Katy Balls

Katy Balls

Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.

Sadiq’s Ulez expansion gets the green light

9 min listen

The High Court has ruled that Sadiq Khan can expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone, after five Tory councils challenged the proposed policy. Will Keir Starmer be happy that a Labour mayor has won the day? Natasha Feroze speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.

Katy Balls

The Lucy Frazer Edition

29 min listen

Lucy Frazer is the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. Prior to this role in government, Lucy held several ministerial positions from the Department Transport to the Ministry of Justice. On the podcast, Lucy tells Katy about her background working as a barrister which paved the way for a political career; her vision

Bankrolled: Labour’s new paymasters

36 min listen

In this week’s cover story, The Spectator’s political editor Katy Balls writes about Labour’s new paymasters – Keir Starmer’s party now receives more money from private donors than it does from trade unions. What do the new donors want, and what does Starmer want from them? Katy joins Will and Lara alongside the writer and Labour

How Labour won back Britain’s millionaires

The battle for the next Labour manifesto is already under way. ‘I will stay up to 2 a.m. if I need to,’ warned one member of the shadow cabinet ahead of last week’s national policy forum meeting in Nottingham. The trade unions and grassroot members were pushing for radicalism, Keir Starmer for moderation. The squeals

Katy Balls

NatWest faces questions over backing Alison Rose

A week is a long time in politics and a day is a long time in banking. On Tuesday afternoon, NatWest chief Dame Alison Rose admitted that she had ‘made a serious error of judgment’ and was the BBC source who discussed Nigel Farage’s bank details with Simon Jack at a charity dinner. The senior

Is Labour infighting a problem for Starmer?

13 min listen

Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson speak to James Heale about Labour’s infighting over issues such as ULEZ and the child benefits cap. Whilst not in government yet, is this something Keir Starmer will need to get a grip on in order to become the next Prime Minister? Produced by Natasha Feroze.

Will Sunak and Starmer now ditch their green promises?

Where do the by-election results leave Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer? The Labour leader had been hoping for a victory parade but his party’s failure to secure Uxbridge – with the Tories clinging on by under 500 votes – has led to Labour unrest. Rather than tour the media studios with a single message that

Katy Balls

What can we learn from the Uxbridge by-election result?

13 min listen

The dust has settled after yesterday’s by-election results. Having narrowly avoided a triple by-election defeat there seems to be little sign of Conservative party in-fighting, despite their poor showing. There is however a war of words brewing between the London Labour Party and Kier Starmer who blames Sadiq Khan’s Ulez plan for the failure to

Sunak narrowly avoids triple by-election defeat

12 min listen

There was something for everyone in the by-elections with each of the three big parties getting a seat. The Tories lost Somerton and Frome to the Lib Dems and Selby and Ainsty to Labour but did narrowly cling on in Boris Johnson’s former seat of Uxbridge and South Ruislip, albeit with a reduced majority of

Katy Balls

Sunak avoids triple by-election defeat after Tories hold Uxbridge

Rishi Sunak has narrowly avoided three by-election losses. Overnight, the Conservatives lost Somerton and Frome to the Liberal Democrats, overturning a majority of 19,213 to lead by 11,008 votes, and Selby and Ainsty to Labour, with Keir Starmer’s party overturning its largest ever majority at a by-election in post-war history. However, the Tories managed to

Inside Sunak’s meeting with Tory backbenchers

What does a prime minister say to his party ahead of three potential by-election defeats? This was the task for Rishi Sunak tonight as he addressed a final meeting of the 1922 committee ahead of the summer recess. The Prime Minister was welcomed into the room with banging on desks (though such stunts often don’t

Katy Balls

Who is Susan Hall?

15 min listen

Katy Balls speaks to Kate Andrews and James Heale about today’s inflation figures and the latest news about the Conservative Mayoral candidate for London – Susan Hall.

Katy Balls

Labour’s reality check

Rishi Sunak goes into the summer holidays in the same position he began the year: 20 points behind in the polls. In other ways it feels as if his premiership has gone backwards. Mortgage rates have risen above the levels they were under Liz Truss. The Tory psychodrama of the Boris Johnson era has led

Is Rishi weighing up a summer reshuffle?

Will Rishi Sunak reshuffle his top team in a matter of days if not hours? That’s the rumour going around Westminster this evening. As I first reported last month, there have been plans for some time for a summer reshuffle before MPs head home for the long recess. However, this was then complicated by the

Katy Balls

Has Starmer become the villain?

15 min listen

Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and former Labour advisor John McTernan to discuss the ongoing Labour row over the child benefits limit. Reactions were muted during today’s shadow cabinet meeting, but is this a reflection of a looming reshuffle?  Produced by Natasha Feroze. 

Labour row brews over two-child benefit cap

17 min listen

Keir Starmer has said that Labour will not be reversing the two-child benefits cap, after Angela Rayner said it was ‘obscene and inhumane’. But will he continue to back the policy, which allegedly saves the Treasury £1.3 billion, or change his mind in the face of pressure from his shadow front bench?  James Heale speaks

Katy Balls

Labour row brews over two-child benefit cap

Another day, another Keir Starmer U-turn. The Labour leader is facing a backlash from his own side after Starmer used an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg’s to say that a Labour government would keep the two-child benefits cap. When asked whether he would scrap the cap – which has been blamed by Labour politicians

Ben Wallace to quit politics

Ben Wallace has announced that he will be leaving frontline politics at the next cabinet reshuffle. In an interview with the Sunday Times, the Defence Secretary confirmed reports in the media that he will be stepping down at the next election – and also bowing out of the a cabinet ahead of polling day: ‘I’m not

Katy Balls

Katy Balls, Olenka Hamilton, Damian Thompson

24 min listen

This week: (01:08) Katy Balls on the tricky relationship between Labour and the Unions, (07:11) Olenka Hamilton on why Poland is having a row with Brussels over migrants and asylum seekers and (15:29) Damian Thompson asks whether the Vatican is turning its back on tradition and beautiful art.