Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.
Although Downing Street insists Nigel Farage will not be the UK’s ambassador to the US, on Wednesday night the interim Ukip leader tasted what that would be like. At a party at the Ritz to honour his contribution to the Brexit campaign, Farage handed out Ferrero Rocher chocolates to guests as he hailed the new
Since the Leave vote, Ukip has struggled to capitalise on the post referendum moment. While the Labour party isolates itself from its once core working class voters, Ukip have been busy in-fighting. Today’s figures from the electoral commission show how dire the situation is. In the donations received between 1 July and 30 September 2016, the cash-strapped
Despite promising no rabbits in hats or displays of showmanship — unlike his predecessor — Philip Hammond managed to offer up a few surprises in his first Autumn Statement. For one, that this will be his last — with the Chancellor putting an end to the annual event. Secondly, he chose one project to give a
As the government ‘consider’ inviting Donald Trump for a state visit, the president-elect was top of the agenda at today’s Foreign Office questions. With the Westminster establishment riled over Trump’s latest tweet claiming Nigel Farage would make a ‘great’ UK ambassador to the US, Simon Burns hit back — suggesting Boris Johnson return the favour and request Trump
Today Theresa May used her speech at the CBI annual conference to both reassure and inspire business leaders about Brexit Britain. In doing this, she also managed to upset a number of Brexiteers by suggesting — in the Q&A — that the government could pursue a ‘transitional deal’ with the EU as ‘people don’t want a
Labour tasted victory today in the Commons. MPs voted 253 to 37 in favour of Pat Glass’s private member’s bill to stop the government reducing the number of MPs from 650 to 600, as part of the boundary change review. The bill will now face a second vote, where the Tories are confident they can thwart it.
Today the Commons played host to a battle of the sexes as MPs gathered for a bad-tempered debate to mark International Men’s Day, for the first time in its history. Philip Davies led the charge, following his campaign for the event to be given the same treatment as International Women’s Day. He called for more
Yesterday the BBC’s Norman Smith reported that the government have prepared a short three line bill to begin the process of leaving the EU. This is to be used in the event that they lose the Article 50 appeal and the Supreme Court insist on a Parliamentary Bill before Article 50 is triggered. I understand that the
With Mark Carney stepping down from his role as governor of the Bank of England in 2019, it’s been widely reported that relations between Carney and Theresa May are strained. As James Forsyth writes in The Spectator, the Prime Minister managed to rub Carney up the wrong way with her Conservative conference speech when she appeared to criticise central banks
Nigel Farage is once again a thorn in the Prime Minister’s side. After Downing Street dismissed the interim Ukip leader’s offer to help May forge a relationship with Donald Trump, they were left red-faced over the weekend when Farage became the first British politician to meet the president-elect since his victory. Now the Prime Minister is under pressure to rethink her
It’s Remembrance Sunday and Marine Le Pen has just appeared on the Andrew Marr show to hail a new world order. The timing of the interview has opened the BBC to some criticism, with the National Front leader attacking NATO, discussing her father’s Holocaust comments, and waxing lyrical about Putin on a day the nation remember those who sacrificed themselves to
After a few anxious hours this morning when it emerged that Donald Trump had found time to telephone nine world leaders — including Taoiseach Enda Kenny — but not Theresa May, the Prime Minister has now received the call. In the course of the conversation, the pair agreed the US-UK relationship was ‘very important and very special’, and that
While Theresa May has offered Donald Trump her congratulations this morning, the leader of the opposition has no kind words for the newly elected President of the United States. Jeremy Corbyn has issued a lengthy statement on the result — describing Trump’s answers to the ‘big questions facing America’ as wrong and offering his solidarity to ‘a nation
The Prime Minister has issued a statement congratulating Donald Trump on his election as the next President of the United States. In this, Theresa May says she looks forward to working with Trump to ‘ensure the security and prosperity of our nations in the years ahead’. ‘Britain and the United States have an enduring and
David Davis tried to reassure Tory MPs that last week’s court ruling — and the forthcoming supreme court appeal — would not delay the government invoking Article 50, in a Commons statement this afternoon. The Brexit secretary re-stated Theresa May’s words that the government values the independence of the judiciary and the freedom of the
What is Labour’s position on triggering Article 50? Four days on from the High Court’s ruling that Parliament must vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the EU and confusion reigns. First, Corbyn suggested Labour could oppose Theresa May’s attempts to trigger Article 50. He said the party would block Article 50
Today in Parliament, press regulation was top of the agenda. The government secured a Commons victory overturning a Lords amendment to effectively implement section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act, a Leveson recommendation. The Lords passed the amendment — as part of the investigatory powers bill — last month for victims of hacking by newspapers
After days of speculation – and months of simmering tensions – over the Governor of the Bank of England’s future, Mark Carney has finally revealed his exit plan. Following a meeting with the Prime Minister, Carney announced that he will stay on as Governor of the Bank of England only until June 2019 – three
As the Parliamentary Labour Party manages to — uncharacteristically — stay out of the headlines for in-fighting, over on the left of Labour trouble is brewing. A bout of civil war has broken out in Momentum, the grassroots group set up to support Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. The issue? A disagreement over just how democratic the organisation
Although Jeremy Corbyn has managed to tempt some MPs who resigned from his shadow cabinet back to the frontbench, there are still many with ministerial experience who are too proud, principled or outspoken to return. So, with that in mind, today’s select committee elections offered a way for moderates to make their mark without having to compromise their
