• Local elections briefing: what you need to know as Reform sweeps the country
    May 8 2026

    It’s results day, and Nigel Farage is the local elections winner – again. A wave of teal has swept the country, stealing Labour seats from Hartlepool to Havering.

    This election was sold by insurgent parties as a referendum on Keir Starmer and the story of Labour’s election so far is that they’re haemorrhaging votes on all sides – including to the Tories in Westminster. So what can we interpret so far? Will Starmer get the message and will the herd move against him?

    Michael Gove speaks to Tim Shipman, James Heale and Charlotte Pickles, chief executive of thinktank Re:State, at this morning’s Coffee House Shots breakfast briefing.

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    33 mins
  • The greatest political books ever: how many have you read?
    May 7 2026

    It’s polling day! Tim and James take the opportunity to go through their favourite political books ever, fiction and non-fiction. They discuss the books that have shaped their understanding of politics and make the case for the top spot.


    Is your favourite on the list? Have you read their number one? And which rankings would you dispute? They discuss with Megan McElroy.


    If you enjoy Coffee House Shots, you can join Tim Shipman and James Heale live as the election results roll in. Will Starmer survive the night? Are Reform and the Greens about to redraw the political map? And what happens next? Along with a panel of familiar faces and special guests, get the only analysis you’ll need as the political fallout begins. Watch live on Friday at 3 p.m. here, and tap the bell now to be notified in advance.

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    38 mins
  • Are the Greens repeating Corbyn's mistakes?
    May 6 2026

    As voters prepare to go to the polls in a set of local elections that could redraw the political map, we examine the ‘outsiders’ on today’s episode – starting with the Greens. After Zack Polanski’s grilling on the Today programme, are the Greens facing the same scrutiny that once engulfed Labour under Jeremy Corbyn?


    Also on the podcast: Tim writes a letter to Britain’s aspiring prime ministers. What does Keir Starmer still lack? Does Andy Burnham have a plan beyond Manchesterism? And why do so many politicians seem to hate politics?


    Noa Hoffman discusses with Tim Shipman and James Heale.


    If you enjoy Coffee House Shots, you can join Tim Shipman and James Heale live as the election results roll in. Will Starmer survive the night? Are Reform and the Greens about to redraw the political map? And what happens next? Along with a panel of familiar faces and special guests, get the only analysis you’ll need as the political fallout begins. Watch live on Friday at 3 p.m. here, and tap the bell now to be notified in advance.

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    18 mins
  • Who will survive the local elections?
    May 5 2026

    The local elections are nearly upon us. Political editor Tim Shipman and deputy political editor James Heale bring you the one-stop shop podcast with everything you need to know ahead of the day. What could happen to Keir Starmer, what will a really bad day look like for Labour, and is the political map about to be redrawn?



    If you enjoy Coffee House Shots, you can join Tim Shipman and James Heale live as the election results roll in. Will Starmer survive the night? Are Reform and the Greens about to redraw the political map? And what happens next? Along with a panel of familiar faces and special guests, get the only analysis you’ll need as the political fallout begins. Watch live on Friday at 3 p.m. here, and tap the bell now to be notified in advance.



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    12 mins
  • Isabel Hardman's Sunday Roundup - 03/05/2026
    May 3 2026

    Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.


    Politicians react to potential bans on Palestine marches, in the wake of the Golders Green stabbings.

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    14 mins
  • LIVE: The Fight for the Right | Nick Timothy & Claire Coutinho vs Danny Kruger & Matt Goodwin
    May 1 2026

    The Conservative party was once the natural political home for those on the right. No longer. The Tories’ vote share collapsed at the 2024 general election and the party, under new leadership, has since been outflanked by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.

    Earlier this week, The Spectator pitted the Conservatives, represented by Nick Timothy and Claire Coutinho, against Reform UK, represented by Matt Goodwin and Danny Kruger, for the definitive debate on which party truly represents the future of the right. Listen to an excerpt of that debate here, and for more The Spectator events go to spectator.com/events

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    28 mins
  • Why did the assisted dying bill fail? | Lord Moore vs Lord Falconer
    Apr 30 2026

    The assisted dying bill has stalled in the House of Lords – but is it dead, or merely delayed?

    After weeks of fraught debate, multiple amendments and accusations of filibuster, supporters of the bill are considering whether it could return to the Commons – and whether the Parliament Act might ultimately be used to force it through. Lord Falconer, who has long championed assisted dying, argues that a small group of peers used procedure to block the will of the elected House. Lord Moore disagrees, warning that the bill was deeply flawed, that the Lords was simply doing its job of scrutiny, and that using the Parliament Act on a matter of conscience would be ‘horrendously divisive’.

    In this special Coffee House Shots conversation, Charles Moore and Charlie Falconer debate where the bill went wrong, whether the Lords overreached, and whether assisted dying can ever be safely introduced into the NHS.

    Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Patrick Gibbons.

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    33 mins
  • The end of the peer show
    Apr 30 2026

    Hereditary peers have left their red leather benches for the final time. The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act became law earlier this year, which removes all hereditary peers' right to speak and vote in Parliament by virtue of their family ties. Critics have described their role as indefensible, but others accuse Labour of political point-scoring and vandalising the upper house – removing a 'living part of Britain's constitutional inheritance'.


    James Heale and Megan McElroy discuss – joined by Lord Strathclyde and Lord Courtenay.

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    17 mins