Was that Starmer’s best PMQ’s so far?
8 min listen
Katy Balls and James Forsyth dissect the back and forth from today’s session in the House of Commons. Does Boris really think he can sell his ‘I fired Matt Hancock’ story?
Katy Balls
Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.
Wednesday
What will life look like on 19 July?
When the cabinet met on Tuesday, ministers agreed that once the roadmap is complete the country will be able to live with Covid — even if cases continue to rise. The implication is that so long as the vaccines continue to work, there will be no going back after 19 July. There is increased optimism
Tuesday
What’s happening in Batley and Spen?
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.
Monday
Sajid Javid’s optimistic Covid forecast
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
Boris changes his tune on Hancock
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
Will Javid handle Covid differently?
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
Will Sajid Javid champion the end of Covid restrictions?
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
Saturday
Hancock out, Javid in
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.
Friday
The Katie Perrior Edition
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
Thursday
Will Brits be welcomed abroad this summer?
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
Wednesday
Five years later will we ever truly move on from Brexit?
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
Tuesday
Who’s being hurt by ‘white privilege’?
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 Hardman And the DUP are getting ready to welcome in their third leader in less than a month… ‘Donaldson is actually in
Monday
What’s the plan for planning reform?
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
Johnson vs Sunak: The political battle of the autumn?
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
Saturday
Revealed: How the UK-Australia deal was struck
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
Will Boris Johnson face more southern rebels?
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
Friday
How do you explain the Lib Dems’ stunning victory?
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
Major Tory upset as Lib Dems win Chesham and Amersham by-election
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
Thursday
How much trouble is the DUP in?
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 biggest danger to Boris comes from the enemies within
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