Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.
As cabinet members were lining up last week to tell Boris Johnson to resign, one major actor was absent from the drama. Liz Truss was in Indonesia at a G20 summit and missed the fun. She flew back the day after Johnson announced his resignation, knowing that if she makes it to the final stage
Is Penny Mordaunt the dark horse in the Tory leadership race? After topping a Conservative Home poll of Tory MPs, Mordaunt is certainly viewed as a dangerous candidate by her leadership rivals. This morning she held her official campaign launch in a sweaty, crowded room in Westminster’s Cinnamon Club. The former defence secretary struck a patriotic
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Appropriately matched to the summer heatwave, the Tory leadership contest is hotting up. Whilst Grant Shapps has pulled out and decided to back Rishi Sunak, candidates must secure nominations from at least 20 MPs by this evening to enter the contest. Who will go through to the next round? And are they ready to be
Kemi Badenoch has just completed her leadership launch. Although she is an outside bet, her campaign has been building momentum after Michael Gove endorsed her and she came a narrow second in a ConHome poll on who should be the next Tory leader. The launch saw her try to put the flesh on the bones
The 1922 Committee has this evening agreed to change the Tory leadership rules so as to raise the threshold of the number of MP nominations required to enter the race. Each candidate will need 20 supporters, including a proposer and seconder, in order to enter. They will then need to secure 30 votes in the
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Liz Truss has today announced her candidacy for the Tory leadership. With Kemi Badenoch and Suella Braverman already looking to win votes from MPs on the right of the Conservative party, and with Jacob Rees-Mogg and Priti Patel also considering a run for the top job, who will become the candidate of the Tory right?
The Tory leadership contest is a very crowded place – with Liz Truss overnight becoming the tenth candidate to declare (with Rehman Chishti becoming the eleventh a few minutes later). But it could be significantly slimmed down by this evening. Monday marks the day of the elections for the 1922 executive made up of Tory
Liz Truss has become the tenth candidate to enter the Tory leadership race. Announcing her intentions in an op-ed for the Daily Telegraph, the Foreign Secretary has promised if successful to ‘fight the election as a Conservative and govern as a Conservative’. As for her pitch to MPs and members, Truss joins the list of
The Tory leadership contest is yet to officially begin, but things are already turning nasty. As well as reports in the papers of dirty dossiers on candidates, Tory grandees have come out to call for a ceasefire in which Boris Johnson loyalists stop attacking Rishi Sunak. Now a row has broken out over Penny Mordaunt’s
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James Forsyth speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls about what Boris Johnson has achieved and if he will leave a significant imprint as a result of his time in office.
Rishi Sunak has this afternoon confirmed that he is running to be the next leader of the Conservative party. In a launch video published on social media, the former chancellor begins by telling the story of his grandmother coming to the UK from East Africa and starting a life here as he declares that ‘family
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The Tory leadership race has begun. Some candidates, like Steve Baker and Suella Braverman, have already declared that they will be running. Others, like Nadhim Zahawi, Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss, are expected to announce their candidacy in the coming days. What are their platforms? How many MPs will hopefuls need to have supporting them
Keir Starmer is in the clear over beergate. This lunchtime, Durham Police announced that both the Labour leader and his deputy Angela Rayner have been cleared of breaking lockdown rules at an event involving curry and beer. When it comes to the event in April 2021, the police said there was ‘no case to answer’
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In this week’s episode:After Boris, who’s next?On the day the Prime Minister resigns, Katy Balls and James Forsyth discuss the aftermath of Boris Johnson’s premiership. Who might be the next Tory leader? (0.51).Also this week:Who are the wealthy Russian émigrés ready to fight in the war?Sean Thomas talks with Moscow-based journalist, Gabriel Gavin about the
Boris Johnson has announced his resignation. Speaking outside 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister confirmed that he would reluctantly leave office after a majority of his MPs lost faith in his ability to lead. He said it was ‘clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party’ that he goes. In terms of the speech, Johnson
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After fighting words briefed out to the papers overnight, this morning, the Prime Minister has finally decided to resign. A statement is expected today. On the episode, Katy Balls discusses with Isabel Hardman and Fraser Nelson whether he should have gone sooner (and the implications for the post-politics speaking circuit) and the leadership race that
Boris Johnson has so far had four cabinet ministers resign and sacked one – in the form of Michael Gove. Now, one minister has come out publicly to say they will run to be a successor should there be a leadership contest. Step forward Suella Braverman. On Wednesday evening, the Attorney General gave an interview to ITV’s
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As several cabinet ministers have resigned, is it hours, days, weeks or months before Boris Johnson is kicked out? James Forsyth joins Katy Balls from the roof of Parliament.
Westminster has always been run more by convention than by rulebook. Prime ministers are seldom forced out: they are persuaded that their position is unsustainable and they walk. Margaret Thatcher quit before facing a final vote. Tony Blair chose resignation in preference to an uprising led by Gordon Brown. Theresa May was technically safe from
Just over three hours after Rishi Sunak resigned as Chancellor, Boris Johnson appointed his successor. Downing Street confirmed on Tuesday evening that Nadhim Zahawi will take on the role – leaving his job as Education Secretary to enter No. 11. It comes after Zahawi spent over an hour in Downing Street following speculation he could
