British Politics

Foreign Office minister James Cleverly has insisted that Boris Johnson has delivered his “oven-ready” Brexit deal, and that the UK still “holds all the cards” in talks with the EU. Cleverly appeared on BBC Breakfast amid questions over whether Brexiteers were right with their predictions that it would be the “easiest deal in history” and that the […]

Readers respond to Rishi Sunak’s latest spending review. The biggest public sector debt in history! What sickens me is the failure to acknowledge the outright lies of the coalition government in cutting back services now seen as essential. Health and social care, police, youth clubs, mother and toddler groups and all the multitude of services […]

Readers have their say on how Labour should vote on any Brexit deal. Let us assume, as Alastair Campbell does, that the government reaches a deal with the EU. It is sincerely to be hoped that the Labour Party does not support any such arrangement. To reject a bad deal is not only in the […]

Nearly three-quarters of the Britons do not want US healthcare companies to be given increased access to the NHS, a new poll has found. Polling commissioned by anti-privatisation campaigners We Own It found 73pc of respondents did not want US companies to be allowed to offer NHS services, compared to 13pc who do. The poll comes amidst fears […]

Donald MacIntyre on how Britain’s reputation is changing in the eyes of the world Although he was one of the most celebrated British diplomats of the era, few now remember how explosive was the leaking of the farewell telegram the UK ambassador to Paris Sir Nicholas (Nico) Henderson wrote about Britain’s international standing for his […]

A Tory MP has admitted there could be Brexit food shortages after the Brexit transition period ends on December 31 given many lorry drivers plan to “give Britain a miss” in January and February. Former Conservative minister Damian Green made the claim as he discussed the impact of Brexit on his Ashford constituency in Kent, […]

Windrush victims have hit out at home secretary Priti Patel after she said conflating them with criminals who are being deported was “not only misjudged and upsetting but deeply offensive”. Glenda Caesar, 59, who lost her job as a GP administrator when the Home Office wrongly decided she had no right to work in the […]

In the 12 months since the 2019 general election, Boris Johnson has seen his party’s poll lead drop from double-digits to level-pegging with Labour. The Tories had opened up a large gap in the polls by the end of 2019, boosted by the personal appeal of Johnson and a successful election campaign message of Get […]

Conservative Party members have rated Boris Johnson as one of the least popular figures in cabinet, according to a new survey. The monthly poll by ConservativeHome found Johnson, polling at a satisfaction rating of 2.6, was only slightly more popular than health secretary Matt Hancock (0.4) and housing minister Robert Jenrick (-1.8). Party chair Amanda Milling received -14.6 while education […]

The Brexit deal we end up with won’t be worth the paper it’s written on, and Boris Johnson is to blame, writes LUISA PORRITT, the Liberal Democrat candidate for mayor of London. Like many Brits, I have been on a streaming spree of The Crown over lockdown. For those who haven’t been watching, the latest series […]

A Brexiteer economist who said Britain’s fishing industry had been “decimated” by the EU has been urged to review his facts. Liam Halligan, an economist and Sunday Telegraph writer, claimed Britain had a “colonial relationship” with the EU over fishing rights. Appearing on BBC 1’s Question Time, Halligan said: “Two-thirds of fish in British waters are caught by […]

Boris Johnson’s majority in “Red Wall” seats could be “wiped-out” at the next general election, new polling has revealed. The Tories could lose as many as 36 out of the 45 “Red Wall” seats it won in last December’s General Election. Voters said mishandlings around the coronavirus and Johnson’s decision to stand by Dominic Cummings following […]

Jacob Rees-Mogg claimed on Thursday that devolution would be a “triumphant success” if the Conservative party had a majority in Holyrood – and slammed what he called the “failure of the SNP” to deliver for Scotland.  The leader of the House of Commons made the remark to SNP MP Tommy Sheppard during a session of […]

A prominent public health expert has said that anti-lockdown campaigners are responsible for worsening the very restrictions they oppose. Professor Devi Sridhar, chair of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh told the Stormont politicians: “The people who are most anti-lockdown have been frustrating to listen to because those are the people pushing us into lockdown… “The […]

A fish merchant has said he was “brainwashed” into voting for Brexit and that he “wishes he hadn’t”. Brixham-based fish merchant Ian Perkes told Financial Times (FT)that he “never looked at implications of the paperwork” that a vote to leave would bring.  Perkes has now added his name to a letter from the fishing industry to […]

Chris Philp has refused to rule out the Home Office using a “giant wave machine” to deter migrant crossings in the English Channel. Philp told the Commons home affairs committee that ministers had not counted out sending asylum seekers to Ascension Island or to disused oil platforms as their claims were processed. Philp came under pressure to deny reports that the […]

Gavin Williamson has become the centre of an ongoing joke after he claimed Britain swiftly approved a Covid-19 vaccine because it was a “much better country” than others. The education secretary told LBC radio that Britain had “much better” medical regulators than France, Belgium, and the US, who helped rapidly approve a coronavirus vaccine. Commenting UK regulators approving […]

So as I type this it’s the morning of December 1, and I’ve just done something I always do on this day each year; put my earphones in, hit up the Christmas songs playlist for the first time and hit ‘shuffle’. I think I’ve mentioned before that I operate a strict embargo system where Christmas […]

Nadine Dorries has been reported to Twitter’s complaints department after users protested about a message she wrote suggesting Britain fast-tracked the Pfizer vaccine thanks to Brexit. Several Twitter users have reported the Brexiteer minister after she said Britain would “still be waiting” for the approval of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine had it not left the EU earlier this […]

A Brexiteer MP has issued expletives to convey his amazement at the number of customs declarations expected between Great Britain and Northern Ireland after Brexit. Northern Ireland committee member Bob Stewart was shocked to find out that the HMRC are expecting traders on both sides of the Irish Sea to lodge 11 million customs declarations after […]

Sir Keir Starmer has said Boris Johnson has a habit of “running away” from tough issues after being confronted over Labour’s abstention from a vote on new lockdown measures. In his first session of Prime Minister’s Questions since having to self-isolate, Johnson sought to pin some of the economic turmoil behind the collapse of clothing giant Arcadia onto Labour. Johnson […]

Matt Hancock has been rebuked by members of the public after suggesting the speedy approval of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine was due to Brexit. Hancock caused controversy after insisting Britain’s exit from the EU meant it could rapidly approve new vaccines. This comes after Britain became the first country in the world to approve a jab for coronavirus on […]

Matt Hancock has said a former neighbour who was awarded millions of pounds worth of Covid contracts after texting him went through “the normal channels”. Hancock deflected criticism that he was personally involved in handing government contracts to Alex Bourne whose company was given work to supply test tubes two weeks after contacting the minister by […]

England is set for a strengthened tiered system of coronavirus restrictions after MPs backed the measures, despite Boris Johnson suffering the largest Tory rebellion of this parliament. Their support means 99% of England will enter the toughest Tier 2 and 3 restrictions, preventing them from mixing indoors with other households when the second national lockdown […]

Desmond Swayne has been mocked after coining his own term to describe Britain’s Covid-19 vaccination programme. The Brexiteer backbencher caused a ruckus in the House of Commons when he suggested the barring of people who were not immunised from public spaces was a form of discrimination he termed “vaccinationism”. Prominent Brexiteers like Swayne and fellow Tory backbencher Steve […]

The chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life has hinted he believes the behaviour of Boris Johnson’s ministers are causing “long-lasting damage” with the public as he prepares to conduct an inquiry into public standards. Lord Evans, a former head at MI5, said he had received messages expressing “concern” about ministerial conduct following […]

Boris Johnson’s Covid-19 strategy poses a “significant” health risk and is “highly unlikely” to see restrictions eased in parts of the country before Christmas, Labour has claimed. Sir Keir Starmer accused the prime minister of “over-promising and under-delivering” by pursuing an approach of short-term decisions that then “bump into the harsh reality of the virus”. […]

A group of Tory peers have lashed out at the current series of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! over the use of “non-native” insects in certain challenges. The group has said the use of non-native bugs in Wales, where this season’s show is being filmed, was “irresponsible” and “stupid”. The popular TV show was forced to relocate from […]