British Politics

Readers are distinctly unimpressed with Boris Johnson’s knowledge of history. Any attempt to impose a no-deal Brexit challenges the very legitimacy of government. Britain does not, of course, have a written constitution; but, as John Locke, the English philosopher and ‘father of liberalism’ pointed out: if a government acts in ways that are contrary to […]

Readers have their say on Jeremy Corbyn’s appeal to opposition parties to allow him to become a caretaker prime minister. A government of national unity to stop a no-deal Brexit will never happen if Jeremy Corbyn will not cede authority to the other parties, as well as his own Labour moderates. What’s needed as its […]

Readers react to the latest electioneering from Boris Johnson – and the lies to come from his cabinet. There is talk of Boris Johnson and his Brexiteer cabinet planning an enormously expensive advertising campaign to promote their choice of Brexit. I suggest that we preempt them with our own campaign, placing full-page advertisements in all […]

Readers give their opinions on Dominic Cummings, who has taken charge at 10 Downing Street. I should love Dominic Cummings. By winning the 2016 referendum for Vote Leave, he has greatly advanced the cause of an independent Scotland. Even better, by advocating no-deal if the other 27 EU countries remain defiant to the demands of […]

Even the legendary patience of the Scots is being exhausted as the country is dragged out of the EU against its will, says Mitch Benn. I’ve returned to my adopted hometown of Edinburgh to partake in the annual month-long ritual of comedy industry chiselling which is the Festival Fringe (my show is called Ten Songs […]

Dominic Raab joins Boris Johnson and Steve Baker in accepting taxpayer-funded payoffs for quitting; New PM sensitive that he is not loved; and David Cameron is reading Why Nations Fall. Brexit quitters quids in Outside of the Brextremist wonderland, when people choose to quit their jobs they seldom, if ever, trouser a pay-off. That will […]

Readers give their initial reaction to the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election result – and have plenty of raise for the Remain pact. Well done, so encouraging to see the numbers. HUGE thank you to the Remain candidates who stood down so as not to split the vote. This victory is a tribute to their belief […]

US politics tends to be a more colourful and kinetic affair than our own variety, although of course there are always parallels to be drawn says MITCH BENN. Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Home Secretary Priti Patel attending the first meeting of the National Policing Board at the Home Office in London. Picture: Kirsty Wigglewsorth/PA […]

Readers react both online and offline to Alastair Campbell’s letter to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. I don’t feel at all ashamed to say I’m sat here with tears in my eyes after reading your letter. You’re a man who has given his life to the Labour movement and your contribution has transformed lives. I was […]

Comedian and host of People’s Vote campaign rallies, MITCH BENN calls on remainers to reclaim the flag in the name of true patriotism. There’s just over a week to go before I head up to Edinburgh to perform my show Ten Songs To Save The World at the Festival Fringe (Underbelly, 3.45pm, in case you […]

Political itinerant and, latterly, Liberal Democrat member TIM WALKER on why the election of Jo Swinson to the party’s leadership fills him with optimism Jo Swinson was barely three minutes into her victory speech when I realised I’d already heard more conviction and good sense than Jeremy Corbyn had managed in the three long years […]

Johnson’s personal protection team is the biggest yet, says TIM WALKER, with civil unrest expected if the new prime minister goes through with a no-deal Brexit In what appears to be a tacit admission of his unpopularity, Boris Johnson has agreed with the parliamentary and diplomatic protection team – a division of the Metropolitan Police […]

Nelsonian traditions are one thing, but some of our modern political practices need to go out with the tide, says MITCH BENN. A few weeks ago I was asked to perform a short set at a Naval Officers’ Mess Dinner at HMS Sherwood in Nottingham. Attentive readers with a smattering of British geography will already […]

TIM WALKER explores; Why David Cameron will not be promoting his book for Rupert Murdoch at the Cheltenham Literary Festival, Christopher Booker’s funeral proves awkward for the Telegraph, and Leave.EU remains a licence to lose money. Leave campaigner Arron Banks. Picture: PA/ Victoria Jones – Credit: PA Archive/PA Images When it comes to picking Britain’s […]

MITCH BENN says it’s time we all call out the lies and expose the liars peddling the myths about the EU and Europe. I’m in the home stretch before heading up to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August, so my life consists primarily of coffee-fuelled songwriting and joke-rewriting sessions, interspersed with preview shows, each slightly […]

Christopher Booker, the Telegraph columnist, died believing the Barclay brothers had ‘wrecked’ his newspaper and had a hand in wrecking the country. Ian Hislop. Photograph by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images. – Credit: Getty Images Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay – the pro-Brexit owners of the Daily and Sunday Telegraph – have not for the […]

MITCH BENN discusses the issue of anti-Semitism in the Labour party. At time of writing, I don’t know whether Chris Williamson has been re-admitted, re-expelled or re-re-admitted to the Labour Party. I do know that Alastair Campbell is still out for the foreseeable, as he told me when we met at the People’s Vote rally […]

If you’re making excuses for someone on your team you wouldn’t make for someone on theirs, you’re part of the problem says MITCH BENN. Let’s get one thing straight before we start; I don’t know what was going on in Carrie Symonds’ flat in Camberwell the other night, and neither do you. Nor indeed do […]

One reader thinks he has the answer to solving Brexit – and it involves David Cameron. All Boris Johnson has to do to get us out of this Brexit mess is ask the EU to go back to David Cameron’s deal. That took the UK out of ever-closer union, and reinforced our ability to limit […]

Boris Johnson shows no interest in David Davis’s Brexit ‘solution,’ Lord Bell bails out of The Great British Brexit Company, and is the morality of the Daily Telegraph’s £270,000-a-year columnist causing concern to the Barclay brothers? Although ostensibly still backing Boris Johnson for the Tory leadership, David Davis’s advice to him ahead of the weekend’s […]

MITCH BENN on watching a video by the campaign supporting Boris Johnson’s (currently swaggering) effort to become leader of the Tory party and prime minister. British Conservative Party politician Boris Johnson gives a speech. Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP – Credit: AFP/Getty Images I find myself in a philosophical frame of mind, so here […]

TIM WALKER meets Lib Dem leadership candidate Jo Swinson to talk about the challenges facing liberalism, coalition mistakes and… Brexit Liberal Democrat deputy leader Jo Swinson. Photograph: Andrew Milligan. – Credit: PA Wire/PA Images I ask Jo Swinson why she should lead the Liberal Democrats and she takes a deep breath and manages to get […]

Our diary reveals how the man tipped to be PM was banned from an entire floor of the European Commission building after lewd behaviour with a photocopier, what Jacob Rees-Mogg was paid for his ‘mind-bogglingly banal’ book, and Michael Gove’s dubious background as an ‘environmentalist.’ MP Jacob Rees-Mogg. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) – Credit: […]

Outsted Mail chief Paul Dacre and May’s former chief of staff tipped for honours; Michael Gove talks on D-Day of his sacrifice; and how Steve Baker can live in the lap of luxury in the heart of Westminster. Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson, who is bidding to succeed Sir Vince Cable as the party’s leader. […]

The issue here isn’t drug use – it’s hypocrisy, says Mitch Benn. And they’re off. The hitherto ever-expanding field of candidates for the leadership of the Conservative Party (and thereby the prime ministership of the country) has contracted somewhat, as they clear the first hurdle, and we’re now left with the ten ‘serious’ contenders. Perhaps […]

Liberal Democrat leadership candidate Sir Ed Davey tells TIM WALKER how the party now leads the opposition to Brexit. As secretary of state for energy and climate change and a member of the privy council during the coalition years, Sir Ed Davey sat on the national security council. “We met each week and the heads […]

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 […]

Readers react to Boris Johnson’s attempt to avoid accountability for false claims made during the EU referendum campaign. What astounds me about Boris Johnson’s court summons over accusations of misconduct while in public office is that his defence appears to be “I was campaigning”. For any chance to reconcile division in our society and restore […]