Uk politics

Following a weekend at the Munich Security Conference, there have been reports that the Prime Minister is set to sign off on a huge increase in defence spending. While this comes at a time of increasing threats to Britain, it isn’t just the UK’s position that’s under threat but Keir Starmer himself – who continues to face questions about his leadership. Defence secretary John Healey has been talked about as a potential ‘unity’ candidate between the left and right flanks of the Labour party. But Labour’s internal problems continue to grow, with reports that journalist – and friend of Coffee House Shots – Gabriel Pogrund was the subject of a

James Macintyre joins James Heale to discuss his new biography of former Prime Minister Gordon Brown: Power With Purpose. While the book has been years in the making, little did James know that it would end up published at the same time that its themes and subjects could never be more relevant. James tells our deputy political editor about the relationship between Brown and Blair, what the Labour leader makes of Keir Starmer’s problems today and his reflections – with hindsight – about bringing the now-disgraced Peter Mandelson back into government in 2008. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

After a dramatic day in Westminster, the threat to Starmer appears to have receded – at least in the short term. But with the Gorton and Denton by-election less than three weeks away, (more) trouble could be on the horizon. Luke Tryl – from pollsters More in Common – and James Heale join Patrick Gibbons to discuss. Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

James Heale, Tim Shipman and Oscar Edmondson discuss the continuing fallout over the Mandelson scandal. The mood amongst Labour MPs is pretty dire – following a bruising PMQs and a government climbdown over the release of Mandelson’s vetting files – but is it bad enough for Labour MPs to challenge Starmer? And could his chief of staff – and close Mandelson ally – Morgan McSweeney be in the firing line? How long ago the decision to block Andy Burnham seems now…

With the Conservatives on watch for further defectors, academic Richard Johnson and Conservative peer Danny Finkelstein join James Heale to discuss whether British politics rewards traitors or faithfuls. Richard points out that often personal success is dependent on whether the party goes on to be a major or minor player in British politics; Winston Churchill and Shaun Woodward fared better, while Shirley Williams and Mark Reckless had less success. Danny – whose political career began with the SDP in the 1980s – also takes us through his personal experience and the challenges of defecting, from ideology and demography to the perception of betrayal. How fundamental is the shift taking place

China’s controversial ‘super embassy’ has been approved, after years of debate over the security risks. Campaigners had called on ministers not to give the site the green light, given its proximity to important internet cables that support the City of London. MI5 have admitted they can’t ‘wholly eliminate’ the national security risks around the site. Megan McElroy is joined by James Heale and Sophia Gaston, research fellow at King’s College London, to discuss. There’s more international chaos for Keir Starmer too – overnight, Donald Trump described plans to hand over the sovereignty of the Chagos islands as ‘an act of great stupidity.’ Where on earth does this leave the special

As Ed Davey condemned Donald Trump’s military manoeuvres abroad, Annabel Denham looked on and asked ‘what’s the point of the Liberal Democrats?’. Thinking about the Lib Dem’s longstanding europhile stance, the senior political correspondent at the Telegraph wrote: ‘the party that once stood on a tradition of civil liberties now wants us to rejoin a bloc which regulates everything’. Calum Miller MP – foreign affairs spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats – joins Annabel and deputy political editor James Heale to address Annabel’s challenge that the party is defined more by opposition the other parties than by their own policies. So, from localism and the UK’s place in the world to

The leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Russell Findlay MSP, sits down with James Heale to look ahead to May’s pivotal Holyrood elections. He pushes back against the threat from Reform, arguing that Nigel Farage is trying to be ‘all things to all people’, and he is scathing about the lack of loyalty shown by those who have defected from the party – not just to Reform, but to the Liberal Democrats too. But with the collapse of the support Labour received in the 2024 general election – which Findlay calls their ‘loveless landslide’ – why aren’t the Tories benefitting more? Plus, how did being the victim of a vicious acid