meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Best of the Spectator

Women With Balls: Thérèse Coffey

Best of the Spectator

The Spectator

News Commentary, News, Daily News, Society & Culture

4.4785 Ratings

🗓️ 21 February 2020

⏱️ 28 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Thérèse Coffey is the MP for Suffolk Coastal and the work and pensions secretary. On the podcast, she talks about her famous karaoke parties, the importance of her Catholic faith to her, and that picture from one Spectator party.

Women With Balls is a podcast series where Katy Balls speak to women at the top of their respective games. To hear past episodes, visit spectator.co.uk/balls.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Just before you start listening to this podcast, a reminder that we have a special subscription offer.

0:04.8

You can get 12 issues of The Spectator for £12, as well as a £20,000, Amazon voucher.

0:10.3

Go to spectator.com.uk forward slash voucher if you'd like to get this offer.

0:18.0

Hello and welcome to Women with Balls, where I, Katie Balls, talk to today's trailblazers.

0:23.7

Today I'm joined by Dr. Therese Coffee, the work and pension secretary.

0:27.9

The MP for Suffolk coastal entered Parliament in 2010, where she quickly gained her reputation

0:32.5

of being a straight talker and a social butterfly, famed within the Tory party for her karaoke parties.

0:39.2

After serving as a junior minister in Devera, Theresa was promoted to cabinet last year after

0:43.7

Amber Rudd quit over Brexit.

0:46.6

A low coffee campaign for Remain in the EU referendum, she has since fully signed up to Boris

0:50.6

Johnson's Brexit plan. She's also won Claudetteits for her no-nonsense approach to politics.

0:56.3

In the 2019 profile, a journalist wrote of coffee, she seems to be wholly unspun insofar as any

1:02.4

politician can be. And with the usual accuracy of reshuffle predictions, she was recently in the

1:08.6

news as one of the ministers deemed to be on the chopping block in the prime minister's reshuffle. But I'm pleased to report, not least for the sake of

1:15.2

this podcast, that she is still very much here and currently in the spectator office. So thank you

1:20.4

very much for joining us today, Therese. On this podcast, what we like to do is to begin by

1:25.2

talking about what you're doing before you went into politics.

1:28.8

So you were born in Lancashire, but you grew up in Liverpool, the child of two teachers.

1:34.1

Liverpool isn't particularly well known for creating Tories. So did you have a political upbringing?

1:40.8

Well, actually, as a child, I moved there when I was the age of six to proper Liverpool,

1:44.5

as you would call it. I did actually have a Conservative MP, which people may find hard to believe

1:49.5

nowadays, but that all changed rather quickly. I guess my mother has always been Conservative. On my

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Spectator, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Spectator and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.