Is Keir Starmer good in a crisis?
Coffee House Shots
The Spectator
4.4 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 9 March 2026
⏱️ 20 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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 duty and support for households, and whether Keir Starmer has the political authority to navigate another economic shock ahead of the May elections.
They also debate the government’s new ‘cohesion strategy’ – including plans for an anti-Muslim hatred adviser and a broader crackdown on extremism – and ask whether Labour has found a coherent approach to integration, immigration and social cohesion, or whether the policy risks opening new divisions within the party.
Produced by Megan McElroy and Oscar Edmondson.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to Coffee House Shots, The Spectator's Daily Politics Podcast. |
| 0:10.1 | I'm Tim Shipman, the policeclades of The Spectator, and I'm delighted to be joined today by |
| 0:14.7 | Isabel Hardman, the magazine's assistant editor. |
| 0:17.6 | Hi, Tim. |
| 0:18.5 | So we've had an interesting weekend. |
| 0:21.8 | The war is obviously still dominating everything. How do you feel Kirstama's played it so far? It seems popular with |
| 0:28.0 | the party and the polling would suggest with the public, but there's a few problems building up |
| 0:33.1 | elsewhere with allies, with President Trump and with energy prices, which this morning have crossed |
| 0:39.7 | $100 a barrel for oil for the first time since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. |
| 0:44.4 | Yeah, it's obviously been awkward with Trump, the Winston Churchill comments at the end of |
| 0:49.5 | last week were not particularly a boost for the relationship between the two of them, but probably a boost |
| 0:56.0 | for the relationship between Starmer and his party and the sort of terse comments the two |
| 1:00.9 | have been bandying about over the past few days. I think there, as you say, the real difficulties |
| 1:08.3 | are starting to build at home when it comes to the impact on the cost of living. |
| 1:13.3 | You've got pressure from the Conservatives on fuel prices. |
| 1:17.4 | You've obviously got the knock-on impact on energy prices and a debate about whether or not |
| 1:22.8 | the government should be considering an emergency support package or whether actually the energy |
| 1:28.3 | price cap, which is being announced in, I think it's May, will be enough. So it's the domestic |
| 1:35.6 | pressures that are always going to be the biggest issue for the PM in terms of the electorate, |
| 1:41.5 | because people always think, you know, how is this going to affect |
| 1:44.6 | what the bill is when I fill up at the pumps? Or am I going to be able to afford to, you know, |
| 1:49.8 | keep the heating on? At least we're in March and coming out of the colder weather. But |
... |
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