Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.
Keir Starmer is today attempting to get back on the front foot over the cost-of-living crisis. Over the past fortnight, the Labour leader has been keeping a low profile (including a holiday abroad) which has given space to former prime minister Gordon Brown and Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey to fill the vacuum in his
10 min listen
Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth about why Sir Keir Starmer and his frontbench have been seemingly missing in action during the Tory leadership race and the ongoing cost of living crisis.
13 min listen
‘Profit is not a dirty word’, Liz Truss said at last night’s leadership hustings. The Foreign Secretary has made clear that she would prefer to cut taxes than take money from energy firms and give it directly to struggling Brits. But, if Truss makes it into No. 10, could she really reverse the windfall tax?
12 min listen
The Tory contenders are expected to announce their own measures to protect households and businesses from the energy crisis. Why has it taken this long? Labour too, is yet to reveal a strategy. Will they leave the Tories to fight amongst themselves? Also on the podcast, Nicola Sturgeon has made a comeback at Liz Truss
Is the government about to toughen up its windfall tax? That’s the talk in Westminster today as Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng meet energy company executives to discuss measures to tackle the rising cost of living. The government is reported to be looking to strengthen the 25 per cent levy on the
Liz Truss’s plans for an emergency tax-cutting budget would amount to an ‘electoral suicide note’. This is the latest claim from the Sunak camp – with key supporter Dominic Raab writing a piece for the Times in which he argues that the frontrunner is wrong to prioritise ‘limited tax cuts that do little for the
14 min listen
Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss head to the Red Wall for hustings in Darlington this evening. Meanwhile, new figures released by Cornwall Insight on the extent of the energy price cap make for grim reading. Will Labour respond with their own package? Also on the podcast, as countries look to ensure domestic energy supply, What could
14 min listen
As the leadership contest refocuses on the economy, Katy and James discuss each camp’s plan to deal with the cost of living crisis. Are both candidates being pushed towards the centre ground? Also, looking ahead to winter, does the UK have enough energy in storage to keep the lights on, and what is being done
The dire economic warnings from the Bank of England of a 15-month recession with inflation hitting more than 13 per cent look set to dominate the Tory leadership contest. With four weeks left of the campaign (but with ballots already out), the focus has returned to the differences between Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss’s approaches
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Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Isabel Hardman about the challenges facing the incoming Prime Minister, not least the dire forecast from the Bank of England predicting recession for 2023.
21 min listen
On this week’s episode: Katy Balls has written about what foreign policy would look like under a Liz Truss government (0:34). Rachel Johnson young boys and men can learn from the Lioness’s victory (06:50) and Neil Clark writes about Jim Corbett’s tiger hunting stories (12.34). Presented and produced by Natasha Feroze.
13 min listen
The Bank of England’s announcement to raise interest rates comes as the UK is predicted to fall into recession this year – with the lowest downturn expected since 2008. Are Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss ready for what’s ahead? The two candidates went head-to-head once again last night in the Sky News studios. This time,
Rishi Sunak gained a boost from last night’s Sky News’s head-to-head. Despite a difficult week in which Truss has extended her poll lead, the former chancellor succeeded in winning over a majority of the live studio audience of undecided Tory members after battling questions on the economy and whether he had stabbed Boris Johnson in
12 min listen
The Bank of England raised its rates by another half per cent today, as it warned that inflation will peak at 13 per cent by the end of this year. The question about the Bank of England’s effectiveness arises again – should it have foreseen the inflationary crisis we are in now, and done more
36 min listen
In this week’s episode: Is China heading for a demographic disaster? Rana Mitter and Cindy Yu discuss China’s declining birth rate and what this could do to the economy. (0.52) Also this week: What would foreign policy look like under a Liz Truss government? The Spectator’s deputy political editor, Katy Balls is joined by Rishi
When Tom Tugendhat announced he was backing Liz Truss for prime minister, his former supporters were dismayed. He was the candidate for the ‘One Nation’ caucus of moderate MPs, who defined themselves against the Tory right. ‘Anyone but Truss’ was their mantra – and they lined up behind Rishi Sunak. Yet here was their former
13 min listen
On today’s podcast, Katy Balls and James Forsyth discuss a sticking point for Rishi Sunak as he meets the membership – that he led a ‘coup’ to overthrow Boris Johnson. Whilst travelling the country, can he persuade the membership otherwise? Also today, a new YouGov poll of Conservative members gives Liz Truss a 34-point lead
It’s been a day of ups and down for both leadership campaigns. Liz Truss performed her first big u-turn of the contest, reneging on a plan to link public sector pay to local living costs following a cross-party backlash. Rishi Sunak’s supporters are talking this up as a moment that could change the dynamics of the
12 min listen
Rishi Sunak sat down this evening for a 30-minute interview with Andrew Neil. They covered the economy, the NHS, immigration and the former chancellor’s personal finances. Sunak knew he was taking a risk in sitting down with Neil. Was it worth it? Max Jeffery speaks to Katy Balls and Kate Andrews. Produced by Max Jeffery.
47 min listen
In this week’s episode:Can Rishi catch up?Katy Balls and Kate Andrews discuss Rishi Sunak’s mad dash to catch up with his rival, Liz Truss in the polls (0.55)Also this week:Is it time the UK severed ties with Chinese-made tech?Charles Parton argues this in the magazine this week. He is joined by Dr Alexi Drew, a
