Katy Balls

Katy Balls is Diary Editor at The Spectator.

Small boats bill sails through parliament

14 March 2023 9:57 am

When No. 10 first planned the illegal migration bill – to stop those who enter the UK illegally from claiming…

Rishi Sunak tries to defuse the Gary Lineker row

12 March 2023 6:06 am

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

Why small boats are a big election issue

11 March 2023 9:00 am

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

The problem with Boris’s honours list

10 March 2023 9:33 pm

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

What Sunak needs from Macron

9 March 2023 11:52 pm

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

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…