Katy Balls

Katy Balls is Diary Editor at The Spectator.

Confessions of a defecting Starmtrooper

20 April 2024 9:00 am

Next month, Keir Starmer is expected to lead his party to victory in the local elections. The Tories are forecast…

Kemi comes out against Sunak’s smoking ban

17 April 2024 5:14 am

When Rishi Sunak first unveiled his plans for a smoke-free generation, Downing Street was clear it would be a free…

David Cameron urges Israel to show restraint

15 April 2024 7:52 pm

All eyes are on the Middle East this week following Iran’s attack against Israel on Saturday night. Nearly all of…

Is Cameron upstaging Sunak?

13 April 2024 9:00 am

The logic behind Rishi Sunak’s decision to make David Cameron foreign secretary was that he would be a ‘big beast’…

The Angela Rayner council house row deepens

12 April 2024 9:24 pm

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

Can David Cameron charm the Americans?

9 April 2024 11:31 pm

David Cameron is stateside today as the Foreign Secretary tries to muster up support for the US to send aid…

How much trouble is Angela Rayner in?

9 April 2024 8:29 pm

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

What a super-majority means for Labour

6 April 2024 9:00 am

When the last Tory government fell, the famous question after election night was: ‘Were you up for Portillo?’ Were you…

Princess of Wales asks for privacy after cancer diagnosis

23 March 2024 5:23 am

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

Reform close in on Tories in new poll

21 March 2024 8:05 pm

On Wednesday night, Rishi Sunak urged his party to ‘dig deep and fight’ in the face of difficult polling. The…

Inside Sunak’s showdown with Tory MPs

21 March 2024 6:54 am

After a bruising few weeks for Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister this evening appeared before the 1922 committee of Tory…

Sunak tries to put a stop to the plots

18 March 2024 8:19 pm

Rishi Sunak goes into the week hoping it will be better than the one that came before. Last week, the…

Will Penny Mordaunt be the next prime minister?

16 March 2024 8:22 pm

Could Penny Mordaunt lead the Tories into the election? This is the talk this weekend after several papers splashed on…

Rishi Sunak rules out general election in May

16 March 2024 12:04 am

Rishi Sunak has finally confirmed what most MPs already knew: there won’t be a May general election. Speaking to ITV…

Tory MPs worry Michael Gove’s extremism crackdown could backfire

15 March 2024 12:25 am

Michael Gove’s extremism crackdown has been the talk of the Tory party for weeks now, with three former Conservative home…

Lee Anderson’s Reform defection spells trouble for Rishi Sunak

11 March 2024 10:12 pm

Tory MP Lee Anderson has defected to Reform UK. Speaking at an impromptu press conference this morning, the former deputy…

What May’s departure reveals about the Tory party

8 March 2024 11:57 pm

The tributes are pouring in for Theresa May after the former prime minister announced that she will be stepping down…

New poll points to Tory wipeout

5 March 2024 12:24 am

Another day, another damning poll for the Tory party. This time it’s a survey by Ipsos for the Evening Standard…

Sunak and Hunt face a Budget dilemma

4 March 2024 8:27 pm

Budget day is approaching and what was once seen as a window of opportunity is now being talked up as…

Sunak pledges extremism crackdown

2 March 2024 5:31 am

Rishi Sunak has just appeared on the steps of Downing Street to give a speech on the need to take…