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Best of the Spectator

Coffee House Shots Live: Year in Review 2025

Best of the Spectator

The Spectator

Society & Culture, Daily News, News Commentary, News

4.4785 Ratings

🗓️ 29 December 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

From scandals and cabinet chaos to Trumpian antics and the ‘special’ relationship that some say is anything but, The Spectator presents The Year in Review – a look back at the funniest and most tragic political moments of 2025. Join The Spectator’s editor Michael Gove, deputy editor Freddy Gray, political editor Tim Shipman, deputy political editor James Heale and parliamentary sketch-writer Madeline Grant, along with special guests, who’ll all share their favourite moments from the past 12 months.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Give something clever this Christmas.

0:02.2

Treat a loved one to a year of The Spectator, in print and online, for just £99.

0:07.9

And we'll send you a bottle of our very own English sparkling wine worth £48 £48, absolutely free.

0:15.3

Have a bright and sparkling Christmas with the Spectator.

0:17.7

Go to spectator.com.uk forward slash Christmas.

0:26.6

Please and gentlemen, thank you very much. Thank you for coming along this evening. I now want to

0:34.3

introduce our Star Spectator writers.

0:38.5

And here they are, our political correspondent, James Heel.

0:44.3

Our deputy editor, Freddie Gray.

0:48.8

Our parliamentary sketchwriter, columnist and assistant editor, Madly Grant.

0:53.1

And our political editor, Tim Shipman.

0:58.0

James, do you want to tell us about your political moment of the year?

1:01.0

So my political moment of the year, I think, was probably the most important in terms of UK politics.

1:07.0

There was also a bit of levity as well involved in it, which was the summer welfare revolt, in which

1:13.1

suddenly, after about a year or so of being elected, a lot of Labour MPs, in the words of one

1:19.0

government aid I spoke to, started thinking for themselves, and they started deciding they weren't

1:25.2

too keen on all these welfare cuts, and there were five

1:27.8

billion proposed in the Universal Credit Bill, and suddenly all of a sudden, sort of the Viet Cong,

1:33.4

126 of them, had signed this so-called reasoned amendment, which would have killed that bill

1:38.0

to stone dead. As a result, there were all these kind of late-night discussions, the Labour Party

1:42.9

turning on itself, and it was therefore

1:45.1

as a result of that, they had to pull the cuts. And so because of that, we now have a government

...

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