Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
Keir Starmer began his big conference interview with the BBC talking about the story that has dominated the weekend – the Hamas attack on Israel. With Israel’s Ministry of Health suggesting at least 300 Israelis have been killed so far and the death toll of Palestinians rising, the Labour leader described the rocket fire and
Seven years after the Brexit vote, Katy Balls is joined for a fringe panel from the Conservative Party Conference to discuss if voting to leave the EU was worth it, where the wins are and if opportunities are being missed. Katy Balls in conversation with John Redwood MP, Theresa Villiers MP, Camilla Cavendish, Charles Grant and
19 min listen
Labour has secured a resounding win against the SNP in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election with a swing of 20.4%. Fraser Nelson speaks to Katy Balls and Iain Macwhirter about whether this the end of the Scotland hegemony of the SNP, and if Labour have drifted closer to the right.
42 min listen
Rosie Duffield is the Labour MP for Canterbury and one of the most well-known faces in British politics. She first became an MP in 2017, a historic win which overturned 99 years of Tory rule. Since becoming an MP, Rosie has spoken out against issues such as Brexit, the two-child policy and most famously for
Keir Starmer goes into Labour conference this weekend on a high after his party turned Rutherglen and Hamilton West red in a decisive victory against the SNP. Yesterday’s by-election saw a 20.4 percentage point swing to Labour from the SNP. The Labour candidate, Michael Shanks, won 17,845 votes to the SNP’s 8,399 – a majority
40 min listen
This week: Katy Balls writes in her cover piece that after Tory conference the battle lines have now been drawn between the two main parties. She says we should prepare for a ‘presidential campaign’ ahead of the 2024 election and joins the podcast alongside The Spectator’s editor Fraser Nelson to discuss the dividing lines between Labour and
17 min listen
After spending most of his conference refusing to say much at all, Rishi Sunak used his speech to make three big policy announcements on HS2, smoking and A-levels. Will these gambles pay off? Fraser Nelson speaks to Katy Balls, Isabel Hardman, Kate Andrews and John Connolly.
When David Laws moved in as chief secretary to the Treasury in 2010, he found a note from his predecessor Liam Byrne saying: ‘I’m afraid there is no money.’ It was the most famous parting gift in British political history. What was meant as a joke (Byrne had thought his friend Philip Hammond would get
After spending most of his conference refusing to say much at all, Rishi Sunak used his speech to make three big policy announcements as he seeks to pitch himself as the change candidate. The first was HS2, with Sunak confirming that the government will axe the planned Manchester leg. Sunak said he would spend the
14 min listen
It’s day three at Tory conference and the story that won’t go away is HS2. Rishi Sunak insisted in his media round this morning that a decision has not been made, meanwhile Downing Street sources are reporting that a decision has been made. Standing outside the Midland hotel, Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street
47 min listen
The Spectator’s Fraser Nelson, Katy Balls and Kate Andrews are joined by special guest Frank Luntz for a live recording of Coffee House Shots from Tory party conference. It was at this event two years ago that Frank first declared Liz Truss to be the next Tory leader. Who might succeed Rishi Sunak? And is a Labour
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It’s day two at Tory conference and the mood seems muted and lacking in energy. This is in direct contrast to Rishi Sunak who appeared to have fire in his belly in a tetchy interview over the weekend with Laura Kuenssberg. He will be hoping to use this conference as his reset moment, but will he
This time last year there was a notable absence at Tory party conference: Rishi Sunak. Fresh from losing the summer leadership contest, the former chancellor opted to stay away from the annual meet to allow Liz Truss to ‘own the moment’. It didn’t exactly go well for Truss – the then-prime minister faced various rebellions
Rishi Sunak is in Manchester for what could be the final party conference ahead of next year’s election – and, if that vote goes as many expect, his last as Tory leader. In order to avoid that fate, the Prime Minister hopes to use the annual meet to enter a more pro-active stage of his
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The Conservative party conference begins in Manchester this weekend. Where have conferences gone wrong for previous Tory party leaders, and what will Rishi Sunak want to get out of this one? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Craig Oliver, dormer director of communications in No. 10 under David Cameron.
10 min listen
Tax levels in the UK are at their highest since records began 70 years ago and are unlikely to come down, or so says the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) in their report today. How has the tax burden increased over the four years of this parliament? What’s driving up taxes? Also on the podcast,
14 min listen
Another day, another U-turn. But this time it’s Labour, who have changed tack on their plans to end charitable status for private schools. Labour leader Keir Starmer previously declared that the charitable status for private schools could not be justified, so what’s behind the move? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and John McTernan, former
Will the UK government pledge to leave the European Convention on Human Rights? It’s a cause that Tory MPs on the right of the party have been championing for years, and their cries have grown louder as the Rwanda scheme has struggled to get off the ground. So far the Prime Minister has refused to
Another day, another policy shift from the Labour party. As the i paper first reported, Keir Starmer has U-turned on plans to end the charitable status for private schools. The Labour leader previously declared that the charitable status for private schools could not be justified. However, the new position is that the party can remove
When Claire Coutinho picked her A-levels in 2002, she received a phone call from her grandmother in India. ‘She could see that I’d not picked medical subjects,’ Coutinho says: she’d gone for maths, history of art and English – a glitch in the matrix for a family that tends to choose medical school. ‘She told
