Coffee House Shots

This afternoon we had Liz Kendall’s long-awaited address in the Commons on Labour’s plans for welfare reform. The prospect of £5 billion worth of cuts to welfare has split the party in two, with fears of a rebellion growing over the weekend and into this week.Her announcement was a mixed bag, including: restricting eligibility for the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) so that only those who have the highest level of disability can claim the benefit and – to sweeten the deal for backbenchers – announcing that the government will not bring in vouchers for disability benefit or freeze PIP. One of the new lines that had not been trailed in advance was that under 22s would not be eligible for the health top-up of Universal Credit (UC). What’s the politics of all this? Will Labour MPs stomach Liz Kendall’s benefits crackdown?Katy Balls speaks to The Spectator's new economics editor Michael Simmons and Stephen Bush, associate editor at the Financial Times.Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Cindy Yu. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bridget Phillipson's schools bill is back in the Commons today. The scope of the legislation is twofold: firstly, looking at the welfare of children in schools and secondly at fundamentally changing the landscape of secondary education by doing away with academies (and with it the legacy of the previous Conservative government on education). The plan has been read by many – including former head of Ofsted Amanda Spielman, who joins today's podcast – as Labour pandering to the unions and perhaps even prioritising the adults (union members) over the children.Amendments to the bill will be debated this afternoon, including a Tory amendment that would ban phones in schools, although it doesn't seem that Labour is in the mood to make any concessions. What is motivating Labour? What's the vision of change here?James Heale speaks to Michael Gove and Amanda Spielman.Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Megan McElroy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.NHS England will be demolished as Labour make sweeping changes to the NHS, and cuts are coming to welfare too, with Health Secretary Streeting saying mental health disorders are 'over-diagnosed'. Plus, Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott wants phones banned from all schools, and Finland President Alexander Stubb says Putin does not want a ceasefire. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slashing the winter fuel allowance, maintaining the two child benefit cap, cutting international aid, cutting the civil service, axing NHS bureaucracy, possibly slashing welfare expenditure... you'd be forgiven for thinking the Conservatives were in power. But no, these are all policies pursued by the current Labour government. So on today's Saturday Shots Cindy Yu asks Michael Gove and James Heale, is Keir Starmer a Tory?While Michael admits to giving Starmer a 'painful' two cheers, he does say there is historic precedent for Labour governments enacting right-leaning measures: from Jim Callaghan's migration policies to the economic ones of Ramsay MacDonald. How has Starmer got away with it? And what does his premiership of pragmatism tell us about the future direction of Labour?Michael sets out a number of tests to judge Starmer's success by: the tests of Fraser Nelson, Robert Jenrick, Ernie Bevin, Denis Healey and Bob Mellish... Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Cindy Yu. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics show the UK economy unexpectedly shrunk by 0.1% in January. This comes only a few weeks after the Chancellor's pro-growth speech, and a fortnight ahead of her Spring Statement. Just how much pressure is Rachel Reeves under? And how likely is it that Labour will change their approach?Economics editor Michael Simmons and deputy political editor James Heale join Patrick Gibbons to discuss, as well as a look ahead to next week's expected announcement on reducing the welfare bill.Produced by Patrick Gibbons. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Michael Gove, a former UK government minister, joins the discussion to unpack Labour's surprising plan to abolish NHS England. He delves into how this move aims to cut red tape and redirect funds to frontline services. Gove highlights the potential reform's transformative nature and its implications for accountability in healthcare. He also cautions about the need for a balance in state responsibilities to avoid the pitfalls seen in other countries. Expect a lively debate on whether Labour is truly achieving the reforms the Tories only dreamed of.

Nicola Sturgeon has announced her intention to step down at the next Scottish Parliament election in May 2026. One of the original MSPs elected to Holyrood in 1999, Sturgeon has dominated Scottish and UK politics over the past two decades. The Salmond-Sturgeon era began in 2004 and she went on to serve as First Minister for the best part of a decade.Stewart McDonald, former SNP MP for Glasgow South 2015-24, and Lucy Dunn join James Heale on this special Coffee House Scots to discuss Sturgeon's legacy. She brought Scotland the closest to independence for 300 years, yet resigned in 2023 under a cloud over party management. Attention turns to next year's election, could the SNP's winning streak continue without her?Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Natasha Feroze.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last night there was a huge breakthrough in Ukraine peace talks, with Zelensky accepting a US proposal for a ceasefire and placing ‘the ball in Putin’s court’, according to Marco Rubio. While getting Zelensky to accept is a huge diplomatic win, the proposal hinges on Putin agree to the terms of the ceasefire – which will last for 30 days but can be extended by mutual agreement. ‘I’ll talk to Vladimir Putin. It takes two to tango,’ said Donald Trump. Can Putin afford to reject the deal? And could this be the basis for a lasting peace?Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has been getting a lot of credit for his role in the Ukraine peace process and the perception that he has stepped up to meet the crisis. How instrumental was the UK in bringing about the ceasefire, or is this Trump’s deal? And how does the news that the UK won’t get an exemption from the president’s 25 per cent tariffs on steel undermine the US–UK relationship?Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and Mark Galeotti, head of the Mayak Intelligence consultancy.Produced by Oscar Edmondson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is a row on the horizon over welfare cuts. Yesterday’s meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) was packed, with many lobby journalists expecting fireworks. The Prime Minister got a positive reaction for his message on Ukraine, with MPs impressed by his strong response since Trump took office, but there was some scepticism in the room about his plan to make £6 billion in welfare cuts.This is a difficult topic that cuts to the heart of the Labour Party and its position as the party of welfare – about 80 Labour MPs are said to oppose the government’s proposals. Can Keir Starmer weather the storm?James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and John McTernan, former political adviser to Tony Blair.Produced by Oscar Edmondson. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Loyal listeners will remember that just three months ago we released a podcast asking: Is 2025 Farage’s year? The answer was ‘yes’, provided Reform UK can keep their five MPs in line... As predicted – and despite all the talk of professionalisation – Nigel Farage’s latest political outfit is following the pattern of the parties that came before: infighting. On Friday night, the Reform party stripped Rupert Lowe of the whip after referring him to the police. Lowe stands accused of workplace bullying and threatening behaviour towards party chair Zia Yusuf. These are allegations that he strongly denies, calling the whole affair a ‘witch hunt’. How long has there been tension between Lowe and the party leadership? Can Reform recover from losing 20 per cent of their presence in the Commons?James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Gawain Towler, former head of communications for Reform.Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Megan McElroy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.