Coffee House Shots

Today a pre-briefing on what Boris Johnson plans to say to the Cabinet about the cost of living crisis was released. He wants them to brainstorm ideas to ease the pain felt by the British public in the face of rising prices of food and energy. The catch, is these have to be non-fiscal ways. Isabel Hardman talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth about how effective these plans could be and how they may be received by the voters.To keep up to date with the world of Westminster, sign up for unrivalled insight and analysis with Isabel Hardman’s Evening Blend newsletter, delivered to your inbox every weekday evening. Sign up at www.spectator.co.uk/evening-blend

French President, Emmanuel Macron secured victory over the weekend. But with the election over, will we see a reset in relations between the UK and France? Apart from support for Ukraine, there has been little the governments on either side of the Channel have agreed on. Katy Balls is joined by Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth to test the temperature of these turbulent political waters, as well as giving a look forward to our own local elections in May.

Isabel Hardman rounds up the highlights from Sunday's political shows, with Sir Keir Starmer, Oliver Dowden and Jamie Wallis.

At the beginning of the year, letters from Conservative MPs looked to be reaching the 54 threshold needed to trigger a no-confidence vote in Boris Johnson. Most would think a fixed penalty notice from the Met would bring us at least back to those levels. And though there have been some full-throated calls of support and condemnation of his leadership from his parliamentary party, the majority have remained conspicuously quiet. James Forsyth asks Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson why?

Boris Johnson has met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to discuss defence, energy and trade ties. Will he be able to secure a trade deal with India?Meanwhile back at home, Boris Johnson faces an investigation by the Commons Committee of Privileges over claims he misled Parliament on partygate.All to be discussed as Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson

The government's response to Labour wanting to refer the Prime Minister to the Privileges Committee – who could then rule that he mislead the Commons – has been messy. At first, Conservative MPs were to be forced to vote with the government against the motion, but No. 10 then changed its position, saying it would be a free vote. Why the U-turn?Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

Tomorrow there will be a vote in the Commons where Labour is pushing for an investigation into whether Boris Johnson is in contempt of Parliament over his comments on partygate. Which way will the Tory MPs vote?'Tory MPs are sick to the back teeth of partygate now' - James Forsyth.All to be discussed as Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson.

Boris Johnson faced MPs today for the first time since he was issued a fine for breaking lockdown rules. He apologised in the Commons, but maintained that he did not know he was breaking any rules at the time. Is that enough?Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth.

Cindy Yu, Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls discuss the Prime Minister's remarkable ability to keep his head above the surface of even the choppiest waters. 

This week the government has announced a pilot scheme meant to address the increasing number of asylum seekers dangerously crossing the English Channel. While some have criticised this plan as expensive and immoral it could prove to be popular among large swathes of Conservative voters.Cindy Yu talks with Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls about this new policy as well as giving us a partygate update.

After the news of the fixed penalty notices, Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson and Rishi Sunak paid their fines and issued a public apology. For Boris, the reaction has been surprisingly positive compared to the beginning of the year. The majority of cabinet ministers have come out in support of the Prime Minister, but there are still some voices of discontent. Nigel Mills was the first Tory MP to announce he no longer has faith in the Prime Minister and thinks he should resign, who will be next?All to be discussed as Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and Professor Sir John Curtice, a political scientist currently the professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, and senior research fellow at NetCen Social Research and the ESRC’s ‘The UK in a Changing Europe’ initiative.

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have been told that they are going to be fixed penalty notices by the Metropolitan Police over parties held in Downing Street. The Chancellor has already had a tough week – might he now resign? Could Tory MPs push the Prime Minister out of No. 10? Isabel Hardman speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.

Crispin Blunt, a Conservative MP, was forced to apologise today after he tweeted support last night for Imran Ahmad Khan, another Tory MP who was found guilty of sexual assault. His statement called the verdict 'a dreadful miscarriage of justice' that relied on ‘lazy tropes of LGBT+ people'. ‘The condemnation has been pretty universal. I haven’t spoken to anyone that has who has stuck up for him [Crispin Blunt].’ - Lucy FisherIn the wake of the David Warburton scandal last week, does the Conservative party have a more widespread culture problem?Also on the podcast, 50 more fines have been made for partying in Westminster during the lockdown. How serious is this?Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and Lucy Fisher, the chief political commentator at Times Radio. 

Rishi Sunak has referred himself to Boris Johnson’s ethics advisor to investigate whether he followed the rules on ministers' interests. After the row over Rishi Sunak’s wife’s tax status has built up, how much has this weakened his position as a possible contender for the Tory leadership?‘The two top players in the Tory Party have suddenly been taken out and it's now not clear who else there is in the government that can provide new momentum' - Paul GoodmanAlso on the podcast, Boris Johnson made a surprise visit to Volodymyr Zelensky in Ukraine over the weekend? Could this be what saves his reputation from Partygate?Isabel Hardman is joined by Katy Balls and Paul Goodman, Editor of ConservativeHome.

Isabel Hardman presents the highlights from Sunday's politics shows. Today's podcast features Kit Malthouse, Yvette Cooper, Caroline Lucas and Ihor Zhovkva. 

Ahead of the first round of France's presidential elections on Sunday, Katy Balls asks whether Emmanuel Macron will be able to justify his apparent distance from the campaign trail. Taking part in the discussion with Katy Balls are Spectator contributor Jonathan Miller, Georgina Wright, from Institute Montaigne, and The Spectator's data journalist Michael Simmons.

The Rishi Sunak star seems to be falling further every day. The latest revelation is that he and his wife, Akshata Murthy held American green cards for some time while Rishi was Chancellor. The response from his crisis coms team has been muddled at best. Is there any way for the former golden boy to restore his shine?Cindy Yu talks with Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls.

The government is publishing its long-awaited energy security strategy today, but Labour has criticised it for the strategy's lack of action on onshore wind, among other concerns. Has Boris wrongly buckled to backbenchers on a policy that would have been efficient and popular? Cindy Yu speaks to Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman. Isabel argues that 'the failure of the Conservative government over the past - it's been more than a decade now - to address Britain's supply needs has come home to roost now'.They also discuss the new revelations that Rishi Sunak's wife, Akshata Murthy, holds non-domicile status, which means she doesn't pay UK taxes. Katy points out that there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing, but nevertheless that 'this story is going to roll on, as people try to work out how much tax have they effectively saved? And I think pressure will grow on that'.

The National Insurance hike comes into effect today which is going to hit doubly hard when coupled with the ever-increasing cost of living. While we are all going to feel this burden on our bank accounts, Rishi Sunak is taking his first major political blow. Is there anything he can do to bounce back, or are his future aspirations dead in the water?Max Jeffery talks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews about the Chancellor's political future and our economic one. 

There has been a wave of backlash against the government's announcement that it intends to privatise Channel 4. What's behind their decision? Some argue it could be politically motivated given that Channel 4 has historically been a left-leaning news organisation. Also on the podcast, Iain Anderson has resigned as the UK's LQBTQ business champion over the government's u-turn on trans conversation therapy. He said the decision to exclude trans people from the conversion therapy ban was 'deeply damaging'. All to be discussed as Cindy Yu talks to Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls.