Katy Balls is The Spectator’s political editor.
As the government puts the final touches to its social distancing review and Foreign Office ministers ponder the best response to the situation in Belarus, it’s a scheduled select committee appearance that is the subject of the most animated chatter in Westminster. Dominic Cummings is due to give evidence before the joint health and science
9 min listen
Boris Johnson is increasingly confident that Britain will drop the majority of Covid restrictions on 21 June. But with the Indian variant forcing case rates in Bolton to more than ten times the national average, and in Blackburn to more than six, why is he optimistic? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.
12 min listen
Despite some misgivings in Cabinet, free marketeers seem to have won the argument on the Australia trade deal, one of the first major deals to be struck after Brexit. Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about the latest discussions in government.
Will the Indian variant derail the government’s roadmap for ending lockdown? That’s the question that has been asked multiple times in Whitehall this week. After an increase in community transmission was reported in parts of the North West including Bolton, the Prime Minister set the cat among the pigeons on Friday by suggesting it could impact
The roadmap out of lockdown is the signature document of Boris Johnson’s new team in No. 10. It’s intended to be cautious, detailed and based on a new mantra of under-promising and over-delivering. It’s meant to strike a contrast with the chaos that came in the early stage of the pandemic by projecting an image
10 min listen
Nicola Sturgeon unveiled her new Cabinet today, reshuffling familiar faces with a clutch of new ministerial appointments. Will it be a line-up that causes sleepless nights for No 10? Joining Isabel Hardman to assess Team Sturgeon’s new look are Katy Balls and James Forsyth.
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Keir Starmer is reportedly thinking about giving access to a camera crew in order to create a fly-on-the-wall documentary about his leadership of the Labour party. Is this a good idea? Isabel Hardman talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.
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As England moves into the next phase of its lockdown easing today, the Indian variant threatens to throw the final phase off schedule. Could the government delay 21 June? Isabel Hardman speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.
As the penultimate lockdown easing gets under way, ministers are being asked a question: will the 21 June unlocking be delayed? On Friday, Boris Johnson warned the rise of the Indian variant could ‘pose serious disruption’ to the planned lockdown easing next month, when nearly all Covid restrictions are expected to go. The line from the government hasn’t
16 min listen
While the local elections bore fruit for the Tories in the red wall, the party’s rebranding has had some southern shire MPs worried – does the party under Boris Johnson still speak for them and their voters? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls about this growing fracture.
13 min listen
Cases of the Indian coronavirus variant have more than doubled in the last week, and Nadhim Zahawi, the vaccines minister, this morning said that jabs could be deployed in areas with higher case loads to contain its spread. Will the variant delay the 21 June unlocking? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.
30 min listen
Katy Searle is the Executive Editor of Politics at BBC News. She is known for overseeing numerous blockbuster political moments, including the infamous kitchen interviews with Ed Miliband and David Cameron, where the Labour leader showed off his two kitchens. On the podcast, she talks to Katy Balls about leaving school at 16, working with
14 min listen
David Cameron is giving evidence to MPs today over his lobbying for Greensill Capital, in the latest round of embarrassment for the former prime minister. On the podcast, Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth about the graceful way to leave Downing Street.
13 min listen
Boris Johnson has announced that an inquiry into the government’s Covid response will be launched next year. Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson about what could surface and whether it will shed any light.
Boris Johnson used the Queen’s Speech on Tuesday to set out the policy reform he plans to do now that the pandemic is easing. This was largely centred on attempting to flesh out the ‘level up’ agenda through a focus on skills, industry and planning reform. It’s the latter bill that poses the greatest risk.
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Carolyn Harris, a key Starmer aide, has resigned her post as his parliamentary private secretary over allegations that she was behind some of the negative briefing against Angela Rayner. On the podcast, Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about whether Angela Rayner has come out of Labour’s scrap, on top.
It’s been a bruising few days for Keir Starmer. Disappointing results for the party in the north of England in the local elections have been made worse by his botched attempt over the weekend to reshuffle the shadow cabinet. The Labour leader’s hopes for a swift refresh of his frontbench team hit a block in the road when his
13 min listen
After a messy and delayed reshuffle, there is more rancour in the Labour party than there was before the weekend. Has Keir Starmer taken a serious hit to his authority? Isabel Hardman speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls about the possible future for Labour.
Keir Starmer’s shadow cabinet reshuffle is finally over. The Labour leader ran into trouble early on when he kicked off the shake up of his frontbench team on Saturday afternoon by sacking his deputy Angela Rayner from her role as party chair. His plan for a wider reshuffle had to be put on hold after his decision to demote Rayner succeeded
After the SNP fell short of a majority by just one seat in the Scottish Parliament elections, a stand off has formed between Nicola Sturgeon and the UK government. The First Minister has heralded a pro-independence Scottish parliament majority in Holyrood – arguing that when you take the Green party’s gains north of the border into account, there