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Katy Balls

Katy Balls

The Spectator

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Politics / Why Humza Yousaf is the Union’s best hope

After the narrow victory of the Brexit campaign in 2016, it was often said that the result would lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom. Just 38...

previous day 50

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Can Rishi Sunak win an election? Downing Street is daring to dream

Conservative MPs have had plenty of reason to be miserable over the past year. After ousting two leaders in quick succession, the party has given way...

wednesday 4

iNews

Katy Balls

The banishment of Jeremy Corbyn

Rishi Sunak is on a policy blitz. Humza Yousaf is facing party backlash after losing former leadership rival Kate Forbes from his cabinet. Ed Davey...

wednesday 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

The Tory rebellions brewing on small boats

When No. 10 first devised the Illegal Migration Bill, the hope was that Rishi Sunak’s crackdown on asylum claims would have a unifying effect on the...

27.03.2023 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

The Union / The SNP candidate that could be Sunak’s secret weapon

In less than 24 hours the winner of the SNP leadership contest will be announced. Yet it’s safe to say that whoever triumphs, the growing consensus...

26.03.2023 8

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Labour are quietly hoping Kate Forbes replaces Nicola Sturgeon and causes problems for SNP

What’s the most significant event this month for Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer? So far, we’ve had Boris Johnson’s appearance before the...

25.03.2023 10

iNews

Katy Balls

Is this the last hurrah for the Boris Johnson circus? Even Tory MPs really hope so

T he four hours of evidence from Boris Johnson before the Commons privileges committee over Partygate held little in the way of surprises. With much...

23.03.2023 10

The Guardian

Katy Balls

Politics / Why No. 10 fears Boris’s banishment

Even now, months after he was forced to resign, Boris Johnson has a potency that no other British politician can match. Everything he says still...

23.03.2023 50

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Sunak avoids large Tory rebellion on Brexit deal

Rishi Sunak’s Windsor Framework has won support in the House of Commons at 515 ayes to 29 noes. As expected, DUP MPs voted against the deal –...

22.03.2023 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

ERG criticise Sunak’s Brexit deal – but could still back it

What scale of rebellion will Rishi Sunak face on his Brexit deal? There had been hopes in Downing Street and the Whips’ Office that this could be in...

21.03.2023 8

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak faces judgment day on his Brexit deal

Rishi Sunak has received plaudits from MPs, foreign leaders and the media over the Windsor Framework. Yet the deal has not been voted on. This will...

20.03.2023 20

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Next week’s privileges committee could decide Boris’s fate

Boris Johnson was reselected on Thursday night as the Conservative candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip constituency. Yet the future of his...

18.03.2023 3

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Politics / Budget 2023: Restraint now, reward later?

The paradox of Rishi Sunak’s premiership is that even though he became Prime Minister because of the economy, it’s the issue on which many of his...

16.03.2023 20

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Small boats bill sails through parliament

When No. 10 first planned the illegal migration bill – to stop those who enter the UK illegally from claiming asylum – the hope was that it would...

14.03.2023 100

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak tries to defuse the Gary Lineker row

Any hopes in No. 10 that Rishi Sunak’s French charm offensive with Emmanuel Macron would dominate the weekend papers were dashed when the BBC...

11.03.2023 3

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak tries to diffuse the Gary Lineker row 

Any hopes in No. 10 that Rishi Sunak’s French charm offensive with Emmanuel Macron would dominate the weekend papers were dashed when the BBC...

11.03.2023 4

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak needs to keep pointing to progress

There’s an op-ed this week that excited ministers. Only it wasn’t to be found in the UK press – it came from across the pond. With the headline...

10.03.2023 3

iNews

Katy Balls

The problem with Boris’s honours list

There are plenty of Boris Johnson hangovers to give Rishi Sunak a headache these days. The privileges committee investigation into whether the former...

10.03.2023 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

What Sunak needs from Macron

Is a new bromance about to blossom? That’s the hope in government when Rishi Sunak meets Emmanuel Macron in Paris tomorrow for the first...

09.03.2023 9

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Why small boats are a big election issue

Rishi Sunak started the year with a speech announcing his five priorities. That was quickly followed by Keir Starmer, who sought to outbid him with...

09.03.2023 30

The Spectator

Katy Balls

The Illegal Migration Bill will define the next election

The government’s Illegal Migration Bill is finally here. Speaking in the House of Commons this lunchtime, the Home Secretary unveiled plans to...

07.03.2023 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Is time running out for Simon Case?

Is Simon Case on borrowed time? That’s the talk in Whitehall today following reports that the embattled Cabinet Secretary is considering an early...

07.03.2023 7

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Sunak’s plan to stop the boats

Another weekend, another set of stories on the chances of a Boris Johnson return. Allies of the former prime minister are on the attack over the...

05.03.2023 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Boris Johnson criticises Sunak’s Northern Ireland deal

Boris Johnson has made his first comments on Rishi Sunak’s protocol deal. In a speech at the Global Soft Power Summit in the Queen Elizabeth II...

02.03.2023 40

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Interview / How Labour can win: Bridget Phillipson on childcare, Brexit and faith

On 12 April last year, Boris Johnson’s fixed penalty notice was dominating the news. Few noticed another, perhaps equally seismic political story in...

02.03.2023 20

The Spectator

Katy Balls

The long demise of Boris Johnson – only Brexit old-timers will sign up to his revolution

Whenever things are going badly for Rishi Sunak, there is a common refrain from desperate Tory MPs: what about Boris? The former prime minister looms...

02.03.2023 5

iNews

Katy Balls

Politics / Rishi’s new momentum

When Rishi Sunak appeared in the House of Commons to outline the details of his new agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol, one politician was...

02.03.2023 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Has Rishi Sunak pulled this off?

Ahead of Rishi Sunak unveiling his revised deal on the Protocol, there was no shortage of Tory MPs – including some close allies – warning him to...

28.02.2023 7

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak unveils his ‘breakthrough’ Protocol deal

Rishi Sunak has hailed his new deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol a ‘turning point’ for the people of Northern Ireland. Titled the ‘Windsor...

27.02.2023 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Tory unrest over King Charles’s role on the Protocol

An agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol has been reached. That’s according to a senior government source after Rishi Sunak and president of...

27.02.2023 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Sunak and Von der Leyen to meet as Brexit deal nears

A new deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol is imminent. On Monday, Rishi Sunak will meet with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen as...

26.02.2023 9

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Tory tempers flare over internal disagreement on support for Ukraine

Yesterday, there was a moment of cross-party unity as politicians marked the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Rishi Sunak and...

25.02.2023 10

iNews

Katy Balls

Is a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol imminent?

Rishi Sunak hoped to end the week with a new agreement on the Northern Ireland Protocol. Instead, the Prime Minister delayed his plans to announce a...

24.02.2023 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Politics / Sunak’s Brexit gamble

Since Britain voted to leave the European Union, every prime minister has had to grapple with the conundrum of the Irish border. How can Brexit be...

23.02.2023 40

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Sunak is taking a gamble on the Protocol

Westminster is back to the Brexit wars this week. Once again, a Conservative leader is trying to finalise a deal with Brussels while facing warnings...

20.02.2023 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Brexit battles / Boris Johnson fires a warning shot to Sunak

Rishi Sunak is once again facing an unhelpful intervention from one of his predecessors. As the Prime Minister attempts to finalise a deal on the...

19.02.2023 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Can Sunak win over the DUP?

A deal on the Northern Ireland protocol could be imminent – if the various factions agree. Rishi Sunak is this evening flying to Northern Ireland in...

16.02.2023 3

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak's politeness was his most powerful move against Nicola Sturgeon

The departure of Nicola Sturgeon is a much-needed boost for Rishi Sunak, in the short term at least. The Prime Minister has found himself praised...

16.02.2023 2

iNews

Katy Balls

Who will succeed Nicola Sturgeon?

This evening the SNP’s executive committee will meet to decide the rules of the leadership contest following Nicola Sturgeon’s decision to resign...

16.02.2023 20

The Spectator

Katy Balls

After Sturgeon: what’s the future for Scotland – and the Union?

When news broke of Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation, the first reaction among Tory ministers was delight. For years, she had been one of their most...

16.02.2023 60

The Spectator

Katy Balls

What’s behind the secret Brexit summit?

Is there a plot to unravel Brexit? Tory Eurosceptics are asking this question after the Observer published details over the weekend of a ‘secret...

13.02.2023 30

The Spectator

Katy Balls

By-election spells doom for nervous 'Red Wall' MPs

When Greg Hands addressed aides at Conservative campaign headquarters this week, the new Tory party chairman spoke of his hopes for a surprise Tory...

11.02.2023 6

iNews

Katy Balls

The haunting: Rishi Sunak can’t escape the ghosts of PMs past

When Rishi Sunak embarked on a reshuffle of his cabinet this week, he wanted to avoid the traditional scrum of cameras as MPs walked up to the No. 10...

09.02.2023 60

The Spectator

Katy Balls

Will Zelensky secure fighter jets from the UK?

The red carpet has been rolled out at 10 Downing Street for the arrival of Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian President touched down on British soil...

08.02.2023 10

The Spectator

Katy Balls

My interview with Liz Truss has horrified parts of the Tory party – and with good reason

The former leader’s comeback is directed at her party: to force it back toward the low-tax radicalism it tried to abandon, says Katy Balls, the...

07.02.2023 10

The Guardian

Katy Balls

Rishi Sunak shakes up his cabinet – and Whitehall

Rishi Sunak is this morning embarking on a minor reshuffle of his cabinet as he restructures several Whitehall departments. Today’s cabinet meeting...

07.02.2023 30

The Spectator

Katy Balls

After interviewing Liz Truss, it's clearer than ever that she has unfinished business

What should the shortest serving prime minister in British history do after leaving office? When it comes to the post-No 10 moves of Liz Truss, there...

06.02.2023 3

iNews

Katy Balls

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