Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
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James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman about how Suella Braverman’s speeding scandal might unravel; and what to expect from Keir Starmer’s vision to build and NHS fit for the future.
Suella Braverman is in the firing line, following reports the Home Secretary asked civil servants for advice on arranging a private one-to-one driving awareness course to help her avoid a speeding fine and points on her licence. Braverman is accused of breaking the ministerial code by directing civil servants to assist with her personal affairs.
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Dambisa Moyo is an economist, life peer and author of five books: from Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa to her most recent, How Boards Work: And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World. Born in Zambia, Dambisa grew up in a house where discussing politics
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Keir Starmer promised in an interview with the Times today that as prime minister he would back the ‘builders not the blockers’. But is it all bluster? Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman.
Tories have spent the week giving speeches about what it means to be a conservative at the National Conservatism conference in Westminster’s Emmanuel Centre. However, another speech on conservatism could reveal more about what the next ten years will look like in UK politics. Over the weekend, much of the news agenda was centred on
Ever since Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister, his aides have worried that May would be the month of mutiny. His mandate over the party has always been weak, since he lost the summer’s leadership race to Liz Truss. He was also certain to preside over heavy losses in the local elections, so the aftermath of
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The Prime Minister has gone to Iceland today to see the Council of Europe, where he has been talking about immigration and the ECHR with other European leaders. On the episode, Katy Balls explains his mission to get other leaders on board with the UK’s hardline approach to immigration. Cindy Yu also talks to James
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Home Secretary Suella Braverman said that there is no good reason the UK can’t train its own lorry drivers and fruit pickers in order to bring immigration rates down. Katy Balls speaks to James Heale and Isabel Hardman about why this has rubbed some up the wrong way and Keir Starmer’s speech over the weekend,
How should Rishi Sunak govern? Unfortunately for the Prime Minister, his MPs have plenty of views on the matter at the moment – and many are keen to air them publicly. In the face of disappointing local election results, a couple of hundred members of the pro-Boris vehicle the Conservative Democratic Organisation gathered in Bournemouth
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The coronation will commemorate the start of a new era, but what will this mean for the United Kingdom? How will Charles III secure his place in history – and what kind of monarch will he be? From pageantry to the polls: will the coronation distract voters from the Tories’ predicted heavy losses in the
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The UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent in the first quarter of this year. Jeremy Hunt said that the government needed to ‘stay focused on competitive taxes, labour supply and productivity.’ Is that enough to improve growth? Natasha Feroze speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.
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Will Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, lose her supporters in the ERG, after the government confirmed that it would be going back on its pledge to remove all EU legislation from UK law by the end of 2023? James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.
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James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Stephen Bush about the Lord’s debate on the Illegal Migration Bill. Now in its third reading, will the government face substantive amendments to the legislation?
Every prime minister has at least one guilty pleasure; Rishi Sunak has several. Colleagues tease him for his taste in music (Michael Bublé), television (Emily in Paris) and literature (Jilly Cooper CBE). One of his favourite novels is Cooper’s first ‘bonkbuster’ Riders, a tale about the great and good – and a Tory minister for
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James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman about the fallout from the local elections, some of the arrests made during the Coronation and Rishi Sunak’s plans to give powers to the pharmacies.
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This week: William Moore recalls the 1953 coronation with those that were there (01:02), Katy Balls reads her politics column (10:13), Dan Hitchens discusses the art of coronation (16:20) and Ysenda Maxtone Graham reads her review of The Seaside by Madeleine Bunting (25:20). Produced and presented by Oscar Edmondson.
The Conservatives have suffered 1000 councillor losses – and the count is not over yet. This was the figure Tory aides used when they were attempting to manage expectations in advance. That the party is on course to exceed it shows that the result is worse than many in Tory circles had expected. Meanwhile, Labour
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The local election results so far paint a fairly grim picture for the Conservatives, whilst Labour and the Liberal Democrats have made big gains in key areas. With Starmer in the advantage position ahead of the next general election, how will No. 10 respond? Is there a path for the Tories in 2024? Katy Balls
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Early results from the local elections are coming in. The Conservatives were expected to perform badly, and Labour to make gains, and that’s certainly happened. But, if Labour were to replicate these results in a general election, would they win? And are the Liberal Democrats the ones really doing well? Max Jeffery speaks to Katy
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Sam McAlister is a producer and author of Scoops: The BBC’s Most Shocking Interviews from Prince Andrew to Steven Seagal. When she worked for Newsnight, she was the producer who secured the infamous interview with Prince Andrew, conducted by Emily Maitlis. This interview eventually led to Prince Andrew being suspended from public duties and stepping back
