Coffee House Shots

There are only three hustings left in the Tory leadership race, after six weeks which have seen the party tear itself apart. What will fix the party? Is Jeremy Corbyn the solution? Max Jeffery speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.Produced by Max Jeffery.'Liz Truss is going to have a short window to give the good news of a tax cut. After that, I suspect it'll be bad, after bad, after bad.' – Fraser Nelson

The focus is on Liz Truss's planned emergency budget. Over the weekend it was revealed that she wouldn't consult the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) before announcing her plans. Could this backfire politically?  Also on the podcast, investment bank Citi have warned that inflation could hit 18 per cent come January: Were the Bank of England's projections too optimistic? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and Kate Andrews. Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson. 

Isabel Hardman discusses the latest A level results and the impact on university places, with Fraser Nelson and student Lella Halloum. What more can the government do?Produced by Matt Taylor.

The UK has been hit by another round of rail strikes today with rising inflation and falling wages a recipe for continued disruption in the public sector. Labour rebels such as Sam Tarry are fast becoming celebrities among the unions, could this leave Starmer in another predicament? Also on the podcast, as Liz Truss remains ahead in the leadership polls: is the special relationship safe in her hands? Natasha Feroze is joined by Fraser Nelson and Kate Andrews. Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson. 

It seems like Labour has a problem when it comes to the size of its membership. It lost 91,000 members last year and recorded a £4.8 million deficit. Is this the Keir Starmer effect on the Corbyn membership?Also on the podcast, Rishi Sunak has gone viral after sharing his McDonald's breakfast order on This Morning today. Katy Balls tells us why it was such a controversial choice. Cindy Yu speaks to Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls. Produced by Cindy Yu & Natasha Feroze.

The UK inflation rate is now at 10.1 per cent according to the Office for National Statistics. Is there much that the government can do to relieve its effects?Also on the podcast, the leadership contenders are in Belfast for the next hustings: how will the audience respond to the candidate's position on The Northern Ireland Protocol?Katy Balls is joined by Kate Andrews and Isabel Hardman.Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson.

New figures released this week show that wages have fallen significantly behind the rising cost of living. Are we yet to see the extent of the impacts of inflation? Should we brace ourselves for more disruption in the public sector? Also on the podcast, as Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss attend hustings in Scotland: which candidate is favoured the most north of the border? Katy Balls is joined by Kate Andrews and Isabel Hardman.Produced by Max Jeffery and Oscar Edmondson.

Keir Starmer has unveiled a £29 billion plan to freeze energy bills for six months. Under his proposals, the Labour leader said Brits would not face the enormous price hikes anticipated in October and January. But is his idea a serious one? Where would the money come from? And how have the Tories responded? Isabel Hardman speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.Produced by Max Jeffery.

Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth about why Sir Keir Starmer and his frontbench have been seemingly missing in action during the Tory leadership race and the ongoing cost of living crisis. 

'Profit is not a dirty word', Liz Truss said at last night's leadership hustings. The Foreign Secretary has made clear that she would prefer to cut taxes than take money from energy firms and give it directly to struggling Brits. But, if Truss makes it into No. 10, could she really reverse the windfall tax?Isabel Hardman speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.Produced by Max Jeffery.

Thirty thousand people waited 12 hours or more in A&E, new figures showed today – the highest number on record. The NHS usually runs into trouble during the cold winter weather, but it looks like the annual crisis has already arrived. Is there any solution? Max Jeffery speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.Produced by Max Jeffery. 

The Tory contenders are expected to announce their own measures to protect households and businesses from the energy crisis. Why has it taken this long? Labour too, is yet to reveal a strategy. Will they leave the Tories to fight amongst themselves?Also on the podcast, Nicola Sturgeon has made a comeback at Liz Truss who earlier in the month called the Scottish leader an attention seeker. At the Edinburgh fringe festival, she told the audience that Liz Truss once asked her how to be featured in Vogue. So who is the real attention seeker now? And will they ever see eye-to-eye if Truss gets into No.10?Isabel Hardman speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.Produced by Natasha Feroze.

Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss head to the Red Wall for hustings in Darlington this evening. Meanwhile, new figures released by Cornwall Insight on the extent of the energy price cap make for grim reading. Will Labour respond with their own package?Also on the podcast, as countries look to ensure domestic energy supply, What could this mean for the UK, as a net importer of energy?'In a crisis, borders want to reassert themselves. Any country is going to prioritise preventing black-outs over exporting power' - James ForsythFinally, it’s results day in Scotland, how do they compare to previous years? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman. Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson.

As the leadership contest refocuses on the economy, Katy and James discuss each camp's plan to deal with the cost of living crisis. Are both candidates being pushed towards the centre ground? Also, looking ahead to winter, does the UK have enough energy in storage to keep the lights on, and what is being done to prepare the NHS? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls. 

Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about the challenges facing the incoming Prime Minister, not least the dire forecast from the Bank of England predicting recession for 2023. 

The Bank of England's announcement to raise interest rates comes as the UK is predicted to fall into recession this year – with the lowest downturn expected since 2008. Are Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss ready for what's ahead?The two candidates went head-to-head once again last night in the Sky News studios. This time, the audience, made up of Conservative party members, grilled contenders and Kay Burley followed with some hard-hitting questions. By the end, most of the audience were persuaded by Rishi. Could the tide be turning?Katy Balls speaks to James Forysth.Produced by Natasha Feroze.

The Bank of England raised its rates by another half per cent today, as it warned that inflation will peak at 13 per cent by the end of this year. The question about the Bank of England's effectiveness arises again – should it have foreseen the inflationary crisis we are in now, and done more about it? Liz Truss has pledged to review the Bank's mandate. Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.Produced by Cindy Yu.

On today's podcast, Katy Balls and James Forsyth discuss a sticking point for Rishi Sunak as he meets the membership – that he led a 'coup' to overthrow Boris Johnson. Whilst travelling the country, can he persuade the membership otherwise?Also today, a new YouGov poll of Conservative members gives Liz Truss a 34-point lead ahead of Rishi Sunak. Is there enough time for him to turn the tide? How many Tory members have already made up their minds?And finally, is GCHQ at risk of being hacked? Cindy Yu is joined by James Forsyth and Katy Balls. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Liz Truss has U-turned on a public worker pay plan announced just last night – the idea being that pay would reflect the cost of living in regional areas. What made her backtrack on the announcement? And how damaging has this been to her campaign?'Any discussion of lowering pay right now is politically intolerable. Timing matters a lot here' - Kate Andrews.Also on the podcast, Kate and James discuss the political tensions behind 'fat cat' pay and windfall taxes on the day BP announce its largest profit in 14 years.Cindy Yu is joined by Kate Andrews and James Forsyth.Produced by Natasha Feroze.

This morning, Lisa Nandy defied party orders by joining a picket line in Wigan to support striking BT and Openreach staff. This comes after last week, Keir Starmer sacked Sam Tarry MP, who went on an unauthorised media round at an RMT picket line. Similarly, Labour’s biggest union, Unite, threatened to pull all funding from the party over the Labour leader's refusal to back strike action. Is Keir Starmer losing control over his party?Also on the podcast, what's the latest on the Liz Truss vs Rishi Sunak leadership contest?Max Jeffery is joined by Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth.Produced by Natasha Feroze.