Katy Balls

Katy Balls is Diary Editor at The Spectator.

The Illegal Migration Bill will define the next election

8 March 2023 1:37 am

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

Sunak’s plan to stop the boats

5 March 2023 9:17 pm

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

Rishi’s new momentum

4 March 2023 9:00 am

When Rishi Sunak appeared in the House of Commons to outline the details of his new agreement on the Northern…

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

4 March 2023 9:00 am

Bridget Phillipson, shadow education secretary, on how her party can win

Boris Johnson criticises Sunak’s Northern Ireland deal

3 March 2023 12:42 am

Boris Johnson has made his first comments on Rishi Sunak’s protocol deal. In a speech at the Global Soft Power…

Has Rishi Sunak pulled this off?

28 February 2023 7:59 am

Ahead of Rishi Sunak unveiling his revised deal on the Protocol, there was no shortage of Tory MPs – including…

Rishi Sunak unveils his ‘breakthrough’ Protocol deal

28 February 2023 3:16 am

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

Tory unrest over King Charles’s role on the Protocol

28 February 2023 1:54 am

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

Sunak and Von der Leyen to meet as Brexit deal nears

27 February 2023 4:39 am

A new deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol is imminent. Today, Rishi Sunak will meet with European Commission president Ursula…

Sunak’s Brexit gamble

25 February 2023 9:00 am

Since Britain voted to leave the European Union, every prime minister has had to grapple with the conundrum of the…

Is a deal on the Northern Ireland Protocol imminent?

25 February 2023 12:16 am

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

Sunak is taking a gamble on the Protocol

20 February 2023 9:06 pm

Westminster is back to the Brexit wars this week. Once again, a Conservative leader is trying to finalise a deal…

Boris Johnson fires a warning shot to Sunak

19 February 2023 10:28 pm

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

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

18 February 2023 9:00 am

What’s the future for Scotland – and the Union?

What’s behind the secret Brexit summit?

14 February 2023 2:23 am

Is there a plot to unravel Brexit? Tory Eurosceptics are asking this question after the Observer published details over the…

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

11 February 2023 9:00 am

The PM’s predecessors are haunting his government

Will Zelensky secure fighter jets from the UK?

8 February 2023 11:07 pm

Volodymyr Zelensky has just addressed a packed Westminster Hall thanking Britons for their ‘grit and character’. Ukraine’s triumph would be…

The art of losing an election

4 February 2023 9:00 am

There’s a new default conversation for Tory MPs at any Westminster drinks party: is this 1992 or 1997? Is the…

Why Nadhim Zahawi was sacked

29 January 2023 10:58 pm

Nadhim Zahawi has this morning been sacked as Conservative party chairman. The Prime Minister made the decision to remove Zahawi…

Rolling in it: the return of Tory sleaze

28 January 2023 9:00 am

When Rishi Sunak stood on the steps of Downing Street to give his first speech as Prime Minister, he had…

Can Nadhim Zahawi survive his tax troubles?

23 January 2023 10:28 pm

As a new week begins in Westminster, Nadhim Zahawi is under increasing pressure over his tax affairs. The Tory party…

Is the Trussite Tory ‘growth group’ a threat to Rishi Sunak?

18 January 2023 11:15 pm

Tory MPs gathered last night for the first meeting of a new growth caucus. Under the working title ‘Conservative Growth…

Sunak, Starmer and the Davos divide

18 January 2023 10:00 pm

What self-respecting political leader would be seen in Davos? The World Economic Forum has become synonymous with sybaritic technocracy –…

Why the government will block the SNP gender bill

17 January 2023 5:19 am

The UK government has this evening confirmed that ministers will move to prevent the Scottish government’s gender recognition legislation from…

Is Sunak heading for trouble on the Protocol?

17 January 2023 3:42 am

There has been excited chatter in recent days that a breakthrough on the Northern Ireland Protocol could be imminent. Last…