Katy Balls

Katy Balls

Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.

Tuesday

Katy Balls

Is Labour in trouble over the rail strikes?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

The first day of strike action has begun with large parts of the country's railways, as well as London's underground lines, shut down. But where workers are trying to put pressure on the government and Network Rail over higher pay, it seems like the Labour party is in more trouble. Disagreement over the party's position on strike action (after all, it was set up to represent the unions in parliament) are playing out publicly, even on the front bench. Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.Produced by Cindy Yu.

Katy Balls

Boris Johnson’s strike gamble

From our UK edition

It's day one of the RMT's planned strike action after last-minute talks between train operators and Network Rail failed. The union has been demanding a pay rise of at least 7 per cent in the face of inflation – as well as opposing planned redundancies. The dispute is just a taste of things to come from various parts of the public sector. It's easy to see how people fed up with travel disruption could look unsympathetically at the unions and those who appear to be supporting them The government line is that big percentage point pay rises are the wrong course of action as they will make the current economic picture worse. Simon Clarke, chief secretary to the Treasury, said this week that it was 'not a sustainable expectation that inflation can be matched in pay offers'.

Monday

Katy Balls

Will the government hold their line on strike action?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

Today begins a chaotic week for commuters who face major travel disruptions as rail staff stage the biggest walkout in 30 years. Union leaders have accused the government of 'inflaming tensions', as Grant Shapps has refused to negotiate with the unions over pay, conditions, job cuts and safety.Also on the podcast, what could be the outcome of Thursday's two by-elections? Isabel Hardman is joined by Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

Saturday

Friday

Katy Balls

Is it time to call Sturgeon’s Bluff?

From our UK edition

8 min listen

The calls for Indyref2 are coming thick and fast from the SNP leader this week with a plan for a monthly speech to express the benefits of Scotland leaving the UK. But would allowing a referendum now be better than resisting one? Newer generations of Scots tend to be more nationalist than their elders. Should unionists push for Indyref2 now before more young people reach voting age?Katy Balls talks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.

Katy Balls

Time to break the menopause taboo

From our UK edition

32 min listen

Women of menopausal age make up a tenth of the UK workforce (and a quarter of all working women). The symptoms of menopause can make work much harder, they include both physical and mental, from hot flushes and brain fog to insomnia. But at a time when many may be reaching the peak of their career, these symptoms can halt years of career progression. What’s more, the condition is stigmatised and little discussed.Steps are being made to break this stigma. This year MPs introduced the first private member's bill on menopause and the government established a menopause task force. Employers are becoming ever more aware of things they could do to help these millions of women. What are the next steps?

Thursday

Katy Balls

What caused Geidt’s flight?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

Lord Geidt became the second ethics advisor to leave Boris Johnson's government last night. It seems like Chinese steel tariffs was the straw that broke the camel's back, but it is clear that he hasn't been happy in the position for sometime. Will the Prime Minister be able to find anyone to pick up this poisoned chalice? Max Jeffery speaks with James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

Katy Balls

Lord Geidt reveals what pushed him over the edge

From our UK edition

Over twelve hours after Lord Geidt resigned from government, Downing Street has published his resignation letter. In his letter tendering his resignation as the Prime Minister's independent adviser on minister's interests, Geidt raises his concerns over partygate – noting how he 'alluded' to his 'frustration' previously – namely over Johnson's failure to make any public reference to how his conduct related to the ministerial code. However, he says that despite his misgivings over Johnson's handling of the episode and whether the fixed penalty notice counted as a breach, he had ultimately concluded that 'it was possible to continue credibly as Independent Adviser, albeit by a very small margin'.

Katy Balls

The next battleground: why levelling up is key to the next election

From our UK edition

The levelling up agenda didn’t start with the 2019 election campaign. Instead, it began in 2016 with the Vote Leave slogan, ‘Take back control’. This was the point at which Labour frontbenchers started to grow concerned that the Conservatives were parking their tanks on Labour’s lawn. ‘It suggested that we are on your side – and these people are not,’ says a member of the shadow cabinet. Government policy plans developed from there. The ‘Take back control’ and ‘Levelling up’ slogans aided the realignment of politics in the two general elections since the EU referendum, which have seen the Tories win swathes of seats in the Midlands and North that rarely voted Conservative in the past.

Katy Balls

‘He killed with a very cold heart’: Meet the Ukrainian prosecutor bringing war criminals to justice

From our UK edition

Last month, Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old Russian soldier, was jailed for life. His sentence marked the first successful war-crimes prosecution since the conflict in Ukraine began. On the fourth day of the invasion, after coming under fire, Shishimarin and four other soldiers hijacked a car and drove around looking for other units to join. They stopped in the north-eastern village of Chupakhivka where they came across 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov. Fearing he might share their location, Shishimarin shot him. Captured by Ukrainian troops, Shishimarin pleaded guilty in court, but said he was acting on orders. Shelipov’s widow was in court and addressed the killer directly: ‘Tell me please, why did you [Russians] come here? To protect us?

Wednesday

Katy Balls

Geidt of the long knives: what the PM’s ethics adviser’s resignation means

From our UK edition

Boris Johnson has lost his second ethics advisor since entering No. 10. This evening Lord Geidt announced his resignation as the Prime Ministers's independent adviser on ministers' interests: 'With regret, I feel that it is right that I am resigning from my post as Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests.' It’s clearly not good news, yet the timing could have been worse There have been rumours for some time that Geidt – who previously served as the Queen's private secretary – could be on the brink of resigning. He was brought in last April to replace Sir Alex Allan, who quit the role in late 2020 after Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, stayed in post despite being found to have broken official guidance on ministerial behaviour.

Katy Balls

Is the Rwanda flight block a problem for No.10?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

The first flight taking asylum seekers to Rwanda was stalled just before takeoff after a late intervention from the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). As Priti Patel returned to the Commons to defend the policy, many Tory MPs are furious at the prospect of the courts taking precedent over government legislation. Could this lead to the UK leaving the ECtHR?Also on the podcast, is Keir Starmer too boring? After growing accusations, the Labour leader has urged his shadow cabinet to stop calling him boring and focus on returning to government. Cindy Yu is joined by Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

Katy Balls

PMQs: Starmer is haunted by the ghost of Corbynism

From our UK edition

Keir Starmer has of late come under pressure from his shadow cabinet to, in their words, stop 'boring everyone to death'. In response, the Labour leader has told his colleagues that really 'what’s boring is being in opposition'. However, the comments appear to have got under his skin. At today's Prime Minister's Questions, Starmer was notably more confrontational – attacking Boris Johnson on several counts. For all the current criticism of Starmer, stepping out of his comfort zone comes with risks of its own After the Labour leader failed to capitalise on Johnson's internal party woes last week, following the Prime Minister's no-confidence vote from his own MPs, Starmer attempted to remedy things.

Katy Balls

The Rwanda policy is about sending a message

From our UK edition

Is the UK on course to leave the European Convention on Human Rights? This is what some Tory MPs are pushing for after judges in Strasbourg blocked, at the last minute, the first deportation flight scheduled to take asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda. After unsuccessful bids in the UK courts, a judgement from the ECtHR halting the deportation of one passenger triggered a series of new legal challenges back in London. This led to the government removing all the passengers from the plane. In response to the judgment, Home Secretary Priti Patel said she was 'disappointed' but undeterred – insisting work for the next flight was already underway.

Tuesday

Katy Balls

Is the row over Rwanda good for the government?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

The government is fighting on two fronts today. Firstly defending is Rwandan immigration plan from a unified front of Bishops as the first flight is set to take off tonight. Secondly, the Northern Ireland protocol bill which was announced yesterday afternoon faces scrutiny on many fronts.Katy Balls talks with Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth.

Monday

Katy Balls

The next Brexit battle

From our UK edition

12 min listen

The Foreign Secretary has outlined fresh legislation to change the post-Brexit trade agreement with the EU today – allowing ministers to override parts of the Northern Ireland protocol. Whilst the government insists that this is not a breach of international law, critics remain unconvinced.‘I had one member of government say to me this bill is going to be a proxy on Boris Johnson’s leadership’ - Katy Balls.If this were a proxy, could this work in the Prime Minister’s favour? And why has the government not used the safety valve in the protocol itself which is to trigger Article 16?James Forsyth speaks to Katy Balls.

Katy Balls

The next Brexit battle is here

From our UK edition

The government will today reveal its plans to unilaterally rewrite parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Depending on who you speak to, this is either a necessary step in protecting the Good Friday agreement or a breach of international law set to damage the UK's standing on the world stage. The details of the bill have been subject to government wrangling over the past week. Liz Truss sided with backbench members of the European Research Group of Tory Brexiteers to toughen up the bill while ministers including Michael Gove and Rishi Sunak argued for a more cautious approach.

Saturday

Katy Balls

Katy Balls, John Connolly and Gus Carter

From our UK edition

17 min listen

On this week's episode: Katy Balls reads her article on the cadets gunning for the Tory leadership. (00:52)John Connolly reads his investigation into the new warehouse ghettos where Britain is sending migrants. (06:36) Gus Carter reads his piece on why he's not getting invited to any dinner parties. (12:05)Presented by Angus Colwell.Produced by Angus Colwell and Sam Holmes.

Katy Balls

Will Jeremy Hunt run for PM again?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

Has Jeremy Hunt had a good week? When the former health secretary – and 2019 leadership hopeful – announced on Twitter on Monday that he would be voting against the Prime Minister in the confidence vote, Nadine Dorries, the culture secretary, replied that Hunt was 'wrong about almost everything'. Boris Johnson went on to narrowly win the vote, but is that really the end of Hunt's ambitions?  Max Jeffery speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.

Friday

Katy Balls

Can the UK save the two Brits sentenced to death?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

Two British citizens fighting the Russians have been sentenced to death in Ukrainian territory controlled by the Kremlin. How has the UK responded thus far? And domestically, Lord Frost has said that Boris Johnson has until the autumn to turn things around.Max Jeffery talks with Katy Balls and James Forsyth.