Politics At Sam and Anne's

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy debrief on Rachel Reeves's spring statement - with the added twist of Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on all imported cars.  The chancellor has planned to get her fiscal headroom back to £9.9bn with warnings that her buffer looks too small against global events - and, right on cue, the US president has upped his trade war. So is the economy stuck in a "d...

It's spring statement day – a bigger day than the Treasury probably ever wanted it to be – but definitely not a budget. With Chancellor Rachel Reeves on course to break her own fiscal rules, she'll lay out how she intends to find billions of pounds of extra savings. At the eleventh hour, it looks like welfare cuts will be tougher than first thought – with a hit on Universal Credit. Sam and Anne ou...

Your morning politics digest with Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy.  The countdown to Trump’s tariff ‘Liberation Day’ continues with the UK looking at its options ahead of announcing any trade deal.  Is abolishing Britain’s digital services tax still one of the most likely moves? That’d mean missing out on hundreds of millions from the likes of Meta and Amazon.  Elsewhere, with Rac...

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy present their guide to the day ahead in British politics.      With two days to go until the Spring Statement, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been fighting off talk that she is taking Britain back to austerity.     Over the weekend she confirmed plans to cut Civil Service running costs by 15% and her statement is expected to unveil further savings. Re...

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy present their guide to the day ahead in British politics.   As Kemi Badenoch launches her local election campaign, is Nigel Farage right, would a stint on I’m A Celebrity help the Tories' chances? And, why Keir Starmer is continuing to market himself as the securocrat PM.  

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy present their guide to the day ahead in British politics.   Keir Starmer’s team spend the day trying to work out how the Trump-Putin phone call really went down. Could the UK end up sending more military support to Ukraine before any pause in fighting?  The idea of an ice hockey game apparently came up on the call – Anne has an important history les...

Sky News' Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy present their guide to the day ahead in British politics.   It’s a big day for more than one reason. We know the details of the government’s welfare reforms will finally come this afternoon.  Before that, this morning, Kemi Badenoch will say the UK’s target of hitting net zero by 2050 is ‘impossible’. How will Labour make their arguments in response...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics. With Chancellor Rachel Reeves's spring statement fast approaching, Labour faces a major challenge from its own backbenchers ahead of an announcement to restrict some sickness and disability benefits. Sam and Anne discuss the stakes for Sir Keir Starmer and the plausibilit...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.      It’s crunch time for Keir Starmer’s government. With rumours of a cabinet reshuffle rife - when might it take place? And who’s on the chopping block?    This at a time when a rebellion over planned cuts to the welfare budget is brewing.    Sam and Anne also explain h...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.      Tariffs are back on the agenda for this morning’s episode – the US has put them on all steel and aluminium imports, including those from the UK.    How do ministers respond now? Does it go any further than the stiffly worded statement from business secretary Jonathan...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.      Bats, pylons, and planning reforms - how far is Keir Starmer willing to go to achieve the growth and infrastructure he’s promised, and will Labour’s new reforms help the UK get there? And what has the fallout been after Mike Amesbury announced his resignation, trigge...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.      With Zelensky heading to Saudi Arabia to join US sponsored peace talks in Saudi Arabia, Sam and Anne assess the UK’s response to any concessions Ukraine might be made to make to Russia.    And with Mark Carney waiting in the wings to take over from Prime Minister Tru...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.    As Matt Wrack, a former hard-left firefighter is endorsed as the the next leader of one of the two main teaching unions Sam and Anne discuss the fall out for the government. Mr Wrack who is the preferred candidate for the NASWT is a former general secretary of the fire...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.      The domestic agenda is key today with some hints starting to emerge about what Chancellor Rachel Reeves is planning in her Spring statement in three weeks' time.     Sam reveals details of a four-point plan to get big government announcements out there before the sta...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.    President Donald Trump has just pulled the plug on US military aid to Ukraine, leaving Sir Keir Starmer and European leaders scrambling to respond. Just yesterday, the prime minister was praised in the House of Commons for his diplomatic efforts, will he now be forced...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.        After an extraordinary 96 hours on the world stage, Sir Keir Starmer faces his next challenge: a grilling from MPs in the Commons.  In today's episode, Sam and Anne break down how the prime minister positioned himself at the heart of the Ukraine crisis, seizing the...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Tim Ross have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.      Keir Starmer is in Washington today to meet Donald Trump to discuss Ukraine and Europe’s long-term security. Tim and Sam assess what Keir’s approach might be and what he might actually be able to do. Will he - can he - take Macron’s recent approach of flattery and charm,...

Sky News’ Sam Coates and Poltico’s Anne McElvoy hold their hands up on this episode – that they didn’t see Keir Starmer’s big defence announcement coming yesterday morning.    The plan to shift defence spending to 3% of GDP (and a new Downing Street podium slogan) is a pivot for the PM.     Sam and Anne discuss the reasons behind it - is this all about having enough to say to Donald Trump in Washi...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.     It’s vibes versus facts on the Tuesday episode.     Vibes – Downing Street seem happy with the Trump-Marcon meeting.    Facts – didn't the US just side with Russia on UN resolutions on Ukraine?    Also on this episode – is it the current Tory leader or a previous one...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy have their guide to the day ahead in British politics.      On the third anniversary of Ukraine’s invasion, Sam and Anne take stock on the milestone’s significance for global politics. With transatlantic tensions remaining, from a controversial UN vote to high stakes talks at the White House, they break down the fresh wave of...

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy look at the day ahead in British politics. Although it's recess, Sam and Anne explain why this week could be a major moment in British politics as they discuss whether the Transatlantic alliance has collapsed.  Anne shares her insider analysis from the Munich Security Conference where Ukraine was top of the agenda, and Sam br...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy look at the day ahead in British politics.    Chancellor Rachel Reeves starts her birthday with good news – the economy grew slightly at the end of last year, according to the early showing of official figures.    So where does the glimmer leave her big plan for growth? And what can we read into how the Tories are responding...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy look at the day ahead in British politics.    Growth spends another day on the agenda – as Heathrow gets ready to announce multibillion pound expansion plan. How feasible are some of the proposals and the timescale for them?    At the same time – there’s a warning to Rachel Reeves that her fiscal plans could mean a squeeze on...

Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy look at the day ahead in British politics.  Today they discuss the sudden major changes to the assisted dying bill from MP Kim Leadbeater which means cases would not need signing off by a High Court judge and whether this could change how MPs vote on the bill.   Plus, Sam has been investigating whether Keir Starmer can really...

Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates and Politico's Anne McElvoy look at the day ahead in British politics. Overnight, President Trump announced 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into America would come into affect "soon". Sam and Anne discuss what this could mean for the UK which imports 10% of its steel to the US and whether reverse tariffs could be on the cards. Meanwhile, a...