Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
48 min listen
Anji Hunter is the former gatekeeper to Tony Blair’s Labour government. She was once described as the most influential non-elected person in Downing Street and became one of Blair’s closest confidantes. Acting as an alliance broker, Anji worked across businesses and the media, including Murdoch’s empire. After decades by Blair’s side, Anji moved to the
The Chancellor woke this morning to a grim set of headlines as the newspapers chew over his spring statement. Despite dangling the carrot of an income tax cut by 2024, most papers focus on the OBR’s projection that inflation will lead to the biggest fall in living standards since records began in the 1950s. While
How has Rishi Sunak’s spring statement landed with Tory MPs? While there were a number of helpful questions from Tory backbenchers in the Commons’ debate this afternoon, a more accurate indicator is tonight’s meeting of the 1922’committee of Conservative backbenchers. The Chancellor addressed around 50 MPs this evening (the one-line whip meant that attendance was
17 min listen
While on the surface there might seem like a lot to like in Rishi Sunak’s spring statement. Yes, the NI tax increase is still there, but the tax threshold to pay it is being raised. And there is even a promise of an income tax cut coming in 2024. But does the spectre of inflation
What did we learn from the Chancellor’s spring statement? As James reports on Coffee House, Rishi Sunak’s promise of an income tax cut by 2024 offered a strong indicator of how – and when – the Tories plan to fight the next election. Meanwhile, the OBR’s finding that rising inflation will lead to the biggest
Rishi Sunak ended 2021 as the most popular politician in the country. A YouGov poll for the final quarter of the year found that 31 per cent of all adults had a positive opinion of the Chancellor compared to 28 per cent for Nicola Sturgeon and 26 per cent for Boris Johnson. However, ending 2022 in
15 min listen
Tomorrow is the spring statement. The proposed NI rise set to be outlined in it has been described by the Labour leader Keir Starmer as a ‘cynical’ move so the Chancellor can cut taxes before the next election for political brownie points. But what are Rishi Sunak’s true motives? Cindy Yu deciphers them with Katy
16 min listen
Over the weekend, Boris Johnson sparked a wave of criticism after he linked the Ukraine crisis to Brexit. During his speech at the Conservative Party’s Spring Conference, the PM suggested that Ukraine’s decision to ‘choose freedom’ was reminiscent of Brexit. ‘I think it was up there with the Jimmy Saville joke which he made about Keir
When Rishi Sunak first envisaged this year’s spring statement, the idea was that it would be policy light. Instead, it would serve as an economic update on the latest forecast and give him a chance to lay out his broad tax aspirations for the year ahead. However, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine means that the goalposts have
As the Conservative party’s Spring Forum gets underway in Blackpool, attention is turning back to domestic politics, with cabinet ministers publicly suggesting partygate is over – or more specifically that it is ‘fluff’ according to Jacob Rees-Mogg. A debate about tax is also underway on the fringes as Rishi Sunak continues to insist that he
15 min listen
As Rishi Sunak finalises his Spring Statement, how can he resolve the trilemma of an ageing society, no peace dividend and low growth? Meanwhile, there is a broad Tory desire for increased defence spending amid the Russia Ukraine invasion. But from where will this money be taken? ‘This isn’t an easy time for Rishi. If
14 min listen
The Tory spring conference is this weekend. Before the invasion of Ukraine, when partygate dominated the headlines, it was predicted to have the feel of a pageant show for potential candidates to replace Boris Johnson. But now, with even Labour quieting their cries for resignation, what will the atmosphere of this event be? Max Jeffery talks
When the government published a report last year by the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) into racism in the UK, it was the subject of controversy. The report concluded the UK does not have a systemic problem with racism (while accepting there are issues), and a number of charities dubbed it ‘deeply troubling’. A year later and the government
13 min listen
Today P&O ferries announced to 800 staff that they were being made redundant with immediate effect as security mounted to ferries to escort the staff off the premises. The company said the staff will be served with “enhanced” severance packages, calling it a “necessary decision” to protect its remaining 2,200 staff. Was this fair when
There was a rare display of unity in the Commons chamber this afternoon when Liz Truss gave a statement on the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. While Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner went on the attack at PMQs, asking whether Johnson’s comments when he was Foreign Secretary had made things worse, there was a far more
10 min listen
After 6 years in jail in Iran, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been released and will return home to her husband and their seven-year-old daughter. The UK has paid a debt of £400 million as part of this negotiation which has been an ongoing diplomatic dispute between Britain and the Iranian government. Who were the key players
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been released from custody in Iran, according to Iranian government officials. Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the 43-year-old British-Iranian woman, was detained in Iran over five years ago when she was accused of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government. Her case became even more high profile when Boris Johnson was criticised for making a misleading statement during
Will Boris Johnson ever trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol? The Prime Minister has been under increasing pressure to do so from the right flank of his MPs – particularly in the wake of partygate. Conservative MPs have been going into No. 10 with a list of demands in return for their continuing
11 min listen
Boris Johnson is travelling to the Middle East tonight, where he’ll be meeting Gulf leaders and trying to convince them to pump more oil. With Britain’s energy price cap likely to rise to £3,000 in October, how important is it for the Prime Minister to get what he wants? And will more supply alone fix
14 min listen
Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine has caused the prices of oil and gas to skyrocket. One of the Prime Minster’s strategies to combat this appears to be a visit Saudi Arabia this week, where he’ll ask Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman to release more oil. But what’s the chance of this working? Katy Balls is joined
