Katy Balls

Katy Balls

Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.

Will there be a Tory revolt over Tier 3 restrictions?

13 min listen

The Prime Minister announced yesterday that the nationwide lockdown would come to an end on December 2. In the updated tier system, pubs and restaurants will be closed at the highest level of restrictions, but gyms and non-essential shops will remain open. Isabel Hardman speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth about whether Conservative MPs

Katy Balls

How MPs lost their pay rise

When Rishi Sunak gets up at the despatch box tomorrow to announce his spending review, the Chancellor is expected to commit to a public sector pay freeze — with NHS workers exempt. Ever since this was first reported in the media, the idea has met heavy opposition from Labour while Tory politicians have had to

Tiers until March, Boris tells MPs

Boris Johnson’s statement to the Commons announcing the end of the national lockdown was meant to hit an optimistic note. However, he faced two hurdles when it came to achieving this.  Firstly, his internet connection in No. 10 broke down and Johnson was cut off from MPs midway through the session. Secondly, the measures he announced

Katy Balls

Will Oxford’s vaccine bring back normality?

13 min listen

Oxford University’s vaccine could be up to 90 per cent effective, data from phase III trials shows today. With the UK government ordering 100 million doses of the jab, could it mean a return to normality is on the horizon? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.

The difficult decision Rishi Sunak has to make

This week Boris Johnson is expected to announce an end to the national lockdown. However, with a return to normal still far away with the UK to move back into a stricter form of the three tier system, good news remains limited for the time being. That’s also the case with the Chancellor’s spending review. When

Why Priti Patel is staying put

13 min listen

Sir Alex Allen, a top civil servant in charge of the report into allegations of bullying at the Home Office, has resigned, but the Home Secretary Priti Patel, who is at the centre of it all, has not. Why is the Prime Minister so keen to ‘stick with Prit’? Fraser Nelson talks to James Forsyth

Katy Balls

Tory MPs rally to Priti Patel’s defence

In the weeks before the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic became clear, Priti Patel was the biggest story in Westminster. In March, her most senior Home Office civil servant, Philip Rutnam, resigned and when doing so read out a statement in which he said he had been subject to a ‘vicious and orchestrated campaign’  against him after

Boris in a spin: can the PM find his way again?

36 min listen

After two of Boris Johnson’s most influential advisers left Downing Street last week, can the PM reset his relationship with the Tory party and find his way again? (00:58) Lara is joined by the Spectator’s deputy political editor, Katy Balls, and former director of communications for David Cameron, Craig Oliver. A coronavirus vaccine seems to

Katy Balls

Boris in a spin: can the PM find his way again?

Something strange is going on in Westminster: nearly every minister and Tory MP has a spring in their step. It’s not (just) the vaccine breakthrough, or the magic money tree now bearing such fruit in the back garden of HM Treasury. The liberation-of-Paris feel in locked-down Westminster is inspired by the departure of Boris Johnson’s

What’s behind Boris’s green agenda?

18 min listen

Boris Johnson has today announced a raft of new environmental policies, following the departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain last week. Will it reset the direction of Number 10, or are more comprehensive changes needed? Cindy Yu speaks to Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

Has devolution been a disaster?

13 min listen

Boris Johnson told northern MPs last night that he thought Scottish devolution had been a ‘disaster’, a comment that was immediately disowned by the Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross. Katy Balls talks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.

Can a self-isolating Boris reset his premiership?

15 min listen

Boris Johnson has been told to self-isolate by contact tracers after meeting with a Covid positive MP last week. It comes just as the PM was expected to reset his premiership following the departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain. Gus Carter is joined by Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.

Boris Johnson’s ‘reset’ week gets off to a bad start

After a weekend of torrid headlines over infighting in 10 Downing Street, Boris Johnson had hoped to use this week to prove his critics wrong about the state of the government. Following the departure of his senior aides Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain and amid speculation the Tory party could pivot to a softer form

How Tory MPs are reacting to Dominic Cummings’ departure

With Boris Johnson’s senior aides Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain both working from home until they officially leave their roles, attention is turning to what will follow the Downing Street Vote Leave era. Up until now, aides from the Vote Leave campaign have held the balance of power in No. 10. This has seen Johnson successfully re-establish the Tories

Katy Balls

What do special advisers actually do?

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.

Dominic Cummings leaves the building

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

Katy Balls

The Alice Bunn Edition

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.

Katy Balls

Who will replace Dominic Cummings?

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.

Has Vote Leave lost control?

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.