Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.
10 min listen
With multiple weeks of bad publicity and rumours of some Conservative MPs sending in letters of no confidence, today’s PMQs witnessed much more noise than last week’s. However, is the Prime Minster hitting back at critics, including a more confident Keir Starmer, effectively? ‘Today I thought Keir Starmer looked like he was actually really enjoying
Tory MPs had hoped this would be the week that Boris Johnson turned the tide after a tricky three weeks of Tory sleaze allegations and discontent on the backbenches. It’s not going quite to plan. After an odd speech to the CBI conference on Monday and a narrow win in the Commons on the government’s
9 min listen
It has been a challenging week for Boris. Following the Peppa Pig speech, immediately after the Owen Paterson u-turn, the party may be starting to lose patience. This could have implications for the government’s future, shown most recently by the rebellion on the social care bill. Many MPs did a ‘no show’ and the government’s majority fell
After three torrid weeks, Tory MPs were hoping for a better start to this one. Alas, it has got off to a rather bizarre start. The kindest thing that can be said about the Prime Minister’s speech this morning to the Confederation of British Industry is that it was peculiar. The main thrust of the speech was meant to be about green growth
13 min listen
During the last general election campaign, Boris Johnson’s persona as the improvisational, brash, comedian was endearing to many voters and those in his party. But with multiple weeks of own goals and bad press is this attitude beginning to look careless rather than amusing? ‘People are now looking out for the next banana skin’ –
22 min listen
On this week’s episode, we’ll hear from Katy Balls on the political power of Angela Rayner. (00:49) Then Lionel Shriver on the unscientific divisions between the vaxxed and unvaxxed. (06:52) And finally, Nick Newman looks at the differences between British and American cartooning. (15:47) Produced and presented by Sam Holmes
13 min listen
Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson about the latest lockdown in Austria, the prospect of Germany following suit, and Austria’s plans for mandatory vaccination.
12 min listen
Priti Patel has blamed the European Union’s freedom of movement for the ‘mass migration crisis’ that Britain is facing. In a visit to Washington, the Home Secretary said: ‘the real problem on illegal migration flows is the EU has no border protections whatsoever — Schengen open borders’. Tories MPs are reportedly frustrated at the government’s
34 min listen
Sarah Vine is a columnist for the Daily Mail and formerly wife of Cabinet minister Michael Gove. On the podcast, Sarah talks to Katy about growing up in Italy, working her way up tabloid journalism (including what it was like to work for Paul Dacre), and her reflections on being a columnist with a politician
12 min listen
The announcement of the Integrated Rail Plan has left many, including a number of Conservative MPs, disappointed due to the proposed new routes and notable omissions. This comes at a bad time for Boris Johnson who is already in the dog house over his handling of the Owen Paterson affair. ‘Boris Johnson is not in
It’s been a long and bruising week for Boris Johnson. The Tory sleaze row has dragged on – and even the Prime Minister’s attempt to bring the matter to a close by supporting a crackdown on outside jobs has run into problems. After a tetchy appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions and then the Liaison Committee,
Almost no MP has emerged with dignity from the sleaze debacle of the past three weeks. Boris Johnson’s botched attempt to spare Owen Paterson a 30-day suspension has badly damaged his credibility with his own party. The 2019 intake of ‘red wall’ MPs have turned on the old guard, accusing their colleagues of damaging the
12 min listen
The Prime Minister has written to the Commons Speaker to propose new lobbying rules for MPs. While some may welcome the measure, like former PM Theresa May, who gave a blistering critique of the way the Owen Paterson affair was handled, others in his party might not be so happy. ‘The challenge for him is
12 min listen
After the government abandoned plans to overhaul the Commons standards rules, Rishi Sunak has said the government needs to ‘do better’. Will the PM show some contrition soon? Max Jeffery talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls. On the podcast, James Forsyth says: ‘He really doesn’t like apologies, never has done. So when he doesn’t
Sorry may be the hardest word for Boris Johnson but that isn’t the case for certain members of his cabinet. After the Prime Minister refused once again in an appearance at the COP26 summit to apologise for backing Owen Paterson in a row over a proposed suspension for a lobbying breach, his ministers are finding
13 min listen
Boris Johnson today has said that Britain is not a corrupt country, but what does it mean that he felt the need to say that? On today’s Coffee House Shots, Fraser Nelson points out that there is no clear firebreak to the present string of sleaze stories; and James Forsyth estimates that around a quarter
14 min listen
The Owen Paterson affair has is shining a light on the extra cash MPs earn on top of their £80,000 salary. One MP, Geoffrey Cox, earned nearly £1 million from outside legal work. But is there an argument to be made for allowing elected officials to receive a second income? Max Jeffery is joined by
Why did Boris Johnson avoid the Commons chamber on Monday? The official reason for the Prime Minister skipping an emergency debate on MPs’ standards is that he has a pre-planned visit. The problem for Johnson is that many of his MPs are taking it as another sign that he is missing in action when it
15 min listen
Over the weekend most media tore into the Owen Paterson affair, with a lot of talk about MPs’ second jobs like those of Geoffrey Cox… ‘I think if you go down this route of essentially banning all these outside interests, we’re going to end up with far more people of inherited wealth in the House
After a bruising week for Boris Johnson over the Owen Paterson lobbying row, the government U-turned on its plan to rewrite MP standards rules and Paterson quit the Commons. Yet the whole saga is far from over: the Prime Minister is likely to spend the next week dealing with the fallout from his botched plan