News and Opinion

Conservative MP Dominic Grieve has said he was prepared to quit the Tories to stop a no-deal Brexit without parliamentary consent, decrying ‘the deceit that is slowly swallowing up the democracy of this country’. A cross-party opposition day motion aiming to ensure parliament had a binding final say on any efforts to leave the country […]

MPs have rejected an opposition day motion to seize control of House of Commons business again in a bid to halt a no-deal Brexit. The move by Labour would have allowed MPs to regain control of the agenda on June 25 in order to stop the UK exiting the EU without a deal in the […]

Hardline Brexiteer MP Mark Francois greeted protester Steve Bray in a bizarre exchange as he arrived at Boris Johnson’s leadership bid launch. Bray tweeted a video, in which he cheerfully greeted Francois, asking: “are you here for the Bollocks to Boris convention?” Francois just said ominously: “This man is going to be your nemesis.” Bray […]

Newly-elected Member of European Parliament Claire Fox has said she wants to lose her ‘stupid MEP job’ and says she is backing Boris Johnson to make sure it happens. Claire Fox with fellow Brexit Party MEPs. Photo: Peter Summers/Getty – Credit: Getty Images The Brexiteer – who was elected just three weeks ago – said […]

CHARLIE CONNELLY on the life of the German silent film actress Brigitte Helm. More than 90 years have passed since the release of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, a film so beautifully crafted and ahead of its time that even today it’s celebrated as one of the greatest ever made even today. Filmed over 18 months in […]

In a frank interview, MP Lisa Nandy has said she’s not sure the Labour Party can survive Brexit after a tempestuous meeting between MPs on Monday. “It was a pretty terrible meeting,” she told BBC 5 Live’s Emma Barnett. “We’ve had a few terrible meetings over the last few years but this was probably the […]

Boris Johnson has insisted his past comments and behaviours do not make him a poor choice for prime minister. Probing questions about previous misdemeanours and the use of drugs have become an evergreen feature of the Conservative Party leadership race with candidates such as Michael Gove and Rory Stewart made revelatory comments about their historic […]

Recently-resigned prime minister Theresa May stood in for herself at Prime Minister’s Questions today, giving the whole exercise an even stronger air of ‘it’s all pretend’ than usual. Michael Fabricant, speaking as though he had a mouth full of baked potato – and who’s to say he didn’t – leapt up to serve May with […]

The Brexit Party is open ‘to a high risk of receiving and accepting impermissible donations’ with the existing system that it uses to take donations, the elections watchdog has warned. Boris Johnson launches his campaign to become leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party and Prime Minister at the Sky Loft, Millbank Tower. Photograph: Stefan […]

BEN PUMMELL from campaign group Our Future, Our Choice argues that a no-deal Brexit would widen the north-south divide at a time when the north is demanding greater self-determination. This week, frustrations across the north of England have reached a critical level. Alongside major political and business leaders, more than 30 local and regional newspapers […]

A century on from his execution, Roger Casement remains a complex and intriguing figure. BENJAMIN IVRY reports on the latest attempts by historians and writers to get to grips with him. President de Valera attends the funeral of the Irish nationalist Roger Casement (1864 – 1916). Casement’s remains were removed from England where he was […]

Anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray made his feelings known during Boris Johnson’s leadership speech as he interrupted his speech. The campaigner, known for literally being behind the news, regularly shouts “stop Brexit!” and “revoke Article 50” from Parliament Square. Fresh from attending Rory Stewart’s campaign launch, Bray was present for Johnson’s launch, but this time was […]

Leaders of the country that some Tory leaders have claimed the UK should to aspire to be like has reportedly claimed they are ‘baffled’ by the ‘chaotic politics’ and ‘shambles’ unravelling here. Some senior Tories including leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt have aspired for the UK to be like the low-tax haven beyond Brexit. In recent […]

A poll commissioned by the Telegraph has put Boris Johnson far ahead in voters’ opinions – but several commentators have cast doubt on its methods. To repeat: Making any decisions based on polling about a hypothetical General Election with a hypothetical party leader and then trying to translate that to seats incorporating a new party […]

JASON SOLOMONS speaks to the makers of an enigmatic and ominous film set in Budapest shortly before the First World War, and finds plenty of parallels with today. Director of Sunset, Laszlo Nemes. Photo: Laookon Filmgroup – Credit: Archant Europe is glorious yet divided, on the brink of collapse. Warring factions and clashing political interests […]

Rory Stewart has launched his Tory leadership bid with strong attacks on a no-deal Brexit and one of his rivals for Downing Street, Boris Johnson. Launching his leadership bid at a circus tent on the South Bank in London, the international development secretary floated the idea of a “Brexit Assembly” of citizens to break the […]

Increasing numbers of Britons are steering clear of the news due to Brexit, a new report reveals. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism Digital News Report 2019 found that around a third of survey respondents in the UK (35%) were actively avoiding the news – an increase of 11 percentage points since 2017. […]

A Brexit Party MEP has tweeted a video of himself trying to use EU Parliament voting machines and appearing to claim that they are rigged. This is the voting method at the EU parliament. Just practicing voting 'No'.From what I am finding it seems that legislation proposed by the unelected commission always passes.Have only been […]

Theresa May’s Brexit deal can’t be renegotiated, is the message from EU leaders as Tory hopefuls make their promises in the leadership race. EU leaders and ministers of state have poured cold water on Conservatives who have been wooing voters with claims that they can somehow negotiate a better exit deal in Brussels. The only […]

The Labour Party plans to force a Commons vote to allow MPs to introduce legislation that could prevent a ‘reckless’ Conservative prime minister taking the UK out of the EU without a deal. In partnership with the Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru, the SNP and the Green Party, Labour will use an opposition day debate to […]

Tory leadership contender and Brexiteer Michael Gove has rejected the claims that the 2016 EU referendum led to an increase in hate crime, despite the Home Office reporting that it did. Gove was speaking at an event organised by the Times when he was asked by columnist Rachel Sylvester if he was ashamed of the […]

Despite ruling out a People’s Vote, and the Tories claiming there would be no re-run of the 2014 referendum, Andrea Leadsom has suggested that a fresh vote on Scottish independence could take place under her leadership. The Tory leadership contender said she would “never say never” on the matter because she believed in devolution. Addressing […]

Despite many Conservative leadership hopefuls contemplating a no-deal Brexit, business minister Greg Clark said the car industry is ‘crystal clear’ in its warnings about the impact that would have on jobs. During a grilling in the Commons, Clark told MPs that all his efforts were focused on getting a deal through parliament to allow for […]

Channel 4 News has blamed ‘Brexit fatigue’ for a fall in viewership in 2018. The broadcaster saw a 9% drop compared to the year 2017, figures from its latest report reveal. Channel 4 has said the fall comes as part of a huge shift to digital formats over traditional TV, and blamed Brexit for the […]

MITCH BENN on Rory Stewart, why good guys can be bad and what sci-fi can teach us about politics. We seem to have arrived at one of those awkward lulls, don’t we; not much is actually happening Brexit-wise but it’s still difficult to talk, think or indeed write about anything else. The big story politically […]

The sole Remainer Tory leadership candidate, who has just dropped out of the race, has warned that the candidates left are doomed to repeat the mistakes of Theresa May unless they accept the realities of negotiating Brexit. Speaking to Sky News, he said: “The stark choice is that there’s going to be no deal or […]

It’s been a long time coming, but Northern Ireland’s Alliance Party might finally be moving centre stage, says DAVID MITCHELL. In Britain, the big story of the 2019 European elections was the breakthrough of a group that formed just weeks before the poll – Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party. But in Northern Ireland, there was another […]

Lorraine Kelly has hit back at Tory leadership contender Esther McVey for suggesting her on-air snub was because of presenter rivalry during her GMTV days. Kelly was again asked by Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan whether she wished to expand on her lack of comment about McVey when the Brexiteer was on the programme […]

Nicola Sturgeon will state the case for Scotland’s continued membership of the European Union on a visit to Brussels. The first minister will address these issues in a speech at the European Policy Centre in the Belgian capital. She will also hold meetings with EU president Jean-Claude Juncker and the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel […]

The favourite to replace Theresa May as prime minister has been accused of avoiding scrutiny by hiding away from the Tory leadership contest. Rivals have turned on Johnson for making a series of announcements on tax cuts and his plans for Brexit through newspapers, and for avoiding the broadcast media. Fellow leadership contender Matt Hancock […]

A next prime minister will be appointed in late July, but with ten MPs still standing to take the job, what will happen next? Here is a timetable for the campaign. – Thursday June 13 First ballot. Any candidate receiving 16 votes or fewer will be eliminated. The results are announced at 1pm. – Sunday […]

Public services are facing massive recruitment gaps as organisations such as the NHS struggle to replace EU workers leaving the UK, says a new report. A survey of over 2,000 employers found that EU workers have “simply left the UK”, worsening the problem of 100,000 unfilled posts in the NHS and 110,000 in the adult […]