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Coffee House Shots — News & Politics
Coffee House Shots

Daily political analysis from The Spectator’s top team of writers, including Michael Gove, Tim Shipman, Isabel Hardman, James Heale and many others.

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Latest Episodes:

Can Boris save his premiership? Jan 29, 2022

Show notes

Boris Johnson has come out fighting, but that doesn't mean he's in the clear. Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls about the Prime Minister's efforts to keep himself inside No. 10.

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Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk

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Will Sue Gray's report be a whitewash? Jan 28, 2022

Show notes

Today the Met Police requested that Sue Gray's report makes 'minimal reference' to the events in her inquiry, whilst there is an ongoing police investigation.
'I think it puts the government in a difficult position. If you publish the report with minimal reference to the alleged parties being investigated by the police you’ll be accused of a whitewash report' - Katy Balls.
As a consequence of the police investigation, there are also rumours that others in Whitehall might be fined over parties in the coming weeks. What will be the outcome of this? Will the culprits, who are likely to be junior staffers at No.10 dispute the fines?
All to be discussed as Cindy Yu speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

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Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk

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Who authorised Pen Farthing's animal rescue operation? Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

Whilst everyone waits for the Sue Gray report, all eyes turn to the next scandal: Pen Farthing's animal rescue operation out of Afghanistan. It has been revealed that Boris Johnson's parliamentary private secretary, Trudy Harrison contacted a jet hire company in an attempt to secure a plane to evacuate the pets. The PM has responded to these allegations saying they are 'total rhubarb' - but what does that mean?
'You don’t seem to get the impression that Downing Street feels as if they are under pressure about this' - Katy Balls
Also on the podcast, is Boris Johnson planning a shake-up of his staff at No.10? And if so, who might go? Martin Reynolds? Dan Rosenfield?
All to be discussed as Isabel Hardman speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

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For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.

Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk

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How much longer to wait for Gray? Jan 26, 2022

Show notes

The view on the Tory benches at the moment seems to be consistently ‘wait for Gray’ before they decide whether or not they will send a letter of no confidence. The 54 letters required is now more likely since the announcement of the police probe into Downing Street parties, but it is still by no means a certainty.
Boris Johnson gathered a surprising amount of support at PMQs today. Helped in part. by opposition MPs calling on him to resign:
'Richard Burgon, a former member of Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet making a grand statement of how the PM should resign is naturally going to bring the Tory MPs together on Boris Johnson’s side' - Katy Balls.
Also on the podcast, Pen Farthing and his Afghan animal rescue operation has just resurfaced. Emails have been leaked suggesting that Boris Johnson did in fact authorise a rescue operation having publically denied allegations.
All to be discussed as James Forsyth speaks to Katy Balls from a breezy rooftop in the House of Commons.

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For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.

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What does the police probe mean for Boris? Jan 25, 2022

Show notes

The latest in the scandal of Downing Street parties points to the Prime Minister’s own birthday, where a gathering took place in the Cabinet Office. Whilst this has been played off by a Downing Street spokesperson as being on ‘the edges of a work event’. Cressida Dick announced this morning that events at No.10 during lockdown have now been deemed serious enough to deserve a police investigation.
How long does this now go on for? It could make the May election results terrible for the Tories, prompting more MPs to write a letter of no confidence.
'Someone close to Boris Johnson said to me that this idea to 'delay to Gray' is wrong. He’s going to need it to come out so that he can apologise and move on so that people’s opinions of him don’t calcify' - James Forsyth
All to be discussed on today's podcast as Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth.

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For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.

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How damaging are Nusrat Ghani's claims? Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

Over the weekend the MP Nusrat Ghani accused the government of sacking her because allegedly her Muslim faith was an issue, and they thought she didn't defend the Conservative party's charges of Islamophobia more. In the week of the release of the infamous Sue Gray report into Partygate how are the Tories dealing with these two scandals?
'The whip's office is caught between Sandhurst and a HR department.' - James Forsyth
Cindy Yu is joined by James Forsyth and Katy Balls to unpack the weekend's revelations.
And if you are interested in learning more about Nasrat Ghani's Journey to become an MP do listen to Katy's interview with her from last year's Women with Balls podcast here: https://www.spectator.co.uk/podcast/the-nus-ghani-edition

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Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 23/01/22 Jan 23, 2022

Show notes

Isabel Hardman rounds up the highlights from Sunday's political shows, with Dominic Raab, Emily Thornberry, Nicola Sturgeon and Vadym Prystaiko.

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What is Vladimir Putin up to? Jan 22, 2022

Show notes

Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and the Spectator's Russia correspondent Owen Matthews about the buildup of forces on the border with Ukraine.

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Did Boris's whips go too far? Jan 21, 2022

Show notes

After Christian Wakeford's defection to Labour, Boris Johnson looks to be in the clear – for now. The Prime Minister's backbenchers, though, are still frustrated by the aggressive tactics used by his whips to ensure their support. Is blackmail normal in the Commons, and are their complaints a result of Parliament's generational divide? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth.
'If you had turned up in Westminster in the 1970s, you would find whips pushing people up against the wall. I don't think that goes on today.' – James Forsyth

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Did Tory whips blackmail Red Wall MPs? Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

As the Prime Minister has a stay of execution after the pork pie plot came to nothing, today allegations are flying that Tory whips have been using unsavoury methods to threaten wavering MPs into line. Christian Wakeford, the newly defected Labour MP to Bury South, says that whips threatened to withdraw funding from a local school; while William Wragg claims that MPs have been blackmailed with information about their private lives. But how much of this is true, and how much, as some in SW1 are saying today, is this just a part of being a whip?
On the podcast, James Forsyth points out how some of this comes down to 'the fact that some of the new intake of Tory MPs have been quite shocked at how aggressive the "flush-out" tactics have been', when it comes to using newspaper headlines to publicly name rebels (for example the pork pie-ers earlier this week). Meanwhile, Katy Balls tells Isabel Hardman that this will be a troubling development if more revelations come up: 'Any piece of news that can fit into the general narrative of Boris under pressure on party-gate and... give it a fresh lease of life, is a problem'.

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 on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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