British Politics

Priti Patel is pushing ahead with plans to ban a white supremacist group from operating in the UK. The home secretary wants to outlaw Atomwaffen Division and list National Socialist Order as its alias. Priti Patel has asked parliament to proscribe the “predominantly US-based white supremacist group that celebrates and promotes the use of violence in […]

A UN group has “misrepresented” the findings of a report into racial disparities after it claimed it attempts to “normalise white supremacy”, the government has said. The UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent said it “categorically rejects and condemns” the findings of the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (Cred). The […]

The belief that Brexit supporters were typically working-class from “left behind” red-wall seats and dilapidated seaside towns has been quashed by new research that shows half of leave voters were well off. The research, by think tank UK in a Changing Europe, draws on workshops that occurred in the summer of 2020 and shed light on the motivations […]

Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party take allegations of inappropriate behaviour ‘incredibly seriously’, the prime minister’s press secretary said after a Tory MP was rebuked for his conduct. Delyn MP Rob Roberts has faced allegations over WhatsApp messages sent to a young female intern and also his behaviour towards a male parliament worker. He reportedly […]

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has been told to leave a pub in Bath by its landlord, while on a walkabout in the city. Rod Humphris, landlord of the Raven pub, which is located in the centre of Bath, appeared to be held back by security guards during the incident. He shouted “that man is […]

The Scottish Tory leader has been accused of sharing a “nonsense” excuse for Boris Johnson’s absence in the Holyrood election campaign. Douglas Ross cited coronavirus restrictions as a reason for the prime minister’s absence, despite the fact he visited Scotland in February to tour vaccination centres. The SNP branded the accusations as “nonsense” and said Johnson […]

The Tories are on course to face their worst defeat of a candidate for the London mayoral race since the office was created Polling shows Sadiq Khan is set to secure a second term as London mayor on May 6. He is easily beating his Conservative rival, Shaun Bailey, who looks likely to suffer the […]

Boris Johnson has cancelled his visit to Delhi next week, as the coronavirus crisis worsens in India and concerns grow over a new variant there. The prime minister’s already-curtailed trip was scrapped altogether on Monday, with plans for him to instead speak to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi later in the month. Downing Street issued […]

Opposition parties in Westminster are pushing ahead with plans to force a vote on whether Boris Johnson should be investigated for a “consistent failure to be honest” in parliament. Six opposition parties have written to Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle urging him to allow a vote. The letter, organised by the Green MP Caroline Lucas, has […]

New analysis has suggested more than nine million people in Great Britain are not correctly registered for the May 6 elections, as the deadline to register to vote passes at the end of Monday. Council and mayoral positions in England and Scottish and Welsh parliament seats are all up for grabs during the May 6 votes, […]

A minister has confirmed Boris Johnson’s trip to India later this month was “under review” amid concerns over a new Covid variant in the country. This comes as Downing Street last week said the trip would be “slightly shorter” than planned with important meetings taking place all in one day. Top UK scientists have been calling […]

The Tory MP leading a Commons committee investigating lobbying is confident that his probe can bring “meaningful change” in the wake of the Greensill Capital controversy. William Wragg is chairman of the Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, which will be carrying out an inquiry into lobbying and business appointments issues that have come to […]

Boris Johnson risks losing his election gains against Labour if he does not clean up the “shameful” Westminster lobbying controversy, a Conservative grandee has warned. Sir Bernard Jenkin, chair of the Commons Liaison Committee – made up of senior MPs, has urged the prime minister to get a grip on the lobbying system following a […]

Britain’s slack system for regulating politics is responsible for a devastating lack of public trust. If he were a more sympathetic figure, David Cameron would have a certain air of pathos about him – the longer he lives, the worse his reputation gets. Born to riches and elected to the highest office in the UK, everything since […]

The pandemic might finally be giving the party a purpose, but it will also highlight the tensions of its dual heritage of economic liberalism and social democracy For the first time since the last election the Liberal Democrats are getting some national attention. In his unqualified opposition to vaccine passports and some of the other pandemic constraints […]

Former Conservative politician Alan Duncan’s new memoir In The Thick Of It contains much criticism of Boris Johnson – but why didn’t he say this earlier? “NOW YOU TELL US” OF THE WEEK Former Conservative politician Alan Duncan, whose new memoir In The Thick Of It (can’t imagine where he came up with that title) […]

Outgoing SNP MSP Alex Neil has urged his party to work with Alex Salmond’s Alba Party to achieve a “supermajority” of MSPs in Holyrood in support of independence. Neil, who served as a minister under Salmond, said in a statement on Friday that a supermajority is needed to “force Boris Johnson’s hand” on an independence […]

A BBC journalist says she is still “haunted” by complaints the broadcaster received claiming it had “built up” Nigel Farage and UKIP. According to The Times, Samira Ahmed recalled complaints received by Newswatch in the early 2010s. Speaking on her podcast How I Found My Voice, Ahmed said: “I’m haunted by that and I remember talking […]

TIM WALKER on the travails facing the co-chairman of the Conservative Party. Boris Johnson may have appointed him as treasurer of his London mayoral campaign and later asked him to sort out the Tory party’s finances as its co-chair, but Ben Elliot, pictured, risks prosecution for failing to make the deadlines with the book-keeping at […]

Boris Johnson has been urged to act after an Indian Covid variant with potentially harmful mutations was discovered in the UK. Scientists said the appearance of the ‘double mutant strain was a “disaster” and branded the prime minister “crazy” for still considering a trade trip to India later this month. Questions have been raised as […]

A new survey suggests that 60% of Labour supporters across the UK back another independence referendum “in principle” in the next few years, and 56% think the party should too. The YouGov study, which spoke to 1,073 Labour members between March 17 and March 24, found that while supporters in the rest of the UK […]

Labour has accused Matt Hancock of committing “cronyism at the heart of government” after it was revealed he and his family own shares in a firm that was contracted by the NHS. Hancock declared in the Commons register of MPs’ interests that he now owns shares in Topwood Ltd, a waste disposal company owned by his sister […]

“How many divisions has the Pope?” sneered Stalin at Yalta in 1945 when asked to lessen persecution of Catholics in the USSR. Today that question is being asked around the world about Britain as the British Army is being reduced to its lowest numbers in 300 years.  The figure of 82,000 men currently in the […]

Nicola Sturgeon has said she has no plans to call a separate referendum on whether an independent Scotland should join the European Union. She said a “detailed prospectus” would be put to Scots ahead of any second independence referendum, and she claimed most people would want to be part of the EU again. She was […]

Further links have emerged between Whitehall and Greensill Capital, the collapsed lender that David Cameron lobbied for. David Brierwood combined a role as a crown representative in the Cabinet Office with being a director at Greensill for three and a half years. The Cabinet Office stressed that Brierwood’s role was nothing to do with supply […]

Peers have defeated the government in demanding help for an estimated 250,000 “mortgage prisoners”. The House of Lords backed by 273 votes to 235, majority 38, a change to the Financial Services Bill, which would require the regulator to introduce an interest rate cap for affected households. It would also ensure in some cases access […]

Boris Johnson’s plan to save the United Kingdom has been entitled ‘Project Love’, according to one of his top ministers. According to Scottish secretary Alister Jack, in an interview with Politico, there will be a “slow-burn effort” from Number 10 to show Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland what the family of nations means to them.  […]

Boris Johnson intervened after a Saudi bid to buy Newcastle United ran into difficulties, it has been reported. The Daily Mail said the prime minister asked one of his top aides to investigate after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman warned a row over the sale of the Premier League club could damage relations between […]