Katy Balls

Katy Balls

Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.

Should the Tories try to lose the next election?

9 min listen

Some Tories want to lose the next election. Conservative policies and ideologies are stale, they say, and the party could do with a period in opposition. Is this really a good idea? And could a Labour, SNP and Liberal Democrat coalition find a way to keep the Tories out of government for decades? ‘If anyone

Katy Balls, James Heale and Melissa Kite

16 min listen

On this week’s episode, we’ll hear from Katy Balls on Boris Johnson’s plans to divide and conquer (0.33).After that, James Heale on the broadcast battle obsessing British media (6.20).And to finish, Melissa Kite on the politics of horse muck (11.16).Produced by Natasha FerozeEntries for this year’s Innovator Awards, sponsored by Investec, are now open. To

Katy Balls

Has Boris won back Tory MPs?

10 min listen

Given that Boris Johnson escaped the latest and final set of party fines from the police yesterday, does this mean partygate is over? Sue Gray’s report is still yet to be published, where she intends to name and shame those in her report. Could this take some of the pressure off the Prime Minister? Also

Is Boris Johnson out of the woods on partygate?

10 min listen

The Met police have today announced that their investigation into No. 10 parties is now over, and No. 10 have confirmed that neither the Prime Minister nor his wife have received more fines. Is Boris Johnson out of the woods? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman. James points out the fortunate timing

Katy Balls

Boris escapes further partygate fines

The end of partygate? This morning the police have announced that their investigation into alleged Covid breaches in Downing Street has now been completed. The Met say the investigation – which began in January after Sue Gray uncovered evidence of breaches – has led to 126 people facing fines across eight different events. Even though

Katy Balls

Boris’s plan to divide and conquer

Boris Johnson has never quite been able to decide whether he wants to be a great unifier or a great divider. Does he want to govern like he did at City Hall – the ‘generous-hearted, loving mayor of London’, as he once described himself – or is his best chance for re-election a return to

Is a windfall tax inevitable?

13 min listen

With the cost of living crisis looming large, pressure is on the government to come up with effective solutions. With Labour snapping at their heels for an emergency budget and a windfall tax on oil and gas companies, will the Conservatives eventually bend to this pressure? And if they do, will these solutions even work?

Will the new Brexit bill spark a trade war with the EU?

-20 min listen

Liz Truss made a speech in the House of Commons today laying out the government’s plans to scrap parts of the Northern Ireland protocol. James Forsyth first broke this story in last week’s Spectator magazine. How will the EU react to the news? And could this spark a trade war with the EU? Moving onto the cost

Will Boris break the Stormont deadlock?

12 min listen

Boris Johnson is in Belfast today in an attempt to repair relations between the DUP and Sinn Fein. In a 2000 word article for Belfast Telegraph, the Prime Minister laid out his intentions not to scrap the Northern Ireland Protocol, but instead to fix it. Can these two polarised parties find a middle ground? Also on

Katy Balls

Boris Johnson’s Northern Ireland gamble

Boris Johnson will head to Northern Ireland today as the government lays the groundwork to unilaterally overwrite parts of the protocol. Tomorrow, the Foreign Secretary is expected to unveil plans for a new law to change the protocol if the EU refuses to grant concessions. Given Johnson’s frayed relationship with the DUP – the party hasn’t forgiven

The Kemi Badenoch Edition

39 min listen

Kemi Badenoch is the MP for Saffron Walden and a minister in Michael Gove’s Levelling Up department. On entering parliament in 2017, Kemi was quickly pegged as one of the Conservative Party’s rising stars and an example of what she calls the “British Dream”, going from immigrant to parliamentarian in the space of one generation.

What’s the point of a cost of living cabinet?

11 min listen

Boris Johnson met Conservative MPs in Stoke-on-Trent for a Cabinet away day. Their focus is on how new legislation could level up the UK and protect people from the cost of living crisis as it intensifies. Meanwhile, the GDP figures show the UK economy contracted in March as consumers cut back on spending. Is the

Katy Balls

Can Keir escape?

43 min listen

This week Lara Prendergast and William Moore talk to Katy Balls and the journalist Paul Mason about the future of Labour (00:40). Followed by historian David Abulafia and the Sunday Times education editor Sian Griffiths on the announcement of Cambridge University’s plans to limit the number of their private school students (15:20). Finally, a debate

Katy Balls

Is Boris about to bin the Northern Ireland protocol?

Here we go. The UK is on the brink of another Brexit battle as ministers consider unveiling legislation that would unilaterally overwrite parts of the Northern Ireland protocol. This morning the Foreign Secretary spoke to the European Commission’s vice president Maroš Šefčovič – warning that the protocol has ‘become the greatest obstacle to forming a Northern Ireland

Katy Balls

After Starmer: what’s next for Labour?

Sometimes a plan can be too successful. When Durham police announced on the day of the local election results that they would investigate Keir Starmer over ‘beergate’ – an event in April last year where Starmer was filmed drinking a beer with Labour staff, at a time when indoor socialising was banned – Tory MPs

What did the Queen’s Speech reveal?

12 min listen

Inside the Lord’s Chamber, Prince Charles delivered the Queen’s Speech in his mother’s absence. The key themes of the Prime Minister’s legislative agenda included easing the cost of living crisis, post-Brexit economic arrangements and a particular emphasis on crime. ‘You can tell the Tory party is trying to shore itself up from being outflanked on

How much trouble is Keir Starmer in?

11 min listen

As pressures mount over claims that Keir Starmer broke lockdown rules, the Labour leader has just pulled out of a keynote speech he is due to give today. How much trouble is he really in? Katy Balls looks at Starmer’s future in a blog on Coffee House today. Also on the podcast, what will be

Katy Balls

How much trouble is Keir Starmer in?

Ahead of Thursday’s local elections, there had been talk among MPs that it could serve as a referendum on partygate and lead to questions about Boris Johnson’s future as leader. Instead, it’s Keir Starmer who is facing questions about Covid breaches and how long he will stay in post. After Durham Police announced on Friday