Are the Conservatives ungovernable?
16 min listen
James Heale, James Forsyth and Katy Balls discuss whether the Tories are an impossible coalition to preside over.
Katy Balls
Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
Saturday
Friday
Will Boris get the numbers he needs?
15 min listen
Whilst no candidate has officially declared their candidacy for the Tory leadership race, speculation is rife about a possible Boris Johnson return. Could he get the 100 supporters he needs? Will he extend an olive branch to Rishi Sunak? James Heale speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls. Produced by Max Jeffery and Oscar Edmondson.
Chaos with Boris Johnson?
The chance of a Boris Johnson comeback has risen dramatically since Liz Truss’s resignation. Over 40 MPs have so far come out to publicly back him while today’s papers are filled with briefings about how the former prime minister would be best placed to save the party from electoral doom. Now it’s no great secret
Thursday
‘The ultimate death match’: Will it be Boris vs Rishi?
It will take 100 MP nominations to qualify for the next Tory leadership race and the clock is ticking – with Boris Johnson out in front with 51 supporters so far. Rishi Sunak has 44 and Penny Mordaunt 20. It will go to the membership for a swift decision unless the finalists come to a
Liz Truss resigns
11 min listen
Forty-four days into her premiership, Liz Truss said she was resigning as Prime Minister. There will now be a week-long race to elect a new leader. Who will be the contenders? Isabel Hardman speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth. Produced by Natasha Feroze.
Liz Truss resigns
Liz Truss has just announced that she will be stepping down as Prime Minister. Forty-four days into her premiership, Truss said she was resigning as the leader of the party. Announcing her decision in a short speech outside Downing Street – accompanied by her husband – Truss said that she entered at a time of uncertainty
Commons chaos as the Tories fall apart
The government chaos continues. On Wednesday morning, Tory MPs were told that Labour’s motion to force a vote on a bill to ban fracking was a confidence motion in Truss’s government. Whips were determined not to give Labour control of the order paper. There would be no ifs or buts – all Tory MPs had
Wednesday
The Liz Truss survival plan
At the first stage of the Conservative leadership race, when Liz Truss was trying to win MPs’ support, her message was that she was the one who could ‘unite the right’. Now, her plan to survive in No. 10 relies on dividing the Tory left. Regicide is a messy business. ‘It’s very hard to push
Coffee House Shots Live: Another winter of discontent?
75 min listen
Fraser Nelson, James Forsyth, Katy Balls and Kate Andrews discuss plans to stop spiralling inflation – and a spiralling government.
Braverman out. Has the great resignation begun?
10 min listen
Suella Braverman has resigned as Home Secretary over a row on immigration measures. Grant Shapps has been selected to replace her. Will more follow? Isabel Hardman speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.
Suella Braverman out as Home Secretary
Just as it seemed a brief calm was emerging in the Tory party, the Prime Minister has lost her Home Secretary. Suella Braverman has left her role with Grant Shapps brought in to replace her. The circumstances of her departure are shrouded in mystery for now – but government sources suggest this is not a
The question Liz Truss needs to answer
Liz Truss will face the music this lunchtime when she speaks in the Chamber for the first time since she sacked Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor, hired Jeremy Hunt as his successor –then watched as he junked almost the entirety of the not-so-mini-Budget. When Labour summoned Truss for an Urgent Question on the issue on Monday,
Tuesday
Will there be resignations?
13 min listen
Another day, another u-turn. Liz Truss met with her Cabinet today and is reportedly considering u-turning on the pensions triple lock. Are ministers heading for more ‘lengthy discussions’ on public spending? Should we brace ourselves for resignations? Also on the podcast, as Hunt looks at which departments to cut, what could this mean for the
Monday
Mordaunt faces the music as Truss’s understudy
When the phrases ‘the Prime Minister is not under a desk’ and ‘I don’t think there has been a coup’ are put forward by a minister tasked with defending their boss, it’s a sign that the parliamentary session has not gone to plan. This was the case this afternoon when Penny Mordaunt was sent to
Trussonomics is dead
18 min listen
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt gave a statement this morning in which he outlined plans to scrap ‘almost all’ the tax measures announced by his predecessor, Kwasi Kwarteng just four weeks ago. In one of the largest U-turns in history, the markets have become the most important force in British politics. James Forsyth, Katy Balls, Kate Andrews
Will there be a revolt on the Tory right?
What is the point of Liz Truss’s government? Expect more MPs to ask that question today after Jeremy Hunt’s statement tearing up the not-so-mini Budget. The new chancellor has just announced in an address that he will be scrapping every tax cut in Truss and her then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s fiscal event bar the reversal of
Sunday
How long can Liz Truss hold on?
How much trouble is Liz Truss in? Just six weeks into her premiership, the Prime Minister’s economic plans are in tatters after she axed her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, reversed on her campaign pledge to scrap the scheduled corporation tax hike and brought in Jeremy Hunt as his successor. Now Hunt is calling the shots on
Saturday
Jeremy Hunt: there are ‘very difficult decisions’ ahead
Liz Truss made two big moves on Friday in a bid to calm the markets and save her premiership. The first was to announce that she was ditching plans to cancel the scheduled corporation tax rise. The second was that she had sacked her chancellor and long standing ally Kwasi Kwarteng – bringing Jeremy Hunt
Friday
Five ways the Liz Truss saga could end
How does this end? That’s the question being asked by Tory MPs as Liz Truss’s government finds itself in turmoil once again. The Prime Minister’s decision to axe her chancellor and U-turn on a plan to ditch the corporation tax has only added to nerves in the Conservative party as to how sustainable the current
Liz Truss’s painful press conference fails to calm Tory nerves
Liz Truss has just confirmed that she is U-turning on another part of her government’s not-so-mini Budget. After sacking her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng this morning, the Prime Minister used a Downing Street press conference to say that she will now keep the increase in corporation tax, despite promising to ditch it. This ought to raise