Tim Shipman is political editor of The Spectator.
15 min listen
In the final Prime Minister’s Questions before Easter recess, Kemi Badenoch pushed Keir Starmer to commit to new oil & gas drilling licences. The Conservatives spot an easy win here – cost of living concerns are rising as America’s war with Iran continues. Plus, with a burgeoning welfare bill, the trade-offs are even trickier for
The energy price surge caused by war in the Middle East has sent shockwaves through Westminster. It has pushed up inflation and the cost of borrowing, causing panic in the cabinet and the recognition that government intervention could be needed on a vast scale to support the cost of living. The Prime Minister told a
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Three big stories are on the agenda this morning: the war in Iran has dominated over the weekend, with Trump now failing to conceal his feelings towards Keir Starmer; Ed Miliband is also rising in profile, with those close to the cabinet briefing against him and his influence; and, finally, the Liaison Committee will sit
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This week James Heale and Tim Shipman share a byline to tell the story of Reform since the 2024 election, and where they are going. Nigel Farage reveals he is talking to potential Blue Labour defectors, shifting his leadership style and offering a ‘less is more’ approach on policy. Essex and its resident Tory big
First of all, it’s farewell to Chuck Norris, the action movie star of such Hollywood classics (Generous – Ed.) as Delta Force II. The man who made beards fashionable, long before David Beckham dreamed of designer stubble, passed away at the venerable age of 86. Norris was one of those actors who bonded with politicians, bringing
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In this special edition of Coffee House Shots, our political editor Tim Shipman is joined by historian, biographer and foreign policy adviser to four different prime ministers, John Bew. In his 7,000-word essay published in the New Statesman last week, John sets out the historical context which has contributed to the malaise and decline of
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The Chancellor will deliver the annual Mais lecture today and is expected to focus on closer alignment with the EU, AI and improving Britain’s economic geography (‘levelling up’ in all but name). While her comments on Europe might gain the most headlines, we’re more curious about what she will say over AI – given the
Two big topics on the agenda today as Keir Starmer has his pitch – again – on the cost of living. He told us towards the start of the year that every minute not spent tackling the cost of living was a minute wasted, so what has he been doing in all that time? Also
Another day, another set of embarrassing revelations about Peter Mandelson. A photo has now emerged of Mandelson, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein all together, the first two wearing bath robes. That doesn’t change anything for Keir Starmer, but it reinforces the questions about his handling of the affair which were highlighted by the wafer-thin vetting
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Today we are delighted to be joined by the Sunday Times’ Gabriel Pogrund, whose book – Get In, which details Starmer’s rise to power – is out now in paperback with new revelations on the Peter Mandelson vetting process. It turns out that Keir Starmer did not even speak with his prospective US ambassador before
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As oil prices rise, the Spectator’s cover story this week – written by deputy editor Freddy Gray – wonders if Trump’s gamble has backfired, and Operation Epic Fury could end up more like Operation Epic Fail. What does it mean to describe Trump’s plan as ‘failing’? And can we judge him by the same metrics that we have
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In this special edition of Coffee House Shots, Tim Shipman is joined by defence editor at the Economist, Shashank Joshi. Two weeks in to the conflict in Iran, they give the definitive take on where we are at, the range of scenarios that the UK government are preparing for, and – crucially – how it
15 min listen
This afternoon we have had the first tranche of documents released by the government relating to the process by which Peter Mandelson was chosen to be US ambassador. Whilst we have got a clearer picture on the big question – how much Starmer and the government knew about Mandelson’s association with Epstein – Labour are
A Labour MP, reflecting on the problems the Prime Minister faces over the war in Iran, observed this week: ‘Keir got it right, but things keep going wrong.’ His point was that Starmer kept Britain out of the Israeli-American air strikes, a position popular both with the parliamentary Labour party and the electorate, yet the
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Tim Shipman is joined by Isabel Hardman to discuss the domestic fallout from the conflict in Iran – from oil prices surging past $100 a barrel to renewed pressure on Britain’s cost-of-living crisis. They examine how the rising price of energy could derail Labour’s economic plans, why Rachel Reeves may face difficult choices on fuel
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Does Britain still have a coherent foreign policy? James Heale and Tim Shipman are joined by Ben Judah, former special adviser to David Lammy, and Ameer Kotecha, who recently resigned from the Foreign Office. Together they discuss why Britain’s diplomatic establishment is under growing criticism – from accusations that the department has become bloated and
Britain is to get a new ‘anti-Muslim hostility tsar’ under plans to be outlined by the government on Monday, which will also include a new definition of Islamophobia. The Spectator has been leaked a draft copy of Protecting What Matters, a document outlining Labour’s new cohesion strategy The Spectator has been leaked a draft copy
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As the conflict in the Middle East escalates, the British government continues to face questions about its response. Was the UK too slow to act, and if so – why? Tim Shipman reveals in the Spectator today that Keir Starmer was initially minded to approve American use of British bases but was persuaded not to
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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 American-Israeli attacks on Iran were publicly called Epic Fury, but behind the scenes it is Britain’s handling of the war which provoked that reaction – not just from Donald Trump but from the UK’s allies in the Gulf. A Labour peer was in Washington when the first missiles slammed into Tehran on Friday evening