Katy Balls

Katy Balls

Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.

Monday

Katy Balls

Cabinet blocks new restrictions – for now

When Boris Johnson held a cabinet call on Monday afternoon, the expectation was that an announcement on new restrictions would be imminent. But the meeting dragged on for three hours and the Prime Minister emerged afterwards announcing that nothing has changed. The situation is 'extremely difficult' and arguments both for and against restrictions are 'finely balanced’ so the government would keep its eye on the data’. In a battle of Sage forecasts vs data realists, the latter had won. For now. So what happened in that meeting? ‘Boris did a great job and encouraged a proper discussion and respected other views,’ says one minister. ‘He had quite a lot humility’. Michael Gove was, as usual, leading the arguments for more lockdown.

Sunday

Katy Balls

Boris Johnson appoints Frost’s successor

Who is David Frost’s successor as Brexit minister? That’s the question Boris Johnson has answered this evening following Frost’s surprise resignation — with the Foreign Secretary to takeover as the UK’s lead negotiator with the EU in post-Brexit talks. Liz Truss will retain all her Foreign Office responsibilities — with Chris Heaton Harris also to become minister of state for Europe. So, what does this mean for the government’s direction of travel on the Northern Ireland protocol? There had been reports that Boris Johnson was considering appointing a Brexit ultra like Iain Duncan Smith to the position as a way of keeping his right flank on side.

Katy Balls

Why David Frost resigned

19 min listen

Boris Johnson once boasted that you couldn't hold a cigarette paper between him and David Frost, the man he brought on to take Brexit over the line. Yet this key ally has resigned when the Prime Minister is at his most vulnerable. In his resignation letter, Lord Frost cites his concerns on whether the country is making the most of Brexit to cut taxes and red tape, and the direction of travel when it comes to dealing with the pandemic. On the podcast, Katy Balls talks to Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth about the significance of this moment – which Fraser says is 'a bigger blow to the Prime Minister than the by-election'.

Saturday

Friday

Katy Balls

How did the Tories lose North Shropshire?

11 min listen

The Conservative majority of 23,000 was wiped out overnight in North Shropshire, with Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan winning the by-election by nearly 6,000 votes. Tory MPs are already making their frustrations known, with Roger Gale saying Boris Johnson has 'one more strike and he's out', and John Redwood saying it's 'Time to listen to Conservatives.' Is Boris Johnson's leadership in danger? Isabel Hardman speaks to Fraser Nelson and Katy Balls.On the podcast, Isabel asks: 'You can change your staff, you can change your policies, but if the common denominator in all of these crises is Boris Johnson, what are you going to do?

Katy Balls

The Tzipi Hotovely Edition

30 min listen

Tzipi Hotovely is the current Israeli Ambassador to the UK. She was formerly a politician in Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, having climbed the ranks to become deputy foreign minister. On the episode, she talks to Katy about her 2,500 strong wedding reception, campaigning for mother's rights in Israel and what modern-day anti-Semitism look like. They also discuss the time when she had to be escorted out of the LSE for her own safety, in the face of an aggressive student protest. She reflects:  'Think about it. Does it make sense? I’m the only foreign ambassador that needs to have such heavy protection when I go on campus. Aren’t campuses all about freedom of speech?

Katy Balls

Tory defeat in North Shropshire as Lib Dems take former safe seat

Ministers are waking up this morning to a big Tory upset in North Shropshire. In the by-election sparked by the Owen Paterson sleaze row, the Liberal Democrats have won the seat from the Conservatives overturning a majority of 22,949. In what has long been regarded as a safe seat for the Tories (they have come out on top in the area for almost 200 years), the Liberal Democrats won 17,957 votes with the Conservatives managing just 12,032 votes. This gives the Lib Dems a majority of 5,925. Labour came third with 3,686 votes. This result clearly will be tied to Boris Johnson's leadership and the difficult time the Prime Minister has had over the past month The result is striking for several reasons.

Thursday

Katy Balls

Christmas Special

90 min listen

Welcome to the special Christmas episode of The Edition! In this episode, we look at five major topics that dominated the news this year and the pages of The Spectator. First up a review of the year in politics with our resident Coffee House Shots' team James Forsyth, Katy Balls and Isabel Hardman. We discuss how Boris seemed to make such a strong start to the year through the vaccine rollout, but squandered this goodwill with several own goals. We also touch on some of the big political moments of the year: Partygate, the Owen Paterson affair and of course Matt Hancock. (00:39) Next, we go global and look at three of the major powerhouses that took headlines this year. The EU, who ends the year in a panic over Russia, extreme Covid measures, and upcoming elections.

Katy Balls

Is this lockdown by stealth?

12 min listen

Today saw record numbers of Covid cases with infections higher than the January 2021 lockdown. In reaction to soaring cases, Boris Johnson held a press conference yesterday. Although nothing new was announced, he pushed further on the booster program and encouraged the public to rethink their socialising ahead of Christmas.Many people believe the PM is encouraging a lockdown by stealth, with hospitality venues struggling to cope under staff shortages coupled with vast cancellations. But should financial support be put in place for them throughout this tricky time?Also today, the Bank of England has increased interest rates to 0.25% in reaction to inflationary pressures.‘We have to consider, does changing interest rates help [inflation]?

Katy Balls

Boris Johnson is in a bind on Covid

This morning, it’s the Tory party versus the scientists, with a number of Conservative MPs seeing red following Wednesday’s downbeat press conference on the Omicron variant. As the number of Covid cases soars, Boris Johnson has been accused of a lockdown by stealth – after he appeared alongside Chris Whitty in a press conference urging caution over Christmas. The Chief Medical Officer suggested people ought to prioritise the social events they most care about. This morning Whitty is giving evidence to MPs where he has suggested it is too early to say whether further restrictions will be needed. In all of this, no one is quite sure where the Prime Minister sits None of this is landing well with the Tory party.

Katy Balls

Can Boris take back control of No. 10?

There’s a mutinous mood in Westminster this Christmas. In quiet corridors on the parliamentary estate the question is being asked: has Boris outlived his usefulness? Ministers are laying low. Tory WhatsApp groups are hushed. MPs are dodging calls from the whips, claiming to be sick or working from home. In conversations with Tory MPs, it isn’t long before the topic of Johnson’s long-term future comes up. ‘Everyone’s sniffing the air — you can just feel it,’ says a former adviser to the Prime Minister. Members of the cabinet, from Liz Truss to Rishi Sunak, are accused of being on manoeuvres. One former minister has taken to measuring his office to work out how many desks he can fit into it, should a contest begin sooner rather than later.

Wednesday

Katy Balls

Can Boris take back control?

21 min listen

Last night Boris Johnson suffered the biggest rebellion of his Tory premiership. But, unlike his predecessor, he still managed to get his vote through with Labour's support. Nearly 100 Conservative MPs voted against the government's plans for vaccine passports.Their reasons for rebelling varied. For some, they want to send a message to the PM that he cannot take his majority for granted. For others, it is about the principle of vaccine passports.'Boris Johnson is proving to be a deeply illiberal Prime Minister. He’s turning into the sort of Prime Minister he used to warn us against when he was writing’ - Fraser NelsonKaty Balls is joined by Isabel Hardman, Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth to discuss last night's rebellion and the booster vaccine program.

Katy Balls

Can Boris Johnson take back control of No. 10?

There’s a mutinous mood in Westminster this Christmas. In quiet corridors on the parliamentary estate the question is being asked: has Boris outlived his usefulness? Ministers are laying low. Tory WhatsApp groups are hushed. MPs are dodging calls from the whips, claiming to be sick or working from home. In conversations with Tory MPs, it isn’t long before the topic of Johnson’s long-term future comes up. ‘Everyone’s sniffing the air — you can just feel it,’ says a former adviser to the Prime Minister. Members of the cabinet, from Liz Truss to Rishi Sunak, are accused of being on manoeuvres. One former minister has taken to measuring his office to work out how many desks he can fit into it, should a contest begin sooner rather than later.

Tuesday

Katy Balls

What does a large rebellion mean for Boris?

11 min listen

Christopher Whitty has told the public he expects a 'significant increase' in Omicron hospitalisations over the next few weeks. The chief medical officer is concerned about the pressures this new variant will put on the NHS. Could he be overreacting? In contrast, there are encouraging signs coming from South Africa that continue to show that Omicron is less severe than Delta. The Commons vote on vaccine passports is looming where Boris Johnson could face a rebellion larger than his majority. The vote this evening is currently predicted to have over 80 rebels that want to send a message to the Prime Minister:'The worry is that the vaccine program, something that Boris Johnson has taken huge political capital from, is starting to fade as a success story for a lot of voters' - Isabel Hardman.

Katy Balls

Why a large rebellion matters for Johnson

Boris Johnson will this evening face his largest Tory rebellion yet as the issue of vaccine passports comes to a vote in the House of Commons. Today MPs will vote on various aspects of the government's Covid Plan B proposals — much of which has already come into force. There will be four votes: one on face masks being mandatory in venues like the cinema and theatre; another on daily lateral flow testing to avoid self-isolation if you are a close contact of a positive Omicron case; a third on mandatory vaccination for NHS staff and finally — and most controversially — the introduction of vaccine passports.  The Spectator has a live tally of the Tory MPs planning to rebel on the issue of so-called Covid passports.

Monday

Friday

Katy Balls

Is Boris in for a Christmas rebellion?

12 min listen

Boris Johnson's problems are not going away anytime soon and he is facing extreme pressure on several fronts going into the weekend. Hypocrisy charges from the media and the Labour Party, more scandal regarding the No. 10 flat refurbishment, and a massive Tory rebellion regarding his Plan B measures. Not to mention his recent announcement that it is time to have a serious conversation about vaccine mandates. 'This anger is diffuse across the parliamentary party. It isn't just one ideological faction that are upset with him.' - James ForsythKaty Balls breaks down the Prime Minister's many woes with James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman.

Katy Balls

The three problems facing Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson may be celebrating the birth of a baby daughter but that doesn't mean the pressure on him is eased. Instead, the Prime Minister is fighting on three fronts going into the weekend. The first is the alleged Downing Street parties with more claims emerging that there were several events. While cabinet secretary Simon Case is investigating, it's already looking tricky for key Downing Street staff, with ITV reporting that Downing Street director of communications Jack Doyle gave a speech and handed out awards. While No. 10 figures suggest a speech is a pretty regular occurrence, the real issue with the claims is that Doyle is the person who will have been in charge of the communications over the party claims — and the No. 10 line is no such party occurred.

Thursday

Katy Balls

Backbench anger at Boris Johnson is at fever pitch

Boris Johnson has had a chaotic 48 hours. After a Downing Street press conference video leaked which saw aides joke about a No. 10 Christmas party, the Prime Minister has lost a senior aide, faced new allegations about illegal parties, announced new Covid restrictions, had the electoral commission rule that his refurbishment of the Downing Street flat broke electoral law and – last but not least – welcomed a baby daughter. Of all these developments, it’s the double whammy of questions over No. 10 staff breaching the rules, combined with the decision to bring in new rules for the general public, that has the potential to cause the Prime Minister the biggest political headache.