Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
24 min listen
Dominic Cummings walked out of No. 10 Downing Street last night – but what did he actually do in there? Katy Balls is joined by Fraser Nelson and Peter Cardwell, a former SpAd and author of The Secret Life of Special Advisers.
After a week of infighting in Downing Street which saw the resignation of Director of Communications Lee Cain and senior aide Dominic Cummings, both men have left the building for what government aides believe will be the last time. Although Cain and Cummings intended to continue their work until mid December, the suggestion is that they will
28 min listen
Alice Bunn is a scientist and international director at the UK Space Agency. She tells Katy about falling in love with the stars, finding the right career and the threat of space debris.
15 min listen
Boris Johnson’s chief aide has said that he’ll be gone by Christmas – so what does that mean for Downing Street operations? Katy Balls is joined by Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.
14 min listen
Downing Street has seen a day of backstabbing and counter-briefings after Dominic Cummings ally Lee Cain resigned as Boris Johnson’s director of communications. John Connolly talks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.
Downing Street is a divided place this morning after the resignation of Lee Cain. No. 10’s Director of Communications handed in his resignation last night after a day of briefings and counter briefings between the various factions in Downing Street. The drama began after the Times ran a story on Tuesday evening suggesting the Vote Leave alumnus
The clock may be ticking when it comes to the Brexit talks but the news dominating Westminster today relates not to legal texts but personnel changes in Downing Street. Overnight the Times and Daily Mail both ran reports suggesting Number 10’s Director of Communications Lee Cain was in line for a promotion to Chief of Staff. However, shortly
13 min listen
Backbench Tory MPs are questioning the government’s plan for rolling out the vaccine. Meanwhile, rumours over a new Downing Street chief of staff have triggered a spat inside No. 10. Gus Carter talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.
Although there has been much speculation of late that Boris Johnson will struggle to forge ties with Joe Biden, the pair’s relationship has got off to a promising start. After making his first phone call to America’s neighbour Canada, the president-elect shared a phone call with the UK Prime Minister. A Downing Street spokesperson says Johnson used
14 min listen
The Pfizer vaccine is being lauded by many as the silver bullet that could end the Covid crisis. Meanwhile, the UK has seen a record number of redundancies. Also, No. 10 suffered serious defeat in the Lords last night over its controversial Brexit bill. Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Kate Andrews.
Although the Prime Minister is known to be an optimist, he was at pains to play down reports of a vaccine breakthrough in Monday’s coronavirus press conference. After early findings from stage three of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine trial suggested it could prevent more than 90 per cent of people from getting Covid-19, Johnson
14 min listen
The drugs firm Pfizer has announced that its vaccine — currently in stage three trials — is 90% effective. Meanwhile, Britain and the EU are entering the final stage of trade negotiations. Finally, No. 10 is ramping up its inquiry to discover who leaked news of England’s second lockdown. Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson
There’s been a rare case of Covid-19 good news today with the announcement that the Pfizer vaccine could be 90 per cent effective. Citing early results from the phase 3 trials of the vaccine, the pharmaceutical company said the initial findings marked ‘a great day for science and humanity’. While it’s still early days and the trial
After days of government ministers declining to take a public stance on the US election, Boris Johnson has congratulated Joe Biden on his victory. The Democrat’s lead in Pennsylvania prompted several US networks to call the election for Biden and the Prime Minister then released a statement on social media: Johnson’s message of congratulations came after Labour
14 min listen
As Liverpool begins it’s mass testing trial, ONS figures published today show that the coronavirus infection rate was fell in the week ending October 31. So was the tiered system working all along, meaning the new lockdown is unnecessary? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth about the new data, Scottish independence, and
14 min listen
The Chancellor announced new furlough measures today, something that he has long been opposed to. Katy Balls speaks to Kate Andrews and James Forsyth about whether or not Rishi Sunak has lost the argument.
These days Rishi Sunak’s appearances before the House of Commons tend to mark changes to pre-existing economic support schemes. His proposed winter economy plan didn’t survive a month before alterations had to be made. But even by recent standards, today’s statement marks a big shift for the Chancellor. Not only is the furlough scheme back — despite
13 min listen
Dominic Raab refused to comment on Donald Trump’s claims of election ‘fraud’ this morning, after the President said he planned to contest the result in the Supreme Court. Boris Johnson also refrained from being drawn into a conversation about the race, saying at PMQs that the UK would not comment ‘on the democratic processes of
It’s not uncommon for Conservative politicians to complain privately that Nicola Sturgeon has proven herself to be a better communicator than Boris Johnson during the pandemic. However, it is unusual for a Tory to say so publicly. This is what Douglas Ross did this week in an interview for ITV News. On top of saying that ‘most objective people’
16 min listen
As England heads into a second lockdown, today brings a glimmer of hope. Liverpool will be the first UK city to undergo mass testing, including a fast turnaround saliva test. John Connolly talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth about whether Moonshot, this time around, is more realistic. Tell us your thoughts on our podcasts