News and Opinion

UKIP’s interim leader was stumped on basic questions like where she is fielding candidates or details of the party’s immigration policy in a car-crash interview. Please do yourself a favour. Go to sky news on YouTube and rewind to Adam Boulton's interview with interim Ukip leader Pat Mountain about 20 minutes ago. It's glorious.— Mikey […]

The political comedian who has made a name for himself pretending to be an adviser feeding lines to politicians in a separate room as they are interviewed has been left speechless in his latest video. the room next door - Boris Johnson and Andrew Marr pic.twitter.com/yl2XWTe759— Michael Spicer (@MrMichaelSpicer) December 2, 2019 Watching along ‘live’ […]

Following a disastrous performance on Sky News, UKIP’s interim leader has used a manifesto launch to insist that they are not ‘seriously racist’. She told a press conference in Westminster: “Please give a good impression to the public that we’re not nasty racists. We are good, honest, caring people, all of us are. “I’ve never […]

A 2017 general election candidate for the Lib Dems has said he feels ‘guilty’ for running against a Labour candidate and allowing the Tories to ‘scrape in’. In 2017 the Conservatives beat Labour by just 500 votes while Hugh Lanham, the Liberal Democrat candidate, picked up 1,500 voters and the Greens got 800 votes. This […]

A Brexit Party candidate is taking carpetbagging to the next level by standing for the party with a registered address that is 14,500 miles away in Australia. Not content with giving us an MEP who lives in France, my constituency's Brexit Party general election candidate lives in Australia... pic.twitter.com/Xsgz9iMFo9— Frances Weetman (@francesweetman) December 2, 2019 […]

The mother of a victim in the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 has called for the media and politicians to stop politicising the deaths of victims of terrorism after the London Bridge attack. ?"The emphasis has to not be a political game. It always has to be about the victims and families"@FigenMurray, whose son died […]

A candidate for the SNP has released a hilarious music video taking apart the Conservative Party’s efforts in the election campaign in they style of a popular Christmas carol. To the tune of the Twelve Days of Christmas, ‘The Twelve Days of Brexmas’ takes apart Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal and targets popular Tory politicians like […]

Nearly 14 million voters are in seats that have not changed hands since the Second World War, a study has found. Almost 200 constituencies in the Commons have not changed allegiance since 1945, with the average seat in the UK having been won by the same political party for 42 years, new analysis by the […]

Facebook has taken down Conservative Party adverts which used edited versions of BBC content featuring news reporters and anchors. The corporation told the social network that the adverts infringed on its intellectual property rights, after claiming they could “damage perceptions of our impartiality”. “We have removed this content following a valid intellectual property claim from […]

Nigel Farage’s earlier speeches have come back to haunt him after he denied he has ever supported the privatisation of the NHS. Nigel Farage couldn't care less about you or your health, but has 1.4 million followersWe couldn't care more about you and your health, but have less than 500kPlease follow and RT to help […]

Just shy of 11,000 EU academics working in the UK have quit their position in the three years since Britain voted to leave the European Union, new figures from the Lib Dems have revealed. The analysis, based on freedom of information responses from 81 universities, also showed that over 4,000 EU academics left UK universities […]

More Remain voters backing the Labour Party has helped to boost the opposition party in the polls in recent days. According to Survation the Conservative lead over Labour has dropped from 11% last week to 9%. The pollster partly credits change in support from Remain voters for the change, with the Labour Party seeing 10 […]

Voters answering the door in the Finchley and Golders Green constituency were greeted by a surprise canvasser on Sunday – actor Hugh Grant. Hugh Grant canvassing in Finchley while on the General Election campaign trail. Photograph: David Mirzoeff/PA Wire. – Credit: PA The Notting Hill star appeared alongside local Liberal Democrat candidate Luciana Berger, to […]

In the latest seven-way TV election debate hosted by ITV, the parties clashed over the US president – who arrives in the UK on Monday ahead of a meeting of Nato leaders. In some of the strongest exchanges, Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson said that, while the relationship with the US was important, Trump, who […]

Jeremy Corbyn has called on Boris Johnson to honour the ‘agreement’ that all political leaders would appear before Andrew Neil during the general election campaign. The Labour leader faced brutal questioning over half-an-hour from the veteran journalist during a challenge accepted by all the leaders from the main parties – except the Tories. Corbyn called […]

Often it’s not what is said on-screen during the debate that gets people talking, but what’s said on social media. https://twitter.com/dagiye/status/1201219177123631104 Here are some of the best responses to tonight’s ITV election debate… https://twitter.com/skeptical7th/status/1201216359738331136 https://twitter.com/weeshug72/status/1201215632643112961 https://twitter.com/lcorr/status/1201216602135564293 https://twitter.com/Sara_Rose_G/status/1201214778666033152 https://twitter.com/HelenMagi/status/1201215589483778057 https://twitter.com/willbarnesUK/status/1201222010652758022 https://twitter.com/smilinglaura/status/1201220246935363586 https://twitter.com/scattermoon/status/1201221098173616128 https://twitter.com/AngelaHaggerty/status/1201222413234638848 https://twitter.com/Peston/status/1201223035333816320 https://twitter.com/campbellclaret/status/1201225098902028288 https://twitter.com/PaulButters1/status/1201225815075278866 https://twitter.com/gabrielmilland/status/1201226755681521664 https://twitter.com/MarchGlas/status/1201228601787666434 https://twitter.com/oscarharrisonn/status/1201229327758692352 https://twitter.com/RoxxieToxxic/status/1201229493865762817 https://twitter.com/janemerrick23/status/1201229932669685761 https://twitter.com/joepike/status/1201230592156807170 https://twitter.com/ethikeen/status/1201234734376005696 https://twitter.com/reactivatedigby/status/1201236277586214912 https://twitter.com/jonoread/status/1201218444634529792 https://twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1201236652049522689 […]

It was an opportunity for the major political parties to face the public and set out their vision, but who do you think performed the best? As we wait for verdicts from the pollsters we’re asking for readers to give their perspectives on tonight’s performances. Who do you think was the overall winner – was […]

Jo Swinson said she could not support Labour’s economic policies such as its plans to nationalise certain industries. She described the programme as a “distraction” and said the Labour Party had “not been clear about how they would pay for it”. She added she does not believe renationalisation is “the way forward”. Asked whether she […]

The Lib Dems have criticised Boris Johnson’s response to the London Bridge attack, telling the prime minister to stop making political capital out f it Sir Ed Davey called on the prime minister to apologise for “misleading people” over the law regarding early release. He warned Johnson that he “shouldn’t be trying to make political […]

Boris Johnson has sought to blame Labour for the early release of the convicted terrorist who killed two people at London Bridge as he tried to make political capital out of the incident. The prime minister said Usman Khan, who was freed halfway through a 16-year jail sentence, was on the streets because of laws […]

Donald Trump arrives in town this week – and a White House official has said he is looking forward to meeting Boris Johnson. The comments came as an official said Trump is “absolutely cognisant” of the importance of not interfering in other nations’ elections. Johnson has already warned Trump not to get involved in the […]

Polling has found the Tory lead over Labour has dropped with less than two weeks to the general election – with one poll showing Dominic Raab is at risk of losing his seat. A BMG poll for Independent found that the Tory lead has dropped sharply to six points from 13 a week ago. The […]

An open letter backing the Lib Dems’ pro-EU manifesto has been backed by more than 60 business leaders. The open letter supporting the party’s pro-EU stance and economic policies has been backed by business leaders including the chief executive of fashion chain Superdry, Julian Dunkerton, and Alex Chesterman – founder of e-commerce firms Lovefilm, Zoopla […]

WILL SELF with a stark reminder of history. There are moves afoot in Belgium to purge the country, a bit, of its associations with King Leopold II, who helmed this motley realm from 1865 to 1909: Streets and parks named after him are being renamed, while there are also moves to begin purging Belgian museum […]

STEVE ANGLESEY on a bizarre incident involving former Tory leader Iain Duncan-Smith and how it provides a perfect microcosm of the Conservative strategy. Iain Duncan Smith’s offices in Chingford have been vandalised with graffiti. Picture: Emma Best – Credit: Archant A friend of a Facebook friend was on her phone at home the other day […]

The Labour leader’s apparent equivocation over Brexit might be derided… but it might just be a masterstroke, argues STEVE RICHARDS. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn at the launch of the Labour race and faith manifesto at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, north London. Picture: Joe Giddens/PA Wire – Credit: PA This is a noisy midwinter […]

Staying in the EU is the biggest political fight of our lifetimes. Voters deserve to know whose side Corbyn is on, says Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman, TOM BRAKE. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn. Photograph: Dominc Lipinski/PA Wire. – Credit: PA There’s a reason why American political campaigns are obsessed with the 3am phone call question: […]

MITCH BENN on doing everything he can to make sure politicians don’t ruin his Christmas without a fight. I’m breaking one of my own cardinal rules this year. Generally I operate an absolute embargo on anything Christmas-related until December 1. Obviously one can’t entirely avoid any mention of Christmas during November, or indeed October (or, […]

A hung parliament is the UK’s only hope of stopping Brexit and Tory extremism, says ANDREW ADONIS. When I was young, you only needed to say the words ‘hung parliament’ in an election campaign and Middle England fled to Thatcher. It was like brandishing the crucifix. Come to think of it, wasn’t that David Cameron’s […]

All parties are guilty, but the prime minister has pioneered this new era of dishonesty, says JAMES BALL. Boris Johnson is interviewed by Andrew Neil. Photograph: BBC. – Credit: Archant The prime minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is currently a man who has been fired not once, but twice, […]

Editor-at-large ALASTAIR CAMPBELL travels to Norway and finds a breathtaking building and a salutary lesson for a Brexit-entangled Britain. Financial Park. Picture: Submitted – Credit: Archant It is not the first time a new city has blown me away. Nor the first time a building has blown me away. But it’s the first time I […]

Boris Johnson has got his way and will be interviewed by Andrew Marr on Sunday, without having committed to a grilling from the BBC’s most ferocious interviewer Andrew Neil. The BBC had initially refused to invite the prime minister onto Marr’s show until he signed up to feature in a series of general election leader […]