Noa Hoffman

Last night, candidates from the five main parties in Makerfield came together for a special episode of Question Time. With four non-politicians taking on Andy Burnham, who came out on top? Tim Shipman, James Heale and Noa Hoffman digest the debate, assess Burnham’s performance, and discuss the main newsline – one that sent less than enormous shockwaves through Westminster: Burnham confirming that he would run in a Labour leadership contest.

More than 600,000 16 to 24-year-olds are neither in work nor looking for a job. Youth worklessness is now costing Britain £125 billion a year – almost double the country’s entire defence budget. Those are the findings of Alan Milburn’s new review into youth worklessness, who warns that the UK is facing an ‘urgent national crisis’. But is it already too late? Noa Hoffman is joined by James Heale and Michael Simmons to discuss.

Andy Burnham has officially launched his campaign today to be MP for Makerfield (read: Prime Minister). But what does he actually stand for? We’ve had briefings that, despite being the candidate of the soft left, he will stick to Rachel Reeves’s fiscal rules and keep Shabana Mahmood’s immigration reforms. He’s flirted with nationalisation of utilities, but which exactly? What’s the big pitch? Burnham’s launch comes the day after some good news for the government, after net migration hit its lowest level since the pandemic. The number of people moving to Britain dropped to 171,000 in the 12 months to December, nearly half the figure recorded the year before. So why isn’t the government shouting about it? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Michael Simmons and Noa Hoffman.

After a turbulent few weeks, Westminster is in limbo. Keir Starmer appears safe – for now – after Wes Streeting’s underwhelming resignation speech, and all eyes are turning to the Makerfield by-election on 18 June. Until then, the drama seems to have temporarily gone out of Labour’s leadership turmoil. Isabel Hardman and Noa Hoffman join Megan McElroy to discuss Starmer’s ‘pompous’ tone at PMQs, what is really going on with Wes Streeting, and the Essex icon causing a storm on Twitter and inside the Department for Education.

Andy Burnham’s campaign for Makerfield is already gathering pace, complete with Oasis soundtrack to a new campaign video. But as Labour’s would-be challenger tries to pitch himself as the man to replace Keir Starmer, questions remain over his economic credibility. Michael Simmons and Tim Shipman join Noa Hoffman to Burnham, the bond markets, and if Starmer can really dig in if Burnham wins the by-election.

This week: William Moore is joined by The Spectator’s political correspondent Noa Hoffman, Telegraph columnist and Planet Normal co-host Liam Halligan, and The Spectator’s real life columnist Melissa Kite.They unpack Tim Shipman and Noa Hoffman’s cover piece on the mounting coup against Keir Starmer. As Wes Streeting makes his move, Ed Miliband waits in the wings and Andy Burnham’s allies search for a route back to Westminster, is Labour now openly preparing for life after Starmer?Also this week: Britain’s mounting economic crisis. Liam warns that the government is running out of road with the bond markets. Could a turn to the left push Britain towards a full-blown fiscal reckoning?Plus: the death of the traditional B&B.

After days of deliberation, Wes Streeting has finally quit Keir Starmer’s government. At the stroke of 1 p.m., the Ilford MP resigned as Health Secretary in a two-page letter that laid out his differences with the Prime Minister. He details, at length, the results the pair have achieved in government and says they offer ‘good reasons for me to remain in post’. But: ‘As you know from our conversation earlier this week, having lost confidence in your leadership, I have concluded that it would be dishonourable and unprincipled to do so.’ So there we go – the starting gun has been fired on the Labour leadership race... or has it? Noa Hoffman, James Heale and Tim Shipman discuss how this carefully worded resignation leaves the door open for Andy Burnham.

In this special edition of Coffee House Shorts, Noa Hoffman is joined by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Home Office minister Mike Tapp. On a day of high drama in Westminster, with Wes Streeting widely expected to challenge Keir Starmer for the leadership tomorrow, Mike sets out exactly why he’s sticking with the Prime Minister for the sake of stability. However, he does make the concession that waiting in the wings is a particularly impressive former military man, Al Carns, who – in the absence of Keir Starmer – might well be what the country is looking for. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

The Prime Minister is digging his heels in. Keir Starmer has told his cabinet that he is not going anywhere, despite a growing list of MPs calling for him to go. At 9.30 a.m., Starmer was greeted by his senior ministers, many of whom now believe the game is up. So is this his ‘put up or shut up’ moment? Will anyone move today – and if they do, what happens next? Tim Shipman and James Heale join Noa Hoffman to assess Starmer’s fight for survival, the mood inside Labour, and where we go from here.

This is your evening local elections update delivered by James Heale, Tim Shipman and Noa Hoffman – all in just 10 minutes. As results come in across the country, they take each party in turn. Have the Greens done as well as we all thought they would? Is this proof that Reform have not reached their peak? Can Labour recover from this total drubbing? And should the Tories be – quietly – pleased with themselves?

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.