Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
12 min listen
One day to go until ‘Super Saturday’, when pubs and restaurants in England (except Leicester) will reopen. But polls show that only a small minority of Brits will go back to the pubs. Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson about what this would mean for post-pandemic recovery.
27 min listen
Chloe Smith is the Conservative MP for Norwich North and minister at the Cabinet Office. She entered parliament at the age of 27 and rose through the ranks quickly. In 2012, she was interviewed by Jeremy Paxman in what has been described as a ‘car crash interview’ when she was sent out to defend then-Chancellor
39 min listen
The Prime Minister is trying to reform the civil service. He’s not the first to try – so will he succeed? (00:50) The stakes for success are high, as his opponent is no longer Jeremy Corbyn, but the more impressive Keir Starmer. How have Starmer’s first almost 100 days gone? (15:45) And last, how widespread
As Boris Johnson attempts to move attention back to his pre-coronavirus election agenda, one of the biggest blockers that remains is the failure to get all pupils back to school. Having revised down a previous ambition to get all primary school children in the classroom before the summer holidays, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson held a
14 min listen
The government has set out its guidelines for how schools will look come September. Attendance will be compulsory, and even Labour is on board. Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls about the new world of schooling. Also on the podcast: why the Frost-Barnier meeting broke up a day early and Scotland’s lockdown
For the first time in 13 years, the public, when polled, think a Labour leader would make the best prime minister. To be fair, Sir Keir Starmer has been helped in this regard by the Conservatives, who haven’t done wonders for their reputation as the party of competence in recent weeks. But the opposition leader
17 min listen
China’s new national security law has been passed in Hong Kong, and from this morning it has been implemented as handfuls of protestors have already been arrested under its new wide-ranging powers. Dominic Raab has pledged to speed up the process to offer British residency for Hong Kong’s BNO passport holders and their dependents. Cindy
15 min listen
The country is facing a post-pandemic recession that will leave millions unemployed and businesses bankrupted, so despite all the noise, is Boris’s ‘New Deal’ tackling the right problems? Our Economics Correspondent Kate Andrews joins the podcast today, and tells James Forsyth and Katy Balls why she thinks today’s announcement was little more than rehashing of
Boris Johnson had hoped to use today’s speech in Dudley to draw a line under the past 14 weeks of lockdown and return to his election agenda. However, with the government announcing overnight that Leicester is to go into a local lockdown, the ongoing challenge of coronavirus isn’t far away. The Prime Minister acknowledged that some
16 min listen
Leicester is set to lock down locally. It’s an approach that the Prime Minister has dubbed ‘whack-a-mole’, referring to clampdowns on local clusters that will inevitably arise in the coming months. All eyes are on Leicester’s experience now as it signals whether or not the national lockdown is a thing of the past. Katy Balls
14 min listen
The Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill has announced that he will be stepping down in September, though his resignation letter suggests that it wasn’t necessarily his decision. This move comes as Michael Gove makes a wide-ranging speech on reform of the civil service. The government looks to be gearing up its Whitehall reform, and on the
13 min listen
Throughout the leadership contest, Keir Starmer was careful not to upset the delicate balance between the hard left and the moderates in the party. But with the sacking of Rebecca Long Bailey, he has risked the wrath of the Corbynites and unambiguously moved the party on from the era of Corbyn. Has he triggered a
Keir Starmer’s approach to party discipline is being favourably contrasted with Boris Johnson’s after the Labour leader sacked Rebecca Long-Bailey from his shadow cabinet for sharing an article that included an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. The argument goes that Starmer has shown quick, clear and decisive action by letting Long-Bailey go whereas the Prime Minister has failed to do
14 min listen
The government wants the country to head back out and boost the economy, but scenes at Bournemouth beach and elsewhere reflect the government’s dilemma – how much reopening is enough to keep the economy afloat, but without triggering a second wave of infections? John Connolly speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.
11 min listen
After retweeting an interview with Maxine Peake in which the actress voiced an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory, Rebecca Long Bailey has been sacked as the shadow education secretary. On the podcast, Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls about whether or not this will trigger a Corbynite backlash.
Keir Starmer has today sacked his former leadership rival Rebecca Long-Bailey from the shadow cabinet. The Labour leader asked Long-Bailey to step down as shadow education secretary after she shared an interview which contained an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory. In the article in question, long-time Jeremy Corbyn supporter Maxine Peake – an actress – suggested the tactics used
13 min listen
The decision to significantly ease lockdown from early July marks a new chapter when it comes to the government’s approach to coronavirus. After a miserable few months, the hope in Downing Street is that with the number of confirmed new cases down to pre-lockdown levels, the government can return some form of normality – and
13 min listen
Boris Johnson has announced further measures to ease the lockdown, and from the 4th July, more venues will be open than not, including restaurants, pubs, and galleries. It also marks a new phase in the lockdown, when social distancing will be guidelines, not law. But does the public actually want the lockdown to be eased?
Speaking in the Chamber this lunchtime, the Prime Minister declared that ‘our long national hibernation is coming to an end’ as he unveiled the most drastic easing of lockdown yet. Phase three of the road map will see parts of the hospitality industry reopen from 4 July while individuals will be able to socialise with greater