Katy Balls

Katy Balls

Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.

Friday

Katy Balls

Boris’s Thatcher coal mine quip infuriates Tory MPs

From our UK edition

During the Scottish parliament election campaign, Boris Johnson was criticised by the SNP for failing to visit Scotland. His absence wasn't seen as such a bad thing, however, by Scottish Tories who took the view that a visit from the Prime Minister was a risky bet and could actually prove a voter turn off when it came to a winning electoral pitch. So the very fact Johnson this week embarked on a visit north of the border ought to be taken as a sign that the independence situation is improving for unionists.  After Nicola Sturgeon fell one short of a majority in the Holyrood elections, an effort is underway to use this opportunity to boost support for the union.

Thursday

Katy Balls

What if Covid was leaked?

From our UK edition

9 min listen

US intelligence agencies are combing through reams of documents from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, according to reports from CNN, which could provide a vital indication as to whether Covid was leaked. What would be the repercussions if it was? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.

Wednesday

Katy Balls

UK moves towards child vaccination

From our UK edition

It's been confirmed today that those aged 16 and 17 in the UK are on course to be offered Covid vaccines within weeks. The announcement came after the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) unveiled new recommendations in favour of a first dose of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for this age group — stating that it would 'provide good protection against severe illness and hospitalisation'. Sixteen and 17-year-olds will not require the consent of their parents to take up the offer — with a decision on whether a second dose will be required will be made later.

Katy Balls

Why has Boris snubbed Sturgeon?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

Boris Johnson is visiting Scotland today, but has declined an offer from Nicola Sturgeon for a meeting. Why doesn't the PM want to meet with the First Minister, and, after a period of relative quiet, is independence back on the agenda for Sturgeon's government? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth.

Tuesday

Katy Balls

Why are 16-year-olds being given a vaccine?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

Nicola Sturgeon said she expects that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation will soon be recommending that those aged 16 and above will be offered a vaccine. Is this an acceptance that vaccine certificates and Deliveroo discounts aren't enough to reach herd immunity? Isabel Hardman speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

Monday

Katy Balls

Boris Johnson’s popularity problem

From our UK edition

15 min listen

In a ConservativeHome poll on who should replace Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak came out on top. It comes as the Chancellor is reportedly pushing the PM to relax travel restrictions. Is this a problem for No. 11? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

Katy Balls

Boris Johnson’s popularity problem

From our UK edition

The Westminster rumour mill is in overdrive today on the question of whether Rishi Sunak will be Boris Johnson's successor in No. 10. It's not that there's a job vacancy. Instead, the first ConservativeHome poll on who Tory members would like to be the party's next leader has put Sunak out on top, with International Trade secretary Liz Truss in second and Cabinet Office minister Penny Mordaunt a close third. The poll isn't exactly helpful timing for the Chancellor. Given the weekend papers were filled with stories of Sunak calling on Johnson to relax travel rules, anything that fuels talk of leadership manoeuvres is problematic for No. 11.  However, the poll that ought to worry the Prime Minister most doesn't relate to who will eventually replace him.

Saturday

Katy Balls

Should Britain boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics?

From our UK edition

15 min listen

Team GB has had a brilliant start in Tokyo - can the government learn lessons on how to pick and nurture talent? And looking to the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 - which foreign secretary Dominic Raab said he is 'very unlikely' to attend - should Britain boycott them? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Sebastian Coe, president of World Athletics and member of the International Olympic Committee.

Friday

Katy Balls

Is the government bluffing on vaccine passports?

From our UK edition

Over the past week, the government have been upping the ante when it comes to calls for vaccine passports. Long gone are the days when ministers went out on the airwaves to declare that the UK was not a ‘papers please’ country. Instead, the Prime Minister has already declared that they will be needed to enter nightclubs from September while Dominic Raab this week promised to provide prior warning if – as has been reported – vaccine passports become mandatory for students at university. Long gone are the days when ministers went out on the airwaves to declare that the UK was not a ‘papers please’ country However, it’s something else that Raab said in that same interview that has set the cat among the pigeons.

Katy Balls

What’s the point of the ‘amber plus’ list?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

A row is brewing with France over the government's decision to put the country on an 'amber plus' list, where restrictions on quarantine are tighter. But the reasoning for this has been ill-communicated by the government - is the measure worth the trouble? On the podcast, Katy Balls summarises the reasons for a backlash succinctly: 'It's frustrating not just for those who've booked holidays to France... but also to the travel industry, because obviously they're trying to play by a set of rules that you think you understand, and then all of a sudden a new category exists' We also discuss Keir Starmer's call for the government to move the August 16 date - when double-jabbed people will no longer have to isolate if they are pinged - forward.

Thursday

Katy Balls

The Joanna Scanlan Edition

From our UK edition

14 min listen

Joanna Scanlan, an actress best known for her role of Terri in the The Thick of It, had a long and winding road before becoming a star of stage and screen. Born in Cheshire and moved to Wales aged three, she went to two convent schools before an Anglican school where she broke every possible rule she could. On the podcast she talks about her dreams of becoming an actor, working first at the arts council and as a lecturer whilst pursuing her love of acting. In her new film After Love, she plays a woman uncovering the secret life of her late husband, which is out now.

Katy Balls

Is there a ‘cunning plan’ behind vaccine passports?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

With over two thirds of young people now vaccinated, does the messaging on how to reach the final third need to shift? And are the government putting the cart before the horse by hinting that vaccine passports are more about coercion than safety? And finally are we in for another turbulent exam season? James Forsyth speaks to Katy Balls.

Wednesday

Katy Balls

Is quarantine-free travel a risk?

From our UK edition

9 min listen

Fully vaccinated travellers from the EU and US could be allowed to come into the Uk without quarantining, under plans being discussed by the government. Will this help businesses to recover, or is it an unnecessary change that risks seeing a repeat of the fiasco around India's traffic light status back in April? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Isabel.

Tuesday

Katy Balls

Are vaccine refusers ‘selfish’?

From our UK edition

14 min listen

On a visit to Glasgow today, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove went further than other politicians have in saying that those who refuse the vaccine for non-health reasons are 'selfish'. It looks as if the government will continue pushing through its vaccine certificate plans, but what if it has to rely on Labour votes to get it through? Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth.

Katy Balls

Why the Tories are losing support

From our UK edition

Boris Johnson hoped to mark his two year anniversary with a series of big domestic policy announcements as part of his plans for the post-Covid recovery. Instead, the Prime Minister had to spend it in self-isolation on a weekend in which a series of polls pointed to a dip in support for his government.

Monday

Katy Balls

How can the government boost vaccination rates?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

University students could need to be double-vaccinated if they want to attend lectures or stay in halls, according to reports today. Young people have the lowest jab uptake, and these reports follow the announcement last week that clubbers will need a vaccine passport to enter venues from September. Will it work? James Forsyth speaks to Katy Balls.

Saturday

Katy Balls

Was the government right to delay ‘freedom day’?

From our UK edition

23 min listen

It's our first 'freedom' weekend, but it was only a few weeks ago when our own Fraser Nelson and Kate Andrews clashed heads over the most sensible way to open up. Kate thought we should stick to the 21st of June, Fraser argued that the later opening date made sense. Now it's time to see who was right? This cage match was refereed by Katy Balls.

Friday

Katy Balls

Could cases have peaked?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

Daily cases have fallen again today, leading to cautious optimism that - perhaps - cases in this exit wave have peaked. Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews.

Katy Balls

Katy Balls, Douglas Murray and Nigel Farndale

From our UK edition

22 min listen

This week we’ll hear Katy Balls on the government’s dwindling COVID optimism (00:41), Douglas Murray’s prediction of a dull decade of arrested development (04:26) and finally Nigel Farndale of why we owe so much of what we love about the Olympics to the Nazis (12:50).

Thursday

Katy Balls

Can No. 10 stem the ‘pingdemic’?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

Today the CBI gave a stern warning that the test and trace app is 'closing down the economy'. Despite this, the government's key workers list - promised on Monday - has still not been released. What's the hold up, and what will this mean for Boris Johnson's summer as MPs head home for recess? Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.