Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
Is Boris Johnson approaching a Brexit breakthrough? That’s the question being asked among Conservative MPs after there appeared to be movement last week from the government and DUP that could help to secure a deal with the EU. Today the Prime Minister met with EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in Luxembourg to discuss the prospect,
Every Monday, a group of unlikely bedfellows meet in Jeremy Corbyn’s parliamentary office. Jo Swinson, Liberal Democrat leader; Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader; Caroline Lucas, the Green party’s sole MP; and Liz Saville Roberts from Plaid Cymru all gather to discuss their common aim — preventing a no-deal Brexit. This rebel alliance is more
Whatever happens in this evening’s election vote, John Bercow will not be the House of Commons Speaker come 1 November. The Speaker announced his plans to quit in the Chamber this afternoon to a mixed reception from MPs. Bercow said he had promised his family he would not stand for re-election and planned to stick
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Katy talks to Amber Rudd, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, about walking in Theresa May’s shoes, No 10’s SpAd jihad, and the government’s whip withdrawal for the 21 Tory rebels this week. Presented by Katy Balls.
Although Downing Street heralded Thursday the ‘first day of the election campaign’, Boris Johnson is yet to be able to call an election. Today Labour and other UK opposition parties have agreed not to back the Prime Minister’s call for general election before the October EU summit. Explaining the decision, the SNP’s Ian Blackford said
Boris Johnson has suffered his first resignation from around the Cabinet table – and it’s from his brother Jo. Jo Johnson has announced via social media that he will be stepping down both as a minister and an MP. The Minister of State for universities and science said that in recent weeks, he had felt
Boris Johnson has lost his third government vote – and his first bid for an early election. MPs voted against his call for an early election under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, with Johnson failing to get two thirds of the Commons to vote for it – 298 MPs voted in favour with 56 against.
Boris Johnson tonight suffered his first government defeat in his first Commons vote since becoming Prime Minister. Tory rebels joined forces with opposition MPs to take control of the agenda tomorrow – the first stage of their attempt to pass a law to legislate against no deal. The Commons voted 328 to 301 – meaning the government
The Conservative party has undergone significant change in the past 24 hours. As a Brexit showdown looms – and reports of an imminent early election rise – a number of Conservative MPs have announced they will not be seeking re-election. Justine Greening was the first to go today. Announcing her decision, she said her party
In his statement outside No. 10, Boris Johnson’s message was simple: back me or help Corbyn. Ahead of a crunch Brexit vote tomorrow in the Commons, the Prime Minister urged Tory MPs to get on side and help ensure a Brexit deal could be agreed. In order to do this, Johnson said it was vital
How is the Cabinet responding to the latest Brexit developments? This evening, Boris Johnson will meet with his ministers to discuss the next steps forward – and rumours of an early election are rampant. No. 10’s decision to withdraw the whip and stop from standing at the next election any Tory MP who rebels on
After the government confirmed James’s story that any Tory MPs who rebel in a Brexit vote this week will have the whip withdrawn and be unable to stand as a Conservative at the next election, anti-no deal MPs find themselves in a dilemma. No 10’s aim is to present them with a simple choice: Johnson
How many Tory MPs will vote against the government this week in a bid to stop a no deal Brexit? When MPs return to the House of Commons on Tuesday from the summer recess, a cross-party group of MPs – with the help of John Bercow – are expected to try to take control of
When news broke on Wednesday morning that Boris Johnson was planning to prorogue Parliament for five weeks ahead of a new Queen’s Speech, a conference call was hastily scheduled with his Cabinet. By the time it happened, every minister on the call was aware of what the Prime Minister was seeking to propose. The Prime
The main reason Conservative MPs prefer Boris Johnson’s government to Theresa May’s is because of its clarity of message. The government now has direction and purpose. Briefings from Tory HQ, delivered even to those MPs who have managed to get away on holiday, have gone from intermittent and inconsistent to daily and succinct. The message
When Theresa May held press conferences with European leaders over Brexit, they were often a painful affair – with her counterpart quick to suggest little progress had been made. This afternoon Boris Johnson opted for an optimistic approach in his first outing on the world stage. The Prime Minister met with Angela Merkel this afternoon
What is Boris Johnson’s strategy for engaging with the media? Over the weekend reports emerged that the Johnson government’s media strategy would omit Radio 4’s flagship current affairs programme. No. 10 director of communications Lee Cain is said to have told aides that the Today programme is a ‘total waste of time’. He’s not alone. Johnson’s most
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Dame Joan Collins is an actress, author, and entrepreneur. Her acting career spans three quarters of a century, including 1950s Hollywood movies, to her role as Alexis Carrington in Dynasty. In this episode, she talks to Katy about breaking into acting as a young woman, what she thinks about Love Island, and why she supports
The recurring story of the summer recess is the plot to form a government of national unity in order to thwart any No. 10 plans for a no-deal Brexit. Anti no-deal MPs have discussed voting down Boris Johnson’s government when Parliament returns in September and then using the two week grace period that follows to
Every Friday at 6 p.m. government aides are summoned to No. 10 Downing Street for a meeting with Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s right-hand man. Here they are plied with alcoholic beverages, updated on the latest government messaging and given instructions for the week ahead. Such meetings seldom happened under the old Theresa May regime: Fridays