Sam Coates Sky

Sam Coates, Deputy Political Editor, Sky News 📺📰🎙️ Politics at Sam and Anne’s podcast🎙️TV by @JoeCookJ

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

In your feeds, Monday to Thursday, by 8am. Search for "Politics at Sam and Anne's". Everything about the day ahead in British politics in 20 minutes. In your podcast app, now in vision on YouTube too

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

@SarahRosemary3 @JoeCookJ Yes

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

From our video from last Monday: how the Electoral Commission is review electoral spending limits, after a letter two weeks ago from Louise Haigh and Annaleise Midgley

A @JoeCookJ production

https://t.co/lgFhnheWnZ

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

This is the letter where two senior Labour cabinet ministers TELL the Electoral Commission what the problem is while commissioning this review and say they "ought to be reduced".

(From Monday's film)

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

There's quite an important nuance here. The Electoral Commission CEO Vijay Rangarajan did not initiate this review, given that would amount to a highly political act form an independent regulator. He's doing so because the government has directed him to.

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

This is key - this is a +Labour+ commissioned review of Spending Limits, outsourced to the Commission.

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

There's quite an important nuance here. The Electoral Commission CEO Vijay Rangarajan did not initiate this review, given that would amount to a highly political act form an independent regulator. He's doing so because the government has directed him to.

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

There's quite an important nuance here. The Electoral Commission CEO Vijay Rangarajan did not initiate this review, given that would amount to a highly political act form an independent regulator. He's doing so because the government has directed him to.

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

From our video from last Monday: how the Electoral Commission is review electoral spending limits, after a letter two weeks ago from Louise Haigh and Annaleise Midgley

A @JoeCookJ production

https://t.co/lgFhnheWnZ

[Armchair Admiral 🇬🇧 @ArmchairAdml]

“What is the purpose of our defence policy?”
“To defend Britain!”
“No Bernard. It’s to make people believe Britain is defended”
“The Russians?”
“No, the British. The Russians know it’s not defended”

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

Three weeks ago, I did an interview with Chancellor John Healey about the Budget. Worth reflecting as many of the themes - council tax, energy, the nature of the Burnham government - still live discussions now

- he segued from my question on property tax reform to council tax banding changes in the Budget
- also suggests whether banks and energy companies profiteering from the crisis are tax questions for the budget
- (most notably at the time) said that this is a "continuity" government

https://t.co/wPYMVFlLoI

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

What are the challenges for the Lib Dems as their conference gets underway? As Keir Starmer found to his detriment, getting a strong haul of MPs in the 2024 election is not enough.

@LucyJMcDaid has this great summary

[Sky News @SkyNews]

Liberal Democrats are often forgotten as the third-largest party, so how can they grab voters' attention when more political parties are trying to do the same?

Sky's @LucyJMcDaid is at the Lib Dems conference to see if Ed Davey is changing course.

https://t.co/2Pn85kW7Sz

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

12-15 cups a day - that’s a lot of toilet breaks?

[Irishman @IrishmanIRL]

I had to check this wasn't AI

[Fraser Nelson @FraserNelson]

This is simple. UK entry is chosen by the BBC, who while brilliant in many ways lack competence for picking winners. Our entry never charts at home: no one ever likes it.

Answer: ITV is also a member of the European Broadcasting Union. Let ITV handle selection, BBC the final.

[Alex Wickham @alexwickham]

NEW: Bloomberg Saturday read

Andy Burnham’s honeymoon ended this week as the realities of governing came into view

— Labour officials are increasingly concerned the budget will be gloomier than expected. They think winter and early 2027 will see rises in energy bills, inflation and interest rates, threatening the PM’s defining mission to bring down the cost-of-living.

— It’s led Burnham to shift his messaging, away from “hope” to preparing the public for “challenging” times and “difficult decisions.” The fear among Burnham supporters is how he can avoid a narrative of “meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” An ally of Rachel Reeves jokes that Burnham and John Healey now sound like her.

— On Tuesday Burnham meets the man his allies blame for his problems: Donald Trump. Privately, aides are seething that Trump’s chaos is wrecking what might otherwise be an improving UK picture. But they can’t say so publicly. Burnham has to get him to give Patriot air defence missiles to Ukraine and, somehow, end the nightmare in the Middle East.

— For the PM’s critics within Labour, this was all so predictable. Starmerites have long argued Burnham was heavy on vibes but light on substance. For them, he focused on being a better communicator but never had a plan to overcome the geopolitical headwinds threatening Britain. Inside government there is frustration that No10 was slow to see what was coming. It surprised some that Burnham chose to define success on quickly improving the cost-of-living, something that’s not in his control.

— Some executives who attended a private speech by Healey in Downing Street this week left underwhelmed at the lack of new ideas. One business representative says the speech was indistinguishable from one Reeves could have given. Another says it was a step down from Reeves, who they argued was more confident and able to show she was across the detail.

— The current concern in No10/No11 is energy bills. Officials have been buoyed by evidence that previous policies to reduce bills went some way to paying for themselves by mechanically lowering inflation and gilt yields. They are looking at other ways they can do similar at the budget. But the looming 25% rise in the Ofgem price cap means any new scrapping of levies may be swallowed up.

— It’s also hard to just blame Trump. Labour MPs on the left say the big danger is Burnham ends up like Starmer: tinkering around the edges and not living up to the generational transformation he promised. Inside the confines of the manifesto on tax, the triple lock and Europe, it’s unclear how different the Burnham project is from what Starmer would have done, as shown by the great @samcoatessky scoop this week.

— Labour MPs also think Burnham was lucky his takeover coincided with Nigel Farage’s implosion. The poll boost Burnham has enjoyed might be a mirage, one says. The darkening mood has all-but ended talk in Labour of a snap election. Some aides had argued a spring poll would take advantage of Farage’s weakness. But an election amid tax rises, energy bill increases and interest rate hikes would be extremely ill-advised, a person close to Burnham says.

https://t.co/ZjmiGvvV5L

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

Exclusive:

A massive leak from the heart of Downing Street reveals how much Andy Burnham appears to have borrowed from Keir Starmer's plans since entering Number 10. I've obtained a 50 page bundle of presentations, strategy ideas and policy submissions drawn up in April in an attempt to keep Starmer in power. Here's what happened next.

A @JoeCookJ production

Watch: https://t.co/qq72PUzGFh

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

I’m told a leak inquiry has started after we released this last night. If you haven’t, do watch:

A @JoeCookJ production

https://t.co/idawVpcPD0

[Sky News @SkyNews]

Leak from No 10 reveals how Starmer planned to stay in power - and the policies borrowed by Burnham.

Our deputy political editor @SamCoatesSky reports ⬇️ https://t.co/hqsq56N2Kd

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

More Tory reaction to our scoop

[Richard Holden MP @RicHolden]

🚨 Breaking News via @SamCoatesSky 🚨

Leaked document page 6. The Labour Government KNOW that the UK Automotive sector desperately need them to look again at the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate which is killing 🇬🇧 car manufacturing but they STILL haven’t despite @Conservatives calls for it to be scrapped and unions like @GMB_union & @unitetheunion - who I respect even if I don’t always agree with them on everything - demanding major changes

Details here >>> https://t.co/6RnQ6Ex5TX

[Will Hazell @whazell]

"We will make changes. Need to move from the politics of faction to the politics of project."

"Politics of project" one of those phrases which has you reaching for the sick bucket

[Joe Cook @JoeCookJ]

From reforming high marginal tax rates, to the North Sea and Rolls-Royce narrowbody plane bids - read the documents in full:
https://t.co/7RrZTJgMrC

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

Green deputy leader Rachel Millward responds:

The Chancellor was onto something when he said this was a continuity government with a new leader. Our challenge to the Prime Minister is to prove him wrong and take real action on the inequality crisis, the affordability crisis and the climate crisis.

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

Exclusive:

A massive leak from the heart of Downing Street reveals how much Andy Burnham appears to have borrowed from Keir Starmer's plans since entering Number 10. I've obtained a 50 page bundle of presentations, strategy ideas and policy submissions drawn up in April in an attempt to keep Starmer in power. Here's what happened next.

A @JoeCookJ production

Watch: https://t.co/qq72PUzGFh

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

Tory reaction to our leak:

[Andrew Bowie MP @AndrewBowie_MP]

This leak shows that Labour know that approving Jackdaw and Rosebank would support our energy security.

Yet they keep delaying to appease the radical left.

When will Labour put Britain's interests first?