Katy Balls

Katy Balls

Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.

Friday

Katy Balls

Could there be a Tory leadership upset?

The end is finally in sight. In a week's time, the winner of the Conservative leadership contest will be announced. Within the Tory party, most MPs are braced for a Kemi Badenoch victory. Could the result be closer than currently expected? On Thursday night, there were rumours that the final ConservativeHome survey of members would make for uncomfortable reading for Badenoch – with Jenrick in a close second. The results have now been published and the survey finds that Badenoch maintains a comfortable lead. The contest has taken on the typical dynamics of a frontrunner and an insurgent On the question of 'who should be the next leader of the Conservative and Unionist party?', 55 per cent of respondents said Badenoch compared with 31 per cent who said Robert Jenrick.

Katy Balls

The Daisy Cooper Edition

35 min listen

Daisy Cooper has been a stalwart of the Liberal Democrats for over a decade. From councillor to MP, she has served as the deputy leader of the party since 2020. First elected to parliament in 2019, she came to prominence when she represented the party in two of the general election debates earlier this year. On the podcast, Daisy talks to Katy Balls about her ambition to be a conductor, how she created her first job, and whether she’d like to be leader one day. As the Liberal Democrats are now the largest third party in Parliament for 100 years – with 72 MPs – Daisy tells Katy what it’s like to have so many colleagues, and provides her diagnoses about both the Labour government and the Conservative leadership race.  Produced by Patrick Gibbons.

Thursday

Katy Balls

How many Tories will defect to Reform?

11 min listen

After Nigel Farage's overture to Tory councillors to 'defect', one already has. Farage has also been on manoeuvres, piling on the criticism against Labour for its volunteers campaigning for the Democrats in the US. James Heale talks to Katy Balls and Freddy Gray about the latest. Tickets are still available to join Freddy Gray and Nigel Farage on Thursday 24 October for their analysis on the US election. Get your tickets here.Produced by Cindy Yu.

Katy Balls

Farage’s next move: wooing Tory defectors

Which party should be the most worried about next year’s local elections in May? Despite winning a large majority this year, they could prove tricky for Labour – with Keir Starmer seeing his personal ratings drop to -30 in his first 100 days. But Labour blues don't necessarily translate into wins for the Conservatives. Instead, Nigel Farage is looking to use the local elections to cement Reform's status as the real opposition. With all 21 county councils in England up for election, the Reform party leader has written to every Tory councillor facing re-election, calling on them to defect to Reform UK.

Katy Balls

The resurgence of Angela Rayner

On Monday evening, the Strangers’ Bar at Westminster was treated to a rare sight: Angela Rayner looking happy, smiling and holding court. As the newspapers went on the offensive over a new analysis of the Employment Rights Bill, which found it will cost business nearly £5 billion a year, the Deputy Prime Minister went to the Commons watering hole for a wine to celebrate the bill’s second reading. It’s not just Rayner’s new deal for workers (now titled ‘make work pay’, following intense focus-grouping) that is giving her cause for fresh optimism. She is also enjoying a resurgence inside government after a tricky start. As Boris Johnson once said, ‘There are no disasters, only opportunities. And, indeed, opportunities for fresh disasters.

Wednesday

Katy Balls

Trump’s crusade against Labour

16 min listen

Donald Trump has made the extraordinary move to file an official complaint against the British Labour party for their volunteers campaigning for the Democrats. On this episode, James Heale talks to Katy Balls and the Financial Times's Stephen Bush about what's behind the Labour tradition of sending volunteers to other democracies, and why a second Trump presidency might be the defining theme of this Labour government. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Cindy Yu.

Katy Balls

Keir Starmer’s Trump problem is getting worse

Keir Starmer thought he was going to have to spend the flight to Samoa for the Commonwealth summit talking about repatriations and UK aid. Instead, the Prime Minister is attempting to hose down a diplomatic spat with Donald Trump. Team Trump have gone on the offensive over Labour staff flying to the US to campaign for the Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. This is a longstanding tradition within the Labour party, but it is being viewed differently now the party is in government. The Trump campaign has formally accused Labour of breaking US electoral law through ‘blatant foreign interference’ in the presidential election.

Tuesday

Katy Balls

Michael Gove on prisons: Starmer is in the position of Bane

14 min listen

Another 1100 prisoners have been released today through the early-release scheme. How has this measure landed? With the news that former Conservative minister David Gauke will lead a review of prison sentencing, new Spectator editor Michael Gove joins Natasha Feroze and Katy Balls to discuss Labour's long term strategy. Can Labour learn lessons from America? Produced by Megan McElroy and Patrick Gibbons. Join The Spectator's Deputy Editor Freddy Gray for a special live recording of Americano on Thursday 24 October. You can buy tickets at spectator.com/electionspecial.

Katy Balls

Keir Starmer’s prisons dilemma

Another month, another batch of prisoners released early. Today marks the release of the second tranch of offenders as part of the government's plan to ease overcrowding in jails in England and Wales. The 1,100 prisoners released on licence today have sentences of five years or more but will have spent just 40 per cent of their time behind the bars. However, ministers are keen to stress that the scheme excludes those convicted of terrorism, sex crimes or serious violence. The Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has been out on the media round this morning attempting to get on the front foot. The line from the government is that they have been forced into this position as a result of Tory failures leading to a difficult inheritance for which drastic action is now required.

Monday

Katy Balls

Does Streeting’s NHS plan amount to anything?

13 min listen

This morning, Health Secretary Wes Streeting launched the ‘biggest consultation in NHS history’ in a bid to get public input into how to save the UK’s flailing health service. The British public and clinicians are being asked to share their experiences and ideas to help 'fix our NHS'. After years of discussion and reviews, how likely is it that Labour delivers the urgent reform that the NHS needs?  Elsewhere, there have been more signs of what might be in the budget at the end of the month. Who might the big winners and losers be? James Heale discusses with Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman.  Join Freddy Gray a special live recording of Americano on Thursday 24 October. You can buy tickets at spectator.com/electionspecial.

Saturday

Katy Balls

Should bishops be booted out of the Lords?

18 min listen

The House of Lords contains 26 Church of England archbishops and bishops who possess an automatic right to sit and vote in the House, as established by ancient usage and by statute. But for how much longer? Labour have big plans for the Lords and have been pushing ahead with their crackdown on hereditary peers. But this week we learnt that Tory MP Gavin Williamson will table an amendment calling for them to reconsider the role of bishops as well. Gavin says that a clergy-free Lords would be more representative of modern Britain and is expecting to gain cross-party support, including from the likes of Jeremy Corbyn. The Spectator’s features editor William Moore thinks this is ‘institutional vandalism’ and opens the door to the removal of faith from parliament.

Friday

Katy Balls

How far will Lammy go to rebuild ties with China?

David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, is touching down in Beijing for a two-day visit. The visit is the second by a foreign secretary in six years, with Lammy’s predecessor James Cleverly visiting last year after a five-year pause. However, Lammy’s visit is being met with intrigue, as it forms part of a wider shift on China. While Foreign Office officials shudder at the idea that this is a ‘reset’, it is clear that Keir Starmer is looking to improve relations with China. Ministers are happy to talk about the need for a more pragmatic approach. Lammy’s supporters emphasise the importance of dialogue and point to how the US, where a bipartisan anti-Beijing consensus holds, has engaged directly with Chinese leaders. But what is the long-term aim?

Katy Balls

Tory leadership debate: who came out on top?

13 min listen

Robert Jenrick and Kemi Badenoch, the final two candidates for the Tory leadership, went up against each other on a special GB News show last night. Kemi came out swinging in defence of her ‘culture warrior’ tag, but many wanted some more meat on the bones when it comes to her stance on policy. Meanwhile, Jenrick clearly had a message to land – but will the membership see through his plea to ‘end the drama’? And did either of them manage to change any minds? Katy Balls speaks to Lucy Dunn and Giles Dilnot, editor of Conservative Home. Produced by Cindy Yu and Oscar Edmondson.

Thursday

Katy Balls

Did Labour make its own Budget trap?

15 min listen

A scoop from Bloomberg has revealed that a number of Cabinet ministers have written formally to the Prime Minister to complain about the budgetary decisions they are being asked to make in their respective departments. Rachel Reeves seems to have an impossible task ahead of the Budget – but was this a trap of Labour's own making? Oscar Edmondson talks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Cindy Yu.

Katy Balls

Tories to raise MP threshold for confidence vote

How long will the next Tory leader last? As I write in this week's issue of The Spectator, it’s the question being asked in the shadow cabinet after no candidate managed to muster more than a third of parliamentary support. ‘It would have been healthier had one of them bombed’, says a shadow minister of the final rounds of the contest. It means parallels are being drawn between the 2024 contest and the 2001 leadership election where Michael Portillo, Iain Duncan Smith and Kenneth Clarke all had support of around a third of the MPs – and Portillo was knocked out by one vote. The eventual winner, Duncan Smith, was forced out in a confidence vote two years later.

Katy Balls

How much trouble is Rachel Reeves in?

The countdown to Labour's first budget for 14 years continues. Unfortunately for Rachel Reeves, the mood music is not particularly promising. While the Chancellor was offered a ray of light on Wednesday with the news that inflation has fallen to 1.7 per cent (therefore leading to speculation of rate cuts sooner rather than later), Reeves' party is growing increasingly concerned about what she will say at the despatch box come October 30th. As first reported by Bloomberg, several cabinet ministers have written to Keir Starmer to raise alarm over real term cuts they have had to model for their departments. While last minute wrangling between ministers and the Treasury is expected ahead of a budget, the decision to go above Reeves's head and straight to the Prime Minister is striking.

Katy Balls

The real problem with the Tory leadership contest

James Cleverly found some unlikely support in parliament on Monday night. Having just been ousted from the Tory leadership contest, he won warm words from the Home Secretary. Yvette Cooper, speaking at a Westminster drinks reception, was sympathetic. She said she knew what it was like to come third in a leadership contest. For her, it was in 2015, when she lost to Jeremy Corbyn and Andy Burnham. For Cleverly, it was this month, when he was defeated by Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick. She wasn’t sure who should feel worse. ‘Yes, sister!’ shouted Cleverly in solidarity. But Cooper wasn’t finished yet. She ended by diagnosing his problem: he couldn’t count. The Tories are still piecing together what happened in the final parliamentary rounds of the leadership contest.

Wednesday

Katy Balls

Starmer denies being soft on China

13 min listen

Starmer and Sunak debated Labour's position on China at today's PMQs, with Starmer denying going soft on the Asian superpower. Did Sunak draw inspiration from Katy Balls's cover article in last week's Spectator? Katy and Isabel Hardman speak to Oscar Edmondson about the party dynamics behind the debate; how much pressure is each party under from their own China hawks?  Isabel also gives an overview of the debate around the Assisted Dying Bill, which was introduced to Parliament today. Produced by Patrick Gibbons and Oscar Edmondson.

Tuesday

Katy Balls

National Insurance: Starmer’s first big U-turn?

14 min listen

The Budget is not due for a fortnight, yet with every day that passes its contents seem to become clearer. This morning Keir Starmer gave an interview to the BBC where he twice refused to rule out a rise in employer’s national insurance contributions in the Budget. Instead, he repeatedly stressed that Labour’s manifesto promise was specifically that it would 'not raise taxes on working people'. Can Rachel Reeves afford a national insurance hike?  Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and Michael Gove.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Katy Balls

Can Reeves get away with a national insurance hike?

The Budget is not due for a fortnight, yet with every day that passes its contents seem to become clearer. This morning Keir Starmer gave an interview to the BBC where he twice refused to rule out a rise in employer’s national insurance contributions in the Budget. Instead, he repeatedly stressed that Labour’s manifesto promise was specifically that it would not raise taxes on working people. Asked for clarity on whether employers could face a national insurance hike later this month, Starmer would only say that his government would ‘keep promises we made in the manifesto’ and not ‘raise tax on working people’. He also warned that the budget would be ‘tough’.