Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
What does Theresa May want to achieve from this week’s conference? No-one seems sure. There are some in No 10 who would be content so long as she survives it without a coughing fit. Others have higher hopes – that she could reset the dial and reinvigorate her flagging premiership. What seems most likely, however,
There had been a general consensus among Conservative MPs that this year’s Tory conference would be an improvement on the last so long as Theresa May could get through her speech without coughing. However, it seems the forces that be may have other ideas. With the conference due to kick off tomorrow in Birmingham, CCHQ
In his speech today at Labour conference, Jeremy Corbyn confidently set out his vision for government. The Leader of the Opposition promised that a change was coming – and said that this change would benefit the many. On Brexit, however, he disappointed some pro-EU MPs by refusing to soften the party’s position and explicitly back
Jeremy Corbyn will use his leader’s speech on Wednesday to promise change. The Labour leader will vow to change the direction of the way the economy is done. He’ll say a Labour government will do this in a way to benefit the majority and pin the need for change to the financial crisis – criticising
For those wondering why exactly Labour vetoed plans for a new female deputy leader this morning over fears the role could undermine Jeremy Corbyn, look no further than Emily Thornberry’s conference speech. This afternoon, the shadow foreign secretary offered a pretty good explanation as to why Corbyn’s allies had become nervous about the idea of
Well, that lasted long. From the moment Keir Starmer left the conference stage after setting out Labour’s Brexit position, rumours began to circulate that all wasn’t as it seemed. When the shadow Brexit secretary spoke in the conference hall this morning, he received a standing ovation for pledging to keep all options open on Brexit –
The Tom Watson/Jeremy Corbyn feud has claimed its first conference victim: a female deputy leader. Plans to create a new deputy leader role specifically for a female have been dropped this morning at the last minute after Corbyn’s team grew nervous – and blame is being placed firmly with his deputy Tom Watson. When the
There were hopes among pro-Remain MPs that this year’s Labour conference would mark a sea change in the party’s Brexit policy. Instead, what’s been served up is a Brexit fudge that ultimately fails to soften the party position. At last year’s conference, the Labour leader managed to keep Brexit off the conference floor. This year
In the beginning, it seemed as though the Labour civil war consisted of the Corbynistas vs the moderates. Now things aren’t so simple. The first day of Labour conference saw some ugly scenes in the conference floor. However, rather than the hard Left turning on the Blairites, it is a rift between two pro-Corbyn factions:
It’s the first day of Labour conference and Jeremy Corbyn has kicked proceedings off with an appearance on the Andrew Marr show. The Labour leader was grilled on a range of topics from anti-Semitism and ‘English irony’ to his party’s Brexit position. Corbyn put in a relaxed performance, insisting that he loved ‘every minute’ of
This week was supposed to be the week that the European Research Group of backbench Brexiteers finally revealed their hand and published a Brexit plan to rival Theresa May’s. With the Prime Minister currently without the numbers to get her Chequers proposal through Parliament (even if there were no further concessions), there were concerns from
Well, that didn’t take long. Just one week into the new parliamentary term and a case of civil war has broke out in the Conservative party over Boris Johnson. The former foreign secretary makes the front of most Sunday papers – with some running more than one P1 story about him. Following the news that
A break from Brexit in Parliament was found today by way of Russia. In a statement to the House after PMQs, Theresa May announced that there had been significant developments in the UK investigation into the Salisbury poisoning of Russian double agent Sergei Skripal. The government have identified the individuals involved and linked them to
There had been a vague hope in No 10 that the long summer recess would give tired and grumpy Conservative MPs some time to relax, rejuvenate and heal old wounds. Alas the break only led to more feuding and when Parliament returns on Tuesday, Theresa May comes back to a party even more divided over
The fallout from Frank Field’s decision to resign the Labour whip over the leadership’s handling of anti-Semitism allegations continued today. Field wants to stay on as a Labour party member but act as an independent in Parliament. The Labour leadership doesn’t look kindly on this arrangement and has given him two weeks to withdraw his
Frank Field has become the first Labour MP to quit the party over anti-Semitism. He resigned the whip – blaming a ‘culture of intolerance, nastiness and intimidation’ in local parties. In a letter to the Chief Whip, Field said the leadership was ‘becoming a force for anti-Semitism in British politics’: ‘Britain fought the second world
It may seem odd that a cabal of politicians, celebrities and millionaires can successfully present themselves as a great democratic force and seek to overturn Brexit. But the people behind the People’s Vote have one big advantage: their opponents are in disarray. Vote Leave ceased campaigning after the referendum. Its organisers felt they had accomplished
The recurring story of the summer recess – aside from allegations of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia within the main two parties – has been reports of an influx of Ukip-esque members to the Tories. Today tensions reached boiling point. Following reports that pro-EU Tory MPs are seeing sharp rises in applications to join their local parties
Until 5pm this evening, the main news from Theresa May’s first trip to Africa as Prime Minister was that she isn’t much good at dancing – after she attempted to join in on a dance with school children in Cape Town. However, the Maybot has since managed to set the news agenda alight by telling
After a weekend of politicians feuding over the merits of a second referendum, Barry Gardiner, Andy Burnham and Conor Burns have become the latest politicians to criticise the People’s Vote campaign to do just this. Meanwhile the BBC reports of a leaked memo which shows that the group has its eye on changing Labour policy
