Katy Balls

Katy Balls

Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.

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

Can the Lib Dem’s declare victory?

14 min listen

We’ve had more election results in and it looks like the Lib Dems will be celebrating tonight, encroaching on many Tory seats around the country. But is this Liberal passion from voters or disaffection with the two major parties? Katy Balls talks with James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about all the latest results.

Katy Balls

What Durham police’s ‘beergate’ investigation means for Starmer

It’s Boris Johnson’s lucky day. Keir Starmer had hoped to spend Friday talking up Labour’s results in the local election – with a particular focus on the party’s successes over the London Tories in Wandsworth, Barnet and Westminster. Instead, the Labour leader and his team will spend the afternoon talking about ‘beergate’ after the Telegraph broke the news

Katy Balls

Who are the ‘winners’ in the local elections?

13 min listen

The results are coming in! While the Tories seem to have done quite badly in the capital, Labour has not made the gains in the rest of the country that many predicted they would. The Lib Dems and the Greens have had a good showing so far but we won’t know just how good until

Katy Balls

Is Starmer falling short?

As the local election results trickle in, Labour has plenty to shout about when it comes to London. The party has taken Westminster, Wandsworth and Barnet from the Tories, in a blow to the Conservatives. Given these are high-profile victories – Wandsworth was Thatcher’s favourite council and Westminster has never been Labour – it’s understandable

Is the UK headed towards recession?

10 min listen

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

Could Labour overtake the Tories in Scotland?

9 min listen

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

What does victory look like in the local elections?

13 min listen

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

Katy Balls

Beergate is coming back to bite Starmer

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

Is Pestminster back?

17 min listen

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

Katy Balls

Liz Truss’s foreign policy pivot

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

Katy Balls

Nadine Dorries: My vision for the BBC

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

Katy Balls

The Nadine Dorries Edition

46 min listen

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,

Will MPs be hit by another sleaze scandal?

14 min listen

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

Boris Johnson’s cost of living gamble

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

Katy Balls

Can the Cabinet really solve the ‘cost of living’ crisis?

13 min listen

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.