Coffee House Shots

British troops have been deployed to the Polish border as part of a ‘reconnaissance’ mission, as Poland tries to stop migrants crossing from Belarus. Belarus’s president, Alexander Lukashenko, backed by Russia, is flying Syrian, Iraqi and Yemeni citizens into his country and encouraging them to cross the border into Poland. As the United States turns away from Europe and the Middle East and towards Asia, does Britain think it can to take its place?Meanwhile, Britain is having its own migrant crisis, with 1,185 people crossing the English Channel by boat yesterday – a record number. It brings the number of people crossing the Channel this year to more than 23,000, three times higher than the total last year. Why can’t the government get a grip on this? Max Jeffery speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the government abandoned plans to overhaul the Commons standards rules, Rishi Sunak has said the government needs to 'do better'. Will the PM show some contrition soon? Max Jeffery talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.On the podcast, James Forsyth says: 'He really doesn't like apologies, never has done. So when he doesn't apologise he gives the story legs.'Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucher And stay on top of all the day's news with our Evening Blend Newsletter:www.spectator.co.uk/blend Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Boris Johnson today has said that Britain is not a corrupt country, but what does it mean that he felt the need to say that? On today's Coffee House Shots, Fraser Nelson points out that there is no clear firebreak to the present string of sleaze stories; and James Forsyth estimates that around a quarter of MPs have some kind of external earnings. So what more will come out of the woodworks? Cindy Yu talks to Fraser, James and Katy Balls.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Owen Paterson affair has is shining a light on the extra cash  MPs earn on top of their £80,000 salary. One MP, Geoffrey Cox, earned nearly £1 million from outside legal work. But is there an argument to be made for allowing elected officials to receive a second income? Max Jeffery is joined by Katy Balls and James Forsyth.On the podcast, James says: 'On principle, I think MPs continuing to earn money from their former professions or former trades is acceptable. They're not trading on the fact that they are an MP.' Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucher And stay on top of all the day's news with our Evening Blend Newsletter:www.spectator.co.uk/blend Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the weekend most media tore into the Owen Paterson affair, with a lot of talk about MPs' second jobs like those of Geoffrey Cox... ‘I think if you go down this route of essentially banning all these outside interests, we’re going to end up with far more people of inherited wealth in the House of Commons, who don’t need to earn any other money, and I think you will lose some knowledge and expertise.’ - James Forsyth ...How Conservatives pick their peers, and even Lords reform. But how did it come to this? Who should have told Boris that last week's actions and reactions were bad politics? 'I know some MPs who think the way that they voted last week will be held against them at the next election. They can imagine Labour running an anti-sleaze ticket.' - Fraser NelsonKaty Balls gets into all the Westminster details with Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucher And stay on top of all the day's news with our Evening Blend Newsletter:www.spectator.co.uk/blend Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Isabel Hardman takes you through the highlights from Sunday's interview shows, with Sir Keir Starmer, Thangam Debbonaire, George Eustice and Dr Susan Hopkins. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fraser Nelson talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about how MPs should clean up their act in the wake of Parliament's latest lobbying scandal. Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Owen Paterson has resigned as an MP after being embroiled in a lobbying row. Allies of the Prime Minister have blamed the Chief Whip, Mark Spencer, for the fiasco, while other Tory MPs are fuming at the Prime Minister's miscalculation. How did Boris not realise the potential backlash? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.On the podcast, James says: 'It was really obvious how the press, the public, the opposition, were going to react to the Tory party trying to upend the standards rules and stay a guilty verdict against one of their own MPs. This is not an unexpected reaction to that kind of action.'The team also talk about the resignation of Yorkshire Cricket Club Chairman Roger Hutton, who quit after the club's board refused to accept racism allegations from former player Azeem Rafiq. Isabel says: 'There's a cut-through between politics and cricket here. You have these cultures of people who are not prepared to have their behaviour questioned, who are not prepared to have their institution questioned.'If you enjoy the episode, and want more political analysis from The Spectator, subscribe to Isabel Hardman's Evening Blend newsletter: https://www.spectator.co.uk/blendBecome a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Owen Paterson story continues today with the government u-turning quicker than expected. This came after realising that allowing Tory MPs to mark their own homework by scrapping the standards committee might cause more outrage than they first thought. Leaving them now in a situation described by James Forsyth as, 'an infinitely worse position for absolutely everyone involved.'James is joined by Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls to discuss this, self-inflicted, political nightmare. Subscribe to The Spectator today and get a £20 Amazon gift voucher:www.spectator.co.uk/voucher Ready Katy's blogs on the Paterson affair here:https://www.spectator.co.uk/coffee-houseAnd stay on top of all the day's news with our Evening Blend Newsletter:www.spectator.co.uk/blend Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The row over Owen Paterson has come to a head today as the amendment to lift his suspension - tabled by fellow Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom and backed by the government - has upset many sides. Labour and the SNP are going in hard on accusations of Tory sleaze, with a real possibility of this spreading further than the Westminster bubble; while some Tory MPs who were whipped to vote in favour of the amendment are disgruntled at the position the government put them in. So what will be the impact of today's vote? Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.Sign up to the Evening Blend email - a free daily round up of analysis and news from Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls - at www.spectator.co.uk/blend.Become a Spectator subscriber today to access this podcast without adverts. Go to spectator.co.uk/adfree to find out more.For more Spectator podcasts, go to spectator.co.uk/podcasts.Contact us: podcast@spectator.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.