Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
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The Monetary Policy Committee has just raised interest rates again. This is the fourth consecutive rise, the first time this has happened within a quarter of a century. Economically the future is looking pretty bleak and not just in the UK, this looks like it may be a global problem caused by several factors. China’s
When Britain voted for Brexit, Tony Abbott, the former prime minister of Australia, had an idea. How about striking a new free trade deal between Australia and the UK to celebrate escaping the statism and bureaucracy of Brussels? The deal needed to be only one page long, he argued, because the two countries were already
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A new poll from ComRes has shown Scottish Labour taking second place in tomorrow’s local elections, overtaking the Scottish Conservatives. On the podcast, James Forsyth explains the torrid flip-flop that Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Tories, has made over partygate, first calling for Boris Johnson to resign before rowing back (‘He thought that the
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Campaigning in the local elections is entering its final few days. But what are the expectations for the Tories and Labour and can they be met? Both leaders Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer have already put their foot in it to some degree, with the Labour leader getting rather too defensive about his lockdown mid-work
Labour had planned to continue its offensive on partygate and the cost of living during this week’s local elections. In recent weeks, that tactic has been yielding results: Boris Johnson has come under pressure for receiving a fixed penalty notice for attending an event in Downing Street involving birthday cake. Now it’s Keir Starmer who is facing
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This has been a bad week for the reputation of the House of Commons. From inappropriate comments toward female MPs, three cabinet ministers facing sexual misconduct claims and one MP accused of watching pornography in the chamber. Can anything be done to change this grotesque culture? And is it Westminster specific or an issue with
How long will the war in Ukraine go on? Speaking last night at Mansion House, Liz Truss suggested that western allies would be in it for the long haul when it comes to supporting Ukraine – suggesting the only acceptable outcome is for Russian forces must be pushed out of ‘the whole of Ukraine’. The Foreign Secretary
When Nadine Dorries was named Culture Secretary last year, it proved to be the most controversial appointment of Boris Johnson’s reshuffle. Her critics weren’t afraid to point to what they saw as her flaws. She was a Scouser and former nurse put in charge of the cultural crown jewels. The only explanation they could come
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Nadine Dorries is the Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sports and MP for Mid Bedfordshire. After leaving school at 16, Dorries went on to become a nurse and an entrepreneur before entering politics at the age of 49. She was a minister in the Department of Health during the pandemic,
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The chief whip Chris Heaton-Harris has started an investigation after a female Tory MP reported that she had seen a male colleague watching pornography in the House of Commons. This comes in the wake of the Mail On Sunday‘s Angela Rayner/Basic Instinct story, and of the Sunday Times’s investigation that three current cabinet ministers are
What can the government do to ease the cost of living crisis? The Chancellor drew criticism in his spring statement for not doing enough – yet there are ministers, such as Kit Malthouse, who take the view the government has already spent too much. At a recent cabinet meeting Malthouse suggested Johnson and Sunak reopen
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Today a pre-briefing on what Boris Johnson plans to say to the Cabinet about the cost of living crisis was released. He wants them to brainstorm ideas to ease the pain felt by the British public in the face of rising prices of food and energy. The catch, is these have to be non-fiscal ways.
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French President, Emmanuel Macron secured victory over the weekend. But with the election over, will we see a reset in relations between the UK and France? Apart from support for Ukraine, there has been little the governments on either side of the Channel have agreed on. Katy Balls is joined by Isabel Hardman and James
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At the beginning of the year, letters from Conservative MPs looked to be reaching the 54 threshold needed to trigger a no-confidence vote in Boris Johnson. Most would think a fixed penalty notice from the Met would bring us at least back to those levels. And though there have been some full-throated calls of support
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Boris Johnson has met his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to discuss defence, energy and trade ties. Will he be able to secure a trade deal with India?Meanwhile back at home, Boris Johnson faces an investigation by the Commons Committee of Privileges over claims he misled Parliament on partygate. All to be discussed as Katy Balls
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The cost of living is rising, as is the cost of renting. Zoopla estimates that rents are rising at the fastest rate in 14 years, which means that the average rent in the UK is now over £1000 a month.This is partly a pandemic effect, especially in London as people return to offices. But Covid
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The government’s response to Labour wanting to refer the Prime Minister to the Privileges Committee – who could then rule that he mislead the Commons – has been messy. At first, Conservative MPs were to be forced to vote with the government against the motion, but No. 10 then changed its position, saying it would be a
Will Boris Johnson live to regret his trip to India? As the Prime Minister gets on with government business abroad, he is facing a hostile parliamentary party with a string of Tory MPs coming out to call for him to go. MPs are debating Labour’s call for an inquiry into whether Boris Johnson misled parliament. The
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In this episode: Is Boris going to limp on? In her cover piece this week, Katy Balls writes that although Boris Johnson believes he can survive the partygate scandal, he has some way to go until he is safe, while in his column, James Forsyth writes about why the Tories have a summer of discontent ahead
On Tuesday night, after apologising again to the House of Commons for breaking lockdown rules, Boris Johnson addressed a private meeting of Tory MPs. He had a message for his critics: ‘This is the beginning of the end.’ ‘For a minute, I thought he was talking about himself,’ says one MP. In fact, the Prime
