Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
With the NHS in the midst of a ‘humanitarian crisis’ according to the Red Cross, No 10 appeared to try to pass some of the blame onto NHS chief Simon Stevens this morning, with reports that Theresa May’s senior aides think he is ‘insufficiently enthusiastic and responsive’ when it comes to reducing spending. So, it was bad-timing
Philip Davies originally wanted to be a journalist but decided against it after coming to the conclusion that he lacked the confidence: ‘It was my ambition in life but I just realised I was too shy. You’ve got to have a confidence that I think I probably never had.’ Now an unruly backbencher, it’s hard
Just a day after Sir Ivan Rogers’ resignation as Britain’s ambassador to the EU, his successor has been named as Sir Tim Barrow. Currently political director at the Foreign Office, Barrow is a career diplomat who is a former ambassador to Russia with significant experience of Brussels. Speaking on LBC, Rogers’ old boss Charles Crawford, a former
With Brexit negotiations just months away, Sir Ivan Rogers has unexpectedly resigned as Britain’s ambassador to the EU. The news apparently came as a surprise to No.10, with Rogers previously expected to leave the post in November. While Rogers is yet to give a reason for his departure, the decision comes after reports of growing tensions
New year, new start? Not for Labour. The party’s 2017 has got off to a bad start with the publication of a sobering report on its election prospects for 2020. The Fabian Society predicts that Labour will win less than 20pc of the vote and just 150 seats (to put this into context, Labour has not won fewer than 200 seats since 1935).
Although drinking excessive levels of alcohol is up there with Olympic cycling and democracy as things the British excel at, the same cannot be said for dealing with the aftermath. Over the festive season we splash more than £2 billion on trips to the pub as punters take exhortations to have a merry Christmas a
As details begin to emerge regarding the identities of those involved in the Berlin Christmas market attack which left at least 12 people dead, Nigel Farage has been quick off the mark to level the blame at Angela Merkel for her immigration policy. The former Ukip leader announced on Twitter that the ‘terrible news’ had
On Friday, Birmingham prison played host to the worst prison riot since the Strangeways jail riot 16 years ago. Stairwells were set on fire and paper records destroyed as the chaos spread across four wings of the privately-run G4S prison. The problems then continued over the weekend with further incidents reported at Cardiff Prison and Hull
As MPs begin to wind down for the holidays, Jeremy Corbyn appears to have other ideas when it comes to a quiet Christmas. The Labour leader has plunged himself into a fresh row with his party over his links to Sinn Féin. Corbyn has hired a former Sinn Féin member of staff to join his office in
While Theresa May is adamant that her government will not give a running commentary on Brexit, David Davis talked relatively freely on the topic at the Exiting the European Union Committee. He said he would not negotiate control of immigration in Article 50 talks, and that the aim is to have access to the single market
In the Conservatives’ 2015 manifesto, there was a plan to reform the care system for the over-65s and introduce a cap on costs. Despite the Tories’ working majority, there has been little action on the issue and the proposals have been put on hold. Meanwhile the care system has come under increased pressure as a
After a disappointing result for Labour in the Sleaford by-election on Friday, over the weekend it fell on Diane Abbott and Ken Livingstone to take to the airwaves to try and generate some good PR for the beleaguered party. However, things didn’t go quite to plan as Abbott — the shadow home secretary — attempted to attack
Last night’s Sleaford and North Hykeham by-election played out in a predictable fashion overall. After Stephen Phillips resigned in anguish over ‘irreconcilable policy differences’ regarding the government’s Brexit stance, the Tories comfortably clung onto the seat — with their candidate Caroline Johnson winning over 50 pc of the vote. It was a good result, too,
Although drinking excessive levels of alcohol is up there with Olympic cycling and democracy as things the British excel at, the same cannot be said for dealing with the aftermath. Over the festive season we splash more than £2 billion on trips to the pub as punters take exhortations to have a merry Christmas a
Chris Grayling has found himself in the naughty corner today over a leaked letter — to the Evening Standard — from 2013, which appears to show he opposed handing over control of suburban rail to keep it ‘out of the clutches’ of Labour. This is embarrassing — at the very least — for the Transport Secretary
With the Supreme Court ruling on the government’s Article 50 appeal not expected until the new year, Theresa May is facing a more immediate Brexit headache. After around 20 Conservative MPs were expected to back a Labour motion today — tabled by Jeremy Corbyn and Keir Starmer — calling for the Prime Minister to ‘commit to publishing the government’s plan for
Over the weekend, Boris Johnson managed to plunge himself into another Cabinet row by announcing on Peston on Sunday that he thinks students should be excluded from the net migration numbers — because they are ‘of massive benefit to this country’. As is becoming a pattern, No 10 were quick to slap him down — with the Prime
It’s happened. Early this morning the Liberal Democrats managed to cause an upset and overturn Zac Goldsmith’s 23,000 majority in the Richmond Park by-election. Sarah Olney, the winning Lib Dem candidate, won just under 50pc of the entire vote, with 20,510 votes to Goldsmith’s 18,638 — earning her a majority of 1,872. Since Goldsmith stepped down over Heathrow to
David Davis put the cat among the pigeons in the chamber today. The Brexit secretary — who takes a more relaxed approach to discussing Brexit than his tight-lipped boss — talked at length as he was asked various questions on the government’s Brexit position. The news line came after Labour’s Wayne David asked if the government would consider ‘making
Last week the Office for Budget Responsibility revised down its forecasts, suggesting the economy would only expand by 1.4pc in the next year — and warning there would be a knock-on effect on the public finances. While the OBR’s chairman Robert Chote put the gloomy predictions down to uncertainty from the Brexit vote, several Leave champions — including Jacob
