Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
10 min listen
Boris Johnson said there are signs that a second wave of coronavirus will soon sweep through Europe. Should Brits still go on their holiday abroad, and could the UK cope with another lockdown? Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Kate Andrews.
15 min listen
Within a few hours, the government enacted a quarantine policy for those returning from Spain (including the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, and almost including our own Economics Correspondent Kate Andrews). There’s been confusion and unhappiness over the speed with which this was put in place, but did the government have any choice? Cindy Yu talks
18 min listen
Boris Johnson probably didn’t expect his first year as Prime Minister to shake out quite the way it did. From winning a landslide majority, to leading the country during a global pandemic, it’s the sort of year that, if shown in a TV show fans would complain about too much being squeezed into one season.
12 min listen
New plans are being drawn up to tackle obesity in Britain, with proposals including a ban on adverts of junk foods and calorie content shown on restaurant menus. Will Boris get his war on obesity succeed, and will it meet opposition within his own party? Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth. Also
As Boris Johnson marks a year in Downing Street, one of his biggest achievements to date had been the destruction of Labour’s red wall. In the 2019 election, the Prime Minister succeeded in turning many seats in the Midlands and North blue for the first time. At cabinet this week, he referred to them as his
39 min listen
As the long-awaited Russia report is released this week, we discuss Russia’s plan to unleash chaos (00:45). Plus, does Boris Johnson have a management problem with his new MPs? (14:30) And last, the pains of dating during lockdown (28:30). With Russia journalists Owen Matthews and Mary Dejevsky; the Spectator’s deputy political editor Katy Balls; Conservative
18 min listen
The Prime Minister visits Scotland today as parliament goes into recess. The Union is in grave danger, as a previous episode discussed. But can the government woo back the wavering Scots? Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.
When Boris Johnson met with his cabinet in person for the first time in four months on Tuesday, his aim was simple: to boost morale. He was conscious that the replacement of normal meetings with virtual ones had led to ministers feeling muted. He believed that giving everyone some face-to-face time would help, and pushed
When the cabinet met on Tuesday in the Locarno Suite of the Foreign Office, one item was top of the agenda: the Union. The reason? Over the past four months, support for both Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish independence has risen. There is genuine worry in government that a few wrong moves could see Scotland on
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Keir Starmer was keen to put clear blue water between himself and Corbyn’s Labour party today, on both the apology to anti-Semitism whistleblowers and the Russia report. Will this cut through to the voters? Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.
In the last Prime Minister’s Questions before the summer recess, Keir Starmer put the most distance between himself and his predecessor to date. On the day the Labour party agreed to pay damages to seven former employees who sued the party in an anti-Semitism row, the Labour leader used his appearance opposite Johnson to make
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The long-awaited Russia report is finally out, so what are the revelations within it? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and the New Statesman’s Political Editor, Stephen Bush.
Dominic Raab has this afternoon confirmed that the UK will suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong ‘immediately and indefinitely’. Speaking in the Commons chamber, the Foreign Secretary said the imposition of China’s controversial security law in Hong Kong amounted to a ‘serious violation’ of the country’s international obligations and as a result the UK
16 min listen
Now that Huawei is banned, China hawks in the Conservative Party are turning their attention to social media platform TikTok, which is owned by a Chinese company. It comes as the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives in the UK today to meet with Conservative backbenchers and the government to discuss China further. Cindy
Relations between the UK and China came under even greater strain over the weekend. In a fraught interview on the Andrew Marr Show, the Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming said his government was still ‘evaluating the consequences’ of the ‘very bad decision’ by the UK government to ban Huawei from 5G networks by the end of 2027. It
Tomorrow Boris Johnson is expected to unveil his plan to get the country back to the office. However, the past 24 hours have offered a reminder of the pressure the Prime Minister faces on both sides when it comes to forging a path forward. On Wednesday night, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey addressed Tory
15 min listen
Chris Grayling failed to win the chairmanship of the Intelligence and Security Committee on Wednesday evening. In his stead, Julian Lewis clinched the position, and No 10 withdrew the whip from Lewis. On the podcast, Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth about why this happened and whether it’s better to rule by
15 min listen
Boris Johnson has confirmed that there will be an inquiry into the handling of the pandemic after a possible second wave is over. On the podcast, Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson about what it will find and who should be worried.
Chris Grayling has this evening been thwarted in his attempt to become chair of parliament’s Intelligence and Security committee. Instead, the committee voted for Julian Lewis, a former chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, to take on the coveted role – with the Tory backbencher joining forces with Labour. The former transport secretary was the favourite
Each week it seems as though a new public figure enters the foray to offer their verdict on who is to blame for mistakes made in the UK response to coronavirus. Today Boris Johnson committed to holding an official inquiry to find out just this. Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Johnson said – in response