British Politics

TIM WALKER talks to Lib Dem acting leader Ed Davey about the role of politics during the pandemic, and what Keir Starmer’s success could do for his own party’s prospects. Sir Ed Davey is working from home in his south London constituency, but, while his daily commute from his bed to his desk is shorter, […]

While our TV news is still fairly responsible, according to MITCH BENN, our newspapers are even worse for bias and recklessness than their American counterparts. There’s a sort of numbness setting in now, isn’t there? A hollow, aching, weary resignation punctuated by periods of gnawing dread (and perhaps searing grief) when the virus’s crosshairs hover […]

MITCH BENN says it will be up to those of us left standing to ensure the lessons are learned, and it will involve fighting the very powerful to make sure it happens. First of all, many thanks to those of you who sent messages of support and condolence after last week’s column; Harry’s family send […]

Government negligence over coronavirus comes as a result of Tory preoccupation with Brexit, and we are all paying the price. Thousands of deaths in the Covid-19 pandemic is a tragic if inevitable statistic. Dozens of deaths of NHS frontline staff and care workers, however, represents negligence of stupefying dimensions. Now that a leaked Department of […]

The government is once again dragging its feet over the coronavirus – this time over face masks. I just don’t get it. Why on earth is the government not advising us all to wear face-coverings? OK, not the masks needed by hospitals and front-line workers. But scarves or home-made masks. Imagine that a face-covering gave […]

The arrival of Tory election chief Isaac Levido at Downing Street will mean Dominic Cummings must watch his back, says TIM WALKER. After assuming many of Dominic Cummings’ responsibilities while he was laid low for ten days with the coronavirus, Isaac Levido – the ambitious Australian election strategist who masterminded Boris Johnson’s victory – has […]

Readers are sceptical that there will be any change from the Tory government after the coronavirus outbreak. For the past few years, politics has been dominated by matters of principle and personality: the principles of Brexit (pure sovereignty versus shared sovereignty); the personalities of Johnson, Corbyn and Farage. Now, all governments, will be judged on […]

MITCH BENN on a death which represents far more than a statistic. I met Harry McFarlane in the late summer of 2018, when my girlfriend Leslie – Harry’s granddaughter – and I called in at her old hometown of Prestwick on our way back from that year’s Edinburgh Festival. Harry was on good form that […]

With Boris Johnson flouting coronavirus advice to stay at Chequers after his hospital stay, TIM WALKER reveals the prime minister is spoilt for choice for homes to stay in. Although the official government advice makes it clear that ‘essential travel does not include visits to second homes’, Boris Johnson and his lover Carrie Symonds have […]

Readers have their say about Boris Johnson and the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. It is an observable fact that organisations and even countries rapidly take on the characteristics of whoever is leading them at the time. The UK response to the COVID-19 crisis is no exception. Bluster, half-truths, unrealistic future projections and avoidances […]

Readers have their say on how the government’s handling of the coronavirus exposes the myths surrounding Brexit. One myth that has been exploded by coronavirus is the notion of British exceptionalism. The fiascos over ventilators, testing, PPE and the rules of lockdown has exposed the UK as not-really-that-special after all. How could such a country […]

MITCH BENN issues a musical call-to-arms to a country under the coronavirus curfew. Mitch Benn’s song and video urged people to stay in during coronavirus. Picture: Contributed – Credit: Archant On the one hand, envisaging into what sort of post-Covid world we might one day emerge, fat and blinking, seems like the most exquisite form […]

While Fox News tried to downplay the impact of the coronavirus, Rupert Murdoch is said to have fears about his own health. TIM WALKER reports. Just as Fox News was last month downplaying the threat coronavirus posed to the world, Rupert Murdoch, the station’s owner, discreetly called off a party he’d been planning at his […]

Shining humour on to dark times, comedian MITCH BENN says if this was The Walking Dead, he would skip ahead. First of all, I hope this finds you safe, well and still relatively sane. I know the waggish thing to do at the moment is to draw satirical comparison between our current plight and the […]

Layla Moran talks to TIM WALKER about how parties and political opponents should find ways to work together to tackle the coronavirus. In this brave new world, politicians are gasping for relevance. Holed up in her constituency home in Oxfordshire, Layla Moran, a former teacher, is managing to keep us attentive. More than that, she’s […]

Despite the coronavirus outbreak the government is continuing with Brexit talks. Consequently a campaign for assoicate EU citizenship must continue. The campaign to allow British citizens to apply for associate EU membership must go on. When all this is over the economic consequences will be devastating and the USA will be in no position to […]

Whether it’s the NHS, students or sport we should write off 2020. Andrew Adonis makes the point that students should be allowed to repeat this year with no fees. My daughter, who is in her first year at university, has already suffered as a consequence of the lecturers’ strike and will have lost half a […]

One reader says those blaming China should look closer to home for who to blame over the response to coronavirus. Don’t blame the Chinese for being slow off the mark. They had no great warning and knew little about what was coming. However we did have warning and lots of information from China and we […]

One reader thinks the daily press briefings from the government has improved without Boris Johnson. I’m finding the 5pm Covid-19 briefings without Boris Johnson more factual, succinct and more credible. I think experts give more guidance than politicians. This may be our darkest hour but Boris is most certainly not Churchillian Tony Howarth London SW3 […]

The owners of the Daily Telegraph are said to be living in a castle on the island of Brecqhou to avoid the coronavirus, TIM WALKER reports. When Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, appealed to hotel owners in the capital to make rooms available for rough sleepers during the coronavirus epidemic, there was no response […]

The Brexit transition period must be delayed to help the UK after the coronavirus outbreak. The coronavirus crisis, resulting in mass panic buying, hoarding and supply shortages with extensive empty shelves in supermarkets, has inadvertently become a dry run for no-deal Brexit and an unofficial test of resilience in the UK. I expect to see […]

Is it time for Boris Johnson to show genuine leadership by calling for a national unity government to steer the country through the coronavirus outbreak? These are truly unprecedented times and as such there must surely now be a government of national unity. If parliament is forced to suspend, either formally or through parliamentarians voluntarily […]

With Boris Johnson belatedly raising his game, MITCH BENN’s attention turns to ‘horrifyingly fascinatiing’ behaviour of his US counterpart. How are we all holding up? I do hope you’re all well, safe and still relatively sane. I won’t ask if you’re all behaving yourselves and staying indoors, since that decision is no longer ours to […]

TIM WALKER wonders why some revelations about Boris Johnson’s key adviser Dominic Cummings were dropped by the BBC. Chief Adviser to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Dominic Cummings at a news conference inside 10 Downing Street, London, after the latest COBRA meeting to discuss the government’s response to coronavirus crisis. Picture date: Monday March 16, 2020. […]

Every EU country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic is a reminder that each are sovereign. Some Brexiters are gloating over the EU27’s lack of coordination in dealing with the coronavirus crisis and a few European nations even closing their borders. First, it must be said that most European nations have opted for similar policies. But […]

Readers have their say on the response to the coronavirus. When everything is over let’s remember who risked their lives to save ours and contain the infection; and let’s remember that if there is money to be found to fix public budgets, health is the last place to look for them. When everything is over, […]

Readers assess the politics surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and give their perspective on the news. Sir Keir Starmer may feel that currently ‘there isn’t really a case for rejoining’ the EU, but circumstances may change. A number of possible developments could turn public opinion towards rejoining, such as: increased costs in trade with Europe, a […]

MITCH BENN issues some rousing words on the coronavirus fight – and how it has changed our foucs. So, how are we all doing? I do hope that everyone is finding quarantine as unstressful as possible and that the only fever any of you is registering is the figurative ‘cabin’ variety. I myself am actually […]