Coffee House Shots

Keir Starmer's biographer Tom Baldwin has revealed that the PM has removed a portrait of Margaret Thatcher from No 10. The portrait was originally commissioned by Gordon Brown. Why has he bothered to get rid of it?Elsewhere, the government has more plans for health, and select committees have some surprising new candidates. Megan McElroy speaks to Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls.

Keir Starmer has confirmed that the government is looking at plans to revive Sunak's smoking ban legislation. They may go even further - reports suggest they will seek to extend the current indoor ban for hospitality venues, to outdoor places such as pub gardens. What's the rationale behind this, and where could it lead? How popular is the measure with the public? And, following Starmer's speech on Tuesday about the economic problems the nation faces, is this another thing for business to worry about?Patrick Gibbons speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.

Keir Starmer has been in Germany today visiting Chancellor Olaf Scholz, before heading to Paris to meet President Macron. This is part of his plan to 'reset' relations with Europe - but how close does he want to get to the EU? And, given Brexit wounds are still raw, what's achievable? James Heale is joined by Katy Balls and Sophia Gaston, head of the foreign policy unit at Policy Exchange to discuss.Produced by Megan McElroy and Patrick Gibbons. 

Winter is coming. That’s the message from Keir Starmer’s set-piece speech this morning from the No. 10 rose garden. After a tricky few weeks for the new Prime Minister on cronyism claims and anxiety about cuts to the winter fuel allowance, Starmer and his team attempted seize the agenda with a speech looking ahead to the months to come. However, anyone hoping for optimism will be disappointed, with Starmer warning things can only get worse. How bad can they be?James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson. 

As the Democratic National Convention draws to a close in Chicago this week, Patrick Gibbons is joined by James Heale and Gerry Baker, editor at large of the Wall Street Journal to try to make sense of what a Harris presidency could mean for the UK. Is she continuity Biden? Do we really know what she stands for? Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Cindy Yu. 

Ofgem, the energy regulator, has announced that the price cap will rise by 10% in October. Is this bad news for Labour, or will they be successful in framing it as part of their economic inheritance from the Conservatives? And could this strengthen opposition to the proposed change to winter fuel allowance? Patrick Gibbons speaks to James Heale and John McTernan, former political secretary to Tony Blair.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Cindy Yu.

Today's GCSE results show an exams system that has largely returned to pre-Covid norms. It has also given the government a chance to talk about skills and apprenticeships – something that Bridget Phillipson's predecessor as education secretary was also keen on. Cindy Yu talks to James Heale and Amanda Spielman, former chair of Ofqual and Ofsted, about the state of the British education system.Produced by Cindy Yu.

The government seems to have appointed another party-political advisor to the civil service – this time Labour Together's Jess Sargeant to the role of deputy director at the Cabinet Office’s Propriety and Constitution Group. Is the Labour party just as prone to a bit of cronyism as they accuse the Tories of having been? Cindy Yu talks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman.Produced by Cindy Yu.

Keir Starmer has been meeting the new First Minister Eluned Morgan as part of a two day trip to Wales. While the trip included a visit to a wind farm, Starmer quickly faced questions about the fate of steel workers in Port Talbot. What does this challenge tell us about Starmer's Industrial Strategy and his relationship with the devolved nations? Could Welsh Labour soon face the same anti-incumbency threat that the Conservatives and the SNP faced? James Heale is joined by Tom Baldwin, Starmer's biographer, and Ruth Mosalski, political editor at WalesOnline.Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

The fallout from the riots continues as the numbers being processed by the justice system have led to emergency measures being triggered by the government. What does this mean and, given the prison system was at breaking point even before the riots, what happens next? Also on the podcast, the six Tory leadership contenders have found something they all agree on: opposition to Labour's proposed change to winter fuel allowance. What does this tell us about future political battles? James Heale and Isabel Hardman join Cindy Yu to discuss. As Cindy mentions in the episode, the journalist Chris Atkins - who was jailed for five years for tax offences - appeared on The Spectator's food and drink podcast Table Talk to talk about his experience. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Cindy Yu.

Labour is planning to reform the civil service into five 'missions' that will lead the agenda, moving away from the purely departmental way of arranging priorities at the moment. Cindy Yu talks to James Heale and Jill Rutter from the Institute for Government and UK In a Changing Europe (and a former civil servant) about what these plans really mean.Produced by Cindy Yu.

Less than 48 hours after Transport Secretary Louise Haigh hailed a new deal with train drivers... the rail union Aslef announced further strike action. So what happened to Labour's 'relationship reset' with the unions? And with recent pay deals, what incentive is there for workers to compromise with the government?Fraser Nelson and Isabel Hardman join James Heale to discuss.Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

The broader story this morning paints a positive picture for the UK economy. While growth in June took a pause, growth in Q2 for this year is estimated to be 0.6 per cent, roughly in line with what markets were predicting, as forecasts for UK growth have been repeatedly revised upwards since the start of the year. Growth was 0.8 per cent in the three months to May, indicating the positive upward trend only paused at the start of the summer. This sounds like great news, but has it come at the right time for Labour? Today we have also had A Level results and top marks have risen despite a return to pre-pandemic levels. What do the numbers say? James Heale speaks to Farser Nelson and Kate Andrews. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

We've got some news today on the inflation rate, which rose to 2.2 per cent in July, slightly up from the Bank of England’s target of 2 per cent, where the rate sat in May and June. It’s the first rate uptick this year – and though widely expected, it will be used to explain why the Bank’s continued hawkish stance, despite starting its rate-cutting process earlier this month. Is this a sign of economic conditions improving? Could it lead the way to interest rate cuts later this year? Also today, the Treasury its under scrutiny after a Labour donor received a top civil service job. Do we need more transparency when it comes to political appointments? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Kate Andrews and James Heale. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

After successful showings at NATO and Blenheim Palace Keir Starmer is facing his first foreign policy tests, with big developments in Ukraine and in the Middle East. On the one hand, Ukrainian troops are continuing push into the Kursk region of Russia and on the other it looked last night that Iran had ramped up preparations for a possible invasion of Israel. Keir Starmer made a phone call last night to Tehran urging them to 'refrain from attacking Israel', warning against a 'serious miscalculation'. Also today, Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat gave a press conference and took the opportunity to criticise the government response to the riots. Is he the law and order leadership candidate?Oscar Edmondson speaks to James Heale and Sophia Gaston, head of foreign policy at Policy Exchange. Produced by Cindy Yu and Oscar Edmondson. Photo Credit: Simon Dawson/ No.10 Downing Street

Over the weekend we have had some news on Labour’s housing policy. The Times have splashed on the news that in order to meet their pledge to build 1.5 million houses by 2030, councils will be given the power to buy up green belt land. Will this actually get Britain building? Elsewhere, the Tory leadership race continues to trundle along with Kemi Badenoch giving her first interview. Is she the candidate that Labour fear most? James Heale speaks to Fraser Nelson and Liam Halligan. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

Should Keir Starmer go on holiday whilst the country is still grappling with violent disorder? In a YouGov poll on Thursday 71% of those surveyed said he shouldn’t. The PM is meant to be heading off on a summer break on Monday but that is looking increasingly unlikely. We still haven’t got the final word from No.10 but we we thought it was a good opportunity to take a look at the politics of prime ministerial holidays. Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and Jon Rentoul, chief political commentator at the Independent. Produced by Oscar Edmondson. 

Elon Musk has it in for the Labour government, his latest tweet screenshotting a racist comment Labour MP Lauren Edwards made over a decade ago. On this episode, Lucy Dunn talks to Katy Balls and John McTernan about whether Big Tech can be regulated, and how DSIT Secretary Peter Kyle thinks the government should treat tech tycoons.Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Cindy Yu.

The last week has been dominated by rioting, and last night was expected to be a particularly explosive night. How did it measure up against expectations? Meanwhile, the Tory leadership race continues to chug along, with each of the six candidates providing their own take on Keir Starmer's response to the violent disorder. Rishi Sunak has been surprisingly absent. How do you provide effective opposition during a time of civil disobedience?Lucy Dunn speaks to Katy Balls and Paul Goodman, former editor of Conservative Home. Produced by Cindy Yu and Oscar Edmondson. 

Courts have started giving out severe sentences to those involved in the riots today, but there is a continued clamouring for Keir Starmer to do more. The next step seems to be cracking down on discussions online, where social media platforms such as X and Telegram could be inflaming the riots. Could the government give in to this pressure, and what do we, as a society, lose if so? Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and non-affiliated peer Claire Fox.Produced by Cindy Yu.