Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
When the third national lockdown came to a vote in parliament last week, only 12 Conservative MPs voted against the measures. This was a far cry from the second lockdown – which saw a rebellion of over 50 – and the mood at that time. Back in November, members of the Covid Recovery Group –
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Brexit is done, but Nigel Farage may well remain an influential force in British politics. With his rebranding of the Brexit Party to ‘Reform UK’ approved this week, Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Patrick O’Flynn, former Ukip MEP, about whether or not Sinoscepticism and lockdown-scepticism are enough for Farage to build a new
Is the NHS at risk of being overwhelmed? That’s a question of increasing concern in Westminster as hospital admissions rise. Sadiq Khan has today declared a ‘major incident’ in London — calling the situation ‘critical’ with the spread of the virus ‘out of control’. With the coronavirus infection rate in London now exceeding 1,000 per 100,000 people, Khan said that the London
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Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive, said yesterday that 800 new patients are admitted to London hospitals with Covid-19 every day. Could pressure on the health service force them to delay the vaccine distribution? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.
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Christina Lamb is an award-winning journalist who has reported on conflicts and politics across the world for more than three decades. Her latest book is Our Bodies, Their Battlefields, highlighting especially the treatment of women in war.
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Coronavirus vaccines are now being distributed across the world, but what are the challenges posed by its delivery? (01:30) Is Boris Johnson the SNP’s greatest weapon? (13:55) And is Prince Harry becoming more and more like his mother? (23:35) With financial columnist Matthew Lynn; former director at the McKinsey Global Institute Richard Dobbs; the UK’s
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Last night’s events in Washington DC has sent shockwaves around the world. Trump’s obvious disregard for democracy was on show, leading to a normally diplomatic British government to condemn the President in strong language. Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth about how the government sees its past and future relationship with Trump
A few months ago, Tory aides spotted a suspicious pattern. If they agreed on a new Covid policy to be announced in a week, Keir Starmer would get wind of it and demand it was implemented immediately. In No. 10, two conclusions were drawn: that they had a mole (perhaps on Sage) and that the
Boris Johnson’s decision to impose a third national lockdown in England has won approval in the Commons by an overwhelming majority – with 524 MPs voting for the measures to just 16 against. It comes after only a handful of Tory MPs suggested they would oppose the lockdown measures in the debate on the issue today. This means that the
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The government has announced that 23 per cent of over 80s in England have now received their first dose of the Covid vaccine. With Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock aiming to give 13.5 million people the jab before the middle of February, will that be enough to end lockdown restrictions? Cindy Yu speaks to Katy
After Boris Johnson used a statement to the nation on Monday evening to announce a third national lockdown, ministers made plans to recall parliament for a Wednesday sitting to debate the measures. But before Johnson faces the music in the Chamber, the Prime Minister addressed his own MPs in a 45-minute meeting of the 1922
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Following the announcement of a third lockdown, a testing regime for arrivals could be put in place. It comes as Michael Gove said there would be announcements in the coming days about ‘how we will make sure that our ports and airports are safe’, and Nicola Sturgeon said ‘urgent’ discussions were underway. Isabel Hardman talks
When Boris Johnson addressed the nation on Monday evening, he was keen to offer a glimmer of hope as he announced a seven-week lockdown. The Prime Minister said that the lockdown would be reviewed in the week commencing 15 February – with a hope of sending pupils back to school after the February half term. This
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This evening the Prime Minister announced a return to the lockdown system for England, coming after Nicola Sturgeon announced similar measures earlier in the day. Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about what the measures mean for students, vulnerable groups and more.
Boris Johnson will address the nation this evening in an 8 p.m. address over rising coronavirus rates. Ahead of the statement, a No. 10 spokesperson said the Prime Minister is ‘clear that further steps must now be taken to arrest this rise and to protect the NHS and save lives’. It’s also been announced that parliament will
As government ministers hint at tougher restrictions to come, one of the themes of lockdown measures so far has been resistance from the Conservative parliamentary party. However, while there remains some unease on the Tory benches over both the Christmas measures and the lack of parliamentary scrutiny of them, there has also been an increase
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Boris Johnson today said there was ‘no question’ that the government would announce tighter coronavirus restrictions, as case numbers continue to surge. It came after health secretary Matt Hancock said this morning that the existing tier system is ‘no longer strong enough’. What will further restrictions look like? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and
Boris Johnson kicked off the new year with an appearance on The Andrew Marr show in which he warned of tough weeks ahead for the country. With Covid cases on the rise and concerns among the scientific community that the current restrictions will not be enough to contain spread of the virus, the Prime Minister said that restrictions
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After four and a half years, Brexit has finally happened with a free trade deal passed. But with Scottish independence hotting up and the pandemic not yet finished, the government faces more challenges in the very short term. Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth about what’s coming next.
Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal has passed the Commons with a majority of 448 at its third reading – with MPs voting 521 in favour to 73 against. The bill will now go to the House of Lords where it is expected to pass all its stages before the end of the day, ahead of the UK