Alex Salmond has been building his new Alba Party over the weekend. Two SNP MPs have defected to the former party leader's side - is he helping further the cause of Scottish independence? Cindy Yu speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

Will Covid restrictions really end in June?

Mar 25th, 2021 14m 4s

Today Matt Hancock refused to rule out not bringing the government's Covid emergency powers back for another renewal vote in September, while the Prime Minister has been firefighting his comments from yesterday about pubs and vaccine passports.

Should Britain engage in vaccine diplomacy?

Mar 20th, 2021 23m 27s

America has belatedly joined the vaccine diplomacy arena, the progress of which by Russia and China has been covered by The Spectator. On this episode of Saturday's Coffee House Shots, Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls, James Forsyth, Kate Andrews a

What's next in the David Cameron scandal?

Apr 12th, 2021 11m 13s

David Cameron finally issued a statement over the weekend on the ongoing Greensill scandal. Gordon Brown also waded in this morning, telling the Today programme that there should be a five-year cooling-off period before former PMs can lobby. Wi

Does 'BAME' still make sense?

Mar 31st, 2021 15m 59s

Today's report from the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has made waves for its rejection of the existence of 'structural racism' in the UK, and recommendation to stop using the label 'BAME' when it comes to describing minority experie

What should the government do about China's sanctions?

Mar 26th, 2021 12m 49s

China has sanctioned nine Brits and four British entities in retaliation to sanctions imposed by the West earlier this week. What should the government do about this? Katy Balls talks to Cindy Yu and James Forsyth about the next moves.

Can Humza Yousaf hang on?

17 hours ago 11m 19s

Humza Yousaf faces the biggest crisis of his leadership to date – with his fate in the hands of former SNP leadership rival Ash Regan. Will Humza step down before he is pushed? Or is there a narrow gap through which the First Minister can fight

Is this the beginning of the end for Humza Yousaf?

1 day ago 14m 37s

After two and a half years in government together, Humza Yousaf has terminated the SNP’s governing pact with the Scottish Greens. The decision was rubber stamped at a hastily arranged meeting of the Scottish cabinet on Thursday morning. It pree

Has Angela Rayner redeemed herself?

2 days ago 9m 28s

With Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer away, Oliver Dowden and Angela Rayner stepped in for PMQs today. Questions quickly turned to the long running row about Rayner's tax affairs. Did she redeem herself? Also, the prime minister has announced f

Sunak’s Rwanda Bill finally passes parliament

4 days ago 12m 46s

After eight hours of debate on the Rwanda Bill, peers finally threw in the towel shortly after midnight. And with that, the Rwanda Bill became law, pending Royal Assent from the King. The two chambers have been engaged in a mammoth game of ping

Will there be a summer election?

5 days ago 11m 58s

This morning Rishi Sunak delivered a press conference making the case that the Rwanda Bill should become law today – and the government is ready for when it does. James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson about what could be an all-nig

Can things get worse for the SNP?

7 days ago 15m 39s

It's been quite the week for the SNP. Questions remain over the future of the Sandyford gender clinic, 'the tartan Tavistock'; the Scottish government ditched its flagship climate change target; and former party chief executive, and husband of

Sunak declares a crackdown on Britain’s ‘sick note culture’

8 days ago 9m 14s

Rishi Sunak has returned to one of his pet bugbears: getting the unemployed back into work. His speech to the Centre for Social Justice this morning was peppered with his favourite facts about the post-pandemic welfare crisis embroiling Britain

Is it smart to ban phones for teens?

9 days ago 10m 56s

Sunak's top team is considering another ban: smartphones for teens. A consultation is due to begin this month that will question whether children need a smartphone, and if social media should require age verification. Could the debate bring the

Sunak's Truss problem

9 days ago 11m 10s

The day after her book was published, Rishi Sunak faced down questions from Keir Starmer and Labour members at PMQs about Liz Truss. While he had his replies at the ready, the questions underscored the main issue for Sunak: how should he deal w

How many MPs will reject Sunak’s smoking ban?

11 days ago 14m 25s

It’s not just Britain that has a growth problem. Today’s release of the IMF’s April 2024 World Economic Outlook report argues that the global economy is following the lacklustre trend. Within this bleak picture, how does the UK look compared to

Liz Truss returns - again

12 days ago 13m 30s

It's 18 months since Liz Truss left Downing Street and her new memoir, Ten Years to Save the West, is out. She gave her first interview to Fraser Nelson on Spectator TV, covering why she wants to abolish the Supreme Court, Donald Trump, her hus

Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 14/04/24

12 days ago 7m 53s

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning’s political shows.After Iran’s first direct attack on Israel, conflict in the Middle East has reached a dangerous new phase. Health Secretary Victoria Atkins confirms British military pla

Harold Wilson's secret Downing Street affair

14 days ago 9m 40s

On this special Saturday edition of Coffee House Shots we discuss Patrick Maguire's scoop this week about former Labour leader Harold Wilson's secret affair with his deputy press secretary. Where does this rank in the history of parliamentary a

Is Angela Rayner unsackable?

15 days ago 13m 28s

The row over Angela Rayner's tax affairs has deepened today. This morning, Greater Manchester police have announced that – following a reassessment of the case – they will open a formal investigation into Angela Rayner. What does this mean for

Has Rishi Sunak failed on the NHS?

15 days ago 12m 34s

One of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's five promises is to cut NHS waiting lists. However, even he's admitted progress is slow, with new data showing key targets on waiting lists have been missed. Can Sunak ever solve the NHS problem? Elsewhere,

Has Rishi Sunak failed on the NHS?

15 days ago 12m 34s

What are the conclusions of the Cass Review?

17 days ago 11m 36s

Today we have had the Cass Review, a landmark report into gender services for children in England, authored by paediatrician Hilary Cass. She concludes that medical interventions were being made on the basis of 'remarkably weak' evidence and th

Will David Cameron win over Republicans?

18 days ago 11m 50s

David Cameron is stateside meeting Republicans and Democrats as the Foreign Secretary tries to muster up support for the US to send aid to Ukraine. Before that he stopped by Mar-a-Lago to meet Donald Trump – the two haven't seen eye-to-eye in t

How much trouble is Angela Rayner in?

19 days ago 9m 30s

Angela Rayner has faced fresh allegations related to her taxes. Keir Starmer and other MPs in the shadow cabinet have come to her defence. Could these accusations jeopardise her position as shadow deputy Prime Minister? Also on the podcast, wha