Keir Starmer’s big pitch is ... more of the same
Coffee House Shots
The Spectator
4.4 • 2.2K Ratings
🗓️ 11 May 2026
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Keir Starmer has given what was billed as a make-or-break having spent the weekend under fire from his own party.
He tried to strike a more urgent tone, promising bigger arguments, closer ties with Europe (which is basically already happening) and action on British Steel (subject to consultation). But with Labour still haemorrhaging votes on all sides, is this enough to steady his leadership – or has the party already begun to look beyond him?
Tim Shipman and James Heale discuss Starmer’s speech, the Labour figures waiting in the wings – from Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner to Andy Burnham and Ed Miliband – and what Reform, the Tory party, the Lib Dems, the SNP and the Green party do next after a dramatic set of local elections.
Produced by Megan McElroy.
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Transcript
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| 0:35.0 | Hello and welcome to Coffee House. I'm Tim Shipman. And I'm James Heel. |
| 0:38.8 | Kirstama, the Prime Minister, has just spoken, and we are very excited. |
| 0:42.4 | And we're looking at all the runners and riders who could potentially take his place. |
| 0:46.0 | And what is going on with all the other parties after those local elections last week? |
| 0:51.6 | So Tim, the Prime Minister gave a speech this morning, did it move you? |
| 0:55.0 | Well, it sort of moved me to turn on the television watch it, which not all Starmer |
| 1:00.0 | speeches do, because this is the big moment, we're told this is make or break. |
| 1:04.0 | The Prime Minister relying on his oratory to save himself. |
| 1:08.0 | It's an bold move. |
| 1:09.0 | It's an interesting idea, isn't it? |
| 1:13.4 | Look, I have a test with speeches. |
| 1:17.5 | Works better if you're in the room than watching it on TV, but I call it the tingle factor. |
| 1:21.1 | And was there any tingle factor with this Stama speech? |
| 1:22.5 | I'm not sure there was quite. |
| 1:26.5 | The things that tingled was my phone going during it. Yeah. |
| 1:26.7 | People were saying, how interesting that the Prime Minister now thinks |
... |
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