Tim Shipman

It was a bad tempered PMQs today – Kemi Badenoch attacked Starmer over his involvement, or lack thereof with the Iran conflict. And Starmer hit back at Badenoch over her questions. Not the type of unity you’d want to see on the major foreign policy issue of the day. Also today, three more arrests have

The fallout from America’s audacious attack on Iran continues, and there are a whole host of questions for Keir Starmer. The prime minister has been accused of being slow to react, having initially confirmed that ‘the United Kingdom played no role in these strikes’, Labour since agreed to allow the Diego Garcia and RAF Fairford bases to

In the end, it was not even that close. The Green party has stormed to victory in Gorton and Denton, winning their first ever parliamentary by-election by more than 4,000 votes. The result changes everything: the Lib Dems are no longer the party of the protest vote; Reform’s tanks are parked on Labour’s lawn; the

Polls are open in Gorton and Denton for the by-election but as we eagerly await the result we thought we’d discuss economics, because looking ahead to next week we’ve got the spring statement. It’s not a major fiscal event – as Rachel Reeves will be anxious to point out – but one which is taking

Megan McElroy unpacks a rowdy PMQs with Tim Shipman and Isabel Hardman. Kemi Badenoch made Keir Starmer uncomfortable over student loans but – at a time when trust in the Conservative brand is low – could some of her rhetoric backfire? Plus, what did they make of the revelation that it was the Speaker of

Overnight, Peter Mandelson has been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has not commented publicly in recent weeks, though he has previously denied any wrongdoing. How long will this row continue to haunt Labour? With more documents due to be released relating to his appointment as US

Bridget Phillipson has unveiled Labour’s long-awaited overhaul of the special educational needs and disabilities system – a £4 billion reform designed to rein in spiralling costs and bring order to what MPs across the House describe as a broken model. Ministers insist this is reform, not retrenchment – but with councils under intense financial pressure

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been released under caution after he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office – the image of him sat slumped in the back of a car while leaving Norfolk police station on his 66th birthday splashes all the morning papers. Focussing on the politics, his could throw up lots of difficult

General Sir Nick Carter, former chief of the defence staff, joins Tim Shipman to discuss Britain’s military preparedness – or rather, lack thereof. While a friendlier US presence at the Munich Security Conference may have provided some relief, the military threats to the UK and to Europe presented are still stark. So what choices need

It is Robert Jenrick’s big day out today. The newly-minted Reform ‘shadow chancellor’ made his first speech this morning, where he had the chance to show what kind of chancellor he would be and – sporting a snazzy pair of specs – he had plenty of soothing words to calm the jitters of the bond

Reform UK is no longer a one-man band. Nigel Farage has unveiled Reform’s four spokesmen for the “great offices of state” at a press conference in Westminster. Recent Tory defector Robert Jenrick has been given the Chancellor brief, Zia Yusuf is in charge of home affairs, Suella Braverman is responsible for education and Richard Tice

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

When a PM is in crisis, what do they do? Sack the head of the civil service. Having lost both his Chief of Staff and Director of Communications at the beginning of the week, Keir Starmer resolved to make it a hat-trick by dispensing with the services of his short-serving Cabinet Secretary. The favourite to

PMQs today and – as predicted – Keir Starmer came out worst in a pretty unpleasant session. Kemi Badenoch pinned the Prime Minister on the continued Mandelson fallout and now the scandal over Matthew Doyle, the former No. 10 comms chief who – just four weeks after his ennoblement – Labour have already been forced

Morgan McSweeney resigned yesterday as Keir Starmer’s chief of staff and – while it was not a surprise, given his role in appointing Peter Mandelson – the news that the Prime Minister has now lost his closest aide and political fire blanket is a huge shock. The repercussions are numerous: Starmer loses the man widely

On this special edition of Coffee House Shots, Tim Shipman is joined by Jonathan Hinder – a rising star of the back benches and a blue Labour acolyte – for a candid discussion about the state of the Labour party and the security of its leader. They discuss the Peter Mandelson scandal and the impact