British Politics

The Civil Service has been weakened by Brexit and the growth of court politics. But a rearguard action is underway. Plucked from relative obscurity at the age of 41 to become cabinet secretary, Simon Case could hardly have imagined his present role as head of the Downing Street shovel brigade, clearing up mess largely of […]

Labour has all but conceded defeat in the Hartlepool by-election after a shadow cabinet member admitted the party was “not close to winning this”. Shadow transport secretary Jim McMahon, who led the opposition party’s campaign to hold the North East town, said it looked clear that Labour had not “got over the line”. Such a […]

Agreeing a post-Brexit free trade deal between Britain and the United States will take “some time”, US secretary of state Antony Blinken has warned. Blinken said President Joe Biden’s new trade negotiator, Katherine Tai, would be taking time to review the discussions that had taken place with the Trump administration before progressing with the talks. […]

The Hartlepool by-election will be “really, really challenging” for Labour, the party’s Scottish leader Anas Sarwar has said. Sarwar said both he and Sir Keir Starmer are working to build Labour as a “credible alternative”. He spoke to journalists after attending a drive-in rally in Glasgow with former prime minister Gordon Brown, ahead of polling […]

Boris Johnson has not said whether key social care proposals, as promised when he was elected, will be detailed in next week’s Queen’s Speech. The prime minister said proposals for the long-term reform of the sector and its funding will be brought forward in the “next few months”. Care groups, charities and politicians have been […]

Britain’s Brexit trade deal with the EU was determined by “quarrels, low blows, [and] multiple betrayals” by self-aggrandizing Tory MPs, Michel Barnier has written in his long-awaited memoirs. The UK’s problem, writes Barnier in The Great Illusion, was that it began negotiations by “talking to themselves,” leading its negotiating team to “underestimate the legal complexity of this divorce, […]

Party leaders are preparing for a frantic last day of campaigning in the run-up to “super Thursday” as they bid to sway undecided voters before a bumper crop of elections. The prime minister is expected to make a final pitch to the electorate in England with time running out before polls open, while Labour leader […]

Pollsters have said that “razor-thin margins” will determine whether Nicola Sturgeon wins an overall majority at Holyrood on Thursday. Research by Opinium found support for the SNP was down slightly in both the constituency and regional list section of the ballot. In the constituency vote, support for the SNP was at 51%, a drop of […]

Sir Keir Starmer has written an open letter to the country ahead of this week’s elections, setting out his “burning desire to build a brighter future” for Britain. The Labour leader claimed it is “a changed Labour Party” in the letter ahead of Thursday, which will be his first electoral test since taking over from […]

A former aide to Boris Johnson advised him on new planning laws while being employed by two major property firms, a report claims. Industry insiders told the Mirror that Eddie Lister, who stepped down from No 10 over a conflict of interest, had been advising on the proposals. Whitehall sources suggested that Lord Udny-Lister had been […]

The new royal yacht named after Prince Philip is a waste of £200 million, says MITCH BENN. “SERIOUSLY GUYS, READ THE ROOM” MOMENT OF THE WEEK  This week brought the news our beleaguered nation has been waiting to hear. Yes, we are still fighting our way out from underneath the virus; yes, our economy is […]

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, a Westminster MP, is one of two candidates to announce a bid to replace Arlene Foster as DUP leader. The longstanding Lagan Valley MP said he would promote a positive strategy and values if elected, with a focus on building a shared future for everyone in Northern Ireland. The party’s current Westminster leader […]

A new poll has revealed the Tories could be on course to win the Hartlepool by-election after its candidate polled 17 points ahead of Labour. Tory candidate Jill Mortimer could win 50% of the vote with Labour GP Dr Paul Williams on 33%, if undecideds were removed, according to Survation. Independents Thelma Walker and Sam Lee […]

Set in a Britain with zero-Covid and corruption is punished, is this why we love Line of Duty? SUDDEN EPIPHANY OF THE WEEK On Sunday night I was (like, apparently, 80% of the population of the United Kingdom) watching Line of Duty on BBC 1, when I had a sudden realisation: Line of Duty takes […]

Labour leader Keir Starmer has quipped he is going to start wearing boxing gloves at the despatch box as he campaigned for Labour in Hull. Starmer donned pristine red gloves sporting the logo “vote Labour” as he was shown the ropes at the Vulcan Boxing Club in the city on Friday. The leader of the opposition […]

An independent Scotland would need to confront border issues with the rest of the UK if returning to the European Union, Nicola Sturgeon has said. Concerns have been raised by critics of Scottish independence who say Scotland rejoining the EU would result in a hard border with England. The first minister told BBC Radio 4’s […]

David Cameron’s mates at Greensill Capital may not have been eligible for any of Rishi Sunak’s emergency Covid bailouts, but it turns out that a company in which the chancellor’s wife Akshata Murty had invested in heavily did qualify. Even though the educational publishing outfit called Mrs Wordsmith received a £1.3m cash injection from Sunak’s […]

The former deputy leader of the Conservative Party has claimed people are getting “worked up over nothing” over the refurbishment of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat. Talking to Times Radio, Lord Peter Lilley said: “We are unique in that people get worked up where nothing bad has happened. “In Russia, public money was used to […]

Boris Johnson has insisted he is a fan of retailer John Lewis after the leader of the opposition mocked the scandal surrounding the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat. The prime minister was asked about reports he and his fiancee Carrie Symonds had rejected furnishings by the department store left in the Number 11 flat […]

Boris Johnson’s mobile phone number was freely available on the internet for the last 15 years, according to reports. A contact number for Johnson was listed on the bottom of a press release when he was still shadow higher education minister in 2006 – a document which was still available online in 2021. Reports earlier […]

Alba Party leader Alex Salmond has said a “puff of wind” could currently blow Boris Johnson over, and has said he is not even sure if the prime minister will remain in place after the May elections. Johnson has been under fire in recent weeks over a number of issues, including the recent announcement by […]

Robbie Gibb, a former communications director at No 10 under Theresa May, has been appointed to the BBC’s board. It is understood that Sir Robbie, who had a 25-year career at the BBC before spending two years in Downing Street under the Conservative prime minister, was appointed by the government. The BBC reported that he […]

Boris Johnson has said that he doesn’t “think there’s anything to see here” with regards to an investigation into the refurbishment of his Downing Street flat despite the Electoral Commission saying there are “reasonable grounds” to suspect an offence. The prime minister has said he will comply with “whatever” the Commission wants after it launched a […]

From the very beginning, makeovers of the PM’s place of abode have often been a source of antagonism, controversy… and expense. ROBERT WALPOLE (1721-1742)Offered 10 Downing Street by King George II, Walpole refused it as a personal gift and suggested it be the official residence for him and future First Lords of the Treasury. It […]

Keir Starmer has claimed an investigation into the refurbishment of Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat could be “over in five minutes” if he revealed “who paid for it in the first place”. The PM has insisted he has not broken any laws over renovations of his Number 11 residence after the Electoral Commission launched a […]

Arlene Foster has resigned as Northern Ireland first minister and leader of the DUP following an internal revolt. Foster will step down as party leader on May 28 and first minister at the end of June, paving the way for a leadership contest to replace her as Northern Ireland’s next head of state. “It has been the […]

Department store John Lewis appeared to mock Boris Johnson as he faced a probe into the controversial refurbishment of his Downing Street flat. The lavish update of the Downing Street decor was reportedly inspired by a desire to get rid of the “John Lewis furniture nightmare” left over by Theresa May. As the Electoral Commission […]

A cross-party panel of MPs will be asked to consider how misleading comments in the Commons should be corrected over concerns from opposition MPs that Boris Johnson is consistently dishonest. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle backed a proposal for the Commons Procedure Committee to look into “how perceived inaccuracies could be corrected” in a bid to […]