Coffee House Shots

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...

Another impressive PMQs from Kemi Badenoch – but she had plenty of ammunition to deploy after the Peter Mandelson scandal took a bleaker turn this week.The Prime Minister clearly wanted to make a strong statement in his first answer to Kemi Badenoch, saying that ‘Mandelson betrayed our country, our parliament and my party’. He added: ‘He lied repeatedly to my team when asked about his relationship with Epstein before and during his tenure as ambassador. I regret appointing him.’ He then listed the actions he had taken to strip Mandelson of his title, remove him from the Privy Council, and refer material to the Metropolitan Police.The whole thing exposed Starmer’s biggest weaknesses: his over-reliance on process and his inability to consider how the public see him. There is a lot of support for a full public inquiry, which seems more fitting to the magnitude of this scandal. As the evidence piles in and the scandal rumbles on, is this the beginning of the end for the prime minister – or are we even further along than that?James Heale speaks to Tim Shipman and Isabel Hardman.Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Megan McElroy.

Coffee House Shots is on the road today. James Heale and Megan McElroy have travelled up to the frozen north to speak to the candidates who are lobbying locals in the lead-up to the Gorton and Denton by-election. This is the seat vacated by Labour’s Andrew Gwynne, and made famous by Keir Starmer refusing to let Manchester mayor Andy Burnham contest it and complete his return to Westminster. Reform are giving it everything they’ve got – selecting academic and GB News presenter Matthew Goodwin – while some polling suggests that the Green party could do well. Who is in pole position?

It is one of the staple headlines of British politics: Peter Mandelson has resigned. The so-called Prince of Darkness was sacked as US ambassador last September, yet that has done little to stem the flow of stories about the alleged nature of his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. This weekend saw the publication of a further three million emails, triggering another avalanche of claims about Peter Mandelson’s links to the dead sex offender. So what next for Mandelson? And which former political grandees have successfully managed the transition out of the Commons? Should he be taking notes from George Osborne?James Heale and Tim Shipman discuss.Produced by Megan McElroy and Oscar Edmondson.

Isabel Hardman presents highlights from Sunday morning's political shows.More Epstein files bring Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson back into the spotlight, and Keir Starmer’s returns from his trip to China.

As Keir Starmer's visit to China draws to a close, Sam Olsen – who runs the States of Play substack – and Times columnist Cindy Yu join Patrick Gibbons to discuss how the UK should manage its relationship with China. Starmer's visit has drawn criticism from various China hawks – and from President Trump – but is there a way for the UK to balance legitimate security concerns with the need to trade with the world's second largest economic power? Plus, to what extent to the British public care about these geopolitical concerns? Cindy and Sam explain why is it important for policymakers to explain how these trips link back to domestic issues – and Cindy name checks James Cleverly as she highlights the importance of consistency amongst the political class.Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

In his column this week, Tim Shipman has finally hit upon an answer to the age-old question: what is Starmerism? After a concerted effort from his team to tie the Prime Minister down to a definitive ‘-ism’, he has delivered a threefold structure: firstly, the contestable claim that Labour has achieved macroeconomic stability by clinging grimly to the Chancellor’s fiscal rules, which will mean interest rates and inflation fall; secondly, Starmer will say Britain needs an ‘active government’ to intervene directly in retail offers; and finally, the PM will seek to tie together domestic and international policy by arguing that Britain needs ‘an active and engaged government abroad’ if it is to control the cost of living at home.But is this the sort of thing that can secure his position? The rumour swirling around Westminster is that Streeting has up to 200 supporters waiting in the wings, and a straight fight between him and Angela Rayner is the most likely scenario given a poor local elections result.Tim Shipman and James Heale discuss.Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Is centrism back? This week a group of former Tory heavyweights – including Ruth Davidson, Andy Street, Amber Rudd and David Gauke – have launched a new group aimed at reclaiming the centre ground and dispelling the myth that politics in 2026 is a straight shooting match between increasingly diffuse left/right poles. They say that there are seven million voters in the centre who feel ‘politically homeless’ and are looking for serious people to have serious conversations, rather than rabble-rousers with strong rhetoric. Are they totally misunderstanding the direction of modern politics? And should they all just join the Lib Dems?Tim Shipman speaks to David Gauke, former justice secretary and vice-chair of Prosper UK.Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

It is our solemn duty to inform listeners that David Lammy won deputy PMQs at a canter today. To be frank, it was a low-rent affair. Andrew Griffith was the Tory sent out to question David Lammy while Keir Starmer is in China, and the shadow business secretary didn’t do a particularly good job. Perhaps he had assumed that Lammy would have another disastrous session, like he did when a prisoner was accidentally released last autumn. There were a few decent jokes in there – mainly about football – but the overwhelming winners were Kemi and Keir, who by comparison look like Gladstone and Disraeli.James Heale speaks to Tim Shipman and Isabel Hardman.Produced by Oscar Edmondson.