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Katy Balls

Katy Balls

The Spectator

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Natalie Elphicke row deepens

Was Keir Starmer’s decision to welcome the Tory right wing MP Natalie Elphicke to the Labour party a genius strategic move by a ruthless leader...

yesterday 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Labour’s wrong, the economy is looking up – but it’s too late to save the Tories

This week Labour turned the nation’s attention to “gaslighting”. The term has been used by everyone from Love Island contestants to domestic...

previous day 20

iNews

Katy Balls

Politics / Inside No. 10’s battle of the pollsters

There was plenty for Rishi Sunak and his cabinet to discuss on Tuesday morning. The Conservatives had lost half of the seats they defended in the...

09.05.2024 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Inside the Labour backlash over Keir Starmer’s latest Tory recruit

Has Keir Starmer made a tactical mistake by recruiting the Tory MP Natalie Elphicke as his latest Starmtrooper? That’s the question being asked in...

09.05.2024 30

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak’s new problem: a six-month leadership parade

Rishi Sunak cannot catch a break. Any relief this week that the much mooted coup against the Prime Minister post local elections failed to come to...

08.05.2024 20

iNews

Katy Balls

Sadiq Khan wins a third term as London mayor

Sadiq Khan has won the London mayoral race with 43.8 per cent of the vote to the Tory candidate Susan Hall on 32.7 per cent. Despite widespread...

04.05.2024 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Has Labour done enough?

Is Labour on course to be the largest party at the next election but miss out on a majority? Despite recent opinion polls suggesting Keir Starmer’s...

03.05.2024 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Should the Tories take comfort from Houchen’s victory?

Rishi Sunak can breathe a sigh of relief. Ben Houchen, the so-called ‘patron saint of the red wall’, has won a third term as Tees Valley mayor....

03.05.2024 30

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Labour triumph in Blackpool as Tories suffer heavy losses

Keir Starmer is celebrating significant gains in the local elections as the Tories attempt to put a gloss on a night of tricky losses. Overnight, the...

03.05.2024 30

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Is Rishi ready for the rebels?

Ever since Rishi Sunak became leader of the Conservative party, he has been preparing for this week. Entering 10 Downing Street without winning a...

02.05.2024 40

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Yousaf’s SNP nightmare is Starmer's super majority dream

It’s election fever once again in the UK. In Westminster, MPs have been sent into a spin by rumours that Rishi Sunak could call a summer election as...

29.04.2024 70

iNews

Katy Balls

Humza Yousaf quits – sparking SNP leadership contest

Humza Yousaf is stepping down as first minister of Scotland. After feverish speculation over the weekend, Yousaf has announced this lunchtime in a...

29.04.2024 9

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Plotters set out ‘100 days’ policy plan to rival Sunak

It’s the week of the local elections and the most pivotal of Rishi Sunak’s premiership to date. It’s been clear for some time now that the Prime...

29.04.2024 30

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Hamza Yousaf’s SNP nightmare may be timely boost for Labour

It’s election fever once again in the UK. In Westminster, MPs have been sent into a spin by rumours that Rishi Sunak could call a summer election as...

27.04.2024 40

iNews

Katy Balls

Can Humza Yousaf hang on?

Humza Yousaf is facing the biggest crisis of his leadership after the First Minister axed his party’s power-sharing deal with the Scottish Greens....

26.04.2024 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Politics / Kemi and Gove’s Cabinet clash on Rwanda

When the Rwanda Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons just before Christmas, there was a revolt on the right of the Tory party. A group...

25.04.2024 20

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Politics / Will Rwanda save Sunak – or sink him?

When the Rwanda Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons just before Christmas, there was a revolt on the right of the Tory party. A group...

25.04.2024 30

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Inside the battle to oust Sunak: hardcore anti-Sunak plotters haven't given up yet

When Rishi Sunak stood in Warsaw alongside the head of Nato to announce his plan to boost UK defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030, it was a...

24.04.2024 10

iNews

Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak vows to boost defence spending by 2.5 per cent

After finally getting his Rwanda legislation through the Lords, Rishi Sunak is in Warsaw today to meet with Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg....

23.04.2024 50

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Will there be a summer election?

It’s less than a fortnight till the local elections where Rishi Sunak will face his last major electoral test before going to the polls for a...

22.04.2024 30

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Confessions of a defecting Starmtrooper

Next month, Keir Starmer is expected to lead his party to victory in the local elections. The Tories are forecast to lose about half of their...

18.04.2024 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Kemi comes out against Sunak’s smoking ban

When Rishi Sunak first unveiled his plans for a smoke-free generation, Downing Street was clear it would be a free vote. Such are the divisions in the...

17.04.2024 9

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Is Andy Street heading for defeat?

Next month’s local elections will be the last significant encounter with voters before a general election, likely later this year. So far, the talk...

17.04.2024 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Politics / New poll points to trouble for Andy Street

Next month’s local elections will be the last significant encounter with voters before a general election, likely later this year. So far, the talk...

17.04.2024 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Kemi comes out against Sunak’s smoking ban

When Rishi Sunak first unveiled his plans for a smoke-free generation, Downing Street was clear it would be a free vote. Such are the divisions in the...

16.04.2024 7

The Spectator

Katy Balls

David Cameron urges Israel to show restraint

All eyes are on the Middle East this week following Iran’s decision on Saturday night to launch around 300 drones, cruise and ballistic missiles at...

15.04.2024 30

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Buckle up. Liz Truss is back - and her influence is growing

Buckle up. Next week brings with it the release of Liz Truss’s new book Ten Years to Save the West, and with it a round of publicity interviews...

13.04.2024 30

iNews

Katy Balls

The Angela Rayner council house row deepens

The row over Angela Rayner’s tax affairs is becoming more serious. This morning, Greater Manchester Police have launched an investigation into the...

12.04.2024 8

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Politics / Is Cameron upstaging Sunak?

The logic behind Rishi Sunak’s decision to make David Cameron foreign secretary was that he would be a ‘big beast’ on the world stage and...

11.04.2024 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Keir Starmer needs Angela Rayner now more than ever

A senior government minister under fire. A drip-drip feed of revelations. A prime minister under pressure to act. Only bad options if they do. This...

10.04.2024 6

iNews

Katy Balls

There are Tory splits over Gaza, but the party is only really going in one direction – towards Israel

When David Cameron touched down in Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for a meeting with the former president this week, his mind was on...

10.04.2024 20

The Guardian

Katy Balls

Can David Cameron charm the Americans?

David Cameron is stateside today as the Foreign Secretary tries to muster up support for the US to send aid to Ukraine. While Cameron plans to discuss...

09.04.2024 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

How much trouble is Angela Rayner in?

Another week, another development in the row over Angela Rayner’s tax affairs. The deputy Labour leader is facing questions over whether she broke...

09.04.2024 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Patel emerges as a front-runner to take the Tory helm

When Simon Clarke called for Rishi Sunak to go at the beginning of the year, it failed to take off. The most helpful intervention was Dame Priti...

06.04.2024 10

iNews

Katy Balls

What a super-majority means for Labour

When the last Tory government fell, the famous question after election night was: ‘Were you up for Portillo?’ Were you awake in the small hours...

04.04.2024 50

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Mutinous Tories fear Sunak and Hunt have missed a trick on defence

The resignation of defence minister James Heappey from the Government this week along with education minister Rob Halfon offered little in the way of...

30.03.2024 7

iNews

Katy Balls

Inside Sue Gray’s Labour party

At 8.30 a.m. each morning, Keir Starmer holds a meeting with his inner circle to go over the business of the day. Once, these meetings were mainly...

28.03.2024 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

The Tories and Labour are gearing up to fight dirty in the election

It was a scene that would not be out of place in a dystopian movie: “London, a city steeped in history but tonight its ancient streets bear witness...

27.03.2024 8

iNews

Katy Balls

No. 10’s mini-reshuffle

26.03.2024 20

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak’s Reform nightmare is coming true

In recent years, Tory MPs have become accustomed to bad polling. There has been no shortage of surveys and focus groups to suggest the Conservative...

23.03.2024 9

iNews

Katy Balls

Princess of Wales asks for privacy after cancer diagnosis

After weeks of speculation over the Princess of Wales’s health since she underwent abdominal surgery in January, Kate Middleton has this evening...

22.03.2024 4

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Racism row / Police investigate Tory donor’s Diane Abbott comments

The Tory racism row looks set to run on for some time. West Yorkshire Police today launched an investigation into alleged racist comments made by top...

22.03.2024 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Politics / Who’s behind the Mordaunt plot?

There’s an old Russian joke about the difference between an optimist and a pessimist in Moscow. The pessimist believes that things cannot get any...

21.03.2024 7

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Reform close in on Tories in new poll

On Wednesday night, Rishi Sunak urged his party to ‘dig deep and fight’ in the face of difficult polling. The Prime Minister will be hoping this...

21.03.2024 9

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Politics / Inside Sunak’s showdown with Tory MPs

After a bruising few weeks for Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister this evening appeared before the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers to make his case....

20.03.2024 8

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Leo Varadkar resigns following referendum defeat

The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is to step down as Ireland’s prime minister and as the leader of his party, Fine Gael. In an announcement this lunchtime...

20.03.2024 6

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Sunak tries to put a stop to the plots

Rishi Sunak goes into the week hoping it will be better than the one that came before. Last week, the Prime Minister suffered one of his worst weeks...

18.03.2024 3

The Spectator

Katy Balls

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