Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.
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When Boris Johnson stood in the Queen Elizabeth II conference centre and gave his victory speech, he spoke of his DUDE strategy for government: 1. Deliver Brexit; 2. Unite the country; 3. Defeat Corbyn; and 4. Energise the country. When it comes to step two, Coffee House understands plans are afoot to action an attempt to
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When the leadership result was announced, Jeremy Corbyn’s keyboard warriors swung into action. Behold, they said: a new party leader whose track record involved overseeing years of austerity, voting for tax cuts for the super-rich and pursuing a neoliberal agenda. As for Boris the man, the Corbynites didn’t seem to mind him so much. It’s
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There are high expectations among Tory MPs today for Boris Johnson’s Cabinet appointments. The problem? He has more supporters who believe they will be promoted than plum jobs to give. It follows that this evening’s first wave of hires for the most senior jobs will undoubtedly lead to disappointment. Johnson has at least got off
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Jo Swinson has been elected as the new leader of the Liberal Democrats. Succeeding Sir Vince Cable in the role, Swinson, the first woman to hold the position, beat her rival Ed Davey – winning 47,997 votes against 28,02 with 63 per cent of the vote. In her victory speech, Swinson said that on joining
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How much bother will the Gaukeward squad cause Boris Johnson? Barring one of the biggest political upsets of the past three years, Boris Johnson will be announced on Tuesday as the new leader of the Conservative party – and the next prime minister. Talk has already turned to the problems (and defections) he could encounter
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19 min listen
Jo Swinson is the current deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, but she’s running to be leader against Ed Davey. With the Liberal Democrats’ surge in the polls, Swinson’s role in the coming months could be vital for Brexit. In this special edition of Women with Balls, she talks about losing her seat in 2015
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34 min listen
Tracey Crouch MP has earned a reputation for being independently minded. She has rebelled on issues from press regulation to fox hunting; and served as a sports minister until last year until she resigned over the government’s stance on fixed odds betting terminals. In this episode, Tracey Crouch tells Katy about being the only student
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With less than a fortnight to go before voting for the Tory leadership contest closes, few believe Jeremy Hunt is in with a shot of making it into No. 10. However, Hunt supporters were still hopeful that a game-changing performance in this evening’s BBC interview with Andrew Neil could turn things around. In the end,
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With Boris Johnson looking a shoo-in for No. 10, his supporters are battling it out in a bid to win a top job in his Cabinet. The most coveted position is Chancellor and Sajid Javid, Liz Truss and Matt Hancock are seen as the frontrunners. This afternoon, Truss used her appearance at a Press Gallery
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How will Boris Johnson govern? With even Jeremy Hunt allies privately braced for defeat in two weeks’ time when the result is announced, talk has turned to what a Johnson government could look like. This relates not just to his Cabinet but how No. 10 will be run and who Johnson will take guidance from.
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How damaged are UK/US relations after the Mail on Sunday published leaked diplomatic cables in which the UK’s ambassador suggested Donald Trump was inept? The answer it seems is very bad. This evening the US president took to social media to express his dissatisfaction at the leak – and the UK government. In the tweets,
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Kate Hoey, the Labour MP, Brexiteer and serial rebel, has today announced plans to stand down at the next election. In a letter announcing her retirement, the MP for Vauxhall promises to carry on until a general election (whether that’s this year or 2022) ‘serving with the energy, honesty and integrity that I have tried to
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Is Jeremy Hunt continuity Theresa May? It’s an allegation that is repeatedly thrown around by supporters of his leadership rival Boris Johnson. MPs have nicknamed the Foreign Secretary ‘Theresa in trousers’ owing to the idea that he isn’t all that different from the current prime minister. The Hunt campaign have been at pains to fight
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Although there’s three weeks until the next Tory leader is announced, the contest is entering what is the most important week of the membership stage. On Saturday (6 July), postal ballots will begin to be sent to the Tory membership. The expectation is that the majority of members will vote quickly rather than wait to
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34 min listen
Broadcaster and journalist Jo Coburn tells how German got her into journalism, what it’s like to work with Andrew Neil, and what happened behind the scenes of that infamous Will Self-Mark Francois death stare. Presented by Katy Balls.
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The Boris Johnson campaign has today responded to accusations that Johnson has been avoiding scrutiny by sending their candidate on a mini-media blitz. In the past 24 hours, Johnson has given interviews to the BBC, LBC and Talk Radio. There’s even a promise of more media interaction to come. In all of the interviews, the
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Could Boris Johnson command the confidence of the Commons? That’s the question being asked in Westminster this week as various ‘Stop Boris’ factions emerge. The Standard reports that Cabinet Secretary Sir Mark Sedwill has told Theresa May that she ought to only advise the Queen to appoint Johnson or Jeremy Hunt as her successor if she
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When Jeremy Hunt was announced as the candidate who would join Boris Johnson in the final two for the Tory leadership contest members’ vote, there were cheers amongst members of the Johnson camp. The view was that, unlike Gove, Hunt would prove a gentle opponent who Boris would have little bother shrugging off. However, after
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There will be sighs of relief in the Boris Johnson camp this evening after Jeremy Hunt won the second spot on the members’ ballot. It’s no great secret that the Foreign Secretary was Johnson’s preferred opponent. Boris allies were concerned that a contest against a candidate like Michael Gove (or, worse still, Rory Stewart) could
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Sajid Javid has been knocked out of the Tory leadership contest – coming in fourth place overall. Ahead of the contest, there were high hopes amongst Javid supporters that he could make it all the way to the final two – and potentially No. 10. However, he had a difficult campaign start and the result