Coffee House Shots: Steve Baker on how to organise a successful rebellion episode artwork

EPISODE · Jun 28, 2025 · 24 MIN

Coffee House Shots: Steve Baker on how to organise a successful rebellion

from Best of the Spectator

As Labour rebels appear to have forced concessions from Keir Starmer over welfare this week, former Conservative MP Steve Baker joins James Heale to reflect on his own time as a rebel, and to provide some advice to Labour MPs. Steve, an MP for 14 years and a minister under Theresa May, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, tells James about the different rebellions he was a part of (from Brexit to Covid), explains how to organise a successful one and reveals how he has lost close friends when he has made the decision to compromise.He also blames Labour’s problems on their ‘bombs not benefits’ approach, explains why the current welfare rebellion demonstrates that ‘the facts of life are Conservative’ and argues that it has been a mistake for the Conservatives not the support Labour’s original approach to reducing the winter fuel allowance.Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Megan McElroy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Jun 28, 2025

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Coffee House Shots: Steve Baker on how to organise a successful rebellion

0:00 24:28

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Best of the Spectator?

This episode is 24 minutes long.

When was this Best of the Spectator episode published?

This episode was published on June 28, 2025.

Can I download this Best of the Spectator episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!