News and Opinion

An unexpected announcement from the government about plans for a new post-Brexit tariff regime has left one leading business presenter questioning why it was rushed out. The Department for International Trade said the new regime – to be called the UK Global Tariff (UKGT) – will see £62 billion of imports overall become levy free […]

Keir Starmer’s arrival as Labour has come at the worst possible time for Boris Johnson – even Tory-supporting newspapers are starting to see through his act. When Boris Johnson is toppled, who will get the credit who for exposing his incompetence and mendacity? That will surely be owed to Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the […]

A Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) advisor has said that the government’s decision to re-open schools on June 1 was a political one. Professor John Edmunds, who advises SAGE members on infectious disease modelling, told a Lords science committee that it was up to politicians to re-open classrooms, not scientists. ‘Clearly the decision to […]

A new poll has shown that a majority of young Leave voters strongly support maintaining or increasing EU regulations. The survey, commissioned by research body Unchecked UK and conducted by Ipsos MORI, found that at least 70% of Leave voters aged between 18 and 44 wanted to keep or increase EU regulations and standards. Less […]

Europe is starting to reopen across the continent as countries started to ease lockdown restrictions as infection and death rates start to slow. An employee wearing mask to protect against the spread of coronavirus, places barriers in front of Propylaea at the Acropolis hill of Athens. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) – Credit: AP People are now […]

A campaign calling on MPs to ring-fence the NHS from future trade talks has been gathering momentum across the country. Around 5,000 people have contacted their local representative while 27,000 have signed a petition from campaign organisers We Own It requesting specific protections for the NHS ahead of a vote on a new trade bill […]

Radio broadcaster James O’Brien has mocked the Mail on Sunday for its story on Keir Starmer buying his mother a field to house rescue donkeys. The Daily Mail’s sister newspaper tried to use the fact that Starmer had purchased the land – which could be worth up to £10 million – as ‘double standards’ from […]

A senior Tory MP has joined calls for Boris Johnson to ‘immediately’ release documents he was given by scientists during Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) meetings. William Wragg, one of Johnson’s backbench Brexiteers, urged the prime minister to release the documents in a letter on Monday. In his capacity as chair of a Commons […]

The UK’s chief Brexit negotiator David Frost has issued EU officials with a two-week ultimatum telling them government is prepared to walk away without a deal unless compromise could be found. Frost’s comments came as the second round of Brexit trade talks foundered last week after both sides failed to reach an agreement on fisheries […]

The EU has joined other countries in calling for an independent evaluation of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) response to the coronavirus pandemic. The resolution has the support of more than half of the WHO’s member countries and will be discussed this week at the decision-making body of the UN health agency, being held virtually […]

STEVE ANGLESEY on how Mark Francois has changed his tune on NHS workers after dismissing their concerns over Brexit. MARK FRANCOIS The Brexiteer posted a video of himself clapping for the NHS while wearing a rugby shirt decorated with horizontal black and white stripes – no doubt his neighbours thought, ‘Hamburglar has let himself go’. […]

Boris Johnson has reportedly used a ‘deleted expletive’ to describe Sir Keir Starmer following a debate over government coronavirus advice to care homes during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) last week. Johnson returned to Downing Street visibly ‘rattled’ after a grilling from Sir Keir when he ‘used a deleted expletive’ to describe the Labour leader, an […]

An internal Liberal Democrat inquiry into the party’s performance at the last general election has found attempts to pitch their leader as Britain’s next prime minister, and pledges to revoke Article 50, led to a ‘high-speed car crash’ of a campaign. The report was commissioned after the party’s generation election result in December 2019 result […]

The government will seek to repeal freedom of movement rules after Brexit when an updated immigration bill goes before parliament on Monday. The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill will see a points-based immigration system supersede freedom of movement rules for EU citizens. The bill will also relax immigration rules to support those […]

Good Morning Britain presenter Piers Morgan has revealed he has received death threats over his attempts the hold the powerful to account during the coronavirus outbreak. The ITV presenter and former Daily Mirror editor has been a vocal critic of the government’s handling of the coronavirus, and has been known for giving ministers a hard […]

Downing Street has moved to quash reports that the NHS contact tracing app could be ditched for software used more commonly around globe. In recent days a number of applicants for jobs as contact tracers have been told their recruitment status is ‘on hold’ because of a delay in the roll out of the official […]

International trade secretary Liz Truss has insisted that she can secure a deal with Donald Trump which will benefit workers, farmers and consumers. Truss hopes talks will now proceed at an ‘accelerated pace’ to deliver a ‘comprehensive’ deal after the first round of transatlantic negotiations. The minister said that during the talks, conducted remotely due […]

A former immigration minister and Tory MP has slammed Priti Patel and ministers for the language used to describe key workers who have been at the centre of seeing the country through the coronavirus pandemic. Caroline Nokes, who was an immigration minister under Theresa May until Boris Johnson took office, said that branding certain workers […]

A new poll has revealed three quarters of British people want negotiations to end with a trade deal with the European Union, and the majority are expecting Boris Johnson to extend the transition period in order to seek a deal. The Focaldata poll was commissioned by campaign groups Best for Britain and HOPE not hate […]

Roger Daltrey, frontman of The Who, has blamed experts for creating confusion in Britain over the coronavirus rather than the government. The Brexiteer and veteran rocker has said he will not be told to stay inside during the lockdown, saying people should not wrap themselves ‘in cotton wool’ while the outbreak persists. ‘I live in […]

Writer NIALL GRIFFITHS continues his occasional series of adventures across the continent, with a tale of a tormenting tarantula and landscapes made for lager Spain is hot. Southern Spain is really hot. And southern Spain in a heatwave is infernal, like living in a deep-fat fryer. The heat squats on the head like a white-hot […]

Has the BBC produced an entertainer to capture the current national mood? Christina Baade looks back at one who emerged during the UK’s last major crisis… even if he wasn’t to everybody’s taste In Britain, during the first weeks of the Second World War, public entertainment venues closed down. The blackout darkened the streets, and […]

MICHAEL WHITE on the week an indecisive Johnson tried, and failed, to please everyone. I don’t know what it’s like where you are. But the traffic on the motorway near us has been getting louder all week and it was the cold snap, not the government’s new ‘Stay Alert’ slogan, that kept our park from […]

Brexit-backing businessman Sir James Dyson has become Britain’s richest man – and denied suggestions he had moved his headquarters out of the UK for tax purposes. The Brexit-backing inventor, who moved the Dyson headquarters to Singapore from Wiltshire last year, topped the Sunday Times rich list for 2020 with an estimated fortune of £16.2 billion. […]

A senior shadow cabinet minister has urged the government not to ‘rush’ Brexit negotiations – or the ending of the coronavirus lockdown. Speaking during Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday, Labour shadow cabinet minister Rachel Reeves said the government must ensure it takes all the steps required to get the best deal available from Brexit. […]

Boris Johnson’s father Stanley Johnson has said his son has not faced a lot of criticism over the coronavirus – and that the UK was on the ‘right track’ in tackling the pandemic. In a wide-ranging interview with Ta Nea, a Greek daily newspaper, claimed to have predicted nearly 40 years ago that there could […]

More people disapprove of the government’s handling of the coronavirus than approve for the first time. The survey by Opinium found 39% backed the government’s response, down from 48% a week ago. Those saying they disapproved have risen from 36% last week to 42%. It follows a week in which Boris Johnson faced criticism over […]

Jon Lansman, the founder of the left wing Momentum campaign group, has announced he is standing down as its leader. In an article for the Labour List website, Lansman said the time had come to hand over to a new generation of activists. ‘We are now a mass of dedicated activists fighting for a better […]