Katy Balls is The Spectator’s former political editor.
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The government’s response to Labour wanting to refer the Prime Minister to the Privileges Committee – who could then rule that he mislead the Commons – has been messy. At first, Conservative MPs were to be forced to vote with the government against the motion, but No. 10 then changed its position, saying it would be a
Will Boris Johnson live to regret his trip to India? As the Prime Minister gets on with government business abroad, he is facing a hostile parliamentary party with a string of Tory MPs coming out to call for him to go. MPs are debating Labour’s call for an inquiry into whether Boris Johnson misled parliament. The
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In this episode: Is Boris going to limp on? In her cover piece this week, Katy Balls writes that although Boris Johnson believes he can survive the partygate scandal, he has some way to go until he is safe, while in his column, James Forsyth writes about why the Tories have a summer of discontent ahead
On Tuesday night, after apologising again to the House of Commons for breaking lockdown rules, Boris Johnson addressed a private meeting of Tory MPs. He had a message for his critics: ‘This is the beginning of the end.’ ‘For a minute, I thought he was talking about himself,’ says one MP. In fact, the Prime
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Tomorrow there will be a vote in the Commons where Labour is pushing for an investigation into whether Boris Johnson is in contempt of Parliament over his comments on partygate. Which way will the Tory MPs vote? ‘Tory MPs are sick to the back teeth of partygate now‘ – James Forsyth. All to be discussed
After Boris Johnson faced a hostile response in the chamber from opposition MPs over his partygate fine, on Tuesday evening the Prime Minister addressed his own MPs in a meeting organised by the government whips. Ahead of the meeting, Johnson had been dealt a blow when former chief whip Mark Harper said he no longer had
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Boris Johnson faced MPs today for the first time since he was issued a fine for breaking lockdown rules. He apologised in the Commons, but maintained that he did not know he was breaking any rules at the time. Is that enough? Katy Balls speaks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth.
Boris Johnson will face his party today for the first time since he was issued with a fixed penalty notice by the police for breaching Covid rules during lockdown. As MPs return to parliament following the Easter recess, the Prime Minister is due to give a statement this afternoon updating the House in which he
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Cindy Yu, Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls discuss the Prime Minister’s remarkable ability to keep his head above the surface of even the choppiest waters.
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This week the government has announced a pilot scheme meant to address the increasing number of asylum seekers dangerously crossing the English Channel. While some have criticised this plan as expensive and immoral it could prove to be popular among large swathes of Conservative voters. Cindy Yu talks with Isabel Hardman and Katy Balls about
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In this week’s episode: How are the people of both Russia and Ukraine processing the war? Our Russia correspondent Owen Matthews writes in this week’s Spectator that he has been stunned at how easily some of his Russian friends have accepted the Kremlin’s propaganda. He joins the podcast to explain why he thinks this is, followed
How best to move attention away from the Prime Minister receiving a fine over partygate? An eye-catching government announcement to fly asylum seekers 4,500 miles to Rwanda. This is what Boris Johnson is due to announce in a speech this morning as part of a government crackdown on unauthorised migrants. Fines aside, this has been
Before the war in Ukraine, ministers and Tory MPs believed a fixed penalty notice for the Prime Minister would mean the end of Boris Johnson. It would result in enough no-confidence letters from Tory MPs to trigger a leadership contest which would run into the summer. There would be a new Prime Minister in time
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After the news of the fixed penalty notices, Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson and Rishi Sunak paid their fines and issued a public apology. For Boris, the reaction has been surprisingly positive compared to the beginning of the year. The majority of cabinet ministers have come out in support of the Prime Minister, but
Boris Johnson has had a surprisingly positive 24 hours since receiving a police fine. While not exactly positive, today’s front pages are far from a nightmare selection. A number of Tory-leaning papers call for a sense of perspective with the Daily Mail asking of the PM’s critics ‘don’t they know there’s a war on?’. On hearing
After Boris Johnson issued an apology (along with a pool clip) over the fixed penalty notice he received for attending a birthday gathering in 10 Downing Street, attention turned to the silent Chancellor. Would Rishi Sunak resign in response to the fixed penalty notice he was handed? It’s clear he’s been uncomfortable with the partygate disclosures
Before the war in Ukraine, ministers and Tory MPs believed a fixed penalty notice for the Prime Minister would mean the end of Boris Johnson. It would result in enough no-confidence letters from Tory MPs to trigger a leadership contest which would run into the summer. There would be a new Prime Minister in time
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Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have been told that they are going to be fixed penalty notices by the Metropolitan Police over parties held in Downing Street. The Chancellor has already had a tough week – might he now resign? Could Tory MPs push the Prime Minister out of No. 10? Isabel Hardman speaks to
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Crispin Blunt, a Conservative MP, was forced to apologise today after he tweeted support last night for Imran Ahmad Khan, another Tory MP who was found guilty of sexual assault. His statement called the verdict ‘a dreadful miscarriage of justice’ that relied on ‘lazy tropes of LGBT+ people’. ‘The condemnation has been pretty universal. I
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Rishi Sunak has referred himself to Boris Johnson’s ethics adviser to investigate whether he followed the rules on ministers’ interests. After the row over his wife’s tax status has built up, how much has the past week weakened his position as a possible contender for the Tory leadership?‘The two top players in the Tory party
