Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.
14 min listen
The election campaign was going well for Nigel Farage's Reform... until it wasn't. A series of controversies have been difficult for the party to shake off. Will the distractions cost them votes and MPs? How will it affect their momentum - and who's to blame? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Heale.
In just two days, voters will head to the polling booth to cast their vote in the 2024 general election. Will there be any surprises in store? So far, there has been little movement when it comes to the gap in vote share between Labour and the Tories. While Labour's has fallen during the campaign, the Tories have failed to benefit too much from it thanks to the Reform party – which is eating into their vote share. A poll by Savanta for today's Telegraph finds that the Tory campaign has steadied things since their mid-campaign D-Day gaffe: the party is now at its highest level since the debacle with 24 points.
13 min listen
As Europe comes to terms with the fallout from Marine Le Pen's victory in the first round of their parliamentary elections, Cindy Yu talks to Freddy Gray and Katy Balls about what it all means for Keir Starmer. If he does win the UK's own election on Thursday, he faces a European landscape that could be harder to navigate. What do the results mean for the UK and what reaction has there been? Produced by Cindy Yu and Patrick Gibbons.
58 min listen
Join Fraser Nelson, Katy Balls and Kate Andrews for this special edition of Coffee House Shots, recorded live ahead of the general election. As election day draws closer, Fraser talks through some myth-busting statistics and the team answer questions from the audience. Could this election increase support for proportional representation? What policy does the panel think has been the most interesting? And was there ever a probable path to victory for Rishi Sunak? Produced by Natasha Feroze and Patrick Gibbons. Check out The Spectator's data hub for more graphs and statistics, updated daily.
14 min listen
The gender debate has become increasingly difficult for the Labour Party as the election campaign has rumbled on. JK Rowling has now agreed to meet with Labour to discuss gender transition policy, after writing in The Times that she'd struggle to vote for the party after feeling dismissed by them. After the election, will gender become an increasingly difficult issue for Keir Starmer?
31 min listen
On this week’s Spectator Out Loud: Katy Balls reflects on the UK general election campaign and wonders how bad things could get for the Tories (1:02); Gavin Mortimer argues that France’s own election is between the ‘somewheres’ and the ‘anywheres’ (7:00); Sean Thomas searches for authentic travel in Colombia (13:16); after reviewing the books Great Britain? by Torsten Bell and Left Behind by Paul Collier, Robert Colvile ponders whether Britain’s problems will ever get solved (20:43); and, Melissa Kite questions if America’s ye olde Ireland really exists (25:44). Presented by Patrick Gibbons.
13 min listen
The Democrats wanted and needed a compelling performance from Joe Biden last night: a rebuttal to the concerns about his age and ability. Instead, his performance was disastrous. Is there any way he can survive this performance? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and Sarah Elliott, director of the UK-US special relationship unit at the Legatum Institute.
13 min listen
Some countries, like Canada and France, have bans on polling close to the election. Many figures on both sides of the campaign have been frustrated at how the media is consuming polling. What is a polling blackout, and why do some people want one? Megan McElroy speaks to Katy Balls and Chris Hopkins, polling expert and political research director at Savanta. Elsewhere, David Tennant has taken aim at Kemi Badenoch. She has, to little surprise, responded. With one week to go, does the electorate have any appetite for a culture war?
When Rishi Sunak stunned his cabinet colleagues by calling a snap election, they feared the worst. Fast forward a month and what they originally saw as the worst-case scenario now looks like quite a good result. At the time, losing the election but retaining 200 MPs seemed plausible. While the polls vary, the consistent theme now is that the Conservatives are on course for their worst defeat in history – and could end up with as few as 50 MPs. The campaign has been dominated by gaffes, from Sunak’s rain-drenched election announcement to the D-Day debacle. And this week, most damaging of all, the gambling scandal. Five Tory figures (two of whom have been suspended as candidates) stand accused of using inside information to bet on the election date.
16 min listen
Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls speak to Patrick Gibbons following the second, and final, debate between Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak. With a week to go until the general election, who came out on top and did we learn anything?
18 min listen
We are now two weeks into the political betting saga. Since our last episode, Keir Starmer has suspended a Labour candidate who bet on himself losing. How damaging is 'gamblegate' - and has it gone too far? Cindy Yu speaks to Katy Balls and Stephen Bush, columnist and associate editor at the Financial Times.
14 min listen
It's another bad day for the Conservatives. Rishi Sunak has withdrawn support for the Tory candidates involved in the general election betting scandal. What has led to the timing of this decision? Also on the podcast, James Kanagasooriam, Chief Research Officer of Focaldata, explains their latest poll that suggests a 250-seat Labour majority. He joins Katy Balls and James Heale.
It never rains but pours for Rishi Sunak. After a weekend of negative headlines over the Tory gambling scandal and a grilling on the Sun’s leaders’ election special, the Prime Minister has decided to take action. In a statement released this morning, a Conservative spokesman said the party is withdrawing support from the two Tory candidates being investigated by the Gambling Commission: 'As a result of ongoing internal inquiries, we have concluded that we can no longer support Craig Williams or Laura Saunders as Parliamentary Candidates at the forthcoming General Election. We have checked with the Gambling Commission that this decision does not compromise the investigation that they are conducting, which is rightly independent and ongoing.' So, why now?
So far in this election campaign the consistent theme has been Tory turmoil. A large part of this has been caused by Nigel Farage and his decision to return to frontline politics and lead Reform. Depending on which pollster you pick, Farage's party is either narrowly behind the Tories on voting intention or ahead of them. The impact of this is that many Tory candidates in once safe seats of majorities of 20,000 plus now fear they could narrowly lose next week when voters go to the polls. But is Farage finally feeling some pressure himself? On Friday, Farage sat down with Nick Robinson as part of the BBC presenter's series of election interviews where he was asked about Putin.
12 min listen
In a speech this afternoon, Nigel Farage doubled down on controversial comments he made about the West provoking the war in Ukraine. Is the Reform leader taking inspiration from Trump? And could this be a small win for the Tories who are seeking to claw back Reform votes? Also on the podcast, James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson about the latest in the election date betting scandal.
Is the Tory campaign cursed? After Rishi Sunak battled through the pouring rain when he called the election, suffered the return of Nigel Farage and then walked into a major D-Day gaffe, the party is under pressure once again. This time, the Tories are under fire over bets placed on the date of the election by Conservative aides and candidates. Nick Mason, the party’s chief data officer, is the fourth Tory (so far) to be investigated by the gambling commission (he denies any wrongdoing). It means Tory candidates on the media round are once again being asked about bets on the election – and why Sunak has not sacked all those allegedly involved.
On a street in Camberley, Surrey, a pensioner stands in the doorway, rollers in her hair, staring with some bemusement at the Liberal Democrat canvasser in front of her. Her preparations for Ascot have been interrupted. ‘I definitely won’t be voting Conservative. I used to be a member, but you look around now and, no!’ she explains. Not that she thinks her vote will count for much: ‘My husband used to say you could put a blue rosette on a monkey and they would win round here. It is a very affluent area – there is a lethargic habit of voting Tory.’ The party may end up with dozens of MPs, slaying several Tory big beasts in the process It wasn’t a monkey but Michael Gove who stood in this true blue constituency of Surrey Heath last time.
13 min listen
Yet another three MRP polls landed today – and none of them look pretty for the Conservative party. This comes as Boris Johnson rules out helping on the campaign trail as reports say that the party has given up on the Red Wall. On the episode, James Heale talks to Katy Balls and conservative commentator Paul Goodman about why the Tories will continue to struggle to close the poll gap given the roles played by the Liberal Democrats and Reform. Produced by Cindy Yu.
How is the Conservative campaign going? Well, according to the latest YouGov poll, things are looking worse for Rishi Sunak and his party than when he called the election. The latest MRP poll from the pollster suggests that were an election held now, the Labour party would return 425 MPs, the Conservatives would come in second on 108 seats and the Liberal Democrats in third on 67 MPs. What will make this particularly uncomfortable is that the figures are less favourable to the Tories than their poll two weeks ago – they are down 32 MPs from the last poll. Meanwhile, Labour are up two from that poll.
10 min listen
Nigel Farage has unveiled Reform UK's manifesto. Except, it's not a manifesto, because he says the word is synonymous in voters’ minds with ‘lies’. It promises a freeze on non-essential immigration, a patriotic curriculum, leaving the European Court on Human Rights, and cutting taxes by £88 billion. Is this contract more of a wish list? How much damage can Nigel Farage do to the Conservatives? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and James Heale.
