Coffee House Shots - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

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.

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

Latest Episodes:

What to expect on 'World Tariff Day' Mar 31, 2025

Show notes

This week will see ‘World Tariff Day’ – as those in Westminster are not-so-excitedly calling Wednesday – when Donald Trump will announce a wave of new tariffs. Trump is expected to reveal plans for reciprocal tariffs aimed at addressing what he sees as an ongoing trade imbalance between the US and other countries. He argues that it is ‘finally time for the Good Ol’ USA to get some of that MONEY, and RESPECT, BACK. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!!’.
It had looked as though the Prime Minister’s softly-softly approach to US relations was working and that we might avoid Trump’s levies... that was until the UK was included in the 25 per cent tariff on cars and auto parts imported into the US, along with steel.
There is some hope, however. Donald Trump and Keir Starmer had a call last night in which they spoke about a limited free trade deal. The pair ‘discussed the productive negotiations between their respective teams on a UK–US economic prosperity deal, agreeing that these will continue at pace this week’. It is a knotty situation for the Prime Minister because if he cannot charm his way back into the US’s good books, he will face more calls to get tough on Donald and threaten retaliatory tariffs. What’s the mood in Westminster? And – more importantly – what’s the mood in Washington?
James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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.

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 30/03/2025 Mar 30, 2025

Show notes

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning’s political shows.
Former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby gives his first interview since stepping down last year, and says he forgives John Smyth. Sentebale chair Sophie Chandauka accuses Prince Harry of ‘bullying at scale’. And Labour are questioned over immigration and the chancellor’s Spring Statement.
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.uk

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

Michael Heseltine on Thatcher, Boris and Badenoch Mar 29, 2025

Show notes

An MP for 35 years, Michael Heseltine served as Environment Secretary and then Defence Secretary in Margaret Thatcher’s government. Following his well-publicised resignation in 1986, he returned to government under John Major and was Deputy Prime Minister for the last two years of Major’s premiership. Once seen as a potential successor to Thatcher and Major, he has sat in the Lords since stepping down as an MP in 2001, and in recent years has been an outspoken critic of Brexit.
Lord Heseltine sits down with James Heale to discuss his thoughts on the current Labour government, how to fix Britain’s broken economy and why devolution should go further. ‘Deeply depressed’ by attacks on the civil service – Britain’s ‘rolls royce’ – he provides his thoughts on various political leaders: Starmer is handling Trump well, Reeves is handling the economy badly, Badenoch is being overshadowed by foreign affairs, and Boris Johnson demonstrated he has ‘no integrity’. And on Thatcher, he says new information has vindicated him over the Westland affair and demonstrated her ‘complicity’. His new book, From Acorns to Oaks: An Urgent Agenda to Rebuild Britain, is out now.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

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.

Coffee House Shots Live with Maurice Glasman, David Frost and James Kanagasooriam Mar 28, 2025

Show notes

Join Katy Balls, Michael Gove, Lord Glasman, Lord Frost and pollster James Kanagasooriam as they unpack the highly anticipated Spring Statement and its implications for national policy and global security.
Listen for: Michael’s plan for how to deal with the Donald, and why the Treasury is not fit for purpose; Maurice on his influence in the White House, and what's wrong with the current political class; David’s reflections on why Brexit was ahead of its time; and James’s explanation for Britain’s lost sense of community.

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.

Reeves goes on the defensive Mar 27, 2025

Show notes

It’s the morning after the afternoon before, and Rachel Reeves has just finished her broadcast round, where she has faced tough questions and negative splashes in the papers. The Daily Mail brands Reeves ‘deluded’, while the Daily Telegraph warns of ‘five years of record taxes’. The Guardian splashes with ‘Reeves accused of balancing books at expense of the poor’, while the Financial Times says, ‘Tax rise fears cloud Reeves’s fiscal fix’.
She is navigating two main issues: first, the additional welfare reforms have caused disquiet in the Labour Party, with a potential rebellion on the horizon; second, the conversation has already turned to whether she will have to return for further tax rises in the autumn. Meanwhile, her headroom is under threat once again following this morning’s news that Donald Trump will impose a 25 per cent tariff on all imported cars. Can she keep the party – and the finances – in check?
Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and Michael Simmons.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
For tickets to The Spectator’s Spring Statement special live Coffee House Shots, click here.

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.

Labour's 'Sabrina Carpenter' Budget Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

This afternoon, Rachel Reeves made good on her promise to deliver only one fiscal set piece per calendar year by announcing what is widely being considered a Budget... this precedes a spending review in the summer and an actual Budget in the autumn. The headline is that the Chancellor had to find £15 billion in spending cuts to restore her headroom and keep within her own ‘ironclad’ fiscal rules. This comes after the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) confirmed that the £9.9 billion margin she left herself in the autumn has disappeared. The OBR has also halved its growth projections – bleak news for the government.
Among the announcements: further welfare cuts after the OBR was not satisfied with the original package; some ‘final adjustments’ to Universal Credit, with the standard allowance rising from £92 per week in 2025–26 to £106 per week by 2029–30; around 10,000 civil service jobs are for the chop; defence spending will rise, at the expense of international aid; and a new target to reduce the cost of running government by 15 per cent. But what is most striking is the extent to which the government is now beholden to the OBR. Who is running this government? Can Labour deliver on growth?
Katy Balls speaks to Michael Gove and David Miles, member of the OBR's Budget Responsibility Committee.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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.

Could Cabinet turn on Reeves? Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

Hard hats on for the Spring Statement tomorrow, where at around midday Rachel Reeves will deliver her fiscal update (read: significant fiscal set piece). Aside from not spooking the markets, the Chancellor will be hoping that she doesn’t spook those within her own party.
There are rumours of discontent circling around Westminster about a potential Labour split. We have already seen secretaries of state briefing out their discontent over potential departmental cuts. Ministers have also been breaking rank this week to criticise Rachel Reeves for accepting free Sabrina Carpenter tickets. Can she keep the party united?
Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and John McTernan, former political secretary to Tony Blair.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
For tickets to The Spectator's Spring Statement special live Coffee House Shots, click here.

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.

Can Britain dodge Trump's tariffs? Mar 24, 2025

Show notes

Reports in the papers today say that the British government is considering scrapping its digital services tax – largely levied at American tech companies – in return for an exemption to Trump's tariffs that come into effect on April 2. Would this be an effective – or desirable – move on the British part? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Cindy Yu.

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.

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 23/03/2025 Mar 23, 2025

Show notes

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.
Rachel Reeves defends her record as chancellor ahead of the Spring Statement, with pressure mounting over gloomy forecasts. Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper accuses Labour of losing their moral compass, Darren Jones is told Labour are 'anti-business', and Mel Stride attempts to justify Kemi Badenoch's assertion that the country's net-zero target is 'impossible'.

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.

Were we right to lock down? Michael Gove vs Toby Young Mar 22, 2025

Show notes

On 23 March 2020, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the unprecedented decision to put the UK into lockdown. To mark the 5th anniversary of that announcement this weekend, we have brought together our editor Michael Gove – then a cabinet minister under Boris – and our associate editor Toby Young – an ardent critic of the decision – to answer the question, was the government right to lock down?
Was the decision a necessary and reasonable health measure based on the available evidence at the time, or a significant and avoidable violation of civil liberties by a government that was meant to champion liberal freedoms? You decide.
Produced and presented by Patrick Gibbons.

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.

Related Podcasts