Is the end nigh for Boris?
14 min listen
As several cabinet ministers have resigned, is it hours, days, weeks or months before Boris Johnson is kicked out? James Forsyth joins Katy Balls from the roof of Parliament.
Katy Balls
Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.
Wednesday
‘It’s just about him’: who can dislodge Boris?
Westminster has always been run more by convention than by rulebook. Prime ministers are seldom forced out: they are persuaded that their position is unsustainable and they walk. Margaret Thatcher quit before facing a final vote. Tony Blair chose resignation in preference to an uprising led by Gordon Brown. Theresa May was technically safe from
Tuesday
Will Nadhim Zahawi be a tax cutting Chancellor?
Just over three hours after Rishi Sunak resigned as Chancellor, Boris Johnson appointed his successor. Downing Street confirmed on Tuesday evening that Nadhim Zahawi will take on the role – leaving his job as Education Secretary to enter No. 11. It comes after Zahawi spent over an hour in Downing Street following speculation he could
Johnson’s loyalists try to steady the ship
MPs and aides in Westminster are on tenterhooks this evening as to whether more ministers will follow in the footsteps of Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak and resign. Yet while some ministers are for now maintaining a vow of silence when it comes to their plans (most notably Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi), others have come
Sunak and Javid resign. Now what?
11 min listen
Rishi Sunak and Sajid Javid have resigned from government. In letters to the Prime Minister this evening, Sunak said the government ‘cannot continue like this’, while Javid told the PM that ‘the situation will not change under your leadership.’ Will more ministers now resign? And is this the end of Boris Johnson’s premiership? Isabel Hardman
How can Boris Johnson survive this?
This evening Boris Johnson has attempted to get a grip on the crisis engulfing his government. Only after two senior members of his cabinet resigned, it appears to be a case of too little, too late. In an interview with the BBC, the Prime Minister said that he had made a mistake in appointing Chris
Have Tory MPs reached breaking point?
10 min listen
Boris Johnson was briefed ‘in person’ on a formal Whitehall complaint into Chris Pincher, a former Foreign Office official said today, despite No. 10 saying yesterday that the Prime Minister was unaware of specific allegations against the MP. With the government having to explain itself once again, how much more will Tory MPs take? Max
Monday
What did Boris know about Chris Pincher?
12 min listen
Boris Johnson knew of media reports about Chris Pincher’s conduct when he invited him to join the government, it emerged today. How serious a crisis is this for the government? And as the Prime Minister today returned from three international summits, was he able to put his domestic problems behind him in the Commons? Katy
Friday
The Anne-Marie Trevelyan Edition
33 min listen
Anne-Marie Trevelyan is the Secretary of State for International Trade and the MP for Berwick-Upon-Tweed. In the episode, she tells Katy about what it was like to join the City in the 90s, what she calls ‘the mysterious management by the civil service of its ministers’ and what she makes of the rumours that she
Thursday
Is the privileges committee a kangaroo court?
11 min listen
After an eight-day world tour, Boris Johnson is back on British soil to face Tory MPs for the first time since the two by-election defeats. Meanwhile, the privileges committee begins with Harriet Harman as its chair. Critics have suggested this inquiry into whether the Prime Minister misled parliament over partygate risks becoming a ‘kangaroo court’.
Wednesday
Does Nicola Sturgeon really want an independence referendum?
14 min listen
The campaign for a second independence referendum is well and truly on, as Nicola Sturgeon tours the airwaves this week. But can the SNP will Indyref2 into existence, given Boris Johnson is very unlikely to allow it? Natasha Feroze speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth on the podcast, in which James suggests that, perhaps,
Tuesday
Why did Tory rebels abstain from the NI Protocol Bill?
10 min listen
The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill passed its second reading last night with a majority of 74 votes. A number of Tory rebels voiced their opposition to the bill including former Prime Minister, Theresa May, Simon Hoare and Andrew Mitchell. However, despite vocal opposition, not one Tory MP voted against the bill – opting to abstain
Boris’s most important election
When Boris Johnson suggested over the weekend that he was actively thinking about a third term as Prime Minister, it met a robust response from his MPs. Given many don’t want him to lead them into the next election – let alone the one after – Conservative MPs were quick to brand the comments as
Monday
Truss outlines plan to override the Northern Ireland Protocol
There’s a general consensus that the government’s Northern Ireland Protocol bill will result in a fight – the question: who with? When news of the Foreign Secretary’s plan to unilaterally override parts of the protocol agreement first broke, it led to a number of Tory MPs on the One Nation wing speaking out and members
Is Boris being too bullish?
12 min listen
After a bruising few days, Boris Johnson remains bullish suggesting his intentions to stay in Downing Street for a third term. Is this rattling Tory MPs? Also on the podcast, a Cabinet reshuffle may be approaching. Who is under threat and why? Isabel Hardman is joined by Katy Balls and James Forsyth. Produced by Natasha
Sunday
Is tactical voting unravelling before it has even begun?
Since the Tories lost not one but two by-elections on Friday, ministers have been rather quiet on the issue of Boris Johnson’s leadership. Where they have been more forthcoming, however, is tactical voting. Sajid Javid told the Daily Mail that Labour and the Liberal Democrats must ‘come clean’ over whether they have an electoral pact
Friday
Is Boris Johnson heading for a 1997 moment?
10 min listen
In a major blow, the Conservatives have lost two seats in the Tiverton and Wakefield by-elections. Immediately after, the Conservative party chairman, Oliver Dowden resigned citing ‘a deeply personal decision’ following a ‘run of very poor results for our party’. The Lib Dems overturned a huge Tory majority in Tiverton and Honiton, Devon, their third
Why Oliver Dowden’s resignation matters
Boris Johnson has been clear that he will not resign in the face of by-election losses. But his party chairman just has done, saying someone needs to take responsibility for losses in both and Tiverton & Honiton. Tory chairman Oliver Dowden announced he is quitting as ‘we cannot carry on with business as usual’. In
The by-elections are a disaster for Boris
Boris Johnson is suffering a further blow to his leadership this morning after the Conservatives lost two by-elections overnight. Labour took Wakefield from the Tories by 4,925 votes – a swing of 12.7 per cent. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats managed to overturn a Tory majority of 24,239 in Tiverton and Honiton – beating the Conservatives
Thursday
Can the government prevent a ‘bummer summer’?
10 min listen
Today, British Airways staff have voted have a strike of their own, adding to the government’s woes as rail workers continue to strike throughout this week. On the podcast, James Forsyth adopts a term from the Americans and asks: can the government prevent a ‘bummer summer’, where nothing quite works? Cindy Yu also talks to
