Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.
17 min listen
A bizarre flourish of tactics are on display in the run up to the Batley and Spen by-election. And are we already feeling the new Health Secretary's influence? To discuss, Fraser Nelson is joined by James Forsyth and Katy Balls.
Sajid Javid used his first appearance at the despatch box since his appointment as Health Secretary to paint an optimistic picture of the UK's route out of lockdown. Confirming that there would be no relaxation on 5 July, Javid talked up the likelihood of restrictions ending on 19 July. He appeared to go further than Matt Hancock on the end of lockdown. Javid said he was 'very confident' the end of the roadmap would go ahead: 'For me, 19 July is not only the end of the line but the start of an exciting new journey for our country.' Of course, Javid wouldn't be the first minister to sound positive about an easing date only for it delayed. But what was striking about his comments was how he said there would never be a perfect date for ending restrictions.
Matt Hancock may be out of government but that doesn't mean the matter is closed when it comes to the Prime Minister's handling of the whole affair. Hancock officially resigned on Saturday as Health Secretary after concluding that his position was untenable, following the publication of photos of him breaching lockdown rules with his married female adviser. However, the initial suggestion from both Downing Street and Hancock was that he would cling on. When the news first broke on Friday, Johnson took the view that the best way to deal with this type of story was to ignore it. Hancock put out an apology statement and No. 10 aides said the Prime Minister considered it a matter of case closed.
11 min listen
It's Sajid Javid's first day in the office as health secretary. The former chancellor's comments last year that he would 'run the economy hot' have led some to think he will try to end restrictions as soon and as extensively as possible, but might he have changed his mind? Isabel Hardman speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls. Katy says his position might be more complicated than many first assume: 'We know what his instinct is, but it's also the case that when he made the comments last spring, that was obviously thinking with his former chancellor hat on, and now he's going to have to look at things in terms of the health department.' Our team also talk about the CCTV leak from health department.
As the row over Matt Hancock’s relationship with his married adviser Gina Coladangelo continues to dominate the news, attention in Westminster is turning to what his Cabinet successor will do. Will Sajid Javid's appointment as Health Secretary lead to a change in the government’s approach to Covid? That’s the question Tory MPs are asking as Javid prepares to make his Commons debut today after accepting the role. On Sunday, Javid said his most immediate priority would be to return life to normal ‘as quickly as possible’.
14 min listen
Matt Hancock has resigned as health secretary this evening following this week's scandal and his appointment has already been appointed, former chancellor Sajid Javid. Katy Balls is joined by Isabel Harman and Fraser Nelson to discuss this breaking news.
35 min listen
Katie Perrior is a public relations expert who co-founded inHouse Communications. She's worked for two prime ministers and several senior Tory MPs, and today her clients include the spiritsmaker Diageo and the football Super League. On the podcast, she talks about leaning into Boris Johnson's rambunctious style on the London mayoralty campaign; coming into blows with Theresa May's chief advisors Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill; and, reflecting on the Super League disaster, how there are more liars in football than even in politics.
10 min listen
Daily new cases are just under 17,000 today, and Angela Merkel has advised other EU leaders to make British tourists quarantine upon entry to the bloc. So even if the British government allows a more liberal green list, would British tourists be welcomed abroad? Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls. Katy points out that this bodes well for July 19: 'So I wouldn't be surprised if you get some scientists used to commenting on this sounding the alarm in the coming days if it keeps going up at this rate.
13 min listen
It's the five year anniversary of when the UK decided to leave the European Union and while the opposition are looking to try and put the referendum behind them, the government still seems keen to put any UK success squarely on the shoulders of Brexit. 'There is an asymmetry in British politics now between about who wants to keep talking about it and who doesn't' - James ForsythBut with nationalist sentiment rumbling on in both the north and west are the Conservatives ignoring the battles to come? And also are the prospects of vaccine passports looking better? James Forsyth and Katy Balls discuss... with another surprise visit from Fraser Nelson.
14 min listen
While Labour are shuffling people round yet again.. 'There needs to be a change in messaging from the leader's office, because otherwise it just looks like he's rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic.' - Isabel HardmanAnd the DUP are getting ready to welcome in their third leader in less than a month... 'Donaldson is actually in a much stronger position this time round, than if he had won by one vote last time round.' - James Forsyth A new report seems to show that in education, the group seemingly most negatively affected by the idea of 'white privilege' are white, working class children. 'I've been involved in the social mobility foundation for quite some time and there's no doubt that the demographic most missing in these programs is white, working class.
13 min listen
With the Conservatives still taking stock after their loss in the recent by-election, it seems the governments ambitions for planning reform are now firmly under the microscope. 'When you speak to these MPs... they are absolutely convinced that planning reform is dead' - Katy Balls And on what would have been 'freedom day', there are reports that the powers at be don't think they'll have to extend restrictions again (we've heard that one before). 'If they don't hit July 19th they would have major political and I would suggest economic problems too because I think that would create a real loss of confidence about when the UK would ever re-open fully.' - James ForsythIsabel Hardman is joined by James Forsyth and Katy Balls.
As ministers grow increasingly confident that they will be able to unlock by 19 July, Boris Johnson is facing a series of other political problems coming up the track. After the party lost the Chesham and Amersham by-election to the Liberal Democrats, Tory MPs with seats in the south are particularly restive. CCHQ has spent the weekend reaching out to these MPs in a bid to offer reassurance that the party has not forgotten about them. Yet the biggest problem Johnson faces is on spending. The spending review in the autumn will see all these various debates playing out Over the weekend, there have been a series of reports of a rift between the Prime Minister and his Chancellor on the Covid recovery. Figures in the Treasury are growing frustrated with a No.
The basis of the UK’s first bespoke trade deal since leaving the EU was finalised with Australia over two dinners. One took place in the garden of the residence of the Australian High Commissioner to the UK, where guests were fed Australian lamb. The other in Downing Street where Welsh lamb was on the menu. They were menu choices that pointed both to what the deal would achieve – zero tariffs, including on agricultural goods – and the main point of contention in a negotiation that has spanned nearly a year since talks began last June. In that time, there has been a Cabinet row over protectionism on Australian meat imports and a diplomatic incident that nearly hampered the talks.
18 min listen
The surprise result of Friday's Chesham and Amersham by-election has led to questions over why the Conservative lost just so badly - and why no one saw it coming. On today's Coffee House Shots, Conservative Home's Paul Goodman warns against over-reading the situation: 'When it comes to by-elections, the golden rule should be, why not presume that voters will kick the establishment? ... I really think, as I'm looking around at these Remainers coming out of their various holes and lairs, indulging these pathetic fantasies, that they have this out of proportion' James Forsyth adds that the result isn't so much a problem for the Conservative party, as it is symptomatic of the future problems in party management.
11 min listen
In a political upset the Liberal Democrats have won the by-election in Chesham and Amersham in a massive poll swing from the Tories. 'What they've done is overturned a majority of 16,000 and then they've had quite a few votes to boot!' - Katy Balls And in other political the new DUP leader Edwin Poots has resigned, leaving his party to figure out what to do next. To dissect what happened, Cindy Yu is joined by James Forsyth and Katy Balls.
Boris Johnson wakes to a shock Tory defeat in the Chesham and Amersham by-election. Overnight, the Liberal Democrats have turned the seat yellow for the first time in its history. The Lib Dem candidate Sarah Green managed to overturn a majority of 16,000 in the Buckinghamshire seat that has only ever been Tory — after the by-election was called following the death of Conservative MP Dame Cheryl Gillan. Green won a majority of 8,028 — with 21,517 votes to the Conservative candidate's 13,489. The 25 point swing to the party will certainly come as a nasty surprise for Tory MPs Announcing the news, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey heralded it proof that 'the Tory blue wall is beginning to crumble'.
13 min listen
New DUP leader Edwin Poots faces his first challenge today as he tries to push through a controversial candidate for First Minister. There are now rumours that the party may launch a vote of no-confidence in him, only a month after he became leader. How much trouble is the party in? Katy Balls points out that the removal of Poots perhaps would not solve the DUP's problems, given more moderate candidates like Jeffrey Donaldson lost out to him: 'If we end up in a situation where there's a vote of no confidence in Poots... it's not clear that the party is unified in what should follow next.
Boris Johnson’s predecessor was destroyed by her inability to meet deadlines. Theresa May extended the Brexit transition period so many times that her party eventually turned against her. Johnson, who was notorious for pushing deadlines when he was a journalist, is now discovering the political problem with missing dates. The Prime Minister may still be flying high in the polls but if he cannot meet the new date for ending restrictions — 19 July — then his own MPs will lose faith in his ability to restore normality. The whole point of the government’s staggeringly long lockdown timetable, announced back in February, was to set an achievable deadline.
13 min listen
Another day, another Dom bomb. In Cummings's latest release, a number of WhatsApp messages reveal communications between himself and the Prime Minister, with the latter describing the health secretary Matt Hancock's performance as effing 'hopeless'. Is this damaging to Hancock? Or is this the sentiment that you can expect from senior people who work at close quarters with each other during a crisis? To discuss the new revelations and its potential fallout Katy Balls is joined by James Forsyth, Isabel Hardman with a surprise appearance by Fraser Nelson.
When Dominic Cummings gave seven hours of evidence to a Commons inquiry into the government's Covid response, it was Matt Hancock who received the most criticism. The former No. 10 senior aide's accusation that the Health Secretary was negligent – the most serious charge being that Hancock had misled the government over testing and care homes – led to questions over Hancock's position. But it quickly became clear No. 10 had no plans to fire Hancock. The Prime Minister opted to rally round his minister rather than cast him out. So, does the publication of WhatsApp messages allegedly showing the Prime Minister heavily criticising Hancock change things?