Isabel Hardman talks to Fraser Nelson and former special advisor for Sajid Javid, Salma Shah. Become a Spectator subscriber toda...

While Dominic Raab continues to weather charges of incompetence and call for resignation, it is the Health Secretary Sajid Javid who might not have any time for a holiday come autumn. Israel, one of the most vaccinated countries in the world, is seeing a rush of new Covid cases. Could mean a wave of Covid and flu, later this year? Cindy Yu talks to Fraser Nelson and Isabel Hardman. Become a Specta...

Pressure on the Foreign Secretary is piling up after the  Daily Mail  revealed today that Raab had rejected the strong advice of Foreign Office civil servants to call his counterpart in the Afghan government before the weekend, to ensure the safe departure of interpreters from the country. Instead, his junior minister Zac Goldsmith took the call. Could - or should - Dominic Raab be sacked? Cindy Y...

This morning was the first time that we saw the chamber of the House of Commons full since the pandemic began. MPs were called back from recess to discuss the worsening situation in Afghanistan. Emotions and tensions ran high on both sides, some directed at the government, some at the Prime Minister and some at the White House. Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman dissect the first half of today's debate...

With Parliament being called back from recess tomorrow, including the Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab who maybe stayed on the beach a touch too long given the worsening circumstances on the ground in Afghanistan. Isabel Hardman talks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls about just what we may hear tomorrow.  Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.u...

Defeat in Kabul now means that the Taliban have effectively taken over Afghanistan. Katy Balls talks to Fraser Nelson and Isabel Hardman to discuss the West's response to the occupation. ‘we have got a peacekeeping military, not a war fighting military, but still I think we’ve got this muscle memory from the days when Britain did have a bigger military’ – Fraser Nelson Become a Spectator subscribe...

The south of Afghanistan is now under Taleban control, after the group took the cities of Kandahar and Lashkar Gah this week. Meanwhile, Britain and America are deploying thousands of troops - as many as were there before the withdrawal began earlier this year - to evacuate expats and the majority of embassy staff. After a 20-year war in Afghanistan, the West is running away. Britain and her allie...

With things on the ground in Afghanistan accelerating from bad to worse so fast that  the Americans are now even worried about the safety of their embassy. Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about what the UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace's attitude towards this 20 year conflict has been like in statements both past and present.  Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this p...