Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
In the weeks leading up to Boris Johnson announcing lockdown measures, ministers and aides wondered how in the world you could enforce a lockdown like the one seen in authoritarian China in a liberal democracy such as the UK. But following Dominic Raab confirmation on Thursday that there will be another three weeks of lockdown, public
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As expected, Dominic Raab announced an extension to the lockdown today, with no clear end date set. But he did offer insight into the criteria that the government is using to judge when that time might come. Katy Balls writes about it here and she discusses them on the latest episode with James and Cindy. The
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Historian Niall Ferguson writes in this week’s cover piece that, even before coronavirus, the Cold War between America and China was already getting underway. With the current pandemic, animosity between the two superpowers has only increased. So when it comes to the geopolitics of the ‘corona wars’, who will win? Niall tells Cindy on the podcast
Dominic Raab has this evening confirmed that there will a lockdown extension of three weeks. The First Secretary of State said that while there had been encouraging signs that the rate of infection had significantly reduced, it was still too early to break away from any lockdown measures. He said the most dangerous thing for both
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Keir Starmer has written to the government to demand that they publish detailed criteria on what would be enough to lift this lockdown. It’s his first offensive as the leader of the Opposition in the current crisis, but it’s not a move that has been welcomed by all on the left. So how shrewd is his
After promising to work constructively with the government to tackle coronavirus, Keir Starmer has this morning gone on the offensive. The Labour leader has written to the de facto deputy Dominic Raab calling on him to publish the outline of the government’s exit strategy. Ministers have repeatedly refused to discuss any easing of the lockdown publicly on
Following Tuesday’s bleak headlines over the effect the coronavirus lockdown could have on the economy, the Chancellor attempted to strike an optimistic note in the daily government press conference. With the OBR projection suggesting three months of lockdown followed by a partial easing could lead to the UK economy shrinking by 35 per cent, Sunak said that while
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Today the Office for Budget Responsibility has released a new analysis of the impact of coronavirus on the British economy. Kate Andrews writes about exactly what it says here, and joins the podcast with Katy Balls and Cindy Yu to discuss its implications.
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In today’s press conference, Patrick Vallance said that the daily death toll is likely to be even higher this week, before it starts to go down. With the government facing increasing criticism and pressure over PPE and testing, will this be the toughest week yet?
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On the Andrew Marr Show today, Sir Jeremy Farrar, a senior scientific advisor on the government’s scientific advisory group Sage, warned that the UK is on track to become one of the worst hit countries in Europe by coronavirus. So has the British government been too slow in its response?
Boris Johnson has been discharged from hospital. After being moved out of intensive care on Thursday, the Prime Minister is now well enough to leave hospital to begin his recovery at Chequers. A No. 10 spokesman said: The PM has been discharged from hospital to continue his recovery, at Chequers. On the advice of his medical team,
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Throughout recent weeks, Germany has been held up as an example of how to tackle coronavirus. So what exactly makes its response quite so effective?
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The government is trying to find out the human cost of the coronavirus lockdown, with one model seen by ministers estimating 150,000 ‘avoidable deaths’. So could the cure to the pandemic be worse than the disease itself?
Dominic Raab used the daily coronavirus press conference to confirm that the nationwide lockdown is unlikely to be lifted anytime soon. The First Secretary of State said that ‘the measures will have to stay in place until we clearly have the evidence that we have moved beyond the peak’. As for when we should start to
The Prime Minister was moved out of intensive care on Thursday evening but remains in hospital. After being moved on Monday night to an ICU where he received oxygen treatment, Boris Johnson’s health has slowly improved in recent days. Now, in the clearest sign he is on the road to recovery, Johnson no longer requires a
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Dominic Raab confirmed in today’s press conference that the lockdown is not being lifted just yet. On the podcast, Katy and James explain why.
This afternoon Dominic Raab will chair a Cobra meeting where the issue of lifting the lockdown will be raised. When Boris Johnson first announced social distancing measures he said the arrangement would be re-examined in three weeks’ time. Yet no one in government believes there is any prospect of an imminent lockdown lift – instead
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The Chancellor ended today’s press briefing with the words: ‘Our economic plan and the plan for charities we announced today are built on one simple idea: that we depend on each other.’ On the podcast, James explains why he thinks coronavirus is the dawn of a new kind of Conservatism.
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One of the biggest decisions in the government’s approach to tackling coronavirus is when and how to lift the lockdown. But this is also one of the most divisive issues within Cabinet. With the Prime Minister not yet out of hospital, this will be one of the things that Dominic Raab can’t decide in his
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Boris Johnson was moved to intensive care on Monday night as his condition worsened. What do we know of the situation, and where does government go from here?