Katy Balls

Katy Balls

Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.

Friday

Katy Balls

Is the UK doomed to be a high tax country?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

Tax levels in the UK are at their highest since records began 70 years ago and are unlikely to come down, or so says the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) in their report today. How has the tax burden increased over the four years of this parliament? What's driving up taxes? Also on the podcast, there are reports today that Rishi Sunak will stop councils imposing 20 mph zones, is Rishi on the side of motorists? Katy Balls speaks to James Heale and Fraser Nelson. Keep up to date with The Spectator's data hub: https://data.spectator.co.uk/ Produced by Max Jeffery and Oscar Edmondson.

Thursday

Katy Balls

What’s behind Labour’s private school U-turn?

From our UK edition

14 min listen

Another day, another U-turn. But this time it's Labour, who have changed tack on their plans to end charitable status for private schools. Labour leader Keir Starmer previously declared that the charitable status for private schools could not be justified, so what’s behind the move?  James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and John McTernan, former political secretary to Tony Blair.

Katy Balls

How close is Britain to leaving the ECHR?

From our UK edition

Will the UK government pledge to leave the European Convention on Human Rights? It’s a cause that Tory MPs on the right of the party have been championing for years, and their cries have grown louder as the Rwanda scheme has struggled to get off the ground. So far the Prime Minister has refused to rule out leaving the ECHR – but those close to him say he needs to be convinced that it is necessary for controlling the UK’s borders and cracking down on small boats. That means exhausting all other avenues first. However, in a sign of which way the wind is blowing, the Times reports that Suella Braverman has been authorised by Downing Street to float the prospect of leaving the ECHR.

Katy Balls

What’s behind Labour’s private school U-turn?

From our UK edition

Another day, another policy shift from the Labour party. As the i paper first reported, Keir Starmer has U-turned on plans to end the charitable status for private schools. The Labour leader previously declared that the charitable status for private schools could not be justified. However, the new position is that the party can remove 'unfair tax breaks' while maintaining the special status for fee-paying schools. This means the party still plans to press on with its pledge to add 20 per cent VAT to private school fees. Confirming the policy pivot a Labour spokesman said: 'Our policy remains. We will remove the unfair tax breaks that private schools benefit from, to fund desperately needed teachers and mental health counselling in every secondary school.

Wednesday

Katy Balls

‘The zealots are turning people off’: Claire Coutinho on net zero and her bond with Rishi Sunak

From our UK edition

When Claire Coutinho picked her A-levels in 2002, she received a phone call from her grandmother in India. ‘She could see that I’d not picked medical subjects,’ Coutinho says: she’d gone for maths, history of art and English – a glitch in the matrix for a family that tends to choose medical school. ‘She told me that she may not last very long and it was her final wish that I reconsider.’ Coutinho stuck to plan A; her grandmother lived for another ten years. Last month, at 38, she became one of the youngest secretaries of state in British history. We meet in her soon-to-be-vacated office with a rooftop view of Westminster Abbey and a whole floor of advisers and aides. Not so long ago, Coutinho was one of those advisers.

Monday

Katy Balls

Is Sunak helping Starmer on HS2?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

Rishi Sunak is on his tour of hard truths, saying the unsayable on areas of policy where he believes his predecessors didn't want to be honest with the public. First we had the net zero pivot – scaling back the government's environmental commitments – and over the weekend there has been speculation that HS2 could be the next victim of tough talking Rishi Sunak. What's the latest? Is Rishi gifting Starmer an easy ride by clearing the weeds on this controversial project?  Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and Isabel Hardman.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Katy Balls

Sunakism meets the Tory party

From our UK edition

As the Liberal Democrats attempt to seize the political agenda at their annual conference in Bournemouth, Rishi Sunak is facing a series of decisions on how far to go with his policy shake-up. Last week, he diluted a number of the UK's net zero commitments – including delaying the ban on petrol cars by five years. Now, other policy changes are planned as the Prime Minister attempts to pitch himself as the minister for hard truths, a politician who will do things differently by being up front about trade-offs. The snag is that such changes have the potential to be divisive with Sunak's own side. First up, the HS2 Birmingham-Manchester line. Ministers are considering scrapping the HS2 rail link to Manchester as a result of the soaring costs.

Sunday

Katy Balls

Is it time to take the Lib Dems seriously again?

From our UK edition

20 min listen

Conference season has kicked off this weekend with the Liberal Democrat conference in Bournemouth. Buoyed by their success in the recent by-elections, could the Lib Dems be the kingmakers at the next election? Oscar Edmondson speaks to Katy Balls and Stephen Bush, associate editor at the Financial Times.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Friday

Katy Balls

Why can’t Hunt cut taxes?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

Jeremy Hunt said yesterday that it would be ‘virtually impossible’ to cut taxes in 2023. James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews about why the government has decided to spent more, rather than cut levies, and about whether Hunt and Sunak’s economic plan will come under criticism from Tory MPs at the Conservative party conference in a few weeks.

Thursday

Katy Balls

What is Sunakism?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

Rishi Sunak is being attacked by Conservative and Labour politicians for choosing to delay some of Britain’s climate commitments. But is his new approach to policy really a welcome one?  Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and Rupert Darwall, a senior fellow at RealClearFoundation.

Wednesday

Katy Balls

Boris leads Tory backlash against Rishi’s net zero climbdown

From our UK edition

It's back to the good old days of Tory wars. Rishi Sunak hasn't even got to the microphone to unveil his plans to delay a number of net zero commitments and already a conservative rebellion has begun. Boris Johnson is the most senior voice to raise concern with Sunak's plan. The former prime minister has released a statement in which he says 'we cannot afford to falter now or in any way lose our ambition for this country'. While Johnson refrains from personally criticising Sunak, the implication is clear when he says that businesses must have confidence in the government's net zero policy.

Katy Balls

Sunak’s new strategy: hard truths

From our UK edition

The last time Tory activists and MPs gathered for their annual party conference, it didn’t end well. Liz Truss had barely checked in to her hotel before she faced a full-on attack from Michael Gove, who started a rebellion against her proposed tax cuts live on air. Truss U-turned on her mini-Budget and cabinet discipline quickly collapsed. ‘It was the worst four days of my life,’ recalls a former Truss aide. Sunak sees the conference as a potential moment of catharsis that could lead to a Tory recovery Rishi Sunak hopes to improve on this admittedly rather low mark. He sees the conference in Manchester as a potential moment of catharsis that could lead a Tory recovery.

Katy Balls

Why Sunak wants to dilute net zero

From our UK edition

13 min listen

Rishi Sunak is set to give a speech this week outlining changes to the government’s environmental policies. The plans to phase out new petrol and diesel cars, and gas boilers, will likely be delayed. What does the Prime Minister stand to gain? James Heale speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.

Tuesday

Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak dilutes net zero

From our UK edition

Here we go. As Rishi Sunak prepares for next year’s election, the government has been on the hunt for dividing lines with Labour. One of the areas in focus is net zero. When the Tories narrowly held on in the Uxbridge by-election, Tory MPs largely put it down to the campaign against Ulez (ultra low emission zone). It led to a debate on how far to go when it comes to scaling back environmental commitments. Aides in No. 10 have been debating the issue all summer and now Sunak is close to a decision. This evening, the BBC reports that Sunak is considering weakening some of the government’s key green commitments in a major policy shift. This could include delaying a ban on the sales of new petrol and diesel cars and phasing out gas boilers. I understand both measures are likely.

Katy Balls

Will Starmer soften Brexit?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

Keir Starmer is in Paris today. It's a bid to 'look statesman-like', Katy Balls says, but also underlines where a Labour government would take British relations with the EU. Oscar Edmondson talks to Katy and Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform. Produced by Oscar Edmondson and Cindy Yu.

Monday

Katy Balls

What Liz Truss’s big speech was really about

From our UK edition

14 min listen

Liz Truss took the stage this morning for her first major intervention on the economy since leaving No. 10. Her speech at the Institute for Government comes almost a year to the day since her mini-Budget saw the markets panic and her premiership come to an abrupt end not long after. What did she have to say?   Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson, Kate Andrews and James Heale.  Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

Katy Balls

What Liz Truss’s big speech is really about

From our UK edition

Liz Truss will take to the stage this morning for her first major intervention on the economy since leaving No. 10 last year. A year on from the mini-budget which saw the markets panic – and her premiership come to an abrupt end not long after – Truss will use her speech at the Institute for Government to argue that her original diagnosis was the right one: that the status quo cannot remain. The former prime minister will point to the fact there is agreement across the political divide that the lack of economic growth is a problem. Truss will lay the cause of the problem on '25 years of economic consensus' that have turned the UK from a free market capitalist economy into more of a 'corporatist social democracy' in which state spending accounts for 46 per cent of GDP.

Saturday

Katy Balls

How America’s 2024 election will affect Britain’s

From our UK edition

13 min listen

For the first time since 1992 the US and the UK will have elections in the same year, and – for the first time since 1964 – there is a real chance that those campaigns could overlap. How will they impact each other?  Kate Andrews speaks to Katy Balls and Freddy Gray.

Friday

Katy Balls

Is it right to cut back HS2?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

The government is reportedly looking into whether it should cut the second phase of HS2. But with so much money having already been pumped into the project, should they just see it through to the end? Katy Balls speaks to Fraser Nelson and Kate Andrews.

Thursday

Katy Balls

What is Starmer’s small boats plan?

From our UK edition

14 min listen

Keir Starmer today unveiled Labour’s plan to stop illegal migration. Trying to deport migrants to Rwanda is a waste of money, he said – the millions would be better spent on a ‘new security agreement’ with Europe. But what does that mean? Max Jeffery speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.