Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.
After a bruising few days for Boris Johnson and his ministers over the grading system for A-levels and GCSEs, the government has today performed a U-turn. Following growing outrage both from disappointed students and frustrated MPs, the chair of exams body Ofqual has announced a change in the grading system. In a pre-recorded clip, Roger Taylor said: Expecting schools
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As the backlash to the government’s exams fiasco continued over the weekend, Gavin Williamson has been steadfast in not U-turning. But with GCSE results out later this week and Ofqual’s algorithm revealing significant inequalities, is this position sustainable? John Connolly talks to Katy Balls and Fraser Nelson.
Any hope in government that the row over A-level results would die down over the weekend has been dashed. As opposition MPs and students call for Gavin Williamson’s resignation as Education Secretary, the general process has been thrown into doubt after Ofqual – the exams regulator – suddenly announced it is reviewing its guidance on how to appeal against
Are the Lib Dems finished? It’s not the first time that question has been asked. In fact, it’s a fairly regular refrain. With the days when the Liberal Democrats reliably won around 40 to 60 seats a distant memory, the party has struggled since the coalition years to find relevance. Ahead of the 2019 snap election, the
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The Liberal Democrat leadership race will finally come to an end this month but, after December’s crushing election defeat, is the party over too? In a special Saturday edition of Coffee House Shots, Gus Carter speaks to Katy Balls and Nick Tyrone, author of Politics is Murder, about how a new leader could pull the
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Belgium, Andorra and the Bahamas were added to the UK’s quarantine list yesterday evening, meaning Brits returning from those countries will be required to stay at home for two weeks. With Belgium’s neighbour, France, also seeing a surge in coronavirus cases, will they be next? Gus Carter speaks to Katy Balls – who is on
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London is the motor to Britain’s economy, so how can it rebuild after the pandemic? (00:55) How can the new Tory leader in Scotland, Douglas Ross, keep the United Kingdom together? (17:50) And why the looming conflict between India and China isn’t in Kashmir, but rather in the Bay of Bengal. (29:33) With economist Gerard
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The government has announced the most ambitious planning reforms of a generation – but could they backfire? Meanwhile, as the contacting tracing regime continues to lag, health officials launch a new coronavirus app that will tell people if they may be at risk from the virus. Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Kate Andrews.
When Dominic Cummings addressed government advisers recently, he said that he was so out of touch with day-to-day politics that he needed to ask who the current leader of the Liberal Democrats was. In fairness to the Prime Minister’s most senior adviser, he’s not alone in this confusion. Since Jo Swinson lost her seat to
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Douglas Ross has won the Scottish Conservatives leadership election – but can take on the SNP without risking a second independence referendum? Meanwhile, pressure is growing on the Tories to suspended a former minister accused of rape. Finally, a new report by a cross-party group of MPs suggests the failure to impose quarantine on travellers
As ministers work on plans to return all pupils in England to the classroom next month, the government is once again being criticised from all sides. Union leaders are questioning whether the current plan carried significant safety risks, while England’s children’s commissioner has made an intervention today warning that schools should be the last places to shut in
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Pizza Express today announced that 1,100 jobs are at risk as they close 67 outlets. With the Chancellor’s furlough scheme winding up in November, should we expect more mass redundancies when the government support is cut? Gus Carter speaks to Kate Andrews and Katy Balls about the UK’s economic outlook, and also asks whether the
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Today marks the start of the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme – but can the move save Britain’s restaurants without risking a second spike? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Kate Andrews about the Treasury initiative, as well as the possibility of more local lockdowns.
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Statistics released this week showed that England had the worst excess death rate in Europe during the first half of 2020. Katy Balls speaks to Kate Andrews and Carl Heneghan, professor of evidence-based medicine at Oxford University about what’s behind the numbers.
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On the episode this week, Freddy Gray, editor of the Spectator’s US edition, reads his cover piece on the real Joe Biden. We also hear from Douglas Murray on the trial of Amber Heard and Johnny Depp – and about allegations that can’t be proved or disproved. At the end, Katy Balls relays the government’s
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Overnight, the government announced a return of stricter social distancing measures in Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire and East Lancashire, with multiple households no longer allowed to meet indoors or in pubs and restaurants. Then, in an impromptu press conference today, the Prime Minister also called off the reopening of bowling alleys, casinos and indoor concert
After deciding over the weekend to impose a two-week quarantine on Britons returning from Spain, Boris Johnson has pulled the hand brake once again. In a press conference alongside chief medical officer Chris Whitty, the Prime Minister announced that in light of a rise in coronavirus cases he would be pausing aspects of lockdown easing
Boris Johnson’s policy of local lockdowns will no doubt come under increased scrutiny after new restrictions were imposed on Greater Manchester and parts of East Lancashire and West Yorkshire. Labour politicians have been quick to criticise the short notice of the overnight announcement while local residents have complained of confusion over the changes. It comes at a time of growing
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Joe Biden is leading Donald Trump in the polls, so what is at the root of his appeal? (00:50) The government is anxious about a second wave – can it avoid repeating its mistakes? (11:15) And Rachel Johnson on her generation of high flyers and early retirees (23:30). With editor of the Spectator’s US edition,
In the past few minutes, Jackson Carlaw has quit as leader of the Scottish Conservative party. In a resignation statement, Carlaw said that he had made the decision after concluding he was ‘not, in the present circumstances, the person best placed’ to lead the case for Scotland remaining part of the UK ahead of the Holyrood