Coffee House Shots

A new YouGov poll has Reform just four points behind the Conservatives. Richard Tice’s party is on 15 per cent, and Rishi Sunak’s party is on 19 per cent. What is driving the Tory decline?Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and to James Johnson of JL Partners.

Inflation has fallen to 3.4 per cent, it was announced this morning. Jeremy Hunt said it was a sign that the government’s economic plan is working. Is he right?Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.

All ten of the amendments to the Rwanda bill, put in by the House of Lords, were rejected by the House of Commons last night. The bill will head back to the Lords tomorrow, where they will decide whether to continue the process of 'ping pong' (putting more amendments in and sending the bill back to the Commons). Should Labour peers worry about being portrayed as foiling the Rwanda asylum plan? Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and Spectator contributor Patrick O'Flynn.Produced by Cindy Yu.

Over the weekend, speculation about a plot to oust Rishi Sunak and replace him with Penny Mordaunt circulated the papers. It came after one of the worst weeks of the Prime Minister’s premiership and the looming May elections. This morning, key Cabinet ministers including Kemi Badenoch and Ben Wallace have come out in support of ’sticking to the plan’. Can Rishi Sunak keep the party calm ahead of a gruelling month? And what's the strategy behind opting for an autumn election? Cindy Yu speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson. 

On this special edition of Coffee House Shots, Kate Andrews interviews broadcaster, and honorary president of the Reform Party, Nigel Farage. They discuss Lee Anderson's defection to the Reform party, how Nigel won the Red Wall for Boris Johnson, and whether he will return to front line politics. This was taken from The Week in 60 minutes on SpectatorTV. For the full episode, and more, click here.

Rishi Sunak has finally confirmed what most MPs already knew: there won’t be a May general election. Speaking to ITV News West Country on Thursday night, the Prime Minister was asked if there would be a general election at the same time as the local elections on 2 May. He replied: ‘There won’t be a general election on that day but when there is a general election, what matters is the choice.’ So, when will it be? Also on the podcast, after James Heappey became the latest MP to announce he will step down at the next election, can the Tories stop the exodus? Natasha Feroze speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson. Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson.

Michael Gove has unveiled the government’s new legal definition of extremism, which will decide whether organisations can receive government money. Conservative MPs, and three former Conservative home secretaries, have said doing would be a mistake. Is Gove doing more harm than good?Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and Paul Goodman, former editor of Conservative Home.

At Prime Minister’s Questions today Rishi Sunak refused to commit to returning the £10 million donor Frank Hester gave to the Conservative party. Hester allegedly said that Diane Abbott made him ‘hate all black women.’ Sunak now says that Hester’s  alleged comments were ‘racist’ and ‘wrong’, after a spokesperson initially only described them as ‘unacceptable’. Will the Tory position change again?Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and the Financial Times’s Stephen Bush.

Newspapers today reported that Boris Johnson is going to campaign for the Conservatives in Red Wall seats. Responding, Nadine Dorries wrote on Twitter: ‘There’s no thawing of relations, no plans to campaign. Sunak not spoken to Johnson for over a year.’ So are the stories true? What does Boris want?Max Jeffery speaks to Kate Andrews and Isabel Hardman.

Lee Anderson has defected from the Tory party to Reform. In a press conference this morning, Anderson said ‘I want my country back’ and said that his parents had urged him to change party allegiance. How much of a headache is Anderson’s defection for Rishi Sunak, and will more Tory MPs quit the party?Max Jeffery speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. Rachel Reeves says everything in Labour's manifesto will be properly funded, but it isn't clear where that money will come from. The health secretary defends the government's new definition of extremism, and says the NHS needs to be more efficient. But chef Fearnley-Whittingstall says the government is doing nothing to tackle the NHS's biggest problem: obesity. And the director of the IFS says big cuts to public services are coming, no matter who is elected.Produced by Joe Bedell-Brill. 

Michael Gove is expected to announce a tougher definition of extremism in response to a rise in radical ideology, since the Israel-Gaza war. Are new laws really needed? Or could the current laws, if enforced properly, be the best way to tackle a decline in social cohesion? Natasha Feroze speaks to David Shipley, a film producer and writer and Professor Jonathan Githens-Mazer from the University of Exeter who specialises in counter-terrorism and extremism. 

Theresa May has announced that she will not seek re-election this year. The former prime minister said that launching her global commission on modern slavery and human trafficking meant she would not be able to spend as much time as she would like on constituency matters.James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman about the news.

Lucy Dunn speaks to James Heale and Katy Balls about the slightly muted reaction to the budget. Labour has compared the announcements to Liz Truss's unfunded tax cuts and Scottish Tories have criticised the chancellor’s decision to extend the windfall tax on the profits of North Sea oil. But is this really the pre-election budget?  

Jeremy Hunt said the government would cut National Insurance by 2 per cent, would abolish the non-dom tax status and would raise the threshold for child benefits in his Budget today. To discuss the new measures, Katy Balls speaks to Kate Andrews and David Miles, from the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Kate Andrews speaks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman as the speculation grows over what taxes Jeremy Hunt will cut in tomorrow's budget. National Insurance is looking most likely – it's a giveaway but does it go far enough?

Budget day is approaching and the government has hinted that their plans for tax cutting 'giveaways' are now less likely. James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews about what to and what not to expect for Wednesday's Spring Budget.

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows. The Budget announcement is imminent, and Jeremy Hunt says there will be no 'gimmicks'. He might be stealing Labour's non-dom tax policy though. The government's free childcare programme might be in trouble, do Labour have any better ideas? George Galloway wins the Rochdale by-election, and Rishi Sunak warns against the threat of extremism.Produced by Joe Bedell-Brill.

In this special Saturday edition of Coffee House Shots, Cindy Yu is joined by The Spectator's political correspondent, James Heale, and Director of Kraken Strategy Ltd, and former Special Adviser, Salma Shah, to discuss the state of the Home Office. At the end of a tricky week of headlines for the department we ask: is the Home Office broken? Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Cindy Yu.

George Galloway has won a resounding victory in Rochdale, after a chaotic and messy by-election in which Labour was forced to disown its own candidate after he claimed Israel had allowed Hamas to attack on October 7th. Former Labour MP Galloway – standing for the Workers Party of Britain – won on a single issue campaign, criticising the Israel-Gaza war and in particular the response of Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak to the conflict. How bad is the result for Labour?Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and James Heale. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.